GeForce 8600 GT vs HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge)
Aggregate performance score
We've compared HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) with GeForce 8600 GT, including specs and performance data.
HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) outperforms 8600 GT by a small 6% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Primary details
GPU architecture, market segment, value for money and other general parameters compared.
| Place in the ranking | 1296 | 1309 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Power efficiency | no data | 0.47 |
| Architecture | Gen. 6 Sandy Bridge (2011) | Tesla (2006−2010) |
| GPU code name | Sandy Bridge | G84 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop |
| Release date | 1 May 2011 (13 years ago) | 17 April 2007 (17 years ago) |
| Launch price (MSRP) | no data | $159 |
Cost-effectiveness evaluation
Performance to price ratio. The higher, the better.
Detailed specifications
General parameters such as number of shaders, GPU core base clock and boost clock speeds, manufacturing process, texturing and calculation speed. Note that power consumption of some graphics cards can well exceed their nominal TDP, especially when overclocked.
| Pipelines / CUDA cores | 6 | 32 |
| Core clock speed | 350 MHz | 540 MHz |
| Boost clock speed | 1100 MHz | no data |
| Number of transistors | no data | 289 million |
| Manufacturing process technology | 32 nm | 80 nm |
| Power consumption (TDP) | no data | 47 Watt |
| Texture fill rate | no data | 8.640 |
| Floating-point processing power | no data | 0.07616 TFLOPS |
| ROPs | no data | 8 |
| TMUs | no data | 16 |
Form factor & compatibility
Information on compatibility with other computer components. Useful when choosing a future computer configuration or upgrading an existing one. For desktop graphics cards it's interface and bus (motherboard compatibility), additional power connectors (power supply compatibility).
| Interface | no data | PCIe 1.0 x16 |
| Length | no data | 170 mm |
| Width | no data | 1-slot |
| Supplementary power connectors | no data | None |
| SLI options | - | + |
VRAM capacity and type
Parameters of VRAM installed: its type, size, bus, clock and resulting bandwidth. Integrated GPUs have no dedicated video RAM and use a shared part of system RAM.
| Memory type | no data | GDDR3 |
| Maximum RAM amount | no data | 512 MB |
| Standard memory config per GPU | no data | 256 MB |
| Memory bus width | 64/128 Bit | 128 Bit |
| Memory clock speed | no data | 700 MHz |
| Memory bandwidth | no data | 22.4 GB/s |
| Shared memory | + | - |
Connectivity and outputs
Types and number of video connectors present on the reviewed GPUs. As a rule, data in this section is precise only for desktop reference ones (so-called Founders Edition for NVIDIA chips). OEM manufacturers may change the number and type of output ports, while for notebook cards availability of certain video outputs ports depends on the laptop model rather than on the card itself.
| Display Connectors | no data | 2x DVI, 1x S-Video |
API compatibility
List of supported 3D and general-purpose computing APIs, including their specific versions.
| DirectX | 10.1 | 11.1 (10_0) |
| Shader Model | no data | 4.0 |
| OpenGL | no data | 2.1 |
| OpenCL | no data | 1.1 |
| Vulkan | - | N/A |
| CUDA | - | 1.1 |
Gaming performance
Let's see how good the compared graphics cards are for gaming. Particular gaming benchmark results are measured in FPS.
Average FPS across all PC games
Here are the average frames per second in a large set of popular games across different resolutions:
| Full HD | 7
+16.7%
| 6−7
−16.7%
|
Cost per frame, $
| 1080p | no data | 26.50 |
FPS performance in popular games
Full HD
Low Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
Full HD
Medium Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Hitman 3 | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+14.3%
|
7−8
−14.3%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 27−30
+16.7%
|
24−27
−16.7%
|
Full HD
High Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Hitman 3 | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+14.3%
|
7−8
−14.3%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 9−10
+12.5%
|
8−9
−12.5%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 27−30
+16.7%
|
24−27
−16.7%
|
Full HD
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 3−4
+50%
|
2−3
−50%
|
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
| Hitman 3 | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 8−9
+14.3%
|
7−8
−14.3%
|
| Shadow of the Tomb Raider | 4−5
+33.3%
|
3−4
−33.3%
|
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | 9−10
+12.5%
|
8−9
−12.5%
|
| Watch Dogs: Legion | 27−30
+16.7%
|
24−27
−16.7%
|
1440p
Ultra Preset
| Cyberpunk 2077 | 0−1 | 0−1 |
| Hitman 3 | 6−7
+20%
|
5−6
−20%
|
| Horizon Zero Dawn | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
1440p
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
4K
Ultra Preset
| Assassin's Creed Odyssey | 1−2 | 0−1 |
| Assassin's Creed Valhalla | 0−1 | 0−1 |
4K
Epic Preset
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2−3
+100%
|
1−2
−100%
|
This is how HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) and 8600 GT compete in popular games:
- HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) is 17% faster in 1080p
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 0.34 | 0.32 |
| Recency | 1 May 2011 | 17 April 2007 |
| Chip lithography | 32 nm | 80 nm |
HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) has a 6.3% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 4 years, and a 150% more advanced lithography process.
Given the minimal performance differences, no clear winner can be declared between HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) and GeForce 8600 GT.
Be aware that HD Graphics (Sandy Bridge) is a notebook card while GeForce 8600 GT is a desktop one.
Should you still have questions concerning choice between the reviewed GPUs, ask them in Comments section, and we shall answer.
Comparisons with similar GPUs
We selected several comparisons of graphics cards with performance close to those reviewed, providing you with more options to consider.
