Conclusions
Before I started testing the cards for this round-up, the Gigabyte GV-NX86S256H looked like a shoo-in for our Editor's Choice award. Combining a GeForce 8600 GTS graphics chip with passive cooling and a copy of Supreme Commander for less than $200 is a recipe for success, especially compared with the competitors assembled today. Unfortunately, Gigabyte faltered in the execution, producing a card with a tendency to whine, buzz, and make otherwise undignified noises under load. Initially, we thought we had a bad card, but a second sample produced identical results, even on a completely different test system. Combine that with the card's inexplicably high power draw, and the GV-NX86S256H simply isn't a product we can recommend.

We'd also shy away from MSI's NX8500GT, but for different reasons. This budget card may cost half what you'll pay for an 8600 GTS, but you have to live with gaming performance that's significantly lower than an 8600 GT. On a $100 graphics card, the GeForce 8500 GT just isn't worth the compromise, even with juiced up clock speeds. This card's saving grace may be its VP2 engine for HD video decoding, which could make it a solid choice for a video-intensive system that doesn't need especially fast 3D graphics.

That brings us to another factory "overclocked" card, MSI's NX8600GTS. This card is selling for $175 at Newegg, making it quite a bargain for a faster-than-stock 8600 GTS. Unfortunately, the NX's dual-slot cooler makes a heck of a racket, registering nearly 15 decibels louder than Asus' EN8600GTS at idle and 12 decibels louder under load. The cooler does keep the GPU nice and cool, but that didn't translate into an advantage in our overclocking tests. We'd rather not put up with the noise.

MSI NX8600GT May 2007

So we're down to two: MSI's NX8600GT and Asus' EN8600GTS. It's actually easy to pick a winner between these two cards because the going rate for the Asus card appears to be around $215. That's close to 60% more than the $137 NX8600GT, but Asus certainly doesn't give you 60% more card for your money. In fact, if you look at the bundled extras, you actually get less.

Now, the Asus EN8600GTS does offer slightly better performance and a quieter cooler, but those factors alone aren't worth the hefty price premium. Don't get me wrong; the EN8600GTS is a good card. It just doesn't pack the same value proposition as the NX8600GT, and when you're shopping for a mid-range graphics card, value is what you want. That makes MSI's NX8600GT our Editor's Choice.