[H]ard|OCP reviews Gigabyte GV-NX86T256H and Gigabyte GV-NX86S256H video cards
The Gigabyte GV-NX86S256H is not your standard fare NVIDIA reference PCB design at all. Gigabyte has re-designed the video card to do without an auxiliary PCI-Express connector. This departs from all other GeForce 8600 GTS based video cards which do require external power. One reason this may be is due to the fact that this video card lacks a fan, since it is a fully passive cooling design. In any case this should benefit those with power constraints. The GPU is clocked at 675 MHz, and the memory is clocked to 2 GHz, in-line with NVIDIA's reference specifications for the frequencies.
The Gigabyte GV-NX86S256H features Gigabyte's new Silent-Pipe III technology completely re-designing the cooling apparatus compared to Silent-Pipe II. The basic principal that Gigabyte is trying to achieve with Silent-Pipe III is quoted:
Similar to the principle of turbulence in fluid dynamics, Silent-Pipe 3 introduces Inner Turbulence Fluid Mechanics Design. Utilizing a series of layered long and short fins with trapezoid punches, Silent-Pipe 3 transforms laminar (smooth) air flow into turbulent (rough) air flow inside the heat sink, increasing the heat exchange ratio and enhancing overall thermal performance...
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