AOpen Aeolus PCX6600-DV128LP Grange-over-Sands

Silent graphics cards may not be golden but, in our opinion, they're almost as good, because unlike most graphics cards, passively cooled models don't make an unpleasant racket. As if making a silent graphics card wasn't enough, AOpen's Aeolus PCX6600-DV128LP is also a low-profile card.

The small dimensions are important because it means that this card, which is based on the GeForce 6600 GPU, will fit inside a tiny, low-profile micro-ATX or mini-ITX case. At last, you can build a media PC that can also play modern games. The passive cooling system comprises two large aluminium heatsinks, one on either side of the PCB, which are linked together by two large heatpipes. As with all passively cooled graphics cards, it's important to ensure that there's decent airflow through your case in order to keep the card's oversized heatsinks cool.

In the box are three backplates, one for normal, full-height cases, and a pair of low-profile backplates, one for the D-SUB port, and the other for the DVI port and TV output. The latter outputs to S-Video or component video via a splitter cable. Also in the box is a copy of Second Sight, a rather dull-looking game that runs perfectly smoothly on a GeForce 5700 Ultra, so it hardly presents a challenge for the GeForce 6600.

However, AOpen's card is more than just a prop from 'Honey, I shrunk the Kids'; the manufacturer has gone to town on the specs too. While the GPU runs at 300MHz, the stock speed for a GeForce 6600, the 128MB of memory is GDDR3 running at 350MHz (700MHz effective), rather than the DDR running at 250MHz (500MHz effective) that most GeForce 6600s use. This means the AOpen has considerably more memory bandwidth than the standard-specification GeForce 6600 cards - 11.2GB/sec vs 8GB/sec.

As the test results show, the AOpen is more than capable of playing modern games at 1,024 x 768, which is a higher resolution than most TVs can display. However, if you're trying to build a quiet PC connected to a 17in TFT, instead of a media PC hooked up to a TV, then the AOpen is less convincing. At 1,280 x 1,024 with 2x AA and 2x AF, only Half-Life 2 was borderline playable, and the advanced shader effects in The Chronicles of Riddick drove the frame rate down to a jerky 23.5fps.

Despite having much more memory bandwidth than standard-specification GeForce 6600 cards, the AOpen was unable to deliver a smooth frame rate with any more anti-aliasing or anisotropic filtering applied, let alone at a resolution of 1,600 x 1,200.

Generally speaking, passively cooled graphics cards don't overclock as well as actively cooled cards, but the AOpen is an overclocking champ. Using Coolbits, we raised its clock speeds from 300/700MHz all the way up to 399/896MHz. Despite the heatsinks and heatpipes getting extremely hot, the AOpen was perfectly stable at these frequency settings. More importantly, this overclock provided a dramatic performance boost, raising the average frame rate in Far Cry at 1,280 x 1,024 with 2x AA and 2x AF from 30.2fps to a much more playable 39.4fps. However, even though it boosted the frame rate in Far Cry at 1,600 x 1,200 with 4x AA and 8x AF from 13.7fps to 17.7fps, the game was still unplayable.

CONCLUSION

AOpen is priced midway between a standard GeForce 6600 and a 6600 GT. This stands to reason, as it performs midway between the two, thanks to its GDDR3 memory. With its silent cooling system and good overclockability, the AOpen appears to be a bargain. Having S-Video and HDTV-compatible component video outputs also means the card is ideal for a media PC connected to a TV, projector or plasma display. And for people who want to play games on a media PC, the AOpen provides more than enough power, provided you stick to low resolutions.

Author: James Gorbold

AOpen Aeolus PCX6600-DV128LP