Features & Specifications
BFG uses what they call ThermoIntellegence in the BFG 8600 GTS OC2. This amounts to a custom air cooler used on the card to keep the card cool enough to run at the increased clock rates BFG uses. The BFG 8600 GTS OC2 is clocked at 720MHz on the core, 1566MHz on the shader and 2220MHz on the memory clock. BFG claims that their cooling solution is good for up to an 11 degree cooler operating temperature as compared to the stock NVIDIA reference cooling solution. BFG gives the BFG 8600 GTS OC2 an MSRP of $249.

Test System
Before we get into the performance aspects of the BFG 8600 GTS OC2, lets have a look at the specifications for the test system used:

• CPU- Intel QX6700
• Mainboard- XFX 680i
• RAM- PNY XLR8 2GB PC2-9384
• OS- Windows XP Pro SP2
• Display- Dell 30” UltraSharp 3007WFP-HC

Benchmarks
To test the performance of the BFG 8600 GTS OC2 I used 3DMark06, FEAR, Battlefield 2142 and Quake 4. The first test up is 3DMark06.

3DMark06
I ran 3DMark06 at stock settings in the application and stock settings in the NVIDIA control panel. The 3DMark06 test results were as follows:

• Total 3DMarks- 6643
• SM2.0- 2650
• HDR/SM3.0- 2342
• CPU- 4196
• Return to Proxycon- 20.804
• Firefly Forest- 23.363
• Canyon Flight- 20.473
• Deep Freeze- 26.357
• CPU1- 1.389
• CPU2- 2.028

To compare the XFX 8600 GTS XXX scored 6309 3DMarks, the Foxconn 8600 GTS scored 5812 3DMarks, and the PNY Verto 8600 GTS scored 5831 3DMarks. As you can see that makes the BFG 8600 GTS OC2 hands down the fastest 8600 GTS I have tested to date.

FEAR
The next test up is with FEAR which I ran at all maximum settings, 16x AF, 4x AA, soft shadows on, and a screen resolution of 1280 x 1024. The FEAR in game test loop recorded the following frame rate data:

• Min- 26 fps
• Avg- 44 fps
• Max- 105 fps

The percentages show that frame rates never dropped below 25 fps, 54% of the time frame rates were 25-40 fps, and 46% of the time frame rates were greater than 40 fps.

Battlefield 2142
The next test up was Battlefield 2142 which I ran at a screen resolution of 2058 x 1536 with all settings on high and 4x AA. I used Fraps to record frame rate data while playing the single player map “Fall of Berlin.” Fraps recorded the following information: Min- 18 fps