GeForce 8600M GS vs Mobility Radeon X1600

NVIDIA

GeForce 8600M GS

2008Core: 500 MHz
Similar parts
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VS
AMD

Mobility Radeon X1600

2010Core: 700 MHz
Similar parts
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GeForce 8600M GS vs Mobility Radeon X1600 Performance Spectrum

About G3D Mark

G3D Mark is a standard benchmark that measures graphics performance in real-world gaming scenarios. It simplifies comparing cards from different brands, where higher scores directly correlate with better fps and smoother gaming experiences.

GeForce 8600M GS vs Mobility Radeon X1600: Pros, Cons & Final Verdict

See where each GPU makes more sense in practice: raw FPS, VRAM, features, power draw, pricing, and long-term headroom.

GeForce 8600M GS

2008

Why buy it

  • Competitive enough if your priority is price, power, or specific feature preference.

Trade-offs

  • 2008 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.
  • 104.1% HIGHER MSRP
    $100 MSRPvs$49 MSRP
  • Lower G3D Mark per dollar, at 0.9 vs 1.9 G3D/$ ($100 MSRP vs $49 MSRP).
  • 200% higher power demand at 150W vs 50W.

Mobility Radeon X1600

2010

Why buy it

  • Costs $51 less on MSRP ($49 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
  • Delivers 111% more G3D Mark for each dollar spent, at 1.9 vs 0.9 G3D/$ ($49 MSRP vs $100 MSRP).
  • Draws 50W instead of 150W, a 100W reduction.

Trade-offs

  • 2010 hardware with 256 MB of VRAM is already well past its comfortable zone for modern gaming, so it is hard to recommend now.

Quick Answers

Which GPU is faster for gaming right now?
Mobility Radeon X1600 is the faster gaming card right now based on the synthetic data we have. It leads by 3.4% in PassMark G3D (92 vs 89), which is the best performance signal available in this matchup.
Which GPU is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond?
GeForce 8600M GS is the safer long-term pick for 2026 and beyond because it comes out ahead on the available hardware-headroom signals for this matchup.
Which GPU is the better buy today?
Mobility Radeon X1600 makes the most sense to buy today. It is $51 cheaper on MSRP at $49 vs $100, and it leads G3D-per-dollar by 111% (1.9 vs 0.9), so the value case lines up with the gaming result. If you are mainly targeting 1080p and some 1440p, Mobility Radeon X1600 is the easier value choice. If you care more about 1080p and some 1440p headroom, GeForce 8600M GS has the stronger long-term case.

GeForce 8600M GS vs Mobility Radeon X1600 Technical Specifications

Side-by-side specs, architecture details, clocks, memory, power, and platform differences.

NVIDIA

GeForce 8600M GS

The GeForce 8600M GS is manufactured by NVIDIA. It was released in July 15 2008. It features the G9x architecture. The core clock speed is 500 MHz. It has 224 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 150W. Manufactured using 65 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 89 points.

AMD

Mobility Radeon X1600

The Mobility Radeon X1600 is manufactured by AMD. It was released in January 7 2010. It features the TeraScale 2 architecture. The core clock speed is 700 MHz. It has 800 shading units. The thermal design power (TDP) is 50W. Manufactured using 40 nm process technology. G3D Mark benchmark score: 92 points.

Graphics Performance

The GeForce 8600M GS scores 89 and the Mobility Radeon X1600 reaches 92 in the G3D Mark benchmark — just a 3.4% difference, making them near-identical in rasterization performance. The GeForce 8600M GS is built on G9x while the Mobility Radeon X1600 uses TeraScale 2, both on 65 nm vs 40 nm. Shader units: 224 (GeForce 8600M GS) vs 800 (Mobility Radeon X1600).

FeatureGeForce 8600M GSMobility Radeon X1600
G3D Mark Score
89
92+3%
Architecture
G9x
TeraScale 2
Process Node
65 nm
40 nm
Shading Units
224
800+257%

Advanced Features (DLSS/FSR)

The GeForce 8600M GS gets NVIDIA DLSS, which still tends to look cleaner in motion. The Mobility Radeon X1600 leans on FSR, which is flexible and widely supported, but usually a bit rougher at the same settings.

FeatureGeForce 8600M GSMobility Radeon X1600
Upscaling Tech
Upscaling support
FSR Upscaling / FSR 4
Frame Generation
Not Supported
Not Supported
Ray Reconstruction
No
No
Low Latency
NVIDIA Reflex
AMD Anti-Lag
💾

Video Memory (VRAM)

Both cards ship with 256 MB of GDDR5. Memory bus width is 64-bit on the GeForce 8600M GS and 128-bit on the Mobility Radeon X1600.

FeatureGeForce 8600M GSMobility Radeon X1600
VRAM Capacity
0.25 GB
0.25 GB
Memory Type
GDDR5
GDDR5
Memory Bandwidth
Unknown
Unknown
Bus Width
64-bit
128-bit+100%
🖥️

Display & API Support

DirectX support: 11.1 (10_0) (GeForce 8600M GS) vs 9.0c (Mobility Radeon X1600). Maximum simultaneous displays: 0 vs 0.

FeatureGeForce 8600M GSMobility Radeon X1600
DirectX
11.1 (10_0)+23%
9.0c
Max Displays
0
0
🎬

Media & Encoding

Hardware encoder: None (GeForce 8600M GS) vs Avivo (Mobility Radeon X1600). Decoder: PureVideo HD (VP2) vs Avivo.

FeatureGeForce 8600M GSMobility Radeon X1600
Encoder
None
Avivo
Decoder
PureVideo HD (VP2)
Avivo
Codecs
H.264,VC-1,MPEG-2
🔌

Power & Dimensions

The GeForce 8600M GS draws 150W versus the Mobility Radeon X1600's 50W — a 100% difference. The Mobility Radeon X1600 is more power-efficient. Recommended PSU: 350W (GeForce 8600M GS) vs 350W (Mobility Radeon X1600). Power connectors: Legacy vs PCIe-powered. Card length: 0mm vs 1mm, occupying 0 vs 0 slots.

FeatureGeForce 8600M GSMobility Radeon X1600
TDP
150W
50W-67%
Recommended PSU
350W
350W
Power Connector
Legacy
PCIe-powered
Length
0mm
1mm
Height
0mm
Slots
0
0
Temp (Load)
80
Perf/Watt
0.6
1.8+200%
💰

Value Analysis

At launch, the GeForce 8600M GS came in at $100, while the Mobility Radeon X1600 launched at $49. On MSRP, Mobility Radeon X1600 was 51% cheaper ($51 less). Performance per dollar on MSRP (G3D Mark / MSRP): 0.9 (GeForce 8600M GS) vs 1.9 (Mobility Radeon X1600) — the Mobility Radeon X1600 offers 111.1% better value. The newer card here is Mobility Radeon X1600 (2010 vs 2008).

FeatureGeForce 8600M GSMobility Radeon X1600
MSRP
$100
$49-51%
Performance per Dollar
0.9
1.9+111%
Codename
NB9E-GTX
Broadway
Release
July 15 2008
January 7 2010
Ranking
#825
#846

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