Lost Coast was tested by running through the built-in flyby demo. The demo shows-off then entire suite of High Dynamic Range functionalities features in Half-Life 2: Lost Coast.

Half-Life 2: Lost Coast Settings

The Auto-detect feature yielded practically the same results as for Counter-Strike: Source. However, I opted to enable Color Correction to supplement the Gamma Correct Antialiasing option and keep the same settings in both tests.

Half-Life 2: Lost Coast Performance Results - 1024x768

Half-Life 2: Lost Coast Performance Results - 1280x1024

Half-Life 2: Lost Coast Performance Results - 1600x1200

There isn't much new to say at this point. MSI's GeForce 8600 GT OC is outperforming the 8500 GT by twice the frames per second in yet another test.

Both cards share some solid features that are great selling points for their position in the mainstream market: DirectX 10 capabilities that are fully capable of powering Vista's new graphical features, PureVideo2 support which adds full decode capabilities for HD content, HDCP capabilities and Dual-Link DVI support for resolutions up to 2560x1600 (or driving two monitors at that resolution as is the case for the MSI NX8600GT-T2D256E OC).

While MSI's GeForce 8500 GT (NX8500GT-TD256E) is capable of handling the workload of the typical user and the odd game, the more powerful MSI GeForce 8600 GT OC provides twice the gaming performance in almost every gaming scenario tested. For only a twenty to forty dollar premium, anyone in the market for a low-priced mainstream video card and interested in gaming should definitely opt for the 8600 GT OC.

As such, the MSI GeForce 8500 GT (NX8500GT-TD256E) received nV News' Base Hit award for its combination of features and adequate performance. The MSI GeForce 8600 GT OC (NX8600GT-T2D256E OC) is handily awarded the Home Run Award for combining great performance and a low retail price.

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