No this WILL not smoke an 8600, at least not in the new games. now dont get me wrong, I am a MAJOR ATI fan, I will not buy nvidia, but the 8600 is better then the 1950 for this reason and this reason alone: the 8600 is directx 10 compatible and has newer hardware, the 1950 only supports directx9. also newer hardware adds to that as well. if your an ATI fan and you want the ATI equivalent, get the 2600, or better yet save for the new 3870 which is what Im doing. if your looking to buy a new midgrade video card dont buy last years high end model, because last years high end model is this years lowend model.