drvarunmehta
Wise Old Owl
I'd like to share this post from Tom's Hardware forums with everyone. I know the prices are in dollars but it still gives a reasonable estimate of which graphics card to choose.
Source
BEST GAMING VIDEOCARDS FOR THE MONEY:
PCI-EXPRESS INTERFACE
last edited September 27, 2006
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR UNDER $100: TIE
Radeon X800 GTO
Codename: R420, 130 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 6 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 12 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
400 Mhz core, 350 Mhz DDR(700 Mhz Effective) Memory
A card with 256-bit memory in the lowest price category? Bizarre. This card has been comfortably in the $100 - $150 price category, now under $100 it hands other cards in this league their respective asses - the vanilla 6600, X700, and X1300 PRO simply can't compete with an X800 GTO. Some people will complain about their lack of SM 3.0 capability, but in this category it really doesn't matter, the GTO will outpower the competition anyway. If you're making a gaming system on a rock-bottom budget, this card will make it viable.
Geforce 7300 GT GDDR3
Codename: G73, 90 nanometer technology
8 PixelShaders, 4 VertexShaders, 8 TextureUnits, 8 RasterOpsProcessors
128-bit memory bus
500 Mhz core, 700 Mhz GDDR3 (1000 Mhz Effective) Memory
Not to be confused with the slow DDR2 Version of the 7300 GT, the GDDR3 equipped 7300 GTs are pretty darn quick, at least keeping up with the 7600 GS. Another great sub-$100 choice that can make a cheap gaming rig a reality.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$140:
Geforce 7600 GT
Codename: G73, 90 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 5 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 8 RasterOpsProcessors
128-bit memory bus
560 Mhz core, 700 Mhz DDR (1400 Mhz Effective) Memory
The 7600 GT is an amazing card in this price range, sporting new SM 3.0 technology and very high clockspeeds to deliver excellent performance. It's weakest feature is it's 128-bit memory bus, but it's high memory speeds offset that disadvantage and make it competitive with 256-bit cards like the X800 XT/X850 XT.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$200:
Radeon X1900 GT
Codename: R580, 90-nanometer technology
36 Pixel shaders, 8 Vertex shaders, 12 Texture units, 12 Raster operations processors
256-bit external memory bus (512-bit internal ring bus)
Version 1: 575 MHz core, 600 MHz DDR (1200 MHz effective) Memory
Version 2: 512 MHz core, 660 MHz DDR (1320 MHz effective) Memory
The X1900 GT is based on the X1900 XT core, only crippled with some pixel shaders disabled and with a lower clockspeed. There are now two versions: the original 575 MHz core/600 MHz memory version, and the new 512 MHz core/6600 MHz memory version. Both perform similarly.
The card’s main competition is the 7900 GS, which it soundly beats in almost every benchmark. The worst thing I can say about the X1900 GT is that it’s X1900 XT 256mb cousin performs much better for not much more money.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$250:
Radeon X1900 XT 256mb
Codename: R580, 90 nanometer technology
48 PixelShaders, 8 VertexShaders, 16 TextureUnits, 16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit external memory bus (512-bit internal ring bus)
625 Mhz core, 725 Mhz DDR (1450 Mhz effective) Memory
The 256mb X1900 XT is a re-released X1900 XT with less memory and a new price that really entrenches it as the best $200 to $300 card you can buy today. Priced as low as $240 at the time this is written, there's nothing that can touch it, including the new Geforce 7950 GT.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$340:TIE
Geforce 7900 GTX
Codename: G71, 90 nanometer technology
24 PixelShaders, 8 VertexShaders, 24 TextureUnits, 16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
650 Mhz core, 800 Mhz DDR (1600 Mhz Effective) Memory
The Geforce 7900 GTX is Nvidia's counter to the X1900 XTX. Both of these heavyweights have their strengths and show superiority in different games and benchmarks, but neither will dissapoint. The 7900 GTX will have the advantage in texturing speed and the X1900 XTX will have the advantage in shader speed.
Radeon X1900 XTX
Codename: R580, 90 nanometer technology
48 PixelShaders, 8 VertexShaders, 16 TextureUnits, 16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit external memory bus (512-bit internal ring bus)
650 Mhz core, 775 Mhz DDR (1550 Mhz effective) Memory
One of the fastest gaming cards on the planet today, the Radeon X1900 XTX boasts slightly higher clockspeeds than it's XT brother. The Radeon differentiates itself from it's 7900 GTX competitor slightly with the ability to use OpenEXR High-Dynamic-Range lighting (HDR) and Antialiassing at the same time. The worst thing we can say aboiut it is that it's probably not worth the $100 premium over the excellent X1900 XT 256mb card.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$500:
Geforce 7950 Gx2
Codename: G71, 90 nanometer technology
2x24 PixelShaders, 2x8 VertexShaders, 2x24 TextureUnits, 2x16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
500 Mhz core, 600 Mhz DDR (1200 Mhz Effective) Memory
The money-is-no-object price segment will offer diminishing returns for the large amount of money spent. But if you have the money and need to play at the highest resolutions available with high levels of AA - SLI/Crossfire setups are the way to go.
Probably the most reasonably priced and easy to use multi-GPU solution is the Geforce 7950 Gx2, which is actually a single card with two 7900 GPUs built in, and performs faster than any other single card available at ultra-high resolutions.
Keep in mind though, if you’re playing at 1280x1024 resolution with 4xAA, you would be wasting money on the GX2, as cheaper single cards like the X1900 XTX and 7900 GTX can outperform it at those settings. But if you play at 1600x1200 with 6xAA, the 7950 GX2 can’t be beat by any7 single card out there.
BEST GAMING VIDEOCARDS FOR THE MONEY:
AGP INTERFACE
last edited September 27, 2006
BEST AGP CARD FOR UNDER $100:TIE
Geforce 6600
Codename: NV43, 100 nanometer technology
8 pipeline
128-bit memory bus
300 Mhz core, 275 Mhz DDR (550 Mhz effective) Memory
The 8-pipeline 6600 architecture has proven itself in the Geforce 6600 GT. Deprived of the GT's higher memory speeds, this is still probably the most powerful AGP/PCI-e card for under $100 online, and can be overclocked to good effect. Be wary of the 6600LE, which has 200Mhz DDR (400Mhz effective) memory that cripples the card.
Radeon X700
Codename: RV410, 100 nanometer technology
8 pipelines
128-bit memory bus
400 MHz core, 300 MHz DDR (600 MHz effective) Memory
The X700 might not have the newest technology, but it probably has the best frame rates of any new sub-$100 AGP card. With a higher clock speed than the 6600, it’s a bit faster at most things, but it doesn’t really dominate it at anything.
BEST AGP CARD FOR ~$130: TIE
Geforce 7600 GS
Codename: G73, 90 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 5 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 8 RasterOpsProcessors
128-bit memory bus
400 Mhz core, 400 Mhz DDR (800 Mhz Effective) Memory
With identical features compared to it's faster 7600 GT brethren, the 7600 GS lacks only the core and memory clockspeeds - however, the GT's clockspeeds are so much higher that the GS pales in comparison. Nevertheless, the 7600 GS is a great AGP card as it trumps the X1600 and 6600 GT for just a little more money, and is a good overclocker's choice due to the underclocked 7600 core - although it's unlikely it's memory will ever clock anywhere near the 700 Mhz (1400 Mhz DDR) of the 7600 GT. It's only real competition for the money is the X800 GTO, which is a bit cheaper and probably a bit more powerful, but doesn't offer newer SM 3.0 technology or the ability to peerform OpenEXR HDR.
Radeon X1650 PRO
Codename: R530, 80 and 90 nanometer technology
12 Pixel Shaders, 5 Vertex Shaders, 4 Texture Units, 4 Raster Operations Processors
128-bit memory bus (256-bit ring bus)
600 MHz core, 700 MHz DDR (1400 MHz effective) Memory
The new X1650 PRO is a re-dressed X1600 XT with slightly higher clockspeeds. The very high memory speed for this class, and efficient shaders help the X1650 PRO compare well to with the 12-pipeline 7600 GS, beating it by a small margin in most benchmarks.
Radeon X800 GTO
Codename: R420, 130 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 6 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 12 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
400 Mhz core, 350 Mhz DDR(700 Mhz Effective) Memory
The X800GTO will beat the X1650 PRO and 7600 GS more often than not. It's probably the most powerful stock card in the sub-0$150 AGP category. Some people will complain about their lack of SM 3.0 capability, but the GTO will outpower the competition anyway. This is an AGP'ers good 'last stand' before going to a PCI Express system.
BEST AGP CARD FOR ~$175:
Geforce 7600 GT
Codename: G73, 90 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 5 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 8 RasterOpsProcessors
128-bit memory bus
560 Mhz core, 700 Mhz DDR (1400 Mhz Effective) Memory
The 7600 GT is an amazing card in this price range, sporting new SM 3.0 technology and very high clockspeeds to deliver excellent performance. It's weakest feature is it's 128-bit memory bus, but it's high memory speeds offset that disadvantage and make it competitive with 256-bit cards like the X800 XT/X850 XT. The 7600 GT is the AGP user's savior, a decently priced card that can actually perform well for the money.
BEST AGP CARD FOR +$200:
NONE
And while it's safe to say that the best AGP card available for over $200 is the 7800 GS, it it very difficult to recommend at over $240 because at stock clockspeeds it performs similarly to the 7600 GT AGP, which costs much less.
With this in mind, if you have money to spend on an AGP card, you are much better off getting a PCI-express video card as well as a PCI-express motherboard for a few dollars more.
There are Intel Socket 478 and AMD Socket 740/939 PCI-express motherboards out there for those who wish to upgrade their current platform but keep their CPU and memory.
The only real contemporary dead-end as far as upgrading motherboards is the AMD Socket A cpu, which has no PCI-express motherboard available... but even then it's worth a hard look at upgrading to a PCI-express system.
Honorable Mention:
Gainward Geforce 7800 GS+ silent 512
Codename: G71, 90 nanometer technology
24 PixelShaders, 8 VertexShaders, 24 TextureUnits, 16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
450 Mhz core, 625 Mhz DDR (1250 Mhz Effective) Memory
Gainward has the distinction of making the fastest AGP card on the planet. Their '7800 GS' is actually a '7900 GT', with 24 instead of 16 pipelines, 512 MB of RAM, and the best AGP framerates money can buy.
While it's still hard to recommend an AGP card this expensive with 7900 GT's so cheap in the PCIe arena, if you absolutely HAVE to stay with your AGP system for another year or two, and your budget is unlimited, this is the card to get - although it is very difficult to source in North America.
Source
BEST GAMING VIDEOCARDS FOR THE MONEY:
PCI-EXPRESS INTERFACE
last edited September 27, 2006
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR UNDER $100: TIE
Radeon X800 GTO
Codename: R420, 130 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 6 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 12 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
400 Mhz core, 350 Mhz DDR(700 Mhz Effective) Memory
A card with 256-bit memory in the lowest price category? Bizarre. This card has been comfortably in the $100 - $150 price category, now under $100 it hands other cards in this league their respective asses - the vanilla 6600, X700, and X1300 PRO simply can't compete with an X800 GTO. Some people will complain about their lack of SM 3.0 capability, but in this category it really doesn't matter, the GTO will outpower the competition anyway. If you're making a gaming system on a rock-bottom budget, this card will make it viable.
Geforce 7300 GT GDDR3
Codename: G73, 90 nanometer technology
8 PixelShaders, 4 VertexShaders, 8 TextureUnits, 8 RasterOpsProcessors
128-bit memory bus
500 Mhz core, 700 Mhz GDDR3 (1000 Mhz Effective) Memory
Not to be confused with the slow DDR2 Version of the 7300 GT, the GDDR3 equipped 7300 GTs are pretty darn quick, at least keeping up with the 7600 GS. Another great sub-$100 choice that can make a cheap gaming rig a reality.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$140:
Geforce 7600 GT
Codename: G73, 90 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 5 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 8 RasterOpsProcessors
128-bit memory bus
560 Mhz core, 700 Mhz DDR (1400 Mhz Effective) Memory
The 7600 GT is an amazing card in this price range, sporting new SM 3.0 technology and very high clockspeeds to deliver excellent performance. It's weakest feature is it's 128-bit memory bus, but it's high memory speeds offset that disadvantage and make it competitive with 256-bit cards like the X800 XT/X850 XT.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$200:
Radeon X1900 GT
Codename: R580, 90-nanometer technology
36 Pixel shaders, 8 Vertex shaders, 12 Texture units, 12 Raster operations processors
256-bit external memory bus (512-bit internal ring bus)
Version 1: 575 MHz core, 600 MHz DDR (1200 MHz effective) Memory
Version 2: 512 MHz core, 660 MHz DDR (1320 MHz effective) Memory
The X1900 GT is based on the X1900 XT core, only crippled with some pixel shaders disabled and with a lower clockspeed. There are now two versions: the original 575 MHz core/600 MHz memory version, and the new 512 MHz core/6600 MHz memory version. Both perform similarly.
The card’s main competition is the 7900 GS, which it soundly beats in almost every benchmark. The worst thing I can say about the X1900 GT is that it’s X1900 XT 256mb cousin performs much better for not much more money.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$250:
Radeon X1900 XT 256mb
Codename: R580, 90 nanometer technology
48 PixelShaders, 8 VertexShaders, 16 TextureUnits, 16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit external memory bus (512-bit internal ring bus)
625 Mhz core, 725 Mhz DDR (1450 Mhz effective) Memory
The 256mb X1900 XT is a re-released X1900 XT with less memory and a new price that really entrenches it as the best $200 to $300 card you can buy today. Priced as low as $240 at the time this is written, there's nothing that can touch it, including the new Geforce 7950 GT.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$340:TIE
Geforce 7900 GTX
Codename: G71, 90 nanometer technology
24 PixelShaders, 8 VertexShaders, 24 TextureUnits, 16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
650 Mhz core, 800 Mhz DDR (1600 Mhz Effective) Memory
The Geforce 7900 GTX is Nvidia's counter to the X1900 XTX. Both of these heavyweights have their strengths and show superiority in different games and benchmarks, but neither will dissapoint. The 7900 GTX will have the advantage in texturing speed and the X1900 XTX will have the advantage in shader speed.
Radeon X1900 XTX
Codename: R580, 90 nanometer technology
48 PixelShaders, 8 VertexShaders, 16 TextureUnits, 16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit external memory bus (512-bit internal ring bus)
650 Mhz core, 775 Mhz DDR (1550 Mhz effective) Memory
One of the fastest gaming cards on the planet today, the Radeon X1900 XTX boasts slightly higher clockspeeds than it's XT brother. The Radeon differentiates itself from it's 7900 GTX competitor slightly with the ability to use OpenEXR High-Dynamic-Range lighting (HDR) and Antialiassing at the same time. The worst thing we can say aboiut it is that it's probably not worth the $100 premium over the excellent X1900 XT 256mb card.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR ~$500:
Geforce 7950 Gx2
Codename: G71, 90 nanometer technology
2x24 PixelShaders, 2x8 VertexShaders, 2x24 TextureUnits, 2x16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
500 Mhz core, 600 Mhz DDR (1200 Mhz Effective) Memory
The money-is-no-object price segment will offer diminishing returns for the large amount of money spent. But if you have the money and need to play at the highest resolutions available with high levels of AA - SLI/Crossfire setups are the way to go.
Probably the most reasonably priced and easy to use multi-GPU solution is the Geforce 7950 Gx2, which is actually a single card with two 7900 GPUs built in, and performs faster than any other single card available at ultra-high resolutions.
Keep in mind though, if you’re playing at 1280x1024 resolution with 4xAA, you would be wasting money on the GX2, as cheaper single cards like the X1900 XTX and 7900 GTX can outperform it at those settings. But if you play at 1600x1200 with 6xAA, the 7950 GX2 can’t be beat by any7 single card out there.
BEST GAMING VIDEOCARDS FOR THE MONEY:
AGP INTERFACE
last edited September 27, 2006
BEST AGP CARD FOR UNDER $100:TIE
Geforce 6600
Codename: NV43, 100 nanometer technology
8 pipeline
128-bit memory bus
300 Mhz core, 275 Mhz DDR (550 Mhz effective) Memory
The 8-pipeline 6600 architecture has proven itself in the Geforce 6600 GT. Deprived of the GT's higher memory speeds, this is still probably the most powerful AGP/PCI-e card for under $100 online, and can be overclocked to good effect. Be wary of the 6600LE, which has 200Mhz DDR (400Mhz effective) memory that cripples the card.
Radeon X700
Codename: RV410, 100 nanometer technology
8 pipelines
128-bit memory bus
400 MHz core, 300 MHz DDR (600 MHz effective) Memory
The X700 might not have the newest technology, but it probably has the best frame rates of any new sub-$100 AGP card. With a higher clock speed than the 6600, it’s a bit faster at most things, but it doesn’t really dominate it at anything.
BEST AGP CARD FOR ~$130: TIE
Geforce 7600 GS
Codename: G73, 90 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 5 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 8 RasterOpsProcessors
128-bit memory bus
400 Mhz core, 400 Mhz DDR (800 Mhz Effective) Memory
With identical features compared to it's faster 7600 GT brethren, the 7600 GS lacks only the core and memory clockspeeds - however, the GT's clockspeeds are so much higher that the GS pales in comparison. Nevertheless, the 7600 GS is a great AGP card as it trumps the X1600 and 6600 GT for just a little more money, and is a good overclocker's choice due to the underclocked 7600 core - although it's unlikely it's memory will ever clock anywhere near the 700 Mhz (1400 Mhz DDR) of the 7600 GT. It's only real competition for the money is the X800 GTO, which is a bit cheaper and probably a bit more powerful, but doesn't offer newer SM 3.0 technology or the ability to peerform OpenEXR HDR.
Radeon X1650 PRO
Codename: R530, 80 and 90 nanometer technology
12 Pixel Shaders, 5 Vertex Shaders, 4 Texture Units, 4 Raster Operations Processors
128-bit memory bus (256-bit ring bus)
600 MHz core, 700 MHz DDR (1400 MHz effective) Memory
The new X1650 PRO is a re-dressed X1600 XT with slightly higher clockspeeds. The very high memory speed for this class, and efficient shaders help the X1650 PRO compare well to with the 12-pipeline 7600 GS, beating it by a small margin in most benchmarks.
Radeon X800 GTO
Codename: R420, 130 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 6 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 12 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
400 Mhz core, 350 Mhz DDR(700 Mhz Effective) Memory
The X800GTO will beat the X1650 PRO and 7600 GS more often than not. It's probably the most powerful stock card in the sub-0$150 AGP category. Some people will complain about their lack of SM 3.0 capability, but the GTO will outpower the competition anyway. This is an AGP'ers good 'last stand' before going to a PCI Express system.
BEST AGP CARD FOR ~$175:
Geforce 7600 GT
Codename: G73, 90 nanometer technology
12 PixelShaders, 5 VertexShaders, 12 TextureUnits, 8 RasterOpsProcessors
128-bit memory bus
560 Mhz core, 700 Mhz DDR (1400 Mhz Effective) Memory
The 7600 GT is an amazing card in this price range, sporting new SM 3.0 technology and very high clockspeeds to deliver excellent performance. It's weakest feature is it's 128-bit memory bus, but it's high memory speeds offset that disadvantage and make it competitive with 256-bit cards like the X800 XT/X850 XT. The 7600 GT is the AGP user's savior, a decently priced card that can actually perform well for the money.
BEST AGP CARD FOR +$200:
NONE
And while it's safe to say that the best AGP card available for over $200 is the 7800 GS, it it very difficult to recommend at over $240 because at stock clockspeeds it performs similarly to the 7600 GT AGP, which costs much less.
With this in mind, if you have money to spend on an AGP card, you are much better off getting a PCI-express video card as well as a PCI-express motherboard for a few dollars more.
There are Intel Socket 478 and AMD Socket 740/939 PCI-express motherboards out there for those who wish to upgrade their current platform but keep their CPU and memory.
The only real contemporary dead-end as far as upgrading motherboards is the AMD Socket A cpu, which has no PCI-express motherboard available... but even then it's worth a hard look at upgrading to a PCI-express system.
Honorable Mention:
Gainward Geforce 7800 GS+ silent 512
Codename: G71, 90 nanometer technology
24 PixelShaders, 8 VertexShaders, 24 TextureUnits, 16 RasterOpsProcessors
256-bit memory bus
450 Mhz core, 625 Mhz DDR (1250 Mhz Effective) Memory
Gainward has the distinction of making the fastest AGP card on the planet. Their '7800 GS' is actually a '7900 GT', with 24 instead of 16 pipelines, 512 MB of RAM, and the best AGP framerates money can buy.
While it's still hard to recommend an AGP card this expensive with 7900 GT's so cheap in the PCIe arena, if you absolutely HAVE to stay with your AGP system for another year or two, and your budget is unlimited, this is the card to get - although it is very difficult to source in North America.
... thanks once again!!
