Low-End Graphics

For the same price as the X700 we suggested on the previous page, the cheapest X1300 variant we are seeing is the Sapphire Radeon X1300 256MB [RTPE: 100141]. We suggest going with the X700 rather than this X1300 since it gives us better performance for the same price.



Lastly, we have here are the Radeon X300's and the GeForce 6200 cards. Any of these choices would be decent enough for very basic graphics. You'll find that these are generally better than onboard graphics, so if you're looking for something just a hair better at a very low cost, these might be for you.




This concludes this week's video card price guide. We thank you for reading and hope to see you back next week as we take a look at storage alternatives. Until next time....

Mid-Range Graphics
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  • jcsamp - Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - link

    I don't know if it is a price/performance ratio or what, but these video card price guides continually leave out the low-mid range cards. For instance, I would love to know what the AT community thinks of the Geforce 6600 DDR2 and its price. The guides always skip from 6600GT/X700/X1600 straight down to the 6200/X300/X1300 lines. There are a lot of good cards in that missing region.
  • Chriz - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link

    Didn't even see it shown in the price guide. Maybe cause it's so new?
  • rrcn - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link

    Yes, I have already contacted the RTPE administrator and we are working on getting the AGP version of the 6800GS in there.

    Thanks.
  • Chriz - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link

    Good news. I also still see the ATI radeon X850XT and PE versions in AGP are still being sold. I saw the PE on Newegg, and the XT is the hot deal everyone's been talking about, for 200 at Microcenter after 50 dollar MIR
  • yacoub - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link

    quote:

    The best price we are seeing this week on a 7800GTX is <b>$460.00</b>.


    quote:

    This time around, the X1800XT cards generally offer better performance than the 7800GTX and at a lower price. The cheapest 512MB X1800XT we are seeing is from Sapphire [RTPE: 100134], on sale for <b>$487</b>.



    So for $27 you gain an additional 256MB AND it performs better than the more expensive 512MB 7800GTX anyway? Hmmmm.
  • JarredWalton - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link

    I've tweaked this slightly to convey the intended meaning. X1800 XT cards for under $500 are faster than 7800 GTX 256MB cards overall, and while slower than the 7800 GTX 512MB cards, they're at least available. From what we heard at CES, it doesn't sound like 512MB GTX cards are going to be any easier to acquire in the near future, outside of some OEM systems.
  • yacoub - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link

    quote:

    By the way, purchasing a single high-end card and hoping to purchase another one for an SLI setup down along the line when they become cheaper is a bad idea. We suggest either going with a single higher performing card or two cards for SLI right off the bat.


    Okay, care to tell us WHY?
  • rrcn - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link

    Sorry about that, it should read, "By the way, purchasing a single high-end card and hoping to purchase another one for an SLI setup down along the line is a bad idea. We suggest either going with a single higher performing card or two cards for SLI right off the bat."

    The problem here is you will be stuck with a single card and the option to upgrade to SLI at a premium won't be worth it.

    Like the case where probably a decent number of people out there that bought the 6800 Ultra for a lot of money, with the intent of purchasing a second one when the price dropped below $300. Take a look at the 6800U prices now...no where near $300.

    Of course there will be the occasional situation like the 6800GT where the prices did drop to a reasonable level, but it isn't something we would count on happening all the time.
  • Spacecomber - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link

    I'm curious about the 6800XT in terms of its relative price and performance. It is selling for a bit more than the 6600GT and a bit less than the 6800 (vanilla), but I'm not sure if it atually is any faster than the 6600GT. I think that this was meant to be an OEM only card, but it is showing up at place like NewEgg, now.

    Space
  • Ecmaster76 - Monday, January 9, 2006 - link

    I got my x1600xt for $160 a couple of weeks ago. Not bad considering the 6600gt at the same price is slower and less feature rich.

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