Mid-Range Graphics
Getting back to cards that are worth discussing, we come to the mid-range market. Several of these cards will match or even exceed the performance of more expensive "high-end" cards, offering great performance for their current pricing.
Performance-wise, the 7600 GT falls right in between the GeForce 6800 GS and the 7800 GT. This card was launched to replace the already very successful 6600 GT. Of all the mid-range cards listed here, this is one of the best options. For about $169, the EVGA GeForce 7600GT KO 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N554] can be sitting in your rig. You will find that the 6800 GS already performs better than the ATI X1600 XT, and since the 7600 GT is priced about the same and performs even faster, we would highly suggest you go with this offering from NVIDIA. If you're thinking of building a budget gaming system, you can get an idea of the performance offered by the 7600 GT in our recent Budget Buyers Guide article.
If you're looking to save some money, you might be tempted to go with the 7600 GS instead. Clock speeds are significantly lower (400/800 vs. 560/1400), however, so the extra $50 is probably a reasonable investment for gaming. Still, the lower clock speeds do come with one advantage: noise levels. You can pick up the fanless EVGA GeForce 7600GS 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N549] for $100 after a $15 mail-in rebate.
Since the 7600 GT cards are able to perform slightly better than the 6800 GS at a lower cost, the smart answer is to go with the 7600 GT. However, since the 7600 GT doesn't come in AGP format, the 6800 GS is a possibility for those without PCI-E motherboards. Unfortunately, the single 6800 GS card that is showing today is the PNY GeForce 6800GS Overclocked 256MB [RTPE: VCG6800SXPB]. This is a PCI-E card and it's on sale for an even $200; all of the AGP offerings are out of stock, and it's doubtful we'll see more. You could go with a stock 6800 card for $236 or the 7800 GS for an additional $45, but really you should start to look at upgrading to a PCI-E system if you're going to spend over $200 on a graphics card.
For AGP users, the 6600 GT is still an excellent choice considering its price and performance. You can't really get a card that performs better without also upping your budget quite a bit. However, for PCI-E users, we would suggest a 7600 GT. Sure, you can pick up the Leadtek GeForce 6600GT 128MB [RTPE: PX6600GT TDH] for $110, but for an additional $60 for the 7600 GT we mentioned above, you get about 50 to 75% more performance.
While it costs a bit more than the 7600 GT, the X1800 GTO is a great competitor. Depending on the game you're running, the two cards trade place for being the fastest mid-range card. We are only picking up two X1800 GT cards at present, but both are relatively easy to obtain. The Sapphire Radeon X1800 GTO 256MB [RTPE: 100155] is the one to go with, coming in at about $210 shipped.
The X800GT/GTO cards are also decently priced. The PowerColor Radeon X800GTO 256MB VIVO [RTPE: X800GTO256MBDDR3] is near its lowest price to date, priced at about $106 shipped. Not a bad offering at all for a reasonable performing mid-range card. With a bit of overclocking, you can even reach X800 XT performance levels. This is certainly a practical substitute to the 6600 GT/7600 GT, generally beating the former while slightly trailing the latter.
Rather than going with an X1600 or the X700, we feel you'll get more for your money if you spend the few extra dollars and select the 7600 GT as your choice. Gigabyte has an interesting fanless X1600 option that some of you might want to consider. However, with performance generally lower than the 6600 GT, the X1600 offerings really aren't very attractive. We won't even bother to mention any X700 cards - they would make better budget offerings, but they continue to carry their mid-range prices.
Let's move on to the last and final low-end solutions segment.
Getting back to cards that are worth discussing, we come to the mid-range market. Several of these cards will match or even exceed the performance of more expensive "high-end" cards, offering great performance for their current pricing.
Performance-wise, the 7600 GT falls right in between the GeForce 6800 GS and the 7800 GT. This card was launched to replace the already very successful 6600 GT. Of all the mid-range cards listed here, this is one of the best options. For about $169, the EVGA GeForce 7600GT KO 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N554] can be sitting in your rig. You will find that the 6800 GS already performs better than the ATI X1600 XT, and since the 7600 GT is priced about the same and performs even faster, we would highly suggest you go with this offering from NVIDIA. If you're thinking of building a budget gaming system, you can get an idea of the performance offered by the 7600 GT in our recent Budget Buyers Guide article.
If you're looking to save some money, you might be tempted to go with the 7600 GS instead. Clock speeds are significantly lower (400/800 vs. 560/1400), however, so the extra $50 is probably a reasonable investment for gaming. Still, the lower clock speeds do come with one advantage: noise levels. You can pick up the fanless EVGA GeForce 7600GS 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N549] for $100 after a $15 mail-in rebate.
Since the 7600 GT cards are able to perform slightly better than the 6800 GS at a lower cost, the smart answer is to go with the 7600 GT. However, since the 7600 GT doesn't come in AGP format, the 6800 GS is a possibility for those without PCI-E motherboards. Unfortunately, the single 6800 GS card that is showing today is the PNY GeForce 6800GS Overclocked 256MB [RTPE: VCG6800SXPB]. This is a PCI-E card and it's on sale for an even $200; all of the AGP offerings are out of stock, and it's doubtful we'll see more. You could go with a stock 6800 card for $236 or the 7800 GS for an additional $45, but really you should start to look at upgrading to a PCI-E system if you're going to spend over $200 on a graphics card.
For AGP users, the 6600 GT is still an excellent choice considering its price and performance. You can't really get a card that performs better without also upping your budget quite a bit. However, for PCI-E users, we would suggest a 7600 GT. Sure, you can pick up the Leadtek GeForce 6600GT 128MB [RTPE: PX6600GT TDH] for $110, but for an additional $60 for the 7600 GT we mentioned above, you get about 50 to 75% more performance.
While it costs a bit more than the 7600 GT, the X1800 GTO is a great competitor. Depending on the game you're running, the two cards trade place for being the fastest mid-range card. We are only picking up two X1800 GT cards at present, but both are relatively easy to obtain. The Sapphire Radeon X1800 GTO 256MB [RTPE: 100155] is the one to go with, coming in at about $210 shipped.
The X800GT/GTO cards are also decently priced. The PowerColor Radeon X800GTO 256MB VIVO [RTPE: X800GTO256MBDDR3] is near its lowest price to date, priced at about $106 shipped. Not a bad offering at all for a reasonable performing mid-range card. With a bit of overclocking, you can even reach X800 XT performance levels. This is certainly a practical substitute to the 6600 GT/7600 GT, generally beating the former while slightly trailing the latter.
Rather than going with an X1600 or the X700, we feel you'll get more for your money if you spend the few extra dollars and select the 7600 GT as your choice. Gigabyte has an interesting fanless X1600 option that some of you might want to consider. However, with performance generally lower than the 6600 GT, the X1600 offerings really aren't very attractive. We won't even bother to mention any X700 cards - they would make better budget offerings, but they continue to carry their mid-range prices.
Let's move on to the last and final low-end solutions segment.
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JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
7600GT is over twice as fast as X1600 XT, and even more than that compared to X1600 Pro. X700 Pro would be about the level of X1300 Pro, minus features. Performance of X1600 XT compared to 6600GT showed the 6600 GT to be faster http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2552&p...">in almost all games, so yes, the X1600 really aren't that attractive. You may not "see a bit of difference", but are you just going by impressions or are you actually running benchmarks? Honestly, most games you won't see a difference unless you drop below 60 FPS, which might require higher resolutions or other games for testing.slashbinslashbash - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
Right now the X1900 AIW is at $275 at most places (NewEgg, ZZF, etc.). Over the past weekend NewEgg even had it at $225. It's the cheapest way to get into the X1900 with a full 16/48 pipeline config. About as cheap as the X1900GT with only 12 pipelines. Plus of course the AIW also has the VIVO and TV tuner capabilities and comes with a software bundle of Adobe Photoshop Elements and Adobe Premiere Elements (worth $100). For me, it's a no-brainer.JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
Sorry for the omission. I've gone back and added the AIW card to page 3. It's definitely a reasonable choice, as it has performance roughly equaling the X1900 GT plus you get VIVO support. If you're after faster graphics performance, however, there are better solutions.Spacecomber - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
I was wondering if more might have been said about this card, the X1600 Pro for the AGP slot. It strikes me that this card is at the top of its particular class, budget AGP game cards.These cards often sell for just a little over $100, and this seems to give them a good bang for your buck value compared to their competition, which I take to be the AGP versions of the 6600 GT and X800GTO.
I've not seen a good head to head comparison of these cards, but looking at their specifications, I would think that they should perform fairly similarly.
Anyone else have any thoughts on what is a good buy in the $100-$150 range for the AGP slot? I know that there are some good prices on things like refurbished models that are no longer available new, as well as your close out bargains; however, I'm focusing on those cards that are readily available.
JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
The 6600 GT easily outperforms X1600 Pro AGP. The only reason to get X1600 over 6600 is if you want support for AVIVO.Spacecomber - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
That's interesting to know. You wouldn't necessarily have guessed that looking at their specifications.X1600Pro:
500 core, 800 memory, 128-bit, 256MB GDDR2, 12 pipelines
6600GT:
500 core, 1000 memory, 128-bit 128MB GDDR3, 8 pipelines
Any guesses as to what is holding the X1600Pro back? Is it the slightly slower clocked GDDR2 memory, compared to the faster clocked GDDR3 memory that you find on the 6600GT?
JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
Possibly. I figured it would win, because on the high end X1800/X1900 the ATI cards seem less dependent on memory bandwidth. However, http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2552&p...">in testing, the X1600 just doesn't perform as expected - even the X1600 XT can't outperform the 6600GT in most cases! Possibly some features were cut that ATI isn't telling.Exodus220 - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
I absolutely love reading your overview of the video cards and other computer hardware. However, I always run into the same frustration of trying to locate the cheapest product in your list. Sure you guys will give your recommendation but it would be so much easier if you could just sort them by lowest price to the highest price. I don't know if it has been a consideration but it sure would help my reading experience and process in searching for what you have listed as the best option.Spacecomber - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
I had the same thought when reading this guide. It is especially confusing since you often have different models mixed in with each other, such as 7600GS and 7600GT lumped together. Sorting by price should indirectly sort the models, as well, and those models by a particular manufacturer that seem to not be with their group (after sorting by price) will stand out as either being a good deal or being over priced.rrcn - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
I have gone ahead and sorted all the cards I can. Unfortunately, I cannot sort the 7900GT and GTX cards due to the way we must enter the search code that displays the charts. Entering in the code to display the GTX cards is fine and dandy, but when I search for the GT cards, it also displays the GTX cards.