High-End Graphics
Besides the fact that most of these cards are really overpriced, there really isn't much else to say about this bracket. For the best price/performance, we recommend you take a look at the mid-range or ultra high-end cards. For the amount you would be paying here, you will usually be better off going with an ultra high-end card. Still, let's take a look at what we have available, as there's at least one high-end GPU worth recommending.
Here we have the GeForce 7800GS cards that come only in AGP form. There is a large selection of these cards available, but the best price we can bring you as of today is the EVGA GeForce 7800GS EGS 256MB [RTPE: 256-A8-N505-AX] for $277 shipped. As you skim through the rest of the chart, you will notice that there are many cards available for under the $300 price tag. Competing with the X850 XTPE, the 7800GS does a decent job at filling out the top of the NVIDIA AGP performance spectrum, but we'd really like to see something like the 7900 GTX in AGP form. The 7800 GS is slightly underpowered compared to the X850 XTPE AGP, but the 7800GS is priced about $170 less. Honestly, we have to say that you're better off upgrading to a PCI-E motherboard and graphics card for an extra $100, but then again, it's far easier to change graphics cards than to swap out an entire motherboard.
We mentioned that there was at least one high-end GPU model worth considering, and these are the cards. The X1900 GT comes with 12 pipelines and core/memory clock speeds of 575/1200, so the card certainly packs a punch. Meanwhile the AIW version comes with 16 pipelines and 500/960 core/memory clocks, making is roughly equal to the X1900 GT (slower memory, slightly faster core). Also interesting to note is that two X1900 GT cards can be run in CrossFire mode using the PCI Express bus to transmit data between the cards. This does result in a performance penalty relative to the dongle cable of the higher end CrossFire configurations, but the lower prices are certainly a plus. Barring mail-in rebates, the lowest priced X1900 GT card comes from Sapphire [RTPE: 100189] at $278. Connect3D [RTPE: 3058] on the other hand can be had for $260 after rebate.
There's only one X1900 AIW currently showing up, from ATI [RTPE: 100-714800] ($285). As mentioned, overall performance is going to be roughly similar to the X1900 GT, but you get the added benefit of TV recording support. That's at least $50 worth of added value, though the one problem with all in one GPU/TV tuner solutions is that you lose the TV tuner if you ever upgrade your graphics card. On the other hand, you also get support for all of those features in a single PCI-E slot, which can be extremely useful if you're using a SFF system.
Of course, we listed the 7900 GT on the previous page, simply because it was easier to group the GTX and GT cards together. Since 7900 GT cards are priced about the same as these ATI offerings, we could easily classify it as a high-end card as well. With additional pixel pipelines (24) and faster memory, you'll usually get better performance overall from the 7900 GT cards.
ATI's X850 line is somewhat interesting, as it performs better than the X800 line and is currently priced lower. The AGP cards are still pretty expensive, but the Sapphire Radeon X850XT 256MB [RTPE: 100106] is priced at $140 after a $20 mail-in rebate. This card actually has more of a mid-range price, but with high-end gaming performance. This is the only other "high-end" card that we would seriously recommend right now, as everything else is priced too high for the performance offered. Also note that CrossFire X850 cards are relatively expensive, and R400 CrossFire really wasn't a very elegant solution. We recommend you stick with single X850 cards if you plan on purchasing one.
Like the majority of cards on this page, these X800XT cards are also overpriced. For the price of these X800XT cards, you can easily purchase a 7900 GT or even something faster. These cards are on their way out, and we're just seeing the last few leftovers being sold.
There really isn't something we can add to what we've already said before. Head on to the ultra high-end cards if you're looking to spend anywhere near the amount these 6800 GTs and Ultras are going for. Alternatively, check out the next page for our mid-range batch of cards. Several of them will at least match performance of the 6800 GT and do it at a much lower price.
Besides the fact that most of these cards are really overpriced, there really isn't much else to say about this bracket. For the best price/performance, we recommend you take a look at the mid-range or ultra high-end cards. For the amount you would be paying here, you will usually be better off going with an ultra high-end card. Still, let's take a look at what we have available, as there's at least one high-end GPU worth recommending.
Here we have the GeForce 7800GS cards that come only in AGP form. There is a large selection of these cards available, but the best price we can bring you as of today is the EVGA GeForce 7800GS EGS 256MB [RTPE: 256-A8-N505-AX] for $277 shipped. As you skim through the rest of the chart, you will notice that there are many cards available for under the $300 price tag. Competing with the X850 XTPE, the 7800GS does a decent job at filling out the top of the NVIDIA AGP performance spectrum, but we'd really like to see something like the 7900 GTX in AGP form. The 7800 GS is slightly underpowered compared to the X850 XTPE AGP, but the 7800GS is priced about $170 less. Honestly, we have to say that you're better off upgrading to a PCI-E motherboard and graphics card for an extra $100, but then again, it's far easier to change graphics cards than to swap out an entire motherboard.
We mentioned that there was at least one high-end GPU model worth considering, and these are the cards. The X1900 GT comes with 12 pipelines and core/memory clock speeds of 575/1200, so the card certainly packs a punch. Meanwhile the AIW version comes with 16 pipelines and 500/960 core/memory clocks, making is roughly equal to the X1900 GT (slower memory, slightly faster core). Also interesting to note is that two X1900 GT cards can be run in CrossFire mode using the PCI Express bus to transmit data between the cards. This does result in a performance penalty relative to the dongle cable of the higher end CrossFire configurations, but the lower prices are certainly a plus. Barring mail-in rebates, the lowest priced X1900 GT card comes from Sapphire [RTPE: 100189] at $278. Connect3D [RTPE: 3058] on the other hand can be had for $260 after rebate.
There's only one X1900 AIW currently showing up, from ATI [RTPE: 100-714800] ($285). As mentioned, overall performance is going to be roughly similar to the X1900 GT, but you get the added benefit of TV recording support. That's at least $50 worth of added value, though the one problem with all in one GPU/TV tuner solutions is that you lose the TV tuner if you ever upgrade your graphics card. On the other hand, you also get support for all of those features in a single PCI-E slot, which can be extremely useful if you're using a SFF system.
Of course, we listed the 7900 GT on the previous page, simply because it was easier to group the GTX and GT cards together. Since 7900 GT cards are priced about the same as these ATI offerings, we could easily classify it as a high-end card as well. With additional pixel pipelines (24) and faster memory, you'll usually get better performance overall from the 7900 GT cards.
ATI's X850 line is somewhat interesting, as it performs better than the X800 line and is currently priced lower. The AGP cards are still pretty expensive, but the Sapphire Radeon X850XT 256MB [RTPE: 100106] is priced at $140 after a $20 mail-in rebate. This card actually has more of a mid-range price, but with high-end gaming performance. This is the only other "high-end" card that we would seriously recommend right now, as everything else is priced too high for the performance offered. Also note that CrossFire X850 cards are relatively expensive, and R400 CrossFire really wasn't a very elegant solution. We recommend you stick with single X850 cards if you plan on purchasing one.
Like the majority of cards on this page, these X800XT cards are also overpriced. For the price of these X800XT cards, you can easily purchase a 7900 GT or even something faster. These cards are on their way out, and we're just seeing the last few leftovers being sold.
There really isn't something we can add to what we've already said before. Head on to the ultra high-end cards if you're looking to spend anywhere near the amount these 6800 GTs and Ultras are going for. Alternatively, check out the next page for our mid-range batch of cards. Several of them will at least match performance of the 6800 GT and do it at a much lower price.
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mobutu - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
Is it me or I didn't see any 7300GT's on your price guide???mobutu - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
That's a great low-end card (even middle-range w/oc), I think it can be had for as low as 80 bucks ...JarredWalton - Wednesday, July 12, 2006 - link
I broadened the search - it was originally "7300gs" and so now it's all geforce 7300 cards. I'd still go for the 7600gs or 7600gt if you're concerned with performance. An overclocked 7300 GT might match a 7600 GS that isn't overclocked, but it's only about $20 cheaper (not even that if you http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">get a card with a rebate)... and once you OC the 7600 GS it becomes faster again.If you really want to be able to play most games at higher detail, though, just save the money and get a 7600 GT. There's no way a card with 800- MHz RAM can compete with a card that has 1400+ MHz RAM, not to mention 12 vs. 8 pixel pipelines and GPU core speeds.
Sus - Saturday, May 28, 2022 - link
Im thik Nvidia GeForce rtx 3080 faster and better than this.