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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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.