Mid-Range Graphics
Here we are back at some cards worth discussing. Several of these cards will match the performance of more expensive "high-end" cards, offering fairly stellar performance for their current pricing.
Performance-wise, the 7600 GT falls in between the 6800 GS and the 7800 GT. This card replaces the very successful 6600 GT, and of all the other cards listed here, this is one of the few we can recommend with confidence. (You will see why later on.) For an even $153 after a $30 mail-in rebate, you can have the XFX GeForce 7600GT Extreme 256MB [RTPE: PV-T73G-UDE3]. You will find that the 6800 GS already does better than the X1600 XT, and since the 7600 GT is priced to about the same, we would highly suggest you go with this offering from NVIDIA.
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 $120, with a $15 MIR.
Since the 7600 GT cards are able to perform slightly better than the 6800 GS at a lower cost, the answer is obviously to go with the 7600 GT. However, since the 7600 GT doesn't come in AGP format, the 6800 GS is a viable option for those without PCI-E boards. The single AGP card that is showing today is the eVGA GeForce 6800GS CO 256MB [RTPE: 256-A8-N397], on sale for about $230. However, do keep in mind that you can go with a 7800 GS for an additional $35. We would suggest the 7800 GS, but if you're looking to save a few bucks, this 6800 GS is a reasonable alternative. It really is up to you.
For AGP users, the 6600 GT still appears to be an adequate choice considering its price and performance, as 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 Gigabyte GeForce 6600GT 128MB [RTPE: GV-NX66T128D-SP] for $120, but for an additional ~$35 for the 7600 GT we mentioned above, you get 50 to 75% more performance; we think it's well worth the cost.
While it costs a bit more than the 7600 GT, the X1800 GTO competes very well. Depending on the game you're running, the two cards trade place for being the fastest midrange 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] gets the clear recommendation, coming in at an even $200 shipped (or a few dollars more for the retail version). You might be wondering if there's any specific game that clearly benefits from having an X1800 GTO instead of a 7600 GT. You may have heard of a certain game that goes by the name Oblivion, and in most areas we would say the X1800 GTO posts more consistent/faster results. Of course, if you plan on running multiple video cards, X1800 GTO is a relatively poor choice.
The X800GT/GTO cards are also decently priced. The PowerColor Radeon X800GTO 256MB VIVO [RTPE: X800GTO256MBDDR3] is near its lowest price to date, going for about $115 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 viable alternative to the 6600/7600 GT.
Just as we mentioned with the 6600 GT cards, we feel you'll get more for your money if you spend the few extra dollars and select the 7600 GT as your choice rather than the X1600. There are still a couple options you might consider, though. The AGP Sapphire Radeon X1600 Pro 256MB [RTPE: 100148] is a reasonable budget/midrange AGP offering, going for about $115. Gigabyte also makes a couple silent (fanless) X1600 cards a few of you might be interested in. However, with performance generally lower than the 6600 GT, the X1600 offerings really aren't very attractive for gaming purposes. If you prefer ATI and AVIVO over NVIDIA and PureVideo, though, X1600 is still a good economical choice.
We won't even mention any X700 cards - they would make a better budget offering, but they currently continue to carry their midrange price. Considering the X1600 prices, X700 is basically done, and we're just seeing old inventory floating around.
Let's check out the last and final segment covering the low-end graphic card solutions.
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Egglick - Sunday, May 28, 2006 - link
I'm kinda confused as to why there are so many old cards in this guide. The entire range of last-gen PCIe cards is pretty much obsolete because of the performance of the 7600GT for only $150. Aside from the X850XT for $159, it's a joke to even list most of those cards up there.I also think that the X1600Pro should have been touted quite a bit more. For $100, you get the entire AVIVO feature set, in either PCIe or AGP flavor. This makes them extremely useful for HTPCs, and negates just about the entire low end range.
Also, no discussion whatsoever on the $239 X1800XT 256MB?? That's a pretty big descrepency.
tayhimself - Sunday, May 28, 2006 - link
The old cards (barring a few AGP models maybe) should be removed from the guide. I would put them all in a not reccomended list page. But it may be more important for you to get advertising $ by providing a direct buy link which would explain the old shitty cards still in the guide. Oh well...JarredWalton - Sunday, May 28, 2006 - link
Every time we put out a price guide, we get complaints if we don't list just about every conceivable option. Catch-22. I don't know where the cheap X1800XT is, but it doesn't show up in our pricing engine right now, which is why it doesn't get mentioned. Anyway, if you can find some better deals than we have listed here, that's great; these articles are a snapshot in time, and we don't track every vendor on the planet for a variety of reasons.Egglick - Sunday, May 28, 2006 - link
Scratch that.....you can get the X1600Pro for http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">$85 after $15MIR (PCIe model).bloc - Sunday, May 28, 2006 - link
Your price engine is rather nice, but...to make it the ultimate price guide is to factor in fps. Even though you don't have fps for most games and cards, it would help to show the ones you do have.You made some arguments about 6600 GT, x1600 XT, 7600 GT...well if you look at the price vs fps...I believe all three are on a similar line.
Meaning they're equal in value...and you're getting the appropriate performance for the price you pay.
JarredWalton - Sunday, May 28, 2006 - link
X1600 XT is about as fast as 6600 GT (not even quite that!), so not worth it in my opinion since it costs a bit more. 7600 GT runs about 75% faster (provided you're not CPU limited), and it only costs may 40% more. Best bang-for-the-buck out right now, I think.bloc - Sunday, May 28, 2006 - link
Using anand's oblivion benchmarks http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2746...">http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2746...And the top graph because it stresses the cards the most:
256 mb cards - taking lowest price from the chart
6600 GT - $120
x1600 xt - $140
7600 gt - $153
oblivion gate - bloom
6600 GT - 18.05 - 0.15 fps/$
x1600 xt - 26 - 0.186
7600 gt - 30.3 - 0.198
oblivion gate - hdr
6600 GT - 14.3 - 0.119 fps/$
x1600 xt - 19.1 - 0.136 fps/$
7600 gt - 25.7 - 0.168
The higher the fps/$ the better the bang for the buck
for reference
7900 GT - gate hdr - 33.5 $280 has a fps/$ of 0.119
1800 xt - gate hdr - 42.4 $290 has a fps/$ of 0.147
Conclusion: the 7600 GT has the best bang for the buck, followed by the x1600 xt then the 6600 GT. (for this game of course)
See how fps/$ or $/fps is a better indicator?
bloc - Sunday, May 28, 2006 - link
btw the 7600 GT price is $153 ($35 MIR)..which is a lot lower than the average of $170. With the adjusted price, the x1600 XT and 7600 GT fps/$ ratio is about even. But my point was to highlight how price charts is an alright solution...while a fps/$ is better.the Chase - Saturday, May 27, 2006 - link
The MSI X1800XT(512MB) is only $269.99 after $30 MIR at Newegg.the Chase - Saturday, May 27, 2006 - link
Price engine missed the $50 MIR on the ATI X1800XT at Newegg that brings the price down to $289.99. Not a bad deal for the 512MB 1800XT.