Howdy folks, In the market for a graphics card for the first time in a couple of years... My trustworthy 6800GT has finally biten the bullet and is artefacting all over the place So as listed in the title I'm gonna go for a mid range card, it doesn't have to be one of the 3 listed but they seem to be decent cards; Sapphire Radeon X1950GT 512MB GDDR3 XFX GeForce 7900GS 525M 256MB GDDR3 MSI GeForce 8600GT 256MB OC GDDR3 PowerColor Radeon HD 2600 XT 512MB GDDR3 so which to go for? I'm posting here because I'm hoping to get recommended one of the nvidia cards but I'm open to switching to ATI ta ps. I've just seen this is in the wrong section, can a mod move this to general hardware please
The x1950gt is great value (overclock it too *Pro* levels and enjoy), the 7900GS is also very good value but it is XFX. The 2600 is ok but yet to be proven in DX10 and this also applies for the 8600GT. I would recomend the x1950gt but thats upto if you want DX10 support, but that said buying the GT now would mean you could hold most games until say the 9xxx series and what ever ATI have their sleve.
It is a little bit complicated to consider the mid-range. For me, I consider the hierarchy/position in the stairs of performance, then the GeForce 7900 GS/Radeon X1950 Pro are the models of mid-range. They deliever the bang for your bucks like 6600 GT/X800 GTO/7600 GT did. Unless your budget is really tight, get yourself the X1950 Pro rather than the GT. Look at how many of us own the Pro/GT and there is a little hint. The GeForce 8600 series and HD 2600 XT are miserably bad gamer cards. They suck in DX9 games so you can expect nothing from them in DX10.
I agree with these guys. However, I'd go with a GeForce 7900GTX instead of the X1950 (unless your budget is too tight.) These babies really do pack a punch, and if you read the review on the main site you'll see that they can be overclocked by quite a lot. Certainly one of the best DX9 cards around. If you can't afford these, I recommend the 7950GT. Although the stock cooling isn't really enough to keep it cool (for me anyway) it's still an awesome card.
what kinda budget are you on? from the four cards that you gave up i would pick either the 7900 or 1950. both are better then the 8600 however they do not have DX10. missing DX10 isn't such a big deal after all. first of all you need vista for this. if you are gonna stick with XP for a while go for DX9 cards. the HD 2600 rly isnt any good for gaming imo (well offcourse it can play games but even your old 6800GT is better for that) 8600GT is quite a bit better then the 2600 but again if you want to play all maxed and you love having high AA levels: buy a 7 or 1950 series.
go with this 8600GTS http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134023 Very high core and memory clocks at a very reasonable price, you could easily get two of them down the road.
I made this same desicion a few months ago and I got the 7900gs. This was when the 1950 was around $180-200. Now that the 1950 prices have dropped I would definately go with the x1950 pro out of those. It is much faster than the 8600 or 2600 and has IQ options over the 7900gs like HDR + AA, and there is less performance hit for AA.
well thanks for the replies! I'm on a budget around $170 I'm going to be sticking with XP so I don't think I need DX10 running at the moment. I should explain my setup a bit more here I think; Currently my computer has the vga output going to my computer monitor, and the other DVI output goes to the HDMI input on my 40" tv screen, so I've got dual screen running... I use the TV as my computer screen 95% of the time, so the graphics card will mainly be outputting in 1080i high def. On the4 nvidia drivers this is totally simple to setup, is it the same for ATI? We play some games on the tv screen so the card needs to be good at running at high resolutions but sofar I'm thinking the X1950 pro looks the best bet
Yeah ATI Drivers are ok setup (i too moved from nvidia to ati). The only thing you should look out for is the CCC, i personally cant stand it, i recomend ditching the CCC and use ATT instead
Hey man, Yeah I have a 6800gt and I'm looking to upgrade, it's only my opinion, but if I were you I would save a little for a DX10 card, because it is a wiser step ahead, rather then going from a DX9 card to a DX9 card.
Read it more carefully and you'll notice that he told us the 6800GT was dying. He needed a mid-range replacement now. Unfortunately, I am afraid he does not want to pay too much for a decent DX10 card. I mean the GF 8800.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814134023 $119, superclocked 8600GTS, It will suffice.
dude get this straight: °he's not running vista so no DX10 °so no DX10= go for a cheaper card that gets higer fps in DX9 games than a 8600 °by the time 8600GT's can be used for DX10, they will be too slow to do any high res gaming °he can't go sli in the future cause that would force him to also buy a new mobo
the 2600XT is proven to do well in DX10 the GDDR3 Version beating out even the 8600GTS in DX10 benchies and doing well in Newer DX9 Games that have something to do with DX10, such as Rainbow Six Vegas and Company Heroes, it does well in DX9, I see alot of slams on the 2600 series and even the Nvidia cards personally Im buying a 2600XT and will expect high expectations in DX10, just look at the DX10 Benchies it shows plain proof the 2600XT has potentional in DX10, the only thing that I see wrong with the series is its AA/AF Performance hit which can be fixed through future drivers.. and top that off with low Power need it is a great card.. If you want to be able to run new DX10 games I highly reccomend the 2600XT but if you want to run mostly on DX9 I reccomend the X1950GT, it all depends on your tastes..
dude, be realistic for a sec. all those midend cards wit 128-bit bus are a huge drag if you want to use AA or AF. it doesnt have anything to do with drivers
AA/AF are based off of Drivers, In games most 128-bit cards pull off the AA/AF Fine.. the 2600 Manages to take a bigger hit in comparable cards with the same Memory Type.. its all drivers.. trust me..
if you people dont believe me just look at the Reviews it shows the 2600 Doing Great in DX10 and taking a big Performance Hit when AA/AF Kicks on and the 128 Bit 8600GTS not taking as much of a Hit when AA/AF is on..
Lets head over there. I have started a poll to request a new mid-range review from Hilbert, the Guru3d's expert. If he does the test, we'll be free from arguing without a common conclusion. http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?p=2367764#post2367764
It doesn't matter to me although with the new drivers I wouldnt mind seeing a new test.. So I will vote..