The Best Gaming Video Cards for the Money: January 2007

[pschmid]

Complex video card specifications and reviews are great if you have the time to do the necessary research.

 

[sprite]

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[prozac26]

No surprises on the list.

I think the $200 X1900XT should have been mentioned somewhere.

 

[Crapola]

No surprises on the list.

I think the $200 X1900XT should have been mentioned somewhere.

I agree, but they will probably disappear soon....

8O

 

[cleeve]

Yeah, me too... but I handed the article in before they were available.

Hopefully they'll still be around next month.

 

[powerbaselx]

Yeah, me too... but I handed the article in before they were available.

Hopefully they'll still be around next month.

Definitely the card of the moment...

There are 2 annoying things about X1900XT: the power consumption (which is higher than its NVidia counterpart 7950GT) and the fact that it occupies 2 slots! I suppose one reason is to pull of the air outside the case (or at least is what i understood from one ASUS EAX photo i saw).

Two questions:
1) the X1900XT with 512MB costs $200 ?

2) the X1950XT is the new version pretty much like the NVidia 7950GT to the 7900GT?

Thanks.

 

[cleeve]

1. The 256mb version costs $200. Even so, it's faster than, say, a 512mb 7900 GT or 7950 GT. The memory isn't all that important over 256mb, but the memory speed is, and the X1900 has pretty quick memory.

2. The new X1950 XT will almost always beat a 7900 GT or 7950 GT, it's memory speed is much faster than those cards.

Basically the X1950 XT is as fast as the X1900 XTX and can stand toe-to-toe with a 512mb 7900 GTX in many cases.

 

[Parge]

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same here

 

[SEALBoy]

Is it just me, or does one of the X1900GT versions you mentioned have insanely high memory speeds?

 

[prozac26]

Yeah, me too... but I handed the article in before they were available.

Hopefully they'll still be around next month.

Yea, that's a great deal. Came up like couple of days ago.

 

[a123456]

The $200 X1900XT is a great deal, but it doesn't seem like the type of thing that is going to be restocked that often once this batch sells since the card is more than a year old now.

By the way, the X1950XT is at $220 after MIR, at least in the short term.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102067

 

[infornography42]

Where was the link to the hierarchal chart? I missed it somehow.

Also mentioning which cards support SLI or Crossfire would help, since that allows you to consider picking up an appropriate motherboard and having future expandability for cheap.

Otherwise, good article.

 

[cleeve]

They screwed up and forgot to put up the chart, it's coming.

Crossfire and SLI rarely make for a good upgrade path, because by the time you need a second card to increase your system's speed, a next gen card is available that will perform better than the two older cards put together, for cheaper than the second card (when you consider that you can sell your old card). POlus the added heat and power requirements, and driver twitchyness...

 

[jordanwise]

wahey! glad to see that the x1950 got such a good review, as i'm currently waiting for one to come in the post!

 

[NamelessMC]

I liked the read, but two things:

1) The x1900xt is becoming harder and harder to find and one of the things I didn't like about the previous "best for the money" articles was that it had the X850XT in it, the same way the X1900XT is mentioned by you guys, yet I couldn't find the card anywhere. I think it's a good thing they left the X1900XT out, because if it's sold out for the reader, they're only left with one choice in $200 budget as far as the article says when they could have two.

The X1900XT is great, don't get me wrong, but it's a terrible recommendation when every site you check, you'd be lucky to find even one version in stock.

2) Although I'm a proud owner of a 7600GT, the only reason I got it was because the 65$ rebate made it a 90$ card with tax/shipping included. If I had to spend 120-140 before taxes on a card, I wouldn't have even touched the 7600GT. The 1900GT, 1950Pro, X1800GTO and even the X850XT smoked the 7600GT in almost every benchmark. Now I know the 1900GT is about 20$ more and the 1950 Pro is about 30-40$ more, but the X1800GTO is around the same price, if not cheaper with rebates and it clocks better and in my opinion, performs better for the right benchmarks. (AA/AF enabled)

I don't think the 7600GT had a place there, but it might've been just to keep the Nvidia fanboys in check.

 

[cleeve]

If I had to spend 120-140 before taxes on a card, I wouldn't have even touched the 7600GT. The 1900GT, 1950Pro, X1800GTO and even the X850XT smoked the 7600GT in almost every benchmark.

I don't think the 7600GT had a place there, but it might've been just to keep the Nvidia fanboys in check.

I write the list, and not a single card is there 'to keep fanboys in check'.

The 7600 GT , in my experience, is every bit as good as the X850 XT and X1800 GTO at stock clocks.

At least, those are the results I got in the review I did for Toms...

 

[r0x0r]

Palit seems to be the cheapest at the moment, no matter what card you are looking for. I hear that they also overclock very well. So you could probably get a card that performs comparably with one in the higher price bracket for a lot less.

Anyone else know anything about Palit? Good reputation?

 

[ARM]

The x1950pro pci-e is £130, £20 pounds less than you put it as.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=481911

The 7900GS can be had for £104

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=499273

And the 512Mb version is £130

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=480125

Where do you get your prices from?

 

[cleeve]

Lol, I'm human and I make mistakes for sure.

But I don't do the UK pricing, just the US pricing. The UK guys modify it for that side of the pond.

 

[Datman]

What about Aussie pricing?

 

[Blacken]

8O Thanks Dat. Because of your post I can't remember what in the h.ll I was gonna say. Now I'm just trying to reverb the saliva comming from my mouth...

 

[nhobo]

I'm starting to doubt some of these recommendations. In the $180 category the 7900 GS ties with the Radeon X1950 Pro. But in the $260 slot, the 7950 GT isn't even mentioned, despite similar performance and stats that have about the same amount of variance as the $180 comaprison cards; in some the ATI is better, in some the GeForce. The ATI is not a clear cut winner, especially considering the difference in power requirements.

After the whole free Acer Ferrari VISTA deal the independence of these reviews and recommadtions is highly suspect.

 

[marraco]

This article need an XY chart with performance vs price, like the GPU charts.

It allow to compare with local prices, and to see if, by example, a 30% of performance extra value the extra price we pay for it.

 

[weasel65]

Hi Folks, I am a newbie here. Looking over the systems that you guys have listed as what you own makes me realize my system is a REAL dog!

Anyway, in this article the author states;


"Here are two resources to help you judge if a card is a good buy. The first is the video card hierarchy chart, which groups video cards with similar overall performance into "tiers". The top tier contains the highest performing cards available, and performance decreases as you go down the tiers from there."


on page 7. I am wanting to view these articles, particulary the hierarchy chart but I cannot find them. Are they in fact listed?

I am currently running a 9600 PRO but want to upgrade since this card just chugs playing Company of Heroes.

 

[WitsEnd]

Hi Folks, I am a newbie here. Looking over the systems that you guys have listed as what you own makes me realize my system is a REAL dog!

Anyway, in this article the author states;


"Here are two resources to help you judge if a card is a good buy. The first is the video card hierarchy chart, which groups video cards with similar overall performance into "tiers". The top tier contains the highest performing cards available, and performance decreases as you go down the tiers from there."


on page 7. I am wanting to view these articles, particulary the hierarchy chart but I cannot find them. Are they in fact listed?

I am currently running a 9600 PRO but want to upgrade since this card just chugs playing Company of Heroes.

One of the earlier posts in the thread states that the chart isn't up yet.