X1650 Pro VS. HD 2600 Pro

[TheJacl]

Hello everyone!

I am new to these forums...I don't know why it's taken me so long to actually register but here I am!

I'm going to open with an opinion question to everyone. Here is my scenario in a nutshell: I currently have an ATI Radeon X1650 Pro 512MB PCI-E. I am fairly happy with it's performance.....when it's not dead. It is now dead. Option #1 is to send it to ATI and have it replaced (with the same one I am assuming). Option #2 is to exchange it (not through ATI) for a Radeon HD 2600 Pro 512MB PCI-E.

My question: is the HD 2600 Pro better than the X1650 Pro? I looked at the retail box for it and it doesn't look very geared for gaming...

All feedback is welcome! Thanks!

TheJacl

 

[pauldh]

The HD2600 pro is a better performer than the X1650 pro. How much better depends on a few things. Both these cards come with higher clocked GDDR3 memory and slower GDDR2 memory. A GDDR2 HD2600 pro would still beat a GDDR3 X1650 pro, but a GDDR3 HD2600 pro would crush a GDDR2 HD1650 pro.

These charts include a GDDR3 HD2600 pro, GDDR2 HD2600 pro, and a GDDR3 X1650 pro. They do not have a slower GDDR2 X1650 pro (which would be more like the X1300XT they test).
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/digest3d/index0709.html

So look and see what games matter to you and at the resolution/settings you hope to play, and you can compare for yourself.


As one example, Prey at 1280x1024 no fsaa:
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/digest3d/0907/itogi-video-sc2-wxp-1280-pcie.html

HD2600 pro GDDR3 = 56 fps
HD2600 pro GDDR2 = 44 fps
X1650 pro GDDR3 = 34 fps
X1300XT GDDR2 = 26 fps

Link:
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/digest3d/0907/itogi-video-pr-wxp-1280-pcie.html


Anyway, that's the long answer. the short answer is yes if they are exchanging it for the same price, go with the HD2600 pro for sure.

 

[TheJacl]

That's a very informative reply thank you.