Nvidia 8600GT vs ATI 2600 vs 3650

[moe2freaky]

Hi guys. First time I post so please don't flame me.

I am building a cheap computer and just wondering which model I should pick out of these three:

MSI NX8600GT PCI-E 256MB DDR3 OC
or
SAPPHIRE HD2600XT3 256M
or
HIS Radeon HD 3650 - 512MB DDR3, 128-bit, 2x DVI, HDTV - PCI-Ex16 v2.0
(790MHz, 1.78GHz) - IceQ Turbo Edition

Thanks.

 

[gomerpile]

Forget anything MSI makes Radeon well I'm not an ati user so My advice is stay away from MSI
Welcome to toms remember to post once and a while in the other it will be fun
MSI=moreshitincluded

 

[moe2freaky]

LOL I'll be defiantly staying away from MSI if that's the case I guess the HIS 3650 is the way to go.

 

[4745454b]

All three cards perform about the same. The 2600XT and the 3650 should perform about the same, and a tad faster then the 8600GT without AA. (with AA enabled, the 8600GT is a bit faster.) Seeing as all three cards are so close, choose a different metric other then performance. Buy the cheapest one, buy the one that has the better cooler, etc. Sapphire makes good cards, but HiS cards tend to have better coolers, so you might want to look at that one. (along with the fact that it has twice as much memory, if its nearly the same price, thats the one to get.)

 

[jay2tall]

I believe the 2600XT and HD3650 perform in the same ballpark. I believe the 2600XT 512MB will outperform the HD3650 though. Just watch that you get at least DDR3 non of that DDR2 crap. I've seen reviews that compare the 2600XT 256MB vs the HD3650 512MB and they swap punches, not sure why I've never seen the 2600XT 512 in those comparisons.

What is your price range?
What are you intending to do with your card?
We will be able to help you better. Don't just give us 3 choices and say PICK ONE!

 

[moe2freaky]

Thanks for the help guys. Next time around I'll be more specific with questions. I live in australia they have the HIS Radeon HD 3650 - 512MB DDR3, 128-bit, 2x DVI, HDTV - PCI-Ex16 v2.0 (790MHz, 1.78GHz) - IceQ Turbo Edition for 117 dollars. Hopefully it can play Halo 2.

 

[jay2tall]

What is your budget? the 8800GS is about $100 after rebate in the US. IT cost about $40 more then a 2600XT or 3650 would. It would be WELL worth it to upgrade to this card for games.

 

[moe2freaky]

My budget for the card is 150 AUS and unfortunately we don't have rebates here in OZ.

 

[jay2tall]

OZ? is that the website you shop in? or do you mean Dorthy and Toto type OZ? haha, Anyways link me to where you shop at.

 

[pauldh]

Forget anything MSI makes Radeon well I'm not an ati user so My advice is stay away from MSI
Welcome to toms remember to post once and a while in the other it will be fun
MSI=moreshitincluded

Stay away from MSI is bad advice IMO. Based on what grounds do you pass on this advice?

I've used at least 40-50 MSI products (mobos and Video cards) going back for many years since the GF2 Ti's even. And own probably 10-12 myself right now. I have only had two go bad total, and both of those were Refurbished video cards (one was bad as purchased). That put's them better than most brands for my personal experience.

MSI has had some of the best deals in HD2600 series cards, and some rock solid stable mobos through the years too. I don't doubt occasional bad products as happens with Asus, Abit, and everyone else.

I wouldn't hesitate to buy or recommend MSI products. If the price is right, go for it. Most people making such claims are basing it on one bad experience.

 

[badge]

Passed by this thread and having just installed an Nvidia 8600GT last week clicked in here. I echo all PaulDH said, and very well at that. No reason to avoid MSI products. I also own many and have had satisfactory results overall with one isolated dissappointment. Par.

 

[Aragorn]

I have and MSI card and love it. I have had bad experiences with both HIS cards I have purchased though. Read the reviews for the particular card you want to buy (go to NewEgg if you have to). When a company puts out a bad card you can normally figure it out there. (I made the mistake of trying my luck against bad reviews before because the price was right and in each occasion I got what I paid for.)

 

[SoiledBottom]

This cheap build is it AMD?

If so then you could try the 3650 with one of them AMD 780g motherboards for quasi crossfire
or
you could also try the 8600gt with a Nvidia geforce 8000 series motherboard for Quasi SLI


I Think

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

I'm also fine with MSI, they've been solid for what I've bought from them and recommended to others. Only issue ever was a bad cap issue and that happened more to ASUS boards as well as MSI.

Personally I'd say the HIS HD3650 is the way to go for both additional feratures and equivalent or better performance (when are these cards really going to be kicking anything higher than 2XAA anyways?).
The core clocks of the two are similar, but the HD3650 has faster memory (but about 150Mhz) which is one area these things are starved, also the DX10.1 benefit is a nice bonus.

Personally out of the 3 mfr I prefer HIS, and out of the 3 cards I'd prefer the HD3650.

 

[pauldh]

LOL, oops, yeah there was more to the topic than defending MSI.

I too would like the His iceQ of those three, which I'd actually buy of those depends on the price though.

 

[4745454b]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think "quasi crossfire" works with the 3650. I thought the fastest card you could use was the 3450. Same is probably true with SLI, but I know/remember even less.