Remember I am on a budget!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125089

8800 gt with 256 ram

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102703

2600xt with 512 ram


Why is the 2600xt cost more than the 8800gt? I thought 8800gt bested the 2600xt.

The 8800GT no questions asked. It dominates the 128-bit pathetix 2600XT in every benchmark!

Seconded ^ the 8800GT wil destroy the 2xxx series ATI cards (even most of the 3xxx series) the 8800 price drop was due to the 4xxx series starting at $200, nVidia even dropped the price (slightly) on the 200 series cards for the same reason.

The 8800 gt with 256 ram is kneecapped at higher resolutions or with any AA enabled, i'd advise against it.. I wouldn't recommend the 2600XT either though.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814127362

9600 GT with a free copy of the witcher for 129$

This card also has a dual-slot cooler which makes it excellent for overclocking - which is a feature the 9600 GT's tend to be known for.


You can get a single slot cooler 9600 GT on newegg from foxconn for 119$ as well

Spend a little more money and you'll be a lot happier.

yeah 8800gt. but alot of new games simply want 512mb of memory. surely you can squeeze 50 more bucks for this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814500006

Nice thing is this card actually has an audio pass through for hdmi. great if later on you wanna downgrade you system to a HTPC.

8800gt 256mb

ovaltine's suggestions are good. If you have a smaller monitor, the 8800GT is the way to go, though. The HD 2xxx series aren't terribly good.

2600XT

Going little off tipic I have 2600XT OC I have temps 35C-45C, I have it overclocked with the catalyst controler. woundering how to get it overclocked some more? is 35-45C good?

Between those two cards, I'd take the 8800GT, if you can handle running in low resolutions. If you could afford it, go for the 9600GT, or better yet, the 512MB 8800GT.

As always people started making their own suggestions. The guy did not ask WHICH VGA to buy, he asked WHICH OF THE TWO? pfff...
Just stay in the topic for once!

Funny the only one that didn't answer the orginal OPs question is you darkguest.

a 8800GS 384 for $79.99 after rebate. Can either get the EVGA or the XFX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150294
or if only the 2 selected the 8800GT 256

I would definitely get the 8800 GT (256 MB) over the 2600 XT. Performance wise, it is not even close.

Although...(you are going to like this darkguest)...I would strongly consider...

The 9600 GSO (384 MB) for $15 less than the 8800 GT (256 MB)...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121251

Or the 9600 GT (512 MB) for $10 more than the 8800 GT (256 MB)...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814186037

Why? While all three of the cards I have suggested perform in the same ball park, if you plan on using AA in your games, the 9600 cards might be a better option...

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/GeFo [...] 841-6.html

Or listen to dirtmountain and get the 8800 GS (384 MB).

Note: 8800 GS + different name = 9600 GSO