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Very low end PCI-E card rankings

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Firstly, all cards are PCI-E and all prices are in NZD.
Could anyone give me a rough idea of what order these should be ranked in in terms of performance please? The prices are really just there for completeness. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I'm really unsure of the differences in performance between generations of cards, btw.

GeForce 8400 GS $42.41
GeForce 8600 GT 512MB $50.00
GeForce 8500 GT $70.75
GeForce 9400 GT 512MB $79.75
GeForce 8600 GT 256MB $103.84
GeForce 9500 GT 512MB $111.38
GeForce 9600 GSO 384MB $155.00
GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB $156.37
GeForce 9600 GT, 512MB $157.49
GeForce 8600 GTS 256MB $167.63
Geforce 8800 GS, 384MB $179.89
Geforce 8800 GT, 256MB $191.03
GeForce 9600 GSO 768MB $201.38

ATI Radeon HD 2400 $52.76
ATI Radeon HD 3450 256MB $56.16
ATI Radeon HD 2400 XT $58.65
ATI Radeon HD 2600 Pro $81.28
ATI Radeon HD 3650 512MB $110.76
ATI Radeon HD 4350 $111.38
ATI Radeon HD 3470 256MB $115.16
ATI Radeon HD 4650 512MB $125.11
ATI Radeon HD 3650 256MB $135.00
ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT $136.80
ATI Radeon HD 4670 512MB $156.31
ATI Radeon HD 3850 512MB $171.27
ATI Radeon HD 3850 256MB $187.59
ATI Radeon HD 4670 1GB $203.63

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This site uses a fair spread of cards in its reviews, http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews [...] _GB/9.html
If you search through the review pages you should be able to build up a good picture.

Mactronix

Reply to mactronix

Best two on that list is the 9600gt and 4670. The 8800gt would be better than both but its severely limited by the 256mb ram

Reply to blackwidow_rsa

What is your budget? What games do you play? What resolution do you play at?

Rather then re-ordering all the cards, I'll point some things out. First, the 9500GT is nothing more then an 8600GT. Same card, different name. As such, don't bother buying the 9500GT for $112, get the 8600GT for $50. (why is the 512Mb card more then the 256MB card?) Same deal with the 9600GSO and the 8800GS. The 384MB GSO is the same card as the 8800GS, so don't bother buying the more expensive 8800GS. Also, don't bother buying the 512MB 9600GSO. It comes crippled with DDR2 memory.

Switching to AMD's cards, I would avoid any of the 2xxx cards if you want to game. I would also avoid all 256MB cards. The 2600XT and the 3650 are (mostly) the same card as well. There are some differences, but they provide the same frame rates.

If your max budget is <$100, then look at the 8600GT for $50. Cheap price, ok budget card, just make sure it has the clocks and specs its supposed to have. If your budget is $150 max, then look to the 3650. Actually, if the 8600GT is $50, then you might want to stick with that. If my memory serves, the 8600GT and the 3650 are mostly equals. What isn't equal is the price for you.

If you can go as high as $200, Then I would get either the 9600GSO for $155, the 4670 for $157, or the 3850 for $172. Only get the 3850 if your going to overclock heavily, as at stock settings its not worth the extra $20. The 9600GSO is the 4670s equal, so get whichever has a nicer bundle or whichever company you prefer.

Edit: Oops, I didn't see that card on the list. If your budget is higher then $150, then get the 9600GT for $158. Its the best performing card that you listed. As a side note, isn't the 768MB 9600GSO "special"? I think that card is un-lockable to something else.

Message edited by 4745454b on 11-10-2008 at 10:30:58 PM

------------------------------ The voice of REASON
Do NOT feed the TROLLS!
Always a DEMON!
Reply to 4745454b

@mactronix: Cheers, I'll check that out.
@Blackwidow_rsa: Thanks.
@4745454b: Thanks a heap for all the info, it's really really helpful. Pretty much everything I was looking for. Also, there's only one Nvidia other card I can think of with 768MB of memory, so are you referring to that model of the 9600GSO being a locked 8800GTX? I wasn't quite sure what you meant by

Quote :

(why is the 512Mb card more then the 256MB card?)

Did you mean why is the 512Mb 8600GT cheaper than the 256Mb? The reason is because N.Z. prices are very, very messed up. It's just the way it is. Thanks so much for your help, especially for the advice on possible budget ranges.
Cheers, egel.

Reply to egel

Thats exactly what I meant. The 256MB 8600GT should be cheaper then the 512MB 8600GT. I guess if NZ imported more 512MB cards they would be cheaper due to supply/demand, but its odd to see the more memory cards cheaper.

As for the GSO, again, I'm not sure. I remember reading something about some GSOs that were moddable to something else. I also remember reading that these GSOs weren't available in the state, so I didn't commit it to memory. Do some digging on it, you might get a nice card with that one.

------------------------------ The voice of REASON
Do NOT feed the TROLLS!
Always a DEMON!
Reply to 4745454b

Keep in mind, the 256MB 8600GT may be GDDR3 and the 512MB GDDR2. That would make the 256MB better and more expensive. Neither are very good though compared to the HD4670, 9600GT and 9600GSO 768MB. At those listed prices, I like the 9600GT.

Reply to pauldh

Ahhhh, good point.

------------------------------ The voice of REASON
Do NOT feed the TROLLS!
Always a DEMON!
Reply to 4745454b

Hmm yeah, I'll check that out. Wouldn't want to end up with DDR2.
Also it looks like some 9600GSOs are softmoddable to 8800GTS's or some such, it depends a bit on the brand and the memory size you got but I will certainly investigate this.

EDIT: Apparently, the only proven instance with the 9600GSO's is with a Galaxy 9600GSO 384 MB OC'ed edition. It seems they were sloppy and left all 8 memory chips on the boards, just using the BIOS to restrict the bandwidth and available memory, so those specific cards are unlockable to 8800GTS 512 MBs (192->256 is the same ratio as 384->512). It's possible in theory to do this to an 9600GSO 768MB (to a 880GTS 1GB) or any other 384MB if you found a card that likewise had the extra memory chips still in place. Changing the BIOS without those extra chips obviously doesn't give you the performance increase. I may be able to find that Galaxy card in N.Z. since that model is mostly found in Asia apparently, but then again I may not be able to, and if it's too hard to find the price may be higher... Some Palit (768MB versions) and Leadtek cards(384MB versions) may (i.e. rumours) have the extra memory chips, but I'd have to be real careful when buying to make sure.

Also, it looks like that 8600GT has DDR3 not DDR2, so there you go... I guess someone just imported too many 512MB or something.

Thanks for all your help guys.

Message edited by egel on 11-13-2008 at 10:48:35 PM

Reply to egel

So it unlocks to an 8800GTS (g92)? That still gives it a good performance bump. If you don't want to risk it, then I still say the $50 8600GT is your best best, unless you have the extra monies for the 9600GT. There are good AMD/ATI cards in your list, but not at the prices you listed.

------------------------------ The voice of REASON
Do NOT feed the TROLLS!
Always a DEMON!
Reply to 4745454b

Yes, it unlocks to an 8800GTS G92. I'll risk it if I can actually find the right card (the OC'ed Galaxy) . I've been looking but it's proving elusive. Cheers for your advice.

Reply to egel

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