Stuck Between 2 Video Cards

2600xt is slightly faster. Although both are slow.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews [...] 70/23.html

It would be wise to up the budget to $100 or so if you play anything other than solitare.

That chart is the average of all games at all resolutions/aa settings. Flip through the pages in that review for individual games.

^+1

You can get 3650's for that price, which will smoke the 2600. I wouldn't get a 2000 series card - they're real finicky and don't do well with...anything, really.

roadrunner has a pretty legitimate point though. Of course it all depends on the rest of your system, which ultimately will affect the performance of any other video card you install. Understanding that you're on a budget (most of us are) I can see why you're set at $50. However, I think roadrunner's point is that even with the cards you're looking at, you won't find very great performance for any modern games.

Another person suggested a better power supply, which may not be a bad idea (it'll allow you to run more modern video cards). Of course, the problem there is that means spending $50 on a PSU, and then $100 or so on a better video card.

I'm curious as to what the rest of your system components look like. It may or may not even be worth spending $50 on a 'newer' video card.

If you want to play games, I suggest to increase your budget a little, and don't go below this card:

POWERCOLOR AX4670 512MD3-P Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814131122

If you're in a tight spot at the moment and don't mind trying your luck with your PSU, then this might fit the bill:

Recertified: EVGA 384-P3-N966-RX GeForce 9600 GSO 384MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130423

The 8600GTS was never a good card to start with, if you look into older threads the 8600 series were considered junk by many of us, because they failed to deliver decent budget performance.

It wasn't a good move to buy an 8600/HD 2600 card back then and it sure isn't a good move to buy it now. If money is THAT tight, then get the recertified 9600GSO I showed you, otherwise just hold your purchase until you can get at least $20 (which shouldn't really take more than a few days at most...)

8600gts is the best bet but for 70 you can get a 9500GT WITH DDR3

Definitely look at the $100 price point. Lots of bang for the buck value there.