Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart
What about this other card that’s not on the list? How do I know if it’s a good deal or not?
This will happen. In fact, it’s guaranteed to happen, because inventory levels and prices change quickly. So how do you know if that card you’ve got your eye on is a good buy in its price range?
Here are two resources to help you judge if a card is a good buy or not. The first is the graphics card hierarchy chart, which groups graphics cards with similar overall performance levels into tiers. The top tier contains the highest-performing cards available and performance decreases as you go down the tiers from there.
You can use this hierarchy to compare the pricing between two cards, to see which one is a better deal, and also to determine if an upgrade is worthwhile. I don’t recommend upgrading your graphics card unless the replacement card is at least three tiers higher. Otherwise, the upgrade is somewhat parallel and you may not notice a worthwhile difference in performance.
At the request of readers, I have added mobile graphics and integrated chipsets to the hierarchy chart. I want to make it clear that there is very little performance data available for these graphics solutions. While the discrete video cards in the chart are placed in tiers based on a lot of information, many of the mobile and integrated devices in the chart are guesstimates based on their specifications. At worst, I don’t think they’re more than one tier away from their actual performance, but this is something to keep in mind when considering mobile graphics chipsets.
| Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart | ||
|---|---|---|
| GeForce | Radeon | Intel |
| Discrete: HD 5970 | ||
| Discrete: GTX 295 | Discrete: HD 4870 X2, HD 5870 | |
| Discrete: GTX 280, GTX 285 | Discrete: HD 4850 X2, HD 5850 | |
| Discrete: 9800 GX2, GTX 260, GTX 275 | Discrete: HD 4870, HD 4890, HD 5770 | |
| Discrete: 8800 Ultra, 9800 GTX, 9800 GTX+, GTS 250 | Discrete: HD 3870 X2, HD 4850, HD 5750 | |
| Discrete: 8800 GTX, 8800 GTS 512 MB Go (mobile): 280M | Discrete: HD 4770 | |
| Discrete: 8800 GT 512 MB, 9800 GT Go (mobile): 260M (112) | Discrete: HD 4830, HD 5670 | |
| Discrete: 8800 GTS 640 MB, 9600 GT, GT 240 (GDDR5) | Discrete: HD 2900 XT, HD 3870 | |
| Discrete: 8800 GS, 9600 GSO, GT 240 (DDR3) Go (mobile): 260M (96) | Discrete: HD 3850 512 MB, HD 4670 Mobility: 3870 | |
| Discrete: 8800 GT 256 MB, 8800 GTS 320 MB, GT 220 Go (mobile): 8800M | Discrete: HD 2900 PRO, HD 3850 256 MB Mobility: 3850 | |
| Discrete: 7950 GX2 | Discrete: X1950 XTX, HD 4650 (DDR3) | |
| Discrete: 7800 GTX 512, 7900 GTO, 7900 GTX | Discrete: X1900 XT, X1950 XT, X1900 XTX | |
| Discrete: 7800 GTX, 7900 GT, 7950 GT | Discrete: X1800 XT, X1900 AIW, X1900 GT, X1950 PRO, HD 2900 GT | |
| Discrete: 7800 GT, 7900 GS, 8600 GTS, 9500 GT (GDDR3) Go (mobile): 7950 GTX | Discrete: X1800 XL, X1950 GT, HD 4650 (DDR2) Mobility X1800 XT | |
| Discrete: 6800 Ultra, 7600 GT, 7800 GS, 8600 GT (GDDR3), 9500 GT (DDR2) Go (mobile): 7800 GTX, 7900 GTX | Discrete: X800 XT (& PE), X850 XT (& PE), X1650 XT, X1800 GTO, HD 2600 XT, HD 3650 (DDR3), HD 3670, Mobility: X1900, 3670 | |
| Discrete: 6800 GT, 6800 GS (PCIe), 8600 GT (DDR2) Go (mobile): 7800, Go 7900 GS | Discrete: X800 XL, X800 GTO2/GTO16, HD 2600 PRO, HD 3650 (DDR2), Mobility: X800 XT, HD 2600 XT, 3650 | |
| Discrete: 6800 GS (AGP) Go (mobile): 6800 Ultra, 7600 GT, 8600M GT, 8700M GT | Discrete: X800 GTO 256 MB, X800 PRO, X850 PRO, X1650 GT Mobility: HD 2600 | |
| Discrete: 6800, 7300 GT GDDR3, 7600 GS, 8600M GS Go (mobile): 6800, 7700 | Discrete: X800, X800 GTO 128 MB, X1600 XT, X1650 PRO Mobility: X1800 | |
| Discrete: 6600 GT, 6800LE, 6800 XT, 7300 GT (DDR2), 8500 GT, 9400 GT Go (mobile): 7600 (128-bit) | Discrete: 9800 XT, X700 PRO, X800 GT, X800 SE, X1300 XT, X1600 PRO, HD 2400 XT, HD 4350, HD 4550 Mobility: X800, 3470 Integrated: HD 3300 | |
| Discrete: FX 5900, FX 5900 Ultra, FX 5950 Ultra, 6600 (128-bit) Go (mobile): 6800 (128-bit) Integrated: 9300, 9400 | Discrete: 9700, 9700 PRO, 9800, 9800 PRO, X700, X1300 PRO, X1550, HD 2400 PRO Mobility: X1450, X1600, X1700, 2400 XT, X2500, 3450 Integrated: HD 3200, HD 4200 | |
| Discrete: FX 5800 Ultra, FX 5900 XT Go (mobile): 6600, Go 7600 (64-bit) | Discrete: 9500 PRO, 9600 XT, 9800 PRO (128-bit), X600 XT, X1050 (128-bit) Mobility: 9800, X700, X1350, X1400, X2300, HD 2400 | |
| Discrete: 4 Ti 4600, 4 Ti 4800, FX 5700 Ultra, 6200, 8300, 8400 G, G 210, G 310 | Discrete: 9600 PRO, 9800 LE, X600 PRO, HD 2300 Mobility: 9700 (128-bit), X600, X1300 Integrated: Xpress 1250 | |
| Discrete: 4 Ti4200, 4 Ti4400, 4 Ti4800 SE, FX 5600 Ultra, FX 5700, 6600 (64-bit), 7300 GS, 8400M GS, 9300M G, 9300M GS | Discrete: 9500, 9550, 9600, X300, X1050 (64-bit) Mobility: 9600 | |
| Discrete: 3 Ti500, FX 5200 Ultra, FX 5600, FX 5700 LE, 6200 TC, 6600 LE, 7200 GS, 7300 LE Go (mobile): 5700, 8200M, 9200M GS, 9100 Integrated: 8200, 8300 | Discrete: 8500, 9100, 9000 PRO, 9600 LE, X300 SE, X1150 Mobility 9700 (64-bit) | GMA X4500 |
| Discrete: 3, 3 Ti200, FX 5200 (128-bit), FX 5500, Go (mobile): 5600, 6200, 6400, 7200, 7300, 7400 (64-bit) | Discrete: 9000, 9200, 9250 Mobility: 9600 (64-bit), X300 | |
| Discrete: FX 5200 (64 bit) Go (mobile): 7200, 7400 (32-bit) Integrated: 6100, 6150 | Discrete: 9200 SE Integrated: Xpress 200M, Xpress 1000, Xpress 1150 | GMA X3000, X3100, X3500 |
| Discrete: 2 GTS, 4 MX 440, 2 Ultra, 2 Ti, 2 Ti 200 | Discrete: 7500 | GMA 3000, 3100 |
| Discrete: 256, 2 MX 200, 4 MX 420, 2 MX 400 | Discrete: SDR, LE, DDR, 7000, 7200 | GMA 500, 900, 950 |
| Discrete: Nvidia TNT | Discrete: Rage 128 | Intel 740 |
Summary
There you have it folks; the best cards for the money this month. Now all that’s left to do is to find and purchase them.
Don’t worry too much about which brand you choose, because all of the cards out there are close to Nvidia’s and ATI’s reference designs. Just pay attention to price, warranty, and the manufacturer’s reputation for honoring the warranty if something goes wrong.
Also remember that the stores don’t follow this list. Things will change over the course of the month and you’ll probably have to adapt your buying strategy to deal with fluctuating prices. Good luck!
Related Stories :
- Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: April 08
- The Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: March 2008
- The Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: February 2008
- The Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: January 2008
- The Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: November 2007
- The Best Gaming Graphics Cards For The Money: October 2007
- Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: September 2007
- The Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money Series Overview
- Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: August 2007
- The Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money: July 2007
Amazing, a nVidia card actually made the list.
Whats the best IGP?
Radeons 3300 on the 790GX chipset.. cant see intels thg on the clarkdales though
hello
HD 4860
How come there is no Radeon 5xxx mobility on the chart? I already saw a laptop for sale with 5870 onboard...
Nice to get a rough pic of mobility types in the hierarchy list.
If the low end Radeons get unusable paper features mentioned as positives over and over again like eyefinity and dx 11 (too underpowered to use) why not mention Physx and Cuda cores for Nvidia cards.
you should point out if the 4650 your recommending is the DDR2 or DDR3 version
forgot the "none" for Best PCIe Card For ~$400:
Hmm, would be nice if you threw in some nVidias too, considering not all people enjoy ATI for their own personal reasons.
There's a 9600GT on Newegg for 69.99 at the moment.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814141108
It's amazing just how the fortunes of battle can turn, just two years ago ATI were the ones getting pounded when Nvidia launched the 8000 series and had ATI's number in just about every segment and now it's Nvidia who can't see to catch a break.
There's seemingly no abrupt changes since last month (except for the comeback of 4850). You guys should also consider updating the hierarchy charts to reflect the latest mobile GPUs in the market. (That should include the latest ones from ATI, Nvidia, and although it is hard to mention, Intel too)
@notty22
Sadly, the nVidia features you speak of aren't available in the lower end of their video card segment. While it is still available on the low end card of ATI.
If you lower resolution and visual settings, eyeinfinity and DX11 can be done in low end ATI cards, sadly the same cannot be said of PhsyX and/or CUDA.
Instead of having that hierarchy chart at the end, how about putting in a bit more effort and positioning every card on a plot chart according to its performance?
Good update and nice to see the 5850 earn a place in the lineup.
Unfortunately AMD seem to have botched their latest hotfix to Catalyst 10.1 drivers (or maybe their hardware). It supposedly solves the problem of the dreaded grey screen of death, which does rear its ugly head on rare occasions.
After installing it however, Dirt 2 became choppy and almost unplayable unless, even after the video settings were reduced.
I don't know about you but I'll choose the occasional grey screen with smooth framerates over such a drastic slash in performance any day!
Strange thing, it's been months now but I never seem to get tired of seeing Radeons dominating this list.
OMG! Check out the Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart at the end Intel's best GPU is the same as a Geforce 3 ti500 lol.
Eagerly waiting for Newer Nvidia cards!!
This article will be much more interesting to read then!!
ahh...ATI wins again....hope nVidia gets their act together tho, so i can XFire my 5770s without spending too much more