Best PCIe Card For Under $100
| Radeon X1650 GT | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV560 |
| Process: | 80nm |
| Pixel Shaders: | 24 |
| Vertex Shaders: | 6 |
| Texture Units: | 8 |
| ROPs: | 8 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 400 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 400 (800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 9.0c / SM 3.0 |
Found as low as $75 online, the X1650 GT is a low-cost gaming darling, with 24 pixel shaders and fast-for-the-price GDDR3 memory. At stock speeds it should be a little faster than the 7800 GS and X1650 PRO, and overclocked it should be on par with the 7600 GT and X1650 XT. This overclockable card is a great base for a budget gaming machine.
The worst thing about this card is that it's priced close to competitors. The 7600 GT can be had for as low as $90 now. Then again, if you're going to spend the extra $15 for a 7600 GT, you should consider spending a further $10 for the 2600 XT. We have to make a recommendation, so the X1650 GT gets the props for its low price and gaming potential.
Best PCIe Card For ~$100: Tie
| Radeon HD 2600 XT | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV630 |
| Process: | 65nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 128 |
| Texture Units: | 8 |
| ROPs: | 4 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 800 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 700 (1400 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The performance of the 2600 XT is very close to that of the GeForce 8600 GT, but the 2600 XT has a performance edge when antialiasing is disabled. Although the GeForce seems to have the edge when antialiasing is turned on, it's not much of a real-world advantage, since neither card can effectively use 4x AA beyond 1024x768.
| GeForce 8600 GT | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | G84 |
| Process: | 80nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 32 |
| Texture Units: | 16 |
| ROPs: | 8 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 540 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 700 (1400 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 8600 GT was a terrible buy at $150, but now, as it approaches the $100 price point, it's much more attractive. The 8600 GT will slightly beat the old 7600 GT and X1650 XT in raw performance in the $100 price category. In addition to speed, the 8600 GT has the added bonus of being DirectX 10 compatible, as well as being a good overclocker.
NOTE: Beware of slower DDR2 versions of the 8600 GT! The GDDR3 versions are the recommended cards - DDR2 equipped 8600 GTs will be notably slower. The cheapest GDDR3 versions of the card we could find started at $105 online.
