VGA Charts V: PCI Express Graphics Cards

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The Candidates

This time around, we tested 21 different PCI Express graphics cards and configurations. Unfortunately, some important cards were not available for the test, or didn't reach our lab in time. Thus, we are unable to present any results for NVIDIA's standard GeForce 6800 (with 12 pixel pipelines) as well as the ATi Radeon X800 Pro and X850 Pro. We will update our charts to include those results as soon as possible.

In the low-budget segment, you may also notice the absence of ATi's Radeon X300 SE (with a 64-bit memory interface) and NVIDIA's new GeForce 6300-TC cards with TurboCache. Although the latter card was available to us for testing, the driver supplied by NVIDIA supported only the GeForce 6200-TC cards, and no other models. Therefore, an apples-to-apples comparison without "driver hacks" is impossible at the moment.

This time around we are also including all currently possible SLI configurations. With SLI, two graphics cards of the same type divide the calculations required to render a 3D scene, working in parallel. While the obvious advantage is a tangible performance increase, it obviously comes at double the price of a conventional single-card solution. To be clear: SLI is expensive, and at the present time can only really deliver a noticeable performance improvement in very high resolutions or in games making extensive use of pixel shaders. In short, it is a configuration for the well-to-do enthusiast who can afford two graphics cards in a single system.

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An Overview of the Test Candidates

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Card Chip Memory DX Generation Chipclock Memoryclock Buswidth P-Pipes
GeForce 6800 Ultra NV45 256 MB DX 9.0c 400 1100 256-bit 16
GeForce 6800 GT NV45 256 MB DX 9.0c 350 1000 256-bit 16
GeForce 6600 GT NV43 128 MB DX 9.0c 500 1000 128-bit 8
GeForce 6600 NV43 128 MB DX 9.0c 300 550 128-bit 8
GeForce 6200 NV43 128 MB DX 9.0c 300 550 128-bit 4
GeForce PCX 5900 NV35 128 MB DX 9 375 700 256-bit 8
GeForce PCX 5750 NV36 128 MB DX 9 425 550 128-bit 4
Row 7 - Cell 0
Radeon X850 XT PE R480 256 MB DX 9.0b 540 1180 256-bit 16
Radeon X850 XT R480 256 MB DX 9.0b 520 1080 256-bit 16
Radeon X800 XT PE R423 256 MB DX 9.0b 520 1120 256-bit 16
Radeon X800 XT R423 256 MB DX 9.0b 500 1000 256-bit 16
Radeon X800 XL R430 256 MB DX 9.0b 400 1000 256-bit 16
Radeon X700 XT RV410 128 MB DX 9.0b 475 1050 128-bit 8
Radeon X700 Pro RV410 128 MB DX 9.0b 425 860 128-bit 8
Radeon X600 XT RV380 128 MB DX 9 500 740 128-bit 4
Radeon X600 Pro 256 RV380 256 MB DX 9 400 600 128-bit 4
Radeon X600 Pro 128 RV380 128 MB DX 9 400 600 128-bit 4
Radeon X300 RV370 128 MB DX 9.0b 325 400 128-bit 4