The All-New VGA Charts Are Here!
Last Update: August 31, 2006
We launched the comprehensive VGA Charts update last Monday - now we added dual graphics configuration for ATI and Nvidia platforms. These include ATI Radeon X1900 XTX, X1600 XT, X1600 Pro, X1300 Pro, X1300 in Crossfire mode and Nvidia GeForce 7950GX2, 7900GTX, 7900GT, 7800GTX, 7800GT, 7600GT, 7600GS, 7300GS, 6800 Ultra, 6800GT and 6600GT. We also added seven AGP graphics cards.
We've had comprehensive VGA charts since 2002, but the latest update is more extensive than anything we had before. Today we launch all single-graphics PCI Express graphics solutions from ATI and Nvidia. The only card that has not been included is ATI's brand-new Radeon X1950XTX, since it will not be available before mid-September. Dual graphics setups will be added to the interactive charts in two days, and we will also add AGP graphics solutions shortly.
We could not get Nvidia's GeForce 6800GS and 6800XT cards any more, so these are not included in the VGA Charts. Clearly, the focus is the GeForce 7 series nowadays. If you still intend to go for one of these cards, they rank somewhere below the 6800 GT.
One of the most important buzzwords for gaming enthusiast is HDR, High Dynamic Range. Games such as Half Life 2, Spellforce 2 or Need For Speed "Most Wanted" make use of these lighting effects in a way that only requires Pixel Shader 2.0 with ATI graphics cards. Nvidia can even add anti-aliasing at the same time if you have a GeForce 6600 model or up. However, HDR is done best using Pixel Shader 3 support, which is required by Oblivion and the 3DMark06. For this comprehensive and best-looking HDR support you need either ATI's Radeon X1000 series or an Nvidia 7 series card - but Nvidia cannot do anti-aliasing at the same time while Pixel Shader 3 HDR is used.
