PCI-EXPRESS INTERFACE: $0 to $130
Best PCI-E Card For under $100:
| GeForce 8600 GTS | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | G84 |
| Process: | 80nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 32 |
| Texture Units: | 16 |
| ROPs: | 8 |
| Memory Bus: | 128-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 675 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 1000 (2000 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 8600 GTS is a solid gamer’s card on the cheap, quite capable of delivering good performance at 1280x1024 with a little anti-aliasing added for eye candy, depending on the game title.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR $120: Tie
| Radeon HD 3850 512MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | RV670 |
| Process: | 55nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 320 |
| Texture Units: | 16 |
| ROPs: | 16 |
| Memory Bus: | 256-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 670 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 833 (1666 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
The Radeon HD 3850 is the only high-performance 512MB card for under $150, and this memory advantage vs. the 9600 GSO helps performance in a number of situations. Since both of these cards offer previously unheard of performance at the $120 price point, they’re very easy to recommend.
| GeForce 9600 GSO | |
|---|---|
| Codename: | G92 |
| Process: | 65nm |
| Universal Shaders: | 96 |
| Texture Units: | 48 |
| ROPs: | 12 |
| Memory Bus: | 192-bit |
| Core Speed MHz: | 550 |
| Memory Speed MHz: | 700 (1400 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
Ahh, Nvidia’s product naming games. The 9600 GSO is what was formerly known as the 8800 GS, and the 8800 GS is essentially a crippled 8800 GT with a smaller 192-bit memory interface. This card is in the price/performance sweet spot, offering performance a bit lower than that of the 9600 GT, at a lower price. Its weak spot is a lower memory total of 384MB compared to the 9600 GT’s 512MB, but for $120 it’s a very good deal.
As always, thanks very much for putting the time and effort in to bring us these recommendations. One thing I have noticed..the price. British consumers seem to be paying way over the odds for their graphics cards when on converts those dollars into pounds. Having said that, the level of performance you can get these days is astounding.
The G84s (and G86) sell cheap for a reason, read up on the problems at http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inqu [...] 4-g86-bad. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone unless they had money to burn, and didn't expect it to work after 9 months... Hardly a value proposition.
The G84s (and G86) sell cheap for a reason, read up on the problems at http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inqu [...] 4-g86-bad. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone unless they had money to burn, and didn't expect it to work after 9 months... Hardly a value proposition.
Bad link??
I like the Graphics Card Heirarchy Chart. The only thing I would like to also see is where sli and cf would be on the chart. That way I would be better able to tell if I should go with 1 good card or 2 sli/cf cards depending on price of course. If 2 sli/cf cards costs more then 1 card in the same preformance tier then I would of course choose 1 card and possible by another later on when I want to increase my performance.