PCI-EXPRESS INTERFACE: $0 to $125
Best PCI-E Card For under $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 usually a little better than that of the GeForce 8600 GT GDDR3 when antialiasing is disabled. While it’s true that the 8600 GT GDDR3 handles antialiasing a little better, neither card is really fast enough to run with AA enabled, so both are viable options.
| GeForce 8600 GT GDDR3 | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Like the 2600 XT, the 8600 GT is s till a good gamer’s card on the cheap. The DDR2 version of the 8600 GT can be found for a few dollars less than the GDDR3 version, but the DDR2 memory provides crippled performance compared to its GDDR3 counterpart.
BEST PCI-E CARD FOR $125: Tie
| Radeon 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 3850 is the only high-performance 512 MB 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 $125 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 8600 GT with a smaller 192-bit memory interface. This card is in the price/performance sweet spot, offering performance a bit slower than the 9600 GT at a lower price. Its weakness is a smaller memory amount of 384 MB compared to the 9600 GT’s 512 MB, but for $125 it’s a very good deal.
What is it with TomsHardware recently?
Almost all the recent articles have only the first two pages. It seems an overhaul is needed - and that usually means a round of firing and hiring.
And this place needs it...
Just to get in the 'neg' rating comment - as you can't edit previous comments infuriatingly...
wtf.....
I've given up with Tom's UK. The US site gets the news up first and isn't broken all the time!
Yep - the UK site is terrible. There is never any explanation and certainly no apologies.
Yet another "broken" article, although there are already two news items today!
I agree with all the above and don't get me started on the charts...what a fiasco!!!
Tomshardware has gone to the dogs.
This place used to be a bible for researching hardware and making the best decisions for building the perfect gaming pc. Now all we see is broken articles, charts that are crap and out of date, and a site that is harder to navigate than ever, not to mention the endless typos and poor English used throughout.
Toms has indeed gone to the dogs.
Agreed with mi1ez, the US site (.com) does work. Its better to point your bookmarks to that, since all the .co.uk site gets is broken 2 page articles and junk.
Tom's obviously doesn't care, how many times does it have to be pointed out to them?
*SIGH* Broken again...let's see if the comments/complaints takes up more pages than the "article" and maybe Tom will fix hit uk page?
Sort this shit out! Like yesterday! ;-)