Best PCI-E Card For under $100: Tie

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.

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

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.

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.