Holiday 2006 Shopping Guide: GPUs
by Jarred Walton on December 13, 2006 5:15 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Final Recommendations
We've mentioned a lot of GPUs worth considering on the previous pages, but some people just want a quick answer. If we had to pick one or two options for each price bracket as the overall "best", we would recommend the following. For the most part, similar cards from different manufacturers are going to offer the same level of performance. Pay attention to GPU and memory clock speeds if you are comparing two cards from different manufacturers, however, particularly in the less expensive markets where there's a lot of flexibility given to the card manufacturers.
If you're looking for a new graphics card for yourself or someone else, hopefully we have been able to shed some light on the situation. Once again from all of us at AnandTech, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays (and whatever other appropriate greetings you might want)!
We've mentioned a lot of GPUs worth considering on the previous pages, but some people just want a quick answer. If we had to pick one or two options for each price bracket as the overall "best", we would recommend the following. For the most part, similar cards from different manufacturers are going to offer the same level of performance. Pay attention to GPU and memory clock speeds if you are comparing two cards from different manufacturers, however, particularly in the less expensive markets where there's a lot of flexibility given to the card manufacturers.
| GPU Recommendation Summary | ||
| Class | GPU | Price |
| Integrated 775 | ECS P4M800Pro-M V2 + E6300 Bundle CPU = $160 value |
$160 |
| Integrated 775 | ASUS P5L-MX 945G | $83 |
| Integrated AM2 | Abit NF-M2 nForce 6150 | $96 |
| Cheapest | Sapphire 100190L Radeon X550 HyperMemory | $47 |
| Budget | EVGA 256-P2-N443-LX GeForce 7300GT | $75 |
| Lower-Midrange | EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT $20 MIR |
$135 - $20 |
| Midrange Overclocking | EVGA 256-P2-N624-AR GeForce 7900GS $20 MIR |
$185 - $20 |
| Upper-Midrange | Sapphire 100176L Radeon X1950 Pro | $206 |
| Lower High-End | Foxconn FV-N79GM3D2-HP GeForce 7950GT 512MB $35 MIR - Includes free gamepad |
$270 - $35 |
| Lower High-End | Sapphire 100186L Radeon X1950XT 256MB | $255 |
| High-End | Sapphire 100177L Radeon X1950 XTX | $386 |
| Extreme Overclocking | EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800 GTS $20 MIR |
$455 - $20 |
| Extreme | EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX | $603 |
| Ultra Extreme | 2 X EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX (SLI) | $1206 |
If you're looking for a new graphics card for yourself or someone else, hopefully we have been able to shed some light on the situation. Once again from all of us at AnandTech, Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays (and whatever other appropriate greetings you might want)!
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JarredWalton - Thursday, December 14, 2006 - link
Fair enough - I added a Midrange Overclocking for you. It's still more like $165 according to the prices I found at Newegg and ZipZoomFly, unless you're seeing something cheaper?Noya - Saturday, December 16, 2006 - link
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...JarredWalton - Saturday, December 16, 2006 - link
Got a better one for you: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">Sapphire X1900 GT v2Sure, it's the slower clocked version of the GT, but no rebate and $141 shipped is quite tasty. This wasn't available two days ago, I can say that for sure.
TechLuster - Thursday, December 14, 2006 - link
The 7600GT (and GS as well I think) has 8 ROP's, not 6. Jarred, you may want to fix this.And, though I have no resource to back this up, I have a hunch that the 6600GT has 8 (not 4) also.
JarredWalton - Thursday, December 14, 2006 - link
You're correct on the 7600 GT, but there are quite a few places that agree 6600 has 4 ROPs, like http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Render_Output_unit">Wiki for example.TechLuster - Friday, December 15, 2006 - link
According to this articlehttp://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=...">http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=...
the 6600GT has 8 ROP's. Perhaps the Wiki is referring to the vanilla 6600, but I still doubt that NVIDIA broke with the 1:1 pixel pipe:ROP ratio with any version of the 6 series.
JarredWalton - Friday, December 15, 2006 - link
I know some places say 8 ROPs, but I think more say 4.http://techreport.com/reviews/2004q4/geforce-6200/...">TechReport
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_6_Series">Another Wiki Link
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=536">Legion Hardware
http://www.behardware.com/articles/514-1/nvidia-ge...">BeHardware - why 8 ROPs isn't necessarily a good idea
Basically, the way I see it is that it probably doesn't matter too much either way - X1900 and 78/7900 have both shown that 16 ROPs for more pixel shaders is fine - and the idea was to make a more budget oriented part. One of the ways to do that is to cut unnecessary extras like additional Render Output Pipelines. As for 6600 vs. 6600 GT, those are the same chip with different clock speeds, so they have the same number of functional units.
Even if 6600 does have 8 ROPs (I can't find anything official from NVIDIA), the important thing is that a 6600 GT is now slower than a lot of the newer ~$100 cards. :) But hey, if someone gets a specific answer from NVIDIA, I can update. I can also fire off an email just to verify, but it might take a bit to get an answer (if they answer at all).
microAmp - Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - link
Not sure if this is worth a mention in the article or not, but Dell.com currently has 15% off which can be used on the XFX 8800 GTS/X cards. If you can dig up a another coupon, Dell sent me one via email for 10% off, the deal can be even sweeter.I got the 8800 GTS for $382.50 and free shipping. Sweet deal for others not living in Texas like me. About $420 with tax.
Only reason I mention this is because you mention using MIR on the EVA 8800 GTS.
LoneWolf15 - Thursday, December 14, 2006 - link
I did the same thing. Mine came out to $404 after tax here in Michigan.XFX also has a double-lifetime warranty; that is, a lifetime warranty which applies to the first owner, and a second owner, should the first resell the card. You have to make sure you register the card, but it's a neat feature.
SonicIce - Wednesday, December 13, 2006 - link
So I guess it's RIP AGP. :(