2600xt vs 8600gt

S

superballz00

Limp Gawd
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Jan 8, 2005
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I'm planning to spend around $100 on a new video card and see that the 2600xt and 8600gt are in that price range. I'm leaning more towards the XFX 8600gt XXX because of the lifetime warranty. Which card should I get?

I might consider spending around $150-170 if that will get me a card that really out performs the 2600xt and 8600gt.
 
For $170 the HD3850 outperforms both those cards by more than double. Bestbuy online has had it for $160 in and out of stock for the pass few weeks, but put them on sale for $144 this week and quickly sold out. They have been restocking them weekly though, but will probably be back at $160.

The 8600gt and 2600XT are about the same and really just depends on the games you're playing. I'd give the advantage to the 8600gt.
 
superballz00 said:
I'm planning to spend around $100 on a new video card and see that the 2600xt and 8600gt are in that price range. I'm leaning more towards the XFX 8600gt XXX because of the lifetime warranty. Which card should I get?

I might consider spending around $150-170 if that will get me a card that really out performs the 2600xt and 8600gt.
Click to expand...
the 2600xt and 8600gt are mostly even. I would get the evga 8600gt 256mb gddr3 since the XFX uses the noisy old 7600gt cooler. if you do decide to spend a little more the 3850 offers twice the performance as ClearM4 already mentioned.
 
Wow this makes it a harder decision for me now. BTW how much louder is the fan on the XFX? I prefer the XFX 8600gt XXX over the Evga because it comes already overclocked. Should I be able to overclock the evga just as much or is the XXX different somehow?
 
superballz00 said:
Wow this makes it a harder decision for me now. BTW how much louder is the fan on the XFX? I prefer the XFX 8600gt XXX over the Evga because it comes already overclocked. Should I be able to overclock the evga just as much or is the XXX different somehow?
Click to expand...
the old 7600gt cooler they are using is ridiculously loud as opposed to the near dead silent reference cooler on the Evga. overclocking a card is as simple as moving a slider in ntune or rivatuner and yes the Evga will clock just as high. my Evga 8600gt will easily do 670/1775.
 
cannondale06 said:
the old 7600gt cooler they are using is ridiculously loud as opposed to the near dead silent reference cooler on the Evga. overclocking a card is as simple as moving a slider in ntune or rivatuner and yes the Evga will clock just as high. my Evga 8600gt will easily do 670/1775.
Click to expand...

I just read this review of the XFX. http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1086&pageID=3336

The guy said one of the pros of the card is that it "Runs Silent".

BTW do I need to connect my power supply to the card? If so do I need a new PSU since mine doesn't have the 6pin power connector?
 
superballz00 said:
I just read this review of the XFX. http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=1086&pageID=3336

The guy said one of the pros of the card is that it "Runs Silent".

BTW do I need to connect my power supply to the card? If so do I need a new PSU since mine doesn't have the 6pin power connector?
Click to expand...
well it uses the old 7600gt cooler but maybe the fan speeds have been adjusted. no you dont need a connector for the 8600gt.
 
After taking a look at the 3850 it does seem like a great card. Now I just need to find a great price for it.
 
No. The card isn't powerful enough to use the extra 256 memory. I also strongly urge you to get a 3850, as both 8600's and 2600's are not the greatest for gaming, and a 3850 is pretty much 2x faster in everything.
 
HD 3870 has a higher core clock and mem clock, it also has 512MB of RAM. The HD3850 in the review only has 256MB of RAM, there are newer HD3850s with 512MB RAM but still with lower clock. HD3850 uses DDR3 and HD3870 uses DDR4 RAM.
 
The only thing really keeping me from getting the 3850 is that they only seem to offer a 1 or 2yr warranty whereas the 8600gt offers a lifetime warranty. I've had issues with ATI cards so I weigh the warranty even more when I compare cards. I got a 9700pro in 2002 that broke in 2006 and had another 9550 that had stability problems when it ran at stock speeds.
 
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