Upgrade ?

J

JV2112

n00b
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Jun 3, 2001
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57
I have a small upgrade budget, $150 and I would like to upgrade my video card. I am looking at :

EVGA 512-P2-N773-AR GeForce 8600GTS 512MB 128-bit GDDR3

or :confused:

MSI RX2600XT Diamond Plus Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR4

Both are at the same price point but which is better ?

Please let me know your thoughts. ;)
 
JV2112 said:
I have a small upgrade budget, $150 and I would like to upgrade my video card. I am looking at :

EVGA 512-P2-N773-AR GeForce 8600GTS 512MB 128-bit GDDR3

or :confused:

MSI RX2600XT Diamond Plus Radeon HD 2600XT 512MB 128-bit GDDR4

Both are at the same price point but which is better ?

Please let me know your thoughts. ;)
Click to expand...

Are you sure you can't spend the extra $25 for an 8800GS or a 9600GT? ($175). Heck, even save a few bucks and get the ATI 3850 ($145) which is cheaper than the two you asked about and faster. The ones you mentioend are almost only half as fast.
 
Budget is tight and I see some of the 8600 / 2600 south of $150. I also wanted to keep the memory around 512. Are you saying that these cards are a waste of $ & I will see no gain over my current card. I also have a 7600 in my Sons machine that I was going to upgrade with mine & use the 7600 to upgrade my wifes machine with a 6600 in it.

Thoughts ?:confused:
 
Sell your video card to have more money. I wouldn't buy anything slower then a ATI 3850 next step would be a 9600GT, and after that would be a 8800GT. If at all possible i wbld also suggest to buy the 9600gt if you can find it at $179 thats if you want to play modern games for a reasonable price.
 
My Goal was to help improve performance across 3 machines. So selling is not an option. Will this achieve my goal ? 7950 GT to 8600 GTS or 2600 XT. If I had the budget I would agree another 20% in budget would give me significant gain.
 
A 8600 won't outdo your 7950 GT, so if you're looking for a card to put in a 2nd/3rd machine might as well get a used 7xxx for <$100.

If you're looking for improved performance from where you are today for under $150, I believe the 3850 is the only real option
 
JV2112 said:
My Goal was to help improve performance across 3 machines. So selling is not an option. Will this achieve my goal ? 7950 GT to 8600 GTS or 2600 XT. If I had the budget I would agree another 20% in budget would give me significant gain.
Click to expand...

You may see a decrease in performance from this downgrade.

The 7950GT was a decent mid range card. You'll be replacing it with an underpowered entry level card. (don't focus too much on the memory. A slow card with lots of memory is still a slow card)

Yes, you'd be wasting your money. So save your money and upgrade later.
 
JV2112 said:
Budget is tight and I see some of the 8600 / 2600 south of $150. I also wanted to keep the memory around 512. Are you saying that these cards are a waste of $ & I will see no gain over my current card. I also have a 7600 in my Sons machine that I was going to upgrade with mine & use the 7600 to upgrade my wifes machine with a 6600 in it.

Thoughts ?:confused:
Click to expand...

You've been tricked by the marketing numbering scheme of these cards. An 8600 GTS might even decrease your performance whereas in reality, it's a entry level card. These cards are indeed a waste of money as they are not faster than your current card. Also, memory is not the method you should be using to judge the performance of a videocard, 512MB is wasted on these cards. Memory is just a marketing gimmick used to fool those that are less knowledgeble into thinking they are getting a good card. memory is cheap. Cores and good architecture are not. A 256MB 8800GT/GS or a 9600GT will be MORE THAN DOUBLE the performance of a 512MB 8600/2600.

8800GS and 9600GT can be had in the $170 range if you shop smart. An HD3850 is already south of $150. Wait a month and prices will drop further as Nvidia releases new cards and ATI has already dropped 3850 prices to compete.

http://www.ncixus.com/products/27328/88YFF6HUFEXX/Galaxy Technology/ $180 for an 8800GT with superior Zalman cooler! This is the best deal, you get one of the top tier performance cards in the higher end market. Even has better cooling than reference design.

http://www.ncixus.com/products/28254/PVT88SFDF4/XFX/ $172 for 384MB 8800GS

http://www.ncixus.com/products/28254/PVT88SFDF4/XFX/ $176 for 512MB 9600GT

http://www.ncixus.com/products/26984/3850PE3256SB/Diamond/ $145 for 256MB 3850 - if your budget is tight get this.

Can't you sell your wife's 6600GT for ...$20 at the least to make up the difference for these faster cards? It'll be night and day, with the Nvidia cards, you'll double your machine's performance overnight. If you get an 8600/2900 you'll just be slowing your own computer at your own expense! Heck, if you can sell that 6600GT for at least $30, that brings your budget from $150 to $180 and you can get a Galaxy 8800GT with Zalman cooler for that.
 
I went with :

EVGA 512-P3-N867-AR GeForce 9600GT SSC 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail

Thanks for the help.;)
 
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