Price Guide, March 2006: Video Cards
by Haider Farhan on March 8, 2006 12:05 AM EST- Posted in
- Guides
Mid-Range Graphics
Finally - here, we can now see some reasonably priced graphics cards in the mid-range line-up. Starting this batch off, we'll begin with the X800 GT cards.
There are quite a few which are between $100 to about $150, not a bad price at all. The cheapest that we can find today is the Sapphire Radeon X800GT 128MB [RTPE: 100125SR] for about $110, which has seen about a $25 decrease. Following fairly close behind is the 256MB variant of the said card, also from Sapphire [RTPE: 100126], which is on sale for about $134. This is definitely not the lowest price at which we have seen this card priced, although nonetheless, it's still a great price and unquestionably one to consider.
The 6800 GS cards have proven themselves worthy time and time again. These can be a great alternative to ATI's X800 GT line-up. Ones to consider are the eVGA GeForce 6800GS 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N386] for you PCI-e users. We can see that this card is going for about $154 after a $15 mail-in rebate. AGP users are still in luck. This week, we are seeing the 6800 GS from XFX [RTPE: PV-T40B-UDF3], another excellent brand, going for roughly $219 shipped.
For a cheaper alternative to the 6800 GS, a 6600 GT can be an outstanding choice. To state the obvious, we recommend that you try to stay towards the low end of these prices because you will only end up paying the same premium for a 6800 GS card.
The X700 cards are fairly decent performers. We would say slightly worse than a 6600 GT, though they are still worth considering, especially for you hardcore ATI fans out there. Although unlike the 6600 GT graphics cards, there aren't many AGP cards out there. In fact, our RTPE is only picking up on a single X700 Pro. So if you are looking for a mid-range AGP card, price-wise, you would be slightly better off going with a 6600 GT
We have noticed that the X1600 cards from ATI aren't creating much of an impact within the mid-range market even though their prices are extremely low. It's actually quite obvious, the X1600 line-up isn't much of a performer and a 6800 GS would be something better to consider. These cards are competitive with the 6600GT, but with over twice the memory bandwidth the 6800 GS is simply out of reach.
Finally - here, we can now see some reasonably priced graphics cards in the mid-range line-up. Starting this batch off, we'll begin with the X800 GT cards.
There are quite a few which are between $100 to about $150, not a bad price at all. The cheapest that we can find today is the Sapphire Radeon X800GT 128MB [RTPE: 100125SR] for about $110, which has seen about a $25 decrease. Following fairly close behind is the 256MB variant of the said card, also from Sapphire [RTPE: 100126], which is on sale for about $134. This is definitely not the lowest price at which we have seen this card priced, although nonetheless, it's still a great price and unquestionably one to consider.
The 6800 GS cards have proven themselves worthy time and time again. These can be a great alternative to ATI's X800 GT line-up. Ones to consider are the eVGA GeForce 6800GS 256MB [RTPE: 256-P2-N386] for you PCI-e users. We can see that this card is going for about $154 after a $15 mail-in rebate. AGP users are still in luck. This week, we are seeing the 6800 GS from XFX [RTPE: PV-T40B-UDF3], another excellent brand, going for roughly $219 shipped.
For a cheaper alternative to the 6800 GS, a 6600 GT can be an outstanding choice. To state the obvious, we recommend that you try to stay towards the low end of these prices because you will only end up paying the same premium for a 6800 GS card.
The X700 cards are fairly decent performers. We would say slightly worse than a 6600 GT, though they are still worth considering, especially for you hardcore ATI fans out there. Although unlike the 6600 GT graphics cards, there aren't many AGP cards out there. In fact, our RTPE is only picking up on a single X700 Pro. So if you are looking for a mid-range AGP card, price-wise, you would be slightly better off going with a 6600 GT
We have noticed that the X1600 cards from ATI aren't creating much of an impact within the mid-range market even though their prices are extremely low. It's actually quite obvious, the X1600 line-up isn't much of a performer and a 6800 GS would be something better to consider. These cards are competitive with the 6600GT, but with over twice the memory bandwidth the 6800 GS is simply out of reach.
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Sunrise089 - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - link
Thank you for writing the guide Haider, I know it must be a lot of work. I feel there are a few changes that could make it better however. As the above poster said, it would help to mention future cards, especially if they are launching within the week. In addition the best part of these guides is the author's commentary and advice, which at time was spotty. You were right on when you said that the x1800 series should be ignored in favor of the x1900s. Ditto with the x800xl and 6800gt no longer being the cards to buy. But what was with your 7800GS to x850XTPE comparison? You and I both know that no buyer needs to buy a $300 dollar AGP card anyways, since for $300 you could get an equal performing x800GTO^2 and a PCIe motherboard. In addition, why no mention of the x800GTO or GTO^2 at all, only the plain GT? What about something to the effect that the x1900XT is priced so close to the 7800GTX 256 that the nVidia card wouldn't be a smart purchase right now? Nothing about SLI or Crossfire upgrade considerations, even a warning that they are not a good idea? I think the guide could be a little better if you added a bit more advice.mongoosesRawesome - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - link
No mention of the 7900 or the 7600 series GPU's which should be out soon. This guide should at the very least mention that these cards will be out soon, although I think it would have been better to have waited a few more days before publishing this.These priceguides feel more like a sampling from your RTPE than a real "guide". I'd really like to see more commentary and opionion in these guides and less of a simple listing of products. If I wanted to see how much each individual card costs, I can just do a search using the RTPE.
yacoub - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - link
The ONLY thing worth saying about videocards right now is WAIT. 7900GT, 7900GTX due out within a week. X1900XL should be near month's end.AGAC - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - link
I will wait even more if the green and red players don´t support HDCP in their next updates. With WinVista and next gen video content being possible only with HDCP hardware I would be crazy to shell out money in hardware soon to be obsolete. My old 6800 will just have to hang on untill the dust setles on the media batlefield.Not to forget monitors. My recently bought NEC 1970GX LCD does not support HDCP and will be relocated to office duties (which is going to make a helluva improvement in my office desk) as soon as I decide on a new combination of video card and wide screen monitor.
Sunrise089 - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - link
Don't worry friend, this sounds like a bigger problem than it is. Jarred for AT has said before that is MS thinks it can release an OS that 90% of the market's video cards AND displays (which for many is the most expensive part of their PC) cannot run they would face adaption numbers that make WindowsME look like a resounding success. It's possible some sort of requirement for HDCP will be introduced much later in Vista's life cycle, but you will not need it to run the OS.DigitalFreak - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - link
I agree. I would have liked to have seen this guide published on Friday, so the 7900 series cards could have been included.Powermoloch - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - link
Hmm will you add the x850xt cards on there? Newegg are selling them fairly well on the PCI-e x850xt sapphire cards. I read that they are selling them at 169.00-170+. Which is a pretty good deal by today's standards.If it is no problem ;)
kalrith - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - link
I agree. I just picked up an X850XT PCI-e from Newegg this morning for http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82...">$154 AR. That's the same price as the 6800GS, yet the X850XT outperforms it by quite a bit in pretty much every game except Doom 3.kmmatney - Wednesday, March 8, 2006 - link
Wow, that is a great price for an X850XT! That has to be the best value for mid-range cards, unless you absolutely must have SM 3 (and I don't know why it is a "must-have").