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#Radeon hd 2600 xt vs geforce 8600 gt pro
From a gamer's point of view the only thing the X1950 Pro lacks is DirectX 10 support, which in my opinion works to be the same if we had it or not on the Radeon HD 2600XT and GeForce 8600 GTS anyway. So given a $150 budget, we would still pick the Radeon X1950 Pro over all current offerings. Just recently we published a Bioshock videocard performance article which showed the Radeon X1950 Pro polishing off the very two (new generation) graphics cards tested today. The Radeon X1950 Pro was an impressive performer and not only for its time, today we are still finding this graphics card to be an exceptional performer. Back then we recommended the Radeon X1950 Pro over the GeForce, despite of the fact it cost considerably more. Almost a year ago we compared the GeForce 7900 GS and the Radeon X1950 Pro head to head to determine which would be the better buy. This is an interesting situation and not one we have ever encountered before. Given that the 512MB version we used today does cost roughly the same amount as a Radeon X1950 Pro, we would also pick the latter over this new DX10 mid-range solution. Given there is very little price difference between the two, we imagine most of you would do the same.Ī similar scenario is presented with the Radeon HD 2600XT, which is also much slower than we had hoped for. If we were presented with a 7900 GS and a 8600 GTS, and then told to pick one, we would most likely grab the 7900 GS every time. The GeForce 8600 GTS is roughly as fast as the previous generation 7900 GS, depending on the game used for testing. Truth be told, these mid-range performance products are not nearly as fast as we expected them to be, though this has been known for quite some time now. That said, 512MB versions of the GeForce 8600 GTS are priced at over $200.Despite featuring twice as much video memory, the HD 2600XT was unable to match the 8600 GTS on more than one occasion. And while this may appear to be unfair, we have found that the average 512MB Radeon HD 2600XT graphics card retails for just $140, while the average price of a GeForce 8600 GTS sporting 256MB of memory is $160. While neither product features overclocking out of the box, the Radeon has an obvious advantage in that it sports twice as much video memory. Today we will be comparing these two mid-range graphics cards head to head using a 512MB VisionTek Radeon HD 2600XT and a 256MB ASUS GeForce 8600 GTS. The more expensive cards all seem to be factory overclocked and generally come with 512MB of on-board memory. We have found that the Radeon HD 2600XT can come fitted with GDDR4 memory as well as GDDR3 memory, which translates in prices ranging from as low as $100 and up to $170. While the majority of GeForce 8600 GTS graphics cards come loaded with 256MB GDDR3 memory, there are as many 256MB Radeon HD 2600XT cards as there are 512MB versions. The Radeon HD 2600XT pricing does vary depending on the brand and specifications, as there are a number of variations of this product. But of course, there is a new player in town now, the Radeon HD 2600XT carries a MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of just $150 and specifications to match the GeForce 8600 GTS. However, unlike many expected, the 8600 GTS did not exactly hit the ground running, as the retail price was quite steep at $200-230, giving existing GeForce 7 cards an edge as they were actually cheaper and in many cases faster.įurthermore, the fact that the GeForce 8600 GTS brought DirectX 10 support to the table was somewhat pointless given that there were no games that took advantage of it at the time.Īfter some heavy price reductions the GeForce 8600 GTS has now reached a point where it makes sense to recommend it. This gave the GeForce plenty of time to establish itself before the Radeon HD arrived. Currently the two leading mainstream cards are the Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS and the ATI Radeon HD 2600XT, both of which are priced well under $200.Īs you may recall, we reviewed the first GeForce 8600 GTS cards back in May, while the Radeon HD 2600XT did not hit shelves until late July. While Nvidia remains quite dominant in the high-end segment, a much larger battle has taken place to offer the best mainstream graphics product.