I finished building a machine a little while ago and I'm just now getting around the the video card. Everything till now was just web browsing and basic word processing, so it wasn't really necessary to have anything but onboard video. Anyway, I want to pick up a mid-range DirectX 10 video card.

I won't be playing anything more intensive than Oblivion or BioShock on a 21" widescreen monitor with 1440x900 native resolution. I'm currently running a Core 2 Duo E2180 (2ghz) with 2gb of PC2-6400 (DDR2 800) on XP Pro SP2.

My machine meets the recommended requirements for BioShock (the more resource-intensive of the two, I think), and the recommended video card is 8600GT or higher. Tom's Hardware just recently, in their September roundup, tied the 2600XT and 8600GT as best value gamer video cards for ~$115:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/05/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/page2.html

In TH's video chart, the 2600XT scores a bit higher than the 8600GT (http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html), though it (mistakenly, I think) lists the 2600XT as GDDR4 on that table. Anyway, I don't quite know the differences between these cards, so any suggestions or clarifications you can provide would be great. All other things being equal, below are the listed differences:

8600GT
Process: 80nm
Universal Shaders: 32
Texture Units: 16
ROPs: 8
Core Speed MHz: 540
Memory Speed MHz: 700 (1400 effective)

2600XT
Process: 65nm
Universal Shaders: 128
Texture Units: 8
ROPs: 4
Core Speed MHz: 800
Memory Speed MHz: 800 (1600 effective)

Which one is better? I don't know what these specs mean. I've only ever had nVidia cards before, but am perfectly willing to try out an ATI. The only other differences I've been able to find are that for the same price, I can get 2600XT cards with DVI/HDMI converters (HDMI enabled).

Also, I only have experience with XFX and eVGA brand cards...any others that you guys trust?

And yes, I understand that I get can spend $50/$75/$100 more and get a really "good" gaming card, but I don't think I need it and I'd rather just buy one at this price range unless you guys can point out an OMGWTFBBQ! deal that I'd be stupid to pass up.

Thanks in advance!

9/20/2007 6:26:16 PM

There are actually two different 2600XTs -- one with DDR3 the other DDR4. If you search Tom's Hardware they wrote an article about it.

9/20/2007 6:27:29 PM

^ Is this it? http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/09/13/the_radeon_2600xt_remixed/

Quote :

"And the higher-speed GDDR4 version of the 2600 XT was even more expensive, with little to show for the price increase in the way of extra performance."

9/20/2007 6:32:11 PM

Yes, sir.

9/20/2007 6:34:10 PM

go with the 8600GTS, it's faster than both the 2600XT and the 8600GT, for the same price as the 8600GT:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814122026

9/20/2007 7:01:17 PM

^ Is Leadtek a good brand? I saw a couple of reviews for other Leadtek cards (not this one, obviously) that were less than promising...do you have experience with them, or are there very few bad manufacturers these days?

9/20/2007 7:05:44 PM

^I've got a Leadtek 6800GT that works great. Only complaint is the fan noise.

Had an issue with my first card (a refurb bought from Newegg)...Leadtek replaced it with a brand new card, no questions asked.

9/20/2007 7:54:58 PM

they're an ok brand, not the best though, and only 3-year warranty

but it's significantly better than 8600GT/2600XT, so... depends on your risk tolerance i guess.

i've owned a tv tuner and it lasted forever and i know at one point they made the fastest 6600 i think..

9/20/2007 7:55:36 PM