Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

Lasereth · 09-08-2004, 06:37 AM

I figured since there were so many threads on TFP about which videocard to buy, I may as well start a videocard buyer's guide. This will be updated when newer videocards come out (if they're worthy of my list!!

).

An explanation of NVIDIA and ATI's naming schemes is needed. Let's pretend NVIDIA and ATI have three levels of one videocard. A lesser version, a normal version, and a super version. ATI's videocards are named like the following:

ATI Radeon 9600 SE
ATI Radeon 9600
ATI Radeon 9600 Pro
ATI Radeon 9600 XT

Those videocards are better in performance as the list goes down. The SE is the worst and the XT is the best, even though they're all Radeon 9600's.

Here's NVIDIA's naming scheme:

NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 XT/LE/SE
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Ultra

The XT is the worst of the cards instead of the best concerning NVIDIA! Keep in mind that this is a general naming scheme. It does vary on certain videocards, but typically follows the aformentioned guidelines.

*EDIT* ATI is beginning to go against their standard naming scheme and is introducing completely new names such as XL and GT/GTO. If you have a question about any of these types of cards, just send me a PM.

Let's start with a few basics about the actual videocard. First off, the memory on a videocard does not give a clue as to how powerful the videocard is! This is a common misconception that many videocard buyers have. A 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 is not a good videocard. A simple 64 MB NVIDIA GeForce 4 TI4200 will run circles around it even though it only has 64 MB of RAM on it.

What really matters is the amount of pixel pipelines on the videocard (4, 8, 12, 16, etc.), the memory interface (128-bit, 256-bit, etc.) as well as the core clock speed and memory clock speed (MHz). This information is rarely given on videocard boxes...if it is, it's vague and misleading. So as of now, we all know to forget how much RAM the videocard has and concentrate on the pipelines, memory interface, and speed of the card.

For example: let's take a look at the high and mighty GeForce FX 5200 256 MB vs the little GeForce 4 TI4200 64 MB. The TI4200's speed is 250 MHz/500 MHz (core and memory speeds). It has 4x2 pixel pipelines. The FX 5200 has 4x1 pipelines, even though it's newer! The speed of the FX 5200 is 250/400 MHz...slower than the TI4200.

This is why a 64 MB videocard is more powerful than a 256 MB videocard.

Now on to the real fun part: the actual videocard buyer's guide! I'll divide each section into prices for every budget gamer. This guide is designed COMPLETELY from www.newegg.com . I consider NewEgg to be the very best in PC reselling, mainly due to their incredible RMA policies and tech support. If you use www.pricewatch.com , make absolute sure to check the company on www.resellerratings.com first.

Every card on this list is worthy of a purchase but the bold videocards are the best deals out there right now for that price point.

$50-$99
Radeon HD 4650 ($45)
Radeon HD 5670 ($65)
Radeon HD 4850 ($99)
GeForce GTS 250 ($99)

$100-$149
Radeon HD 5750 ($130)
GeForce GTS 450 ($130)
Radeon HD 5770 1 GB ($145)

$150-$199
GeForce GTX 460 768 MB ($160)
GeForce GTX 460 1 GB ($185)
Radeon HD 6850 ($190)

$200-$299
Radeon HD 5850 ($220)
GeForce GTX 470 ($260)
Radeon HD 6870 ($270)

$300-$399
Radeon HD 5870 ($340)

$400+
GeForce GTX 480 ($440)
GeForce GTX 580 ($520, most powerful video card on the market)

Like I said before, this guide will be updated as soon as new videocards worth mentioning come out. If there's any errors in the guide, or if anyone has any questions concerning videocards in general, feel free to ask! This isn't meant to eliminate videocard threads, but it'll at least give people a steer in the right direction.

09-08-2004, 06:37 AM	#1 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Lasereth's Mega Videocard Buyer's Guide! I figured since there were so many threads on TFP about which videocard to buy, I may as well start a videocard buyer's guide. This will be updated when newer videocards come out (if they're worthy of my list!! ). An explanation of NVIDIA and ATI's naming schemes is needed. Let's pretend NVIDIA and ATI have three levels of one videocard. A lesser version, a normal version, and a super version. ATI's videocards are named like the following: ATI Radeon 9600 SE ATI Radeon 9600 ATI Radeon 9600 Pro ATI Radeon 9600 XT Those videocards are better in performance as the list goes down. The SE is the worst and the XT is the best, even though they're all Radeon 9600's. Here's NVIDIA's naming scheme: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 XT/LE/SE NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600 Ultra The XT is the worst of the cards instead of the best concerning NVIDIA! Keep in mind that this is a general naming scheme. It does vary on certain videocards, but typically follows the aformentioned guidelines. EDIT ATI is beginning to go against their standard naming scheme and is introducing completely new names such as XL and GT/GTO. If you have a question about any of these types of cards, just send me a PM. Let's start with a few basics about the actual videocard. First off, the memory on a videocard does not give a clue as to how powerful the videocard is! This is a common misconception that many videocard buyers have. A 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce FX 5200 is not a good videocard. A simple 64 MB NVIDIA GeForce 4 TI4200 will run circles around it even though it only has 64 MB of RAM on it. What really matters is the amount of pixel pipelines on the videocard (4, 8, 12, 16, etc.), the memory interface (128-bit, 256-bit, etc.) as well as the core clock speed and memory clock speed (MHz). This information is rarely given on videocard boxes...if it is, it's vague and misleading. So as of now, we all know to forget how much RAM the videocard has and concentrate on the pipelines, memory interface, and speed of the card. For example: let's take a look at the high and mighty GeForce FX 5200 256 MB vs the little GeForce 4 TI4200 64 MB. The TI4200's speed is 250 MHz/500 MHz (core and memory speeds). It has 4x2 pixel pipelines. The FX 5200 has 4x1 pipelines, even though it's newer! The speed of the FX 5200 is 250/400 MHz...slower than the TI4200. This is why a 64 MB videocard is more powerful than a 256 MB videocard. Now on to the real fun part: the actual videocard buyer's guide! I'll divide each section into prices for every budget gamer. This guide is designed COMPLETELY from www.newegg.com . I consider NewEgg to be the very best in PC reselling, mainly due to their incredible RMA policies and tech support. If you use www.pricewatch.com , make absolute sure to check the company on www.resellerratings.com first. Every card on this list is worthy of a purchase but the bold videocards are the best deals out there right now for that price point. $50-$99 Radeon HD 4650 ($45) Radeon HD 5670 ($65) Radeon HD 4850 ($99) GeForce GTS 250 ($99) $100-$149 Radeon HD 5750 ($130) GeForce GTS 450 ($130) Radeon HD 5770 1 GB ($145) $150-$199 GeForce GTX 460 768 MB ($160) GeForce GTX 460 1 GB ($185) Radeon HD 6850 ($190) $200-$299 Radeon HD 5850 ($220) GeForce GTX 470 ($260) Radeon HD 6870 ($270) $300-$399 Radeon HD 5870 ($340) $400+ GeForce GTX 480 ($440) GeForce GTX 580 ($520, most powerful video card on the market) Like I said before, this guide will be updated as soon as new videocards worth mentioning come out. If there's any errors in the guide, or if anyone has any questions concerning videocards in general, feel free to ask! This isn't meant to eliminate videocard threads, but it'll at least give people a steer in the right direction. Last edited by Lasereth; 11-17-2010 at 09:33 AM..