The Best Gaming Graphics cards for the Money: November 2007

[muk]

Detailed graphics card specifications and reviews are great - that is, if you have the time to do the research. But at the end of the day, what a gamer needs is the best graphics card within a certain budget.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/05/best_graphics_card/index.html

 

[Guest]

This one was pretty predictable with the 8800GTs release. Nice to read THG's opinion on the material though. Perhaps the article should be edited to talk about the current stock/price gouging issues of the 8800GT. At this point it almost makes more sense to wait and see what ATI brings to the table if you're going to wait a few weeks to find an 8800GT anyway. My 2 cents.

 

[aadamszc]

Before I even click on the link: 8800GT is in bold?

 

[Onus]

Well, Newegg doesn't seem to have ANY 8800GTs right now, and I want one.

8800GT --> me
my 7900GS --> wife
wife's 7600GT --> cousin.

 

[mGuyA]

Shouldn't this be the 7600GS not the 7900GS?

6800 GT, 6800 GS (PCIe), Go 7800, Go 7900 GS, 8700M GT X800 XL, X800 GTO2/GTO16, Mobility X800 XT, HD 2600 PRO, Mobility HD 2600 XT

 

[xx12amanxx]

Yeah im lucky they dont even sell the MSI OCed version anymore!..I paid 300$ for it,could i have waited. yeah but i wanted it now. Such a great leap from an 7600gt.

AMDx2 6000+
A-Data 2x 2g ddr2-800
580w psu
other things here and there.

 

[cleeve]

Shouldn't this be the 7600GS not the 7900GS?

6800 GT, 6800 GS (PCIe), Go 7800, Go 7900 GS, 8700M GT X800 XL, X800 GTO2/GTO16, Mobility X800 XT, HD 2600 PRO, Mobility HD 2600 XT

No, it's right.

Check a little closer... that's the GO 7900 GS... the 'GO' means it's the slower mobile part for laptops.

 

[dostanio]

link doesnt work?

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Try this one;

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/11/06/best_graphics_card/

 

[Jakc]

Hmmmmmm, where is the Radeon 2900 GT?
Surely for 150 Euro and better than 8600 GTS performance it should be mentioned *somewhere*, anywhere?

 

[bildo123]

Yeah im lucky they dont even sell the MSI OCed version anymore!..I paid 300$ for it,could i have waited. yeah but i wanted it now. Such a great leap from an 7600gt.

AMDx2 6000+
A-Data 2x 2g ddr2-800
580w psu
other things here and there.

Ouch! $300?!? I got the same thing for 240 @ buy.com, still havent recieved it yet though, I'm assuming I'm just waiting on the trailer to back in. It's been a week so far.

 

[zenmaster]

Hmmmmmm, where is the Radeon 2900 GT?
Surely for 150 Euro and better than 8600 GTS performance it should be mentioned *somewhere*, anywhere?

The 2900GT is almost impossible to find which is why I suspect its not listed.
Last time I looked a few weeks ago, I could not find a single store that had it in stock.

 

[Jakc]

Strange, in the Netherlands they are everywhere.

 

[sailer]

The need for a HD 3800 for a comparrison to the 8800GT puts us back into the waiting game, same as waiting for Phenom CPUs. Seems like I spend more time waiting for stuff to come out than I'd like. But whether the HD 3800 is all that much better than a HD 2900 or not, I'm happy enough I didn't buy a new card before the 8800GT and HD 3800 came out. I hate it when I buy something and its outdated before I finish paying the credit card bill on it.

 

[Onus]

Yes, I'm also trying to wait for the HD3800, not so much because I want one, but to see if it has any effect on the price of the 8800GT. They're calling it close though, because I need it in time to carry the system on a 500 mile trip.

 

[cleeve]

Hmmmmmm, where is the Radeon 2900 GT?
Surely for 150 Euro and better than 8600 GTS performance it should be mentioned *somewhere*, anywhere?

Where can you buy a 2900 GT?

Heck, I had trouble even finding performance numbers.

 

[jimmysmitty]

The only proble I have is that they include both the 8800GTS 320 and the 8800GTS 640 but not both the 2900XT 512 and 2900XT 1GB(which the memory is clocked higher btw @ 1000(2000 effective)). It would seem that it is a card anyone can get and should be included.

Hell They put the 8800GTS640 above my 2900Pro 1GB and my card against a 8800GTS 640 with the same CPU, memory and everything else beats it pretty easily.

And I just wounder, when was the last time these charts were even updated? With all the driver releases there has been considerable performance increase on ATIs part and probably NVidia too.

I just think the VGA charts are not like they used to be. They used to grab and test every card possible and even update them when new drivers improved the performance by a certain percentage. But I guess the 2900Pro was hard to come by. I'm just glad I grabbed it the day it came out and for the lowest price too.

 

[Plekto]

I think the 7950GT should be included in the list as well, since you can get one for $199 from a few places that still have some in stock.

 

[caamsa]

(I would not buy one) but the 8600GT OC versions by MSI and XFX are pretty good. The MSI one is less than 100 bucks after rebate. They perform close to the 8600GTS cards....I would consider a 8800GT for $250.00 but not $300.00.

I think until I upgrade to Vista I am gonna stick with my 7950GT it is a pretty decent card. Maybe the new GPU's will be even better next year........;-P

 

[cleeve]

I think the 7950GT should be included in the list as well, since you can get one for $199 from a few places that still have some in stock.

There's a reason it isn't included... $199 is too much for a card that barely performs better than the sub-$150 X1950 PRO.

 

[zhaf]

Where can you buy a 2900 GT?

Heck, I had trouble even finding performance numbers.

I thought that the US had more options than Sweden ... 4 of the biggest computer part stores in Sweden had HD2900GT in stock during October and they'll get the next shipment next week. They don't get a lot of these cards but they still manage to have them in stock and they cost about 40% more than the cheapest x1950pro PCI-e card.

 

[Jakc]

Where can you buy a 2900 GT?

Heck, I had trouble even finding performance numbers.

http://www.alternate.nl/html/productDetails.html?artno=JAXU1P

Performance is hard to find indeed.
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/nvidia_geforce_8800_gt_performance/page5.asp

 

[sailer]

There's a reason it isn't included... $199 is too much for a card that barely performs better than the sub-$150 X1950 PRO.

Cleave, I just noticed in your Sig line that you have a 8800 GTX AND a 2900 XT. Now I've heard of 8800s in SLI or 2900s in Xfire, but pairing a 8800 with a 2900? That must take some serious software to make it work.

 

[kpo6969]

2900GT
The Egg had it as of yesterday:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161206&Tpk=2900GT

7950GT-$160

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150197

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Now I've heard of 8800s in SLI or 2900s in Xfire, but pairing a 8800 with a 2900? That must take some serious software to make it work.

Nah, he has them running alongside a Matrox Parhellia PCI and has their awesome software handle those two crummy cards. :lol: