RadeOn 9600XT or a GeForce 6200V+

[Denney]

I'm on a tight budget and have found these 2 cards as the ones i can afford from various places.

My question is simple... Which one will perform better?

Edit: Both cards are 256MB versions.

[Thai3g_Eclipse]

The Radeon should be able to outpace the 6200 series easily. The 9600XT has more pixel pipelines, higher core speed and higher memory speed.

[quinriva]

Yes I agree. If your on a tight budget the 9600xt is a good choice. Don't neglect older gen cards when a budget is concerned. Some old cards will still outpace many newer cards under the right conditions. Granted you will probably lose Shader model support, but I doubt you would be able to take advantage of any of the shader model 3.0 support or HDR with a 6200.

Also have a look at the 9800Pro if you have the time, or the non-GT 6600 AGP is also pretty cheap; although performs abysmally compared to the GT version (but that's DDR3 for you.).

[breadandbubbles]

what are these "GT" versions? it simply means they have DDR3? i imagine thats better, right? i mean...im looking into an ATI AIW X800 XL PCIE. would it be better to get the GT version instead?

[quinriva]

The GT version is only in regards to nVidia products. Remeber back in the day nVidia used to use SL or LE or something for their Ultra (Fast versions) while ATI used the same notation for their slow versions.

the X800XL has 512Mb Ram all other X800 series only have 256Mb including the X800XT Platnium. This doesn't make it faster it just means that it has more memory. Many people have argued that this wasn't a very inteligent release as DDR3 memory (which almost all PCI-x cards use) is expensive and as such it became a card that was almost as expensive as the X800XT Plat but nowhere near as fast. Recently the price has dropped as a result of it being less than popular, while the X800XT Plat has remained high priced.

To your question: In this case the the X800GT is ok (there are so many models it's rediculous: LE, Normal, Pro, GT, GTO, GTO2, XT, XT Platnium!). It's about midfield although I really have stopped paying attention to the rediculous naming conventions that ATI Has been using as of late (although apparently they have simplified it as part of the X1xxx series) it's all just marketing hype.

The one thing I do know is that there is a Sparkle or Sapphire or something model of the X800GT02 (read GTO squared) that uses the same PCB as the X800XT and that there is a software patch (I think it's a bios flash) that turns it into a X800XT (More pipes, higher speed), and you can still overclock it to well past the default XT speeds.

Do a google search, I think theres a link in the archives of www.ocau.com as well.

[Thai3g_Eclipse]

the X800XL has 512Mb Ram all other X800 series only have 256Mb including the X800XT Platnium. This doesn't make it faster it just means that it has more memory. Many people have argued that this wasn't a very inteligent release as DDR3 memory (which almost all PCI-x cards use) is expensive and as such it became a card that was almost as expensive as the X800XT Plat but nowhere near as fast. Recently the price has dropped as a result of it being less than popular, while the X800XT Plat has remained high priced.

I'm going to have to correct you on that. While it is true that the X800XL is the only X800 series that carries the 512MB video memory, it was first released as a 256 MB variant. It is designed to fall between the X800Pro and the X800XT/X850 series, which is for people that are on a more strict budget. It is basically a X800 GPU (R430 core) running on a X850 PCB and has 16 pipes. The card however, is not preferred among the hardcore enthusiasts because the GPU is an extremely weak overclocker. For those who just wants a great video card and not planning to overclock, the X800XL is for you. Unfortunately I fall in the overclockers group, and made the mistake of purchasing one.

[quinriva]

s***, I totally forgot there's the X850XT platnium, not X800XT platnium. But as I said ATI have way to many board numbers. I like like the new G70 series from nVidia, much easier to keep track of. There's the 7800GT and the 7800GTX. So, so much easier. I totally understand the confusion - I mean I'm almost an expert on such things and I still get confused by ATI's old namaclature.