Which is better?

[rewindurmind]

I'm really not a hardware expert, and I'm about to purchase a computer and have narrowed it down to two. They're both the same apart from one has

nVidia GeForce 8600GT 512MB

And, the other has:

ATI Radeon HD 2600 512MB PCI Express Graphics Card


What computer should I get? The first or second?

Thanks, a lot.

 

[Darkwave]

I think the HD2600 is much better, but I'm not positive.

The 8600GT is pretty rubbish, an X1950Pro creams it.

 

[rewindurmind]

I think the HD2600 is much better, but I'm not positive.

The 8600GT is pretty rubbish, an X1950Pro creams it.

That's what I thought, just wasn't certain.

 

[Darkwave]

That's what I thought, just wasn't certain.

I found a good review here if you want to take a look.

 

[mishima]

Have a look here too - http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=858&model2=855&chart=318

Looks as though overal FPS is in the 8600GT's hand!

 

[Darkwave]

Have a look here too - http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=858&model2=855&chart=318

Looks as though overal FPS is in the 8600GT's hand!

Seems Anandtech agree.

We had no problems expressing our disappointment with NVIDIA over the lackluster performance of their 8600 series. After AMD's introduction of the 2900 XT, we held some hope that perhaps they would capitalize on the huge gap NVIDIA left between their sub $200 parts and the higher end hardware. Unfortunately, that has not happened.

In fact, AMD went the other way and released hardware that performs consistently worse than NVIDIA's competing offerings. The only game that shows AMD hardware leading NVIDIA is Rainbow Six: Vegas. Beyond that, our 4xAA tests show the mainstream Radeon HD lineup, which already lags in performance, scales even worse than NVIDIA. Not that we really expect most people with this level of hardware to enable 4xAA, but it's still a disappointment.

 

[HangTime]

Might be worth posting the full specs of both machines so we can choose the best.

 

[Darkwave]

Might be worth posting the full specs of both machines so we can choose the best.

If they're both the same spec apart from the graphics card then it seems the 8600GT is the one to go for IMO.

 

[rewindurmind]

Might be worth posting the full specs of both machines so we can choose the best.

Here's the first

* Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
* Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Dual Core Processor
* 4096MB Corsair DDR II 667 Memory
* 1000GB SATA II Seagate Data Storage
* NEC 7170 Multi Format DVD/CD ReWriter
* ATI Radeon HD 2600 512MB PCI Express Graphics Card
* 7.1 HD Surround Sound
* Intel Core 2 Duo Deluxe Motherboard
* Sony Floppy Disk Drive
* DVD/CD ROM Drive
* 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN
* 12 x USB2 Ports
* Firewire


And, the second:

* Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
* Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 Dual Core Processor
* 4096MB Corsair DDR II 667 Memory
* 500GB SATA II Seagate Data Storage
* NEC 7170 Multi Format DVD/CD ReWriter
* nVidia GeForce 8600GT 512MB
* 7.1 HD Surround Sound
* Intel Core 2 Duo Deluxe Motherboard
* Sony Floppy Disk Drive
* DVD/CD ROM Drive
* 10/100/1000 Ethernet LAN
* 12 x USB2 Ports
* Firewire

Some information it leaves out, which, is disappointing. Like the clocking speed. i won't be buying either of them until I find out, though.

 

[Darkwave]

I notice the HD 2600 model has 1TB storage instead of 500GB.

Sounds like a winner to me.

 

[HangTime]

Yeah assuming the prices are very similar that would be the obvious choice, an extra 500gig is worth a good £60 or so.

 

[rewindurmind]

Yeh. They're both £575... Which is kinda cheap, I'm waiting for the catch. Some reviews show they're good, others poor.. Every review states that they have great customer service. I don't know.