Since I have both cards currently ( XFX 7600GT extreme and Sapphire X800 GTO2) here I've done a very quick head to head:
Test Rig: X2 3800+ @ 2.5ghz
Asus A8n-e
2 x 512mb Geil Value @208mhz
3D Mark 05 1280x1024
GTO2 @ 16 pipes Stock 5178 Idle 111W Load 214W
GTO2 @ 16 pipes 520/590 6397 Idle 111W Load 233W
7600GT @ Factory Overclock 580/750 6294 Idle 102W Load 176W
Fear Mp Demo 1280x1024 physics Med, Gfx High
GTO2 @ 16 pipes Stock Min 34 Avg 61 Max 139 0% 15% 85%
GTO2 @ 16 pipes 520/590 Min 38 Avg 75 Max 169 0% 2% 98%
7600GT @ Factory Overclock Min 46 Avg 81 Max 180 0% 0% 100%
Personally i wouldn't take these results as gospel as they aren't entirely fair. I'm using a particularly ugly windows install and the Ati drivers are 6months old. The nvidia drivers were the latest on their site. The GTO will clock slightly further but i tested with a comfortable setting to compensate for the 7600GT being only factory clocked to 580/750. The GTO also may also perform better relatively with AA on or higher res because of the better memory bandwidth.
Other Observations:
Noise. In 2D there isn't a lot to choose, the 7600gt is perhaps slightly quieter. Neither are quiet enough for my liking.
In 3D it is a very different story. Both are relatively loud, but the larger fan on the X800 makes it more of a whooshing noise - loud but not desperately annoying. It also ramps up step by step with temp only hitting full chat with prolonged hardcore 3D gaming. As soon as you finish gaming the ati quickly spins down to 2D speeds again. The 7600Gt however due to the smaller fan sounds more like a dentist drill as soon as it goes into 3D mode - even in the menu for fear. Worse still it takes forever to return to 2D speed after finishing gaming (a few minutes at least). It even goes into dentist drill mode when scrolling the ocuk site! I'm not impressed. I lived with the Ati card for months as it was, but the 7600GT would need a cooler/fan change right away. The good news is that since it draws a lot less power it won't be hard to cool.
Chosing between the cards is a very hard one. Having looked at a german review with benchmarks from more than 10 games there is nothing at all to choose between an X850 XTPE and 7600GT. It fluctuates game to game, but averages out to almost identical scores. Dual dvi is nice on the 7600gt and in theory the SM3 etc make it more future proof - but for me that means nothing - you aren't going to have all the eye candy switched on in future games with a mid range card. Image quality was hard to tell for sure with the few tests i did, but if pushed i'd give it to Ati
In conclusion
If power draw is an issue the 7600 wins hands down
If noise is an issue and you don't want to change the cooler - it's the X800 for me.
If performance is your main consideration and you run at 1280x1024 there is nothing to choose - buy the cheaper of the 2 unless you have a specific game in mind.
Going by current ocuk prices I'm going to give it to the X800 GTO2 by a whisker, but there really is nothing in it. Buy whichever is best for your needs. In my case the lower power draw is very appealing since I rarely game and this card could eventually see itself in my htpc - I am undecided still, but I think i may keep the 7600GT purely for this reason.
Marc
Test Rig: X2 3800+ @ 2.5ghz
Asus A8n-e
2 x 512mb Geil Value @208mhz
3D Mark 05 1280x1024
GTO2 @ 16 pipes Stock 5178 Idle 111W Load 214W
GTO2 @ 16 pipes 520/590 6397 Idle 111W Load 233W
7600GT @ Factory Overclock 580/750 6294 Idle 102W Load 176W
Fear Mp Demo 1280x1024 physics Med, Gfx High
GTO2 @ 16 pipes Stock Min 34 Avg 61 Max 139 0% 15% 85%
GTO2 @ 16 pipes 520/590 Min 38 Avg 75 Max 169 0% 2% 98%
7600GT @ Factory Overclock Min 46 Avg 81 Max 180 0% 0% 100%
Personally i wouldn't take these results as gospel as they aren't entirely fair. I'm using a particularly ugly windows install and the Ati drivers are 6months old. The nvidia drivers were the latest on their site. The GTO will clock slightly further but i tested with a comfortable setting to compensate for the 7600GT being only factory clocked to 580/750. The GTO also may also perform better relatively with AA on or higher res because of the better memory bandwidth.
Other Observations:
Noise. In 2D there isn't a lot to choose, the 7600gt is perhaps slightly quieter. Neither are quiet enough for my liking.
In 3D it is a very different story. Both are relatively loud, but the larger fan on the X800 makes it more of a whooshing noise - loud but not desperately annoying. It also ramps up step by step with temp only hitting full chat with prolonged hardcore 3D gaming. As soon as you finish gaming the ati quickly spins down to 2D speeds again. The 7600Gt however due to the smaller fan sounds more like a dentist drill as soon as it goes into 3D mode - even in the menu for fear. Worse still it takes forever to return to 2D speed after finishing gaming (a few minutes at least). It even goes into dentist drill mode when scrolling the ocuk site! I'm not impressed. I lived with the Ati card for months as it was, but the 7600GT would need a cooler/fan change right away. The good news is that since it draws a lot less power it won't be hard to cool.
Chosing between the cards is a very hard one. Having looked at a german review with benchmarks from more than 10 games there is nothing at all to choose between an X850 XTPE and 7600GT. It fluctuates game to game, but averages out to almost identical scores. Dual dvi is nice on the 7600gt and in theory the SM3 etc make it more future proof - but for me that means nothing - you aren't going to have all the eye candy switched on in future games with a mid range card. Image quality was hard to tell for sure with the few tests i did, but if pushed i'd give it to Ati
In conclusion
If power draw is an issue the 7600 wins hands down
If noise is an issue and you don't want to change the cooler - it's the X800 for me.
If performance is your main consideration and you run at 1280x1024 there is nothing to choose - buy the cheaper of the 2 unless you have a specific game in mind.
Going by current ocuk prices I'm going to give it to the X800 GTO2 by a whisker, but there really is nothing in it. Buy whichever is best for your needs. In my case the lower power draw is very appealing since I rarely game and this card could eventually see itself in my htpc - I am undecided still, but I think i may keep the 7600GT purely for this reason.
Marc
