Graphics cards hierarchy

[duvet77]

I'm looking to get myself a cheapish second hand gfx card cos i can't really justify spending hundreds of pounds when i still need to buy stuff for the house. I need to know about the hierarchy of cards within the ATI and Nvidia ranges.

For ATI I know XT > pro and in Nvidia GTX > GTS for the newer cards but thats about all I know.

There seems to be a lot more types for older cards i.e. XL, GTO, GT, GS etc. Can anyone put them in order of best to worst please?

I currently have a X800GTO2 running at X850XT speeds. Whats the eqivalent nvidia card? is it something in the 6800 range?

Would a 7800 card offer a significant performance increase? are 7900/7950 better or does it depend on the type? it gets a bit confusing looking at the benchmark charts as 7800GTX seems to be better than 7950GT etc. I suppose it depends on the gpu and memory speeds of each card.

Also, i know these cards aren't dx10, but out of interest does dx10 only work with vista?

thanks

 

[duvet77]

thanks for the input guys

 

[duvet77]

just looking around at the mo.

if i can get a second hand 7800GTX or 7900GTX for the same price or less than a x1950pro i assume they are better cards to go for.

 

[duvet77]

Shame you dont have access to the members market, some good bargains in there.

maybe i need to have a posting frenzy!