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

 

[Tk7]

This link:-

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html

Shows performance comparisons between a lot of types of cards. As for DX10, yes that is Vista only.

 

[mame]

I know an x1850xt-pe is roughly the same as a 7600gt if thats any use. I think the 7600gt scored slightly higher but could be because is had sm3.0. A 7800gs is also pretty much the same speed but a 7800gt and gtx are quite a bit faster.

Actually after reading your post again, you need an x1950pro. No competition at all for a cheap-ish card. That will be a huge upgrade compared to what you have now.

 

[the_worrier]

I was running an OEM X800XL 256Mb PCI-e and switched to an XFX 7900GTX 512Mb- one of their faster models....675MHz.....WOW! Its about three times as powerful!

Get a 7900GTX...they are cheap 2nd hand! And are 25% more powerful than a 1950PRO!!

 

[ACESHIGH]

I know an x1850xt-pe is roughly the same as a 7600gt if thats any use. I think the 7600gt scored slightly higher but could be because is had sm3.0. A 7800gs is also pretty much the same speed but a 7800gt and gtx are quite a bit faster.

Actually after reading your post again, you need an x1950pro. No competition at all for a cheap-ish card. That will be a huge upgrade compared to what you have now.

Agreed. The X1950Pro even new is a very cheap & quick card and at £70.49 inc VAT for the OcUK model thats the card i would get, as you get a new card warranty too.

I would expect for 2nd hand cards, the ones to look for would be (in order of performance)....

X1950XTX
X1900XTX
X1950XT
X1900XT
X1950pro
X1800XT

7900GTX
7800GTX 512MB
7950GT
7900GT (known quality problems so watch out)
7800GTX

 

[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.

 

[GazD]

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.

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

 

[duvet77]

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

maybe i need to have a posting frenzy!

 

[gurusan]

maybe i need to have a posting frenzy!

no doubt