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Value Cards
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Recommended Cards
Best buy: Radeon 9550, Raedon X300 (PCI Express)
Other good cards in this price category: Radeon 8500LE/Radeon 9100, Radeon 9000 PRO, Radeon 9200/Radeon 9250
Radeon 9550, Radeon X300 (PCI Express)
Pros- Cheap, full DX9 support, very good image quality
Cons- not so fast
Radeon 9200, Radeon 9250
Pros- Cheap, DX8.1 support, good image quality
Cons- No DX9 support, not so fast
Cards to Avoid
SiS Xabre 600/400, XGI Volrai V3
Pros- Cheap
Cons- Speed comes at the cost of heavy quality loss, very slow when quality on par with ATI/nVidia cards, poor driver support
GeForce4 MX420/MX440SE (64-bit memory)/MX4000
Pros- Cheap
Cons- No DX8 support, VERY slow due to 64 bit memory
GeForce4 MX440/MX440-8x/MX460
Pros- Cheap
Cons- No DX8 support, basically turbo charged GeForce2 MX with Video processing engine. Slow in DX8 games
GeForce FX5200 (non-Ultra), FX5500, PCX5300 (PCI Express)
Pros- DX9 support, cheap
Cons- Very slow, buy this card if you want to play DX9 games at slideshow speed, most of the 64 MB versions come with 64 bit memory which can make it as bad as GeForce4 MX420
Radeon 9200SE
Pros- DX8.1 support, cheap
Cons- VERY slow due to 64 bit memoy bus, not fast enough for many DX8 games
Radeon 9600SE/9550SE, Radeon X300SE (PCI Express)
Pros- DX9 support
Cons- Slow, not powerful enough for DX9 games
Special notes for budget graphics card buyers: Avoid 128(if possible)/256 MB versions and save money. All of these budget cards aren't powerful enough to make good use of 128 MB memory. Moreover, many 128 Radeon 8500LE/9100 cards are slower than the 64 MB version, because they come with slower memory.
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Lower Midrange Cards ($100 to $200)
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Recommended Cards
Best buy: Radeon 9800 Pro, Radeon X700 Pro (PCI Express)
Other good cards in this price category: GeForce 6600 (PCI Express), Radeon 9600 PRO/XT
Radeon X700 Pro (PCI Express)
Pros- DX9 support, excellent DX8 and DX9 performance, very good AA/AF peformance
Cons- None
GeForce 6600 (PCI Express)
Pros- DX9.0c support, very good DX8 and DX9 performance, good AA/AF peformance
Cons- Slower than X700 Pro in most cases, inferior vertrex shader performance
Radeon 9600 Pro/Radeon 9600XT, Radeon X600 Pro/XT (PCI Express)
Pros- DX9 support, excellent DX8 and very good DX9 performance, very good AA/AF peformance
Cons- None
GeForce FX5700 Ultra
Pros- DX9 support, excellent DX8 performance and quite good DX9 performance, good AA/AF peformance
Cons- Not so good price/performance as Radeon 9600 PRO, somewhat slower than R9600 PRO/XT in DX9 games
GeForce FX5700 (non-Ultra), GeForce PCX5750 (PCI Express)
Pros- DX9 support, mediocre DX8 and DX9 performance, good AA/AF peformance
Cons- Radeon 9600 Pro and X600 Pro are lot better card, but costs little more.
Cards to Avoid
GeForce FX5600 (non-Ultra)/XT
Pros- DX9 support
Cons- Gets wasted by Radeons. Not good value for money
GeForce FX5600 Ultra rev1.0/2.0
Pros- DX9 support, fairly good DX8 performance (rev2.0)
Cons- Poor DX9 perforamance, Radeon 9600 Pro and faster cards are much better for both DX8 and DX9. Not good value for money
GeForce FX5900 SE/XT, GeForce PCX 5900 (PCI Express)
Pros- DX9 support, excellent DX8 performance, good AA/AF peformance
Cons- poor DX9 performance, and you can get a Radeon 9800 Pro for little more, which is a better card in every area. Radeon X700 Pro (and of course faster GeForce 6600GT, Radeon X700XY) is a much better choice in PCI express segment.
Radeon 9800SE
Pros- DX9 support
Cons- 128 bit memory versions are slower than Radeon 9600 Pro, rare 256 bit memory versions are very hard to find which perform on par with Radeon 9600 Pro. Both versions are poor value for money
Radeon 9800 Pro (128 bit memory version)
Comment- Recently we've seen many Radeon 9800 Pro with crippled 128 bit memory. This makes Radeon 9800 Pro only little better than Radeon 9600XT. If you can find one for R9600 XT price, then you may consider buying this card, but R9600 XT has other advantages like less power consumption and ability to run without extra power connector.
Special notes for midrange graphics card buyers: Avoid 256 MB versions and save money. 256 MB VRAM is useless with these cards and card manufacturers often use inferior memory in 256 MB cards
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Higher Midrange Cards
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Recommended Cards
Best buy: GeForce 6600GT (PCI Express), GeForce 6800 (AGP)
Other good cards in this price category: Radeon X700XT (PCI Express)
GeForce 6600GT (PCI Express)
Pros- DX9.0c support, very fast, good AA/AF performance, good price/performance ratio
Cons- Inferior vertrex shader performance and below par AA/AF performance at high resolutions
GeForce 6800 (AGP)
Pros- DX9.0c support, Pixel Shader 3.0 support, very fast at high resolutions, very good AA/AF performance
Cons- None
Radeon X700XT (PCI Express)
Pros- DX9 support, very fast, good AA/AF performance, good price/performance ratio
Cons- Gets beaten by GeForce 6600GT in many benchmarks, no Pixel Shader 3.0 support
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High-End Cards
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Recommended Cards
Best buy: GeForce 6800GT
GeForce 6800 Ultra (available for both AGP and (PCI Express) interface)
Pros- DX9.0c support, Pixel Shader 3.0 support, extremely fast at high resolutions, very good AA/AF performance
Cons- Very expensive, high power consumption
GeForce 6800GT
Pros- DX9.0c support, Pixel Shader 3.0 support, extremely fast at high resolutions, very good AA/AF performance
Cons- Expensive
Radeon X800XT PE
Pros- DX9 support, extremely fast at high resolutions, very good AA/AF performance
Cons- Very expensive, no Pixel Shader 3.0 support
Radeon X800XT (available for both AGP and (PCI Express) interface)
Pros- DX9 support, extremely fast at high resolutions, very good AA/AF performance
Cons- Very expensive, no Pixel Shader 3.0 support
Radeon X800 Pro
Pros- DX9 support, very fast at high resolutions, very good AA/AF performance
Cons- Expensive, no Pixel Shader 3.0 support, not as fast as GeForce 6800GT
Cards to Avoid
XGI Volari V8 Duo Ultra
Pros- DX9 support
Cons- Not impressive performance in common benchmarks, very poor performance in games that usually aren't used as benchmark, quality issues, Very slow SuperSampling AA technology, only 4x AF, extremely poor driver, hard to find, very expensive
Comment: Buy this card only if you want a dual GPU card for your collection. Get a real card for gaming
OBSOLETE HIGH END CARDS :
Radeon 9800XT, Radeon 9800 Pro (256 MB version), GeForce FX5950 Ultra, GeForce FX5900 Ultra
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Card Manufacturers
ATI based cards:
First, there are 3 real classes of build for these cards, but it's often reduced to 2 for simplicity sake.
- Retail, ATI is the only true retail seller on the market (nV doesn't really have any retail [PNY is their flagship partner]), however it is rare that the distinction is made between this and the next class. Ati's cards are mostly made by Sapphire, who also make their own line (kinda confusing)
- OEM partner, many people include these in the Retail segment because their products ship in a retail box, and most often it is refered to as 'retail' by stores and even people talking here. OEM partners are ASUS, Hercules, Gibabyte, Sapphire, etc. USually comes with a nice box, documentation, cables, software, games. Usually have warranties and support for the card.
- Static-Bag/White-Box OEM this is what is usually simply refered to as just plain OEM. These products come with the bare minimum (drivers, and basic instructions [sometimes only on the CD]), and usually come in the bare minimum packaging, often being found in either a white box or an anti-static bag. Often no support and very minor warranties at best.
Now on to the brands themselves.
Well from what I've seen here's my op-onion;
Built By ATI, this is of course the gold standard / refernce card. In many cases they are among the very best on the Market (like the R9600Pro), but sometimes they are limited because they are only as good as their reference standard, and others outdo ATI (the R9600XT). Guaranteed performance and very good build quality, which is nice with all the 'kinda-PROs', and Sorta-XTs out there. Somewhat limited software package usually (often just one step up from white-box OEM) 3 year Warranty, which is good for people who have a long term comitment in mind. Basically you know what to expect when getting a BBA card.
HIS, the Ice-Q is a beautiful thing, definitely top notch, awesome overclocker, pretty quiet. The Excalibur on the other hand, good but not so top notch, I would say it's average or just above. HIS' reputation isn't as storied as some, but they are know to be a solid maker, new to making products like the ICE-Q, but the Excalibur is workhorse kind of stuff. Can be found with interesting unique feature like VIVO feature on some cards (before ASUS moved to ATI), and HIS offers one of the only non-workstation ATI cards in their R9600 series.
Hercules with the 3D Prophet series, top notch definitely. Both in build and in features. Usually a top overclocker, and the software package usually is tops too. Quality maker with great reputation for going the extra mile. Leaving the market after ATI didn't like the special features, add-ons, clockspeeds, etc. and asked them to fall in line, and Hercules decided the market is to competitive to go through that hassle. The R9800XT is their last line (AFAIK)
ASUS, have started making ATI cards after developing a good reputation making nV cards. ASUS provides most of their cards with VIVO unlike most (but some do like HIS above). Elaborate software package (hardware/temp monitoring, video security feature for home security), and their uniqe HSF solution with dual fans making them good overclockers (as long as you disable SmartDoctor monitoring feature). A top notch maker with a good name (mainly from making good nV products). 3year warranty like ATI. The card I would personally buy IMO, just barely nudging out Hercules, BBA and HIS.
Sapphire usually a good card, usually equal to the BBA but with a little more software. However there can be minor niggling issues from time to time like any of their other cards. Some models can come with a wide assortment of memory modules (11 different types for the R9600P last time I counted). Sometimes can have better features, with their FireBlade editions and UltimateEditions for a premium. Warranty is not quite as good as ATI. The base Atlantis models usually can be found slightly cheaper than BBA, so you usually get what you pay for.
Tyan makes pretty good stuff. You can get a regular models (usually good overclockers) or ones with HSF speed control and a thermal diode for temperature monitoring (diode is in the HSF though so you can't replace the HSF and keep the Temp monitoring), rememebr this is on their regular cards not just XT! The thermal diode equipped cards are hampered by the HSF assembly and doesn't overclock as high as the standard model because the HSF is aluminum, and sits on the memory with RUBBER feet. Good at stock speed (which is above reference BBA speed), but not good overclocker when using the temperature monitoring version with big blue HSF.
VisionTek Xtasy series, a fairly recent convert from nVidia (recent for the R9800pro generation, Asus and MSI are newer of course). Standard build few bells and whistles, but they have been turning out VERY good overclockers, many reviewers brushing up against the top of their class.
Gigabyte MAYA series, offers pretty good cards with lots of feature and software including a packaged overclocking utility (V-tuner), they use their own custom cooler (looks like gold or brass, but it's just coated aluminium so far). Can be much better than BuiltByAti cards, and can sometimes be slightly below their build, depending on the sector of the market the card is aimed at.
Gigacube/GeXcube/Gag-n-puke Not a fan of theirs, don't like a few of their practices like the 'pro-lite', don't trust their build quality, think of it as the same as OEM. This is definitely NOT Gigabyte, like they try to make people believe. Stay away unless you like Russian roulette, or have no other choice.
Powercolor a hit and miss brand, slightly better than Gigapuke IMO. Powercolor is notorious for underclocking their graphics cards and selling them as 'PRO's, the original PC 'R9700Pro' was really an R9700non-pro, it later had a name change to the R9700GOLD . Their cards can even arrive at reviewer's bench underclocked that way.
Connect3D Very barebones maker. Don't hear much bad about them, but definitely a workhorse general purpose vendor, with very little software or accesories, very basic cards. Just a step up from OEM IMO, but nothing bad to say, so an important step up.
Club3D, do NOT confuse this with Connect3D, Club3D is also barebones, but mediocre maker. Their cards are made by Powercolor's manufacturing arm. I have not heard good things about them, and considering their build partner I'm not surprised. Likely left with PC's castoffs, treat like PC and Gag-n-puke.
Crucial Just rebranded Sapphires IIRC. Pretty barebones too. Very much like Connect3D in that they have sparse offering but are OK cards. I have seen people praise their overclocking.
Creative The 3D Blaster ATI cards are currently only available in Europe (north America get the nV FX line). Quality build with ok software package. Not enough reviews to pass final judgement, seems ok. One issue I did notice was that they prefer their own drivers to ATI's reference Catalyst (don't know why since they don't have special features like VIVO or hardware monitoring), and can sometimes have issues because of that.
MSI, new entrant in the ATI camp, like ASUS they came over from nV. No real information on quality of their ATI products, or what to expect from their packaging. But they do have a good reputation from making quality nV parts.
Anywhoo, that's what I've gleaned from my readings over time.
A good source for reviews based on brand (but the link is a little old so benchmarks may no longer be as accurate and some of the links linked to may be dead) is here from 8dimensional;
http://www.8dimensional.com/video-card-reviews/index.html
Start of the ATI section (Scroll down to find the one you're looking for);
http://www.8dimensional.com/video-card-reviews/ati-video-cards.html#ATi_FireGL_X1
(contributed by TheGreatGrapeApe)
nVidia based cards:
the way I would choose
BFG(upgrade to water cooled) ~ Gainward Power Pack >= BFG > Gainward ~ eVGA > MSI ~ Gigabyte ~ Asus ~ Leadtek > Chaintec ~ XFX ~ Aopen ~ Abit
Abit
They have a good reputation on motherboards, but are not much of Nvidia VGA card makers. As a matter of fact they haven't even got the latest 6 series in Nvidia. So one can expect cheaper prices for older models.
ASUS
They have a good reputation for their motherboards and ATI cards, and though feature wise their Nvidia graphics card line up isnt all that different from say MSI, Gigabyte but they do incorporate features like TD/TVD/Deluxe (another name for VIVO) and have wierd non-standard naming systems. They do have a very good hardware/software bundle and usually cards come with a free webcam. The board layout and design is simple and neat. As mentioned in the ATI section, they are decent overclockers, specially the ones with dual fans. They provide 3 years of warranty but do have a bad reputation for their support. Personally I think the higher level of support you get from them, the better support they provide. Cost wise, they are slightly, more expensive than the usual Geforces.
BFG Technologies
BFG (Big F*cking Gun) live up to their name. Company comprises of a bunch of hardcore gamers producing cards for gamers. They are the top card producers for NVIDIA, and excel in service and quality. For comparison, BFG can be compared to HIS (for ATI) with an extra edge. They OC their cards and then guarantee that. How many manufacturers do such a thing? Their cards have life time warranty, and the company provides 24/7 customer service. The only drawback is that their products are priced relatively higher than other OEMs. But that makes sense as they give lifetime warranty on over clocked stuff. If you have the money, this is where your shopping cart should stop. Cureently BFG is selling all the cards from the last 6 generations of Nvidia GPUs with the exception of the latest 6600 series. Also BFG offer a few other gaming goodies including upgrades for the graphics card like water cooling. Note: before buying make sure you meet power requirements, as these guys OC their cards, u dont want to fall behind.
Chaintech
To keep it short and simple, they are Gigabyte wannabes. Take a few unique features out of a gigabyte, make it a bit cheaper, give same or worse warranty and we get a Chaintec. Not that its bad, there are better alternatives like Gigabyte, MSI and Asus.
DFI
Havent seen much of their cards around and might not be for sale in the Americas. They entered into the retail market for motherboards only recently and because of their colors and geeky designs have scored points among the enthusiast community. They are more of a bulk OEM, so the cards they are making might be in those brand names computers you buy.
EPoX
Havent heard of these in the retail segment and not sure if they are available in the US for sale. Like DFI, these guys also make for brand name computer manufacturers.
PNY Technologies
PNY have been Nvidias best bud. Have been loyal to them ever since making both desktop and workstation cards. Their desktop series are not at all outstanding. They are the simplest version of a stable Nvidia card one can get. they are might be a bit cheaper than most of the others and are a good choice for a tight-on-budget user, or a non-enthusiast not interested in pushing graphics limits to extreme. They often have value promotions and give out bags n stuff with their cards. They do offer a lifetime replacement warranty on 1-2 cards, but only guys with burnt PNY cards can tell what do they actually mean by lifetime. On others something like a 1-3 year warranty based on conditions.
eVGA
eVGA are another big name in NVIDIA OEMs. They make good cards and provide decent service. (dunno about their warranty customer service - maybe somebody can tell)
They have an all rounder web site and provide a number of attractive features. Seldom they have games and give away cards. Apart from their technical support, they have a community where news/help can be obtained. They have intensive documentation on the website with troubleshooting utilities. They also host a marketplace where one can sell old cards, trade etc. Another attractive feature that they provide with their cards is the ?Step-up program? wherein you would be allowed to upgrade your graphics card (bought after Feb. 2004) within 90 days of purchase, to their latest card for one time only. I.e. they buyback your old card for the full price and apply it to the new card. Before you buy, look into the terms/conditions of this feature. Their prices are more attractive than BFG, but cards are at stock speeds. Quality wise the cards look pretty much the same as other OEMs, though these guys give games like Doom 3 free with certain cards. eVGA will definetly be in my top 5 list if I ever plan to buy a Nvidia.
Gainward
Though they don't have a fancy site like others, Gainward makes some serious stuff. They are among the famous OC cards and come in two main different flavors. The coolFX series are the competition to BFG. These are OCed cards; water cooled and come with utilities to OC further and supported just like the BFG. Though these are quite expensive. The other not so expensive flavor also have massive heat sinks on them for the over clocker, but they aren?t water cooled or OCed by the company. On the other hand they don?t have much documentation on their website about the products and or troubleshooting steps. Few websites also sell Gainward cards with single slot heatsinks for those who dont have enough space. warranty ??Final summary is that card is designed for the OCing enthusiast as well as performance user.
Gigabyte
Just like their ATI cards, the Nvidia cards are bundled with games and software. They also include the gigabyte exclusive V-Tuner II overclocking utility with good hardware monitoring. Some cards have a fanless heat pipe based cooling system, hence making no noise. They do mention OCing along with their card specs so one can safely assume that there products are designed to OC. They have an extensive website and have heard no complaints about their service.
Leadtek
They are another OEM for Nvidia, an old one. Nothing too exceptional about their cards, which could make them totally stand out. However they use their own HSF design, something called the 3 Air-surround cooling system. According to reviews the design looks pretty good and solid and covers both sides of the board, but how efficient that would be for overclocker can only be told by a Leadtek user. I have read 1-2 articles of successfull OCing. Few of their high end section cards come with dual DVI connectors. They might be available for a bit (just a bit) cheaper than the bunch. They provide warranty upto 3 years.
MSI :- same as ATI one maybe
As said in the ATI cards section, MSI is known to produce quality components. Their motherboards are still considered one of the favorites and one can expect a similar reputaion in their graphics cards. MSI also is supposed to have a very good service. Along with a detailed website, they also have MSI forums wherin problems can be discussed. They give a handsome software bundle with their cards too. One attractive feature of their cards is the implementation of DOT (dynamic oversclocking, which when enabled can overclock the card from 2-10%. Though not a feature for enthusiasts, but good for an average user who doent want to overclock manually. As they talk a lot about OCing on their website, one can say that these cards will do well among OCers. They are price competitive with other OEMs.
XFX
They are another fancy board OEM, make fancy boxes and fancy websites. Few cards have dual DVI and are upto date with Nvidia chipsets. They will be in the same price range as others. FOr warranty, they ask you to contact Pine, whaever that means.
AOpen
They dont have a big name in graphics as others, but do have some good looking Nvidia lineup of cards. Pricewise they are pretty much the same as others, cheaper if not more expensive. Their lineup goes under the name of Aeolus and geforce for older cards. Aopen is upto date with Nvidia chipsets. Few of their cards feature double DVI connectors. Would recommend these over PNY and same category as chaintec, leadtek types. They also have a good documented website.
Others heard of, but not recommended
Not recommended because not many reviews about these. Dont know even if they are surviving. No info on availibility, features or warranties. Some of them might have heard of but maybe not w.r.t VGA cards.
Shuttle
Soltek
SOYO
Unheard brands
the reason for not hearing about these might be because of their retail availibility in the US. They might be like DFI and Epox OEM bulk sellers. None of these are recommended.
Compro Personal Cinema
Elsa Japan
FIC
I/Omagic
Jaton
Palit/Daytona (this brand is notorious for making crippled cards with 64 bit memory interface)
Prolink
Albatron
Biostar
