With previous generations these mid-range cards used to offer very decent performance for great prices, giving the best price/performance ratio. I'm thinking GeForce 6600 / 7600 and, going further back, Radeon 9500 (that was an absolute bargain, an overclocking monster with the ability, in some cases, to soft-mod to 9700 Pro level) in particular.
However, both ATi and nVidia have released pretty underpowered cards with this generation - the performance gap between the 8600/2600 and the 8800/2900 is just too great. Yes, you might get playable frame rates with today's games at modest settings, but what about the next 2-3 years a mid-range card might be expected to last? The 8800 GTS 320 MB version is so keenly priced that you get a whole lot more performance for not a lot more money - particularly compared to the overpriced / underpowered 8600 GTS. And if you can't stretch to the 8800 GTS 320, why bother with DX10 at all - the "mid-range" DX10 parts from this generation, based on what we've seen, aren't going to cope very well with any DX10 titles, so why not get a more powerful DX9 card from the last generation for less money?
The only place, IMHO, for the current gen mid-range parts is in fanless versions in HTPCs, to take advantage of their sophisticated acceleration of decoding HD video and (in some cases) HDCP support. And for that, you may as well get the cheapest card in the range since it will do what you need with low power / heat / noise.
Originally Posted by mclean007 going further back, Radeon 9500 (that was an absolute bargain, an overclocking monster with the ability, in some cases, to soft-mod to 9700 Pro level) in particular.
QFT!!
The 9500, 9600, and 9700 families were absolute legends in the overclocking world back then! which was why I snatched up a 9600 in 2003.
I find it sad that a lot of tests without AA and even some with AA my 7600gt beats it (barely).
Thats unacceptable IMO, thats a last get midrange beating a current gen midrange. Doesn't exactly make me want to upgrade to one of these, if you consider that an upgrade.
Good review (as always). I was actually kinda surprised how close the card was to the Pro for two games (CaC and Oblivion) but a rip off card anyway, as the X1950 Pro is about £75 from overclockers now.
Interesting...good looking card, expecially the boltgun/black back.
Holding off till the end of the week might be a better idea though...see what worth this card is for...Bioshock...
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However, both ATi and nVidia have released pretty underpowered cards with this generation - the performance gap between the 8600/2600 and the 8800/2900 is just too great. Yes, you might get playable frame rates with today's games at modest settings, but what about the next 2-3 years a mid-range card might be expected to last? The 8800 GTS 320 MB version is so keenly priced that you get a whole lot more performance for not a lot more money - particularly compared to the overpriced / underpowered 8600 GTS. And if you can't stretch to the 8800 GTS 320, why bother with DX10 at all - the "mid-range" DX10 parts from this generation, based on what we've seen, aren't going to cope very well with any DX10 titles, so why not get a more powerful DX9 card from the last generation for less money?
The only place, IMHO, for the current gen mid-range parts is in fanless versions in HTPCs, to take advantage of their sophisticated acceleration of decoding HD video and (in some cases) HDCP support. And for that, you may as well get the cheapest card in the range since it will do what you need with low power / heat / noise.
The 9500, 9600, and 9700 families were absolute legends in the overclocking world back then! which was why I snatched up a 9600 in 2003.
Thats unacceptable IMO, thats a last get midrange beating a current gen midrange. Doesn't exactly make me want to upgrade to one of these, if you consider that an upgrade.
Holding off till the end of the week might be a better idea though...see what worth this card is for...Bioshock...
Valve bundle did you say ? I'm interested !