Graphics card confusion

[roxics]

Can someone explain to me what the differences are between some cards that are higher numbered but have less memory, and which is actually better and why?

I'll take nvida cards as an example. I see there there are geForce 6200 cards with 256MBs but then there are 6600 cards with only 128MB. So which is better? I notice this in the 5000 and 7000 series as well. And then there are the cards that have letters behind them like LE, GS and GT and so on. What does that mean?

It seems to be the same way on the ATI side of things.

Thanks

[sim1]

In a graphic card, there's not only the memory that counts. The gpu (graphic processor) is more important that the amount of memory the card has. That's why some 128mb (nvidia 6600gt for example) beats some 256mb cards like an 6200.

Altough, I will recommend you 256 mb for gaming because MOST OF the cards that have 256mb of ram are normally paired with a good gpu.

Be carefull with the GT and LE thing, it's not the same rating for Nvidia and Ati, so don't get fooled by this.

Hope this helps, :)

-sim1

[Trong]

Okay this is a lot to type so I'm going to post and then edit so I get it first. :D Bummer not first...

Memory is important but memory separates into different groups.

• GDDR - Super low end cards
  
• GDDR2 - Lower end cards
  
• GDDR3 - High end cards.
  
• GDDR4 - Only on X1950 XTX or XT or whatever it is.
  

GDDR3 is most commonly found in gamer PCs because it runs at much higher clocks than GDDR2 at cooler tempuratures.

GPU Efficiency

GPUs from the next or a newer generation of cards normally has a more efficient GPU. That means that if you compare it to a less efficient GPU at the same clock speeds, the more efficient GPU will perform better.

Higher end video cards tend to have higher clocks in the memory. Notice that I say tend because this could change in the future.

Memory also comes in different bit thingies.

64 bit memory

128 bit memory

256 bit memory

More bits = better performance at higher resolutions

Pixel Pipelines

This is where I draw a blank, I just know that more pipes = better performance. At least at this time.

Shaders

Same thing as pipes, I don't know much about this at all.

Edited September 9, 2006 by Trong

[sim1]

Maybe somebody could put up the list of 'model types' for Nvidia and Ati seperatly because I dont know them by heart... :rofl:

Thanks,

-sim1

[Trong]

Okay posting cards in this post and going back to edit the other post later. I'm only posting cards that people can still buy and perform decently in games.

ATi Cards:

9000 Series

X Series

X1000 Series

The X1000 series are pretty much the X series but with SM3. SM3 is shader support that allows HDR in some games and better reflections and water displays. Some X1000 series cards, such as the X1800s will perform better than the X800 because of the improve cores.

In each series, the higher the number, the better the performance.

For example, the 9000 series separates into the 9200, 9500, 9550, 9600, 9800. After those are the suffixes SE, Pro, XT.

SE < Pro < XT

nVidia Cards:

5000 Series - Worst series of all time

6000 Series

7000 Series

These might get a little more confusing than ATi's naming thing. After the number, the suffixes LE, no suffix, GS, GT, GTX are included. They are in order of performance.

Example (These aren't all real cards but it's an example):

6800LE < 6800 < 6800GS < 6800GT < 6800GTX

Some cards such as the 6800 XT/GS/GT will perform better than a card with a higher model number such as a 7300 LE/GS/GT. This is due to the combination of the things in my other post.

6800 cards have higher clocks in the core and memory, more pipelines, and "higher bit" memory. There are other things in the formula to creating a better card but there's a lot to be typed.

I'm going to find a list that lists all the cards in order of performance. Note that the list is not completly accurate but it's close enough.

EDIT: Too lazy to find chart.

shinshushin (however you spell it), next_gengamer (again spelling), gwai lo (I think you're dead again...), haylcrmndr (spelling...), anyone wanna fix anything wrong that I posted?

Edited September 9, 2006 by Trong

[roxics]

Thanks for the explanation that helps alot.

But I have one other question.

Which cards from ATi and Nvidia roughly match up? Since they both use different naming conventions.

For example:

If I were to randomly walk into a store and find two cards, one an ATi 9250 and the other a Nvidia 6200, how would I know which one was better?

[Trong]

Let's see... The 2 cards on pretty far down on low end so it would be hard to choose which one. I'd suggest if you ever did want to buy a video card, order it online and ask around on Neowin. But to make a decision, take a look at both boxes and look over all the specs that I was talking about before. Compare them and then make a choice.

Don't know much at all about 9000 and 5000 series but no matter what, stay away from the 5000s. I'm not going to put suffixes cause I already explained how those worked.

Dead end: 5000 series

Lower end: X300, X1300, 6200, 6500, 9200, 9250

Mid lower end: 6600, 7300, 6800 (no suffix), 9500, 9600, 9800, X600

Midrange: 7600, 6800 (with suffixes), X1600, X700, X800, X850, X1800

High end: 7800, 7900, X1900, X1950, 7950 GT/GX2

I might have missed some cause this is just from memory.

Great cards to look at for the price/performance ratio: 7900GS, 7600GT, X1800GTO, X1900 (All), 7900GT, X850 XT (PCI Express only)

Edited September 9, 2006 by Trong

[strekship]

The bigger number isn't always better. Back in the day, the 9500 could kill the 9550 and the 9600.

[NextGen_Gamer]

Here's a performance chart sorted by price, from ultra high-end to budget low-end. I'm only going to list the ATI Radeon X1K series (from X1300 to X1950) and the NVIDIA GeForce 7 series (from 7100 to 7950). Everything I list will be PCI Express x16 based.

Ridiculous Super Ultra High-End, $550+

NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GX2 1GB (~$550)

Ultra High-End, $450 - $500

ATI Radeon X1950 XTX 512MB (~$450) ................. NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GTX 512MB (~$450)

High-End, $280 - $350

ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB (~$350) .................... NVIDIA GeForce 7950 GT 512MB ($300-$350)

ATI Radeon X1900 XT 256MB (~$280) .................... NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT 256MB (~$280)

High-End Mainstream, $170 - $230

ATI Radeon X1900 GT 256MB (~$230) .................. NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GS 256MB (~$200)

ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB* (~$200) >

ATI Radeon X1800 GTO 256MB (~$180) ................ NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB ($150-$180)

Mainstream, $100 - $160

ATI Radeon X1650 XT 256MB* (~$150) ................... NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT 256MB ($150-$180)

ATI Radeon X1650 Pro 256MB (~$100) .................... NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GS 256MB ($100-$140)

Value, $90 - $100

ATI Radeon X1300 XT 256MB (~$90) ....................... NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT 256MB ($90-$100)

Value Budget, $50 - $90

ATI Radeon X1300 Pro 256MB (~$80) .................... NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GS 256MB (~$80)

ATI Radeon X1300 (128MB-256MB) ($50-$70) ....... NVIDIA GeForce 7300 (128MB-256MB) ($50-$70)

ATI Radeon X1300 SE (~$50) ................................. NVIDIA GeForce 7100 GS (~$50)

*The ATI Radeon X1950 Pro and Radeon X1650 XT will be launched in either late September or early October.

NOTES: I left out the Radeon X1600 series since there is no reason to buy it. The Radeon X1300 XT is simply a re-branded Radeon X1600 Pro, and the Radeon X1650 Pro is a slightly boosted Radeon X1600 XT. Also, cards are matched primarily on a price basis, not necessarily performance. For instance, the Radeon X1900 XT 256MB, at $280, is actually closer in performance to a GeForce 7900 GTX at $450.

I hope this helps out...