2007-09-12 09:18:45 · 6 answers · asked by rxh666 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Add-ons
what are these guys saying,it wont run any games,check out the new a.t.i 256MB Sapphire HD2600PRO PCI-E(x16) 128Bit 1000MHz GDDR2 GPU 600MHz from http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=633078
this is only £55.35 Inc VAT and has some amazing specifications including a core clock speed of 600mhz(awesome) and a 256mb of gddr3 memory running at 1000mhz
but what makes this such a bargain is this...stream processes...this card has 120 stream processes and considering the geforce 8800gtx has just 128stream processes(http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=499238),you can now see why this is such a good card
as you wanted this is also direct x 10 compatible and as a direct x 10 card it also has pixel and shader model 4.0
finally if your motherboard supports "crossfire" which is ati,s equivelent to s.l.i then this card will run with another identical hd2600pro to give you graphics beyond beleif
what was someone saying,it will be too slow!
hope this helps
good luck mate!
2007-09-12 10:35:25 · answer #1 · answered by brianthesnail123 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It looks like the cheapest route to DX10 capability is the HD2400 - but "capability" is perhaps a tad misleading.
If you have no interest in gaming, then any DX10 card is probably as good as the next, certainly at the value end of the market.
If you have an interest in gaming, then my own view is that involvement with DX10 is a little premature, but anyway, I suspect that there would be an interest in "turning on the eye candy".
That is, rather than running at minimum resolution with no anti-aliasing or ansiotropic filtering you might want to maximise these provided you still achieve a playable frame rate.
My flat panel has a natural resolution of 1280 by 1024, so my particular interest is ain how a game/gpu combination fares at this level. Absolute scores mean little, unless the tester uses a system which exactly matches my own (or yours), so it's all about comparative testing.
I think the 8600GT is most closely matched by the HD2600XT (from the Ati camp) - for both price and performance, so the 2600Pro will obviously not perform to the same level.
The question is, will the card provide acceptable viewing in the games you most favour, at the resolution most pleasing on your monitor - and do you want to include any margin for possible future games or system changes...
Based on the evidence available on the net, if your monitor will support only 1024x768, and you don't want to accommodate the possibility of an upgrade, then the 2600Pro would probably do the trick. Don't be fooled by 512Mb memory, a faster card with 256Mb would usually do better. (IMHO)
For 1280x1024 at maximum quality, some games will be jerky on the pro but not the XT (or 8600GT) The question is, are those the games you are interested in? Only you can decide...
At this point in time, and the prices on the link may change, the cheapest 2600 is the passive 512Mb Gigabyte 2600Pro at £54.04. The Sapphires are (I believe) fan cooled - and it is definitely worth the extra 10p for the 512Mb version!!!
The cheapest XT is the Sapphire at £64.72, with the passive Gigabyte at a few pounds more.
Choose well!
2007-09-12 23:11:36 · answer #2 · answered by Sue de Nimme 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Although DX10 nVidia cards start at around £30 for the 8400GS, and DX10Ati cards at about the same price for the HD2400Pro, these are not suitable for any but the least demanding of games.
Tom's Hardware (first link) reveals that to achieve playable frame rates in say Doom3 at 1280x1024 with eye candy turned on you will need at least an 8600GT or an HD2600XT
The article (second link) reveals that the 2600Pro is not in the same league as the 2600XT and the the 8600GT.
You really need to be looking at a £70 budget - minimum.
For £67-£70 http://www.scan.co.uk/ have a handfull of such cards (third link) (but not the X1600Pro)!
DirectX10 makes more demands on these cards, reducing performance for what appears to be very little gain at this time. It's probably safe to say that these cards will be past their best by the time directX10 games are widely available - but at least you can see on the links below how they will cope with dX9 games, and that is probably on a par with similarly priced dX9 cards!
Good luck with your choice!
2007-09-12 10:39:22 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go With Brianthesnail on this one i have this card and it is fantastic at rendering the games graphics. Cheers Brian
2007-09-12 13:12:55 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes - just about! Check out the 512MB Sapphire Radeon HD2600PRO at CCLonline
http://www.cclonline.com/product-info.asp?product_id=14697&category_id=257&manufacturer_id=0&tid=11117-02-20r
2007-09-12 09:24:07 · answer #5 · answered by zoomjet 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
SURE! Find a bargain on the 8600GT. OR if you just want DX10 capability, this might interest you:
http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Point_Of_View_Geforce_8400GS_Overclocking/5133-1.html
A real banger for the buck!
2007-09-12 12:59:00 · answer #6 · answered by Karz 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yeah but it won't run any games! It will be too slow.
2007-09-12 09:21:25 · answer #7 · answered by Venom 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋