Specifications

RATINGS
TYPICAL
PRICE MEMORY
MEMORY
INTERFACE
(bits)
STREAM
PROCESSING
UNITS
DIE
PROCESS
(nm)
CORE
CLOCK
(MHz)
SHADER
CLOCK
(MHz)
MEMORY
CLOCK
(MHz)
Radeon HD 2400 Pro
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$70 256MB DDR2 64 40 80 525 525 400
Radeon HD 2600 Pro
lllmm
$100 256MB DDR2 128 120 65 600 600 500
Radeon HD 2600 XT
lllmm
$130 512MB GDDR3 128 120 65 600 600 1,000
Radeon HD 2900 XT*
llllm
$400 512MB GDDR3 512 320 65 740 740 1,650
GeForce 8500 GT
lllmm
$80 256MB or 512MB DDR2 128 16 80 450 900 800
GeForce 8600 GT
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$150 256MB DDR2 128 32 80 540 1,180 700
GeForce 8600 GTS
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$200 256MB GDDR3 128 32 80 675 1,450 2,000
GeForce 8800 GTX*
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$580 768MB GDDR3 384 128 80 575 1,350 1,800
* High-end cards, tested for comparison.
Most people can’t tell a graphics card
from an UNO card, and you’ll need one (a
graphics card, that is) if you want to use
Windows Vista to its full extent. Bear in
mind that the vast majority of PCs in this
country fit into one of two categories:
those used for Web surfing, e-mail, and
shopping online; and those used for busi-
ness, fi nance, spreadsheets, and activities
such as monitoring stock tickers. Neither
XFX nVidia
GeForce 8500 GT
$85 street
256MB DDR2 memory,
128-bit interface
lllmm
PROS Great price. Outpaces
ATI part at similar price
point. Very quiet. Good Aero
performance.
CONS Weak performance,
unless you’re willing to make
your games ugly so they run
faster.
AMD ATI Radeon
HD 2600 XT
$130 street
512MB GDDR3 memory,
128-bit interface
lllmm
PROS Low wattage. Does a
decent job on Aero. Excel-
lent video quality. Terrifi c for
DirectX 9.
CONS Insuffi cient for
DirectX 10 3D apps or
games.
Memory The amount and type of memory that the card uses. To run
Windows Vista Aero, 256MB of DDR2 SDRAM is plenty, but it might
be a bit weak for gaming. GDDR3 SDRAM is faster and needs less
power than other types of memory. (Discrete memory—located on
the card—is faster than shared, which requires the card to talk to
the computer’s main memory.) Memory interface The bandwidth
between the card’s memory and its GPU, or graphics processing
unit. A wider bandwidth usually means better performance. Stream
processing units The number of special, multipurpose processing
units available on the card. Stream processing units aren’t tied to
graphical data but are used for various software functions. Die pro-
cess Determines the size of the chip’s parts. Smaller parts require
less power, which usually means less heat to dissipate and less fan
noise to deal with. Core, shader, and memory clocks The differ-
ent frequencies used by the various components of a card. Faster
clocks allow more operations to be done in a shorter time.
Summary of Features
scenario requires a vast amount of pixel-
pushing graphics power. So when ATI or
nVidia releases a new chipset for cards
that will cost upwards of $600, quite a few
of us simply shake our heads and wonder
if there’s a decent next-gen card for non-
gaming computers.
The good news is that there are cards
for the rest of us. Released with less fanfare
than those enthusiast-level, crazy-priced
cards, they are quietly available for far
less money. They also pack less power for
3D applications like games—and Vista’s
fancy, graphics-heavy Aero interface. Both
AMD and nVidia manufacture higher- and
lower-end versions of their latest chipsets.
The $400 AMD ATI Radeon HD 2900 XT
is the company’s top-of-the-line card, but
you can buy cheaper 2600 and 2400 ver-
sions. And to complement its top-end
K
96 PC MAGAZINE NOVEMBER 6, 2007