Graphics Card Comparison II
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Comparison 1
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3
The first time we did a graphics comparison chart We started with the Geforce 2 MX graphics card. The progression since then has been amazing and so many graphics cards have been released since then that we have had to start all over again and compare the more recent set of cards from the two giants in the graphics card world, ATI with its Radeon series of cards and Nvidia with the infamous Geforce line. I'm sure more will continue to come onto the market and we will add them as and when they appear.
Choosing a graphics card is no longer just about seeing which one is the fastest. The CPU industry is trying to get out of this stereotype but is having a hard time doing so as higher numbers tend to attract peoples attention. The graphics card industry however is getting the publics attention on this matter. The different technologies behind the card is an equal reason to buy a card along with its raw power. Below is a table of the latest graphics cards and there speeds and memory configurations. Later on we will have a look at the technologies in each of these cards.
| GFX Card | Clock Speed | Memory Speed | Memory Bus Width | Memory Size | Memory Bandwidth | Fill Rate Pixels/s | Price |
| Geforce 6200 | 300Mhz | 500Mhz (DDR) | 128-Bit | 128Mb | 8.0Gb/s | 1.2 Billion | Compare |
| Geforce 6600 | 300Mhz | 550Mhz (DDR) | 128-Bit | 128Mb | 11.2Gb/s | 2.4Billion | Compare |
| Geforce 6600 GT | 500Mhz | 1Ghz (DDR) | 128-Bit | 256Mb | 16Gb/s | 4 Billion | |
| Geforce 6800 | 325Mhz | 700Mhz (DDR) | 256-bit | 256Mb | 22.4Gb/s | 3.9Billion | Compare |
| Geforce 6800 GT | 350Mhz | 1Ghz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 256Mb | 32Gb/s | 5.6Billion | |
| Geforce 6800 Ultra | 400Mhz | 1.1Ghz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 256/512 Mb | 35.2Gb/s | 6.4 Billion | |
| Geforce 7300 LE | 450Mhz | Varied around 666Mhz (DDR) | 64-bit | 128/256 Mb | 5.2Gb/s | 1.8 Billion | Compare |
| Geforce 7300 GS | 550Mhz | Varied around 800Mhz (DDR) | 64-bit | 128/256 Mb | 6.5Gb/s | 2.2 Billion | Compare |
| Geforce 7300 GT | Varied | Varied | 128-bit | 256Mb | 10.7Gb/s | 2.8 Billion | Compare |
| Radeon X300 SE | 325Mhz | 400Mhz (DDR) | 64-Bit | 128Mb | 3.2Gb/s | 1.3Billion | Compare |
| Radeon X300 | 325Mhz | 400Mhz (DDR) | 128-Bit | 128Mb | 6.4Gb/s | 1.3Billion | |
| Radeon X600 Pro | 400Mhz | 600Mhz (DDR) | 128-Bit | 128/256 Mb | 9.6Gb/s | 1.6 Billion | Compare |
| Radeon X600 XT | 500Mhz | 740Mhz (DDR) | 128-Bit | 256Mb | 11.8G/b | 2 Billion | |
| Radeon X700 | 400Mhz | 600Mhz (DDR) | 128-Bit | 128Mb | 9.6Gb/s | 3.36 Billion | Compare |
| Radeon X700 Pro | 420Mhz | 864Mhz (DDR) | 128-Bit | 256Mb | 13.8Gb/s | 3.8 Billion | |
| Radeon X700 XT | 475Mhz | 1.05Ghz | 128-Bit | 128/256 Mb | 16.8Gb/s | 4 Billion | |
| Radeon X800 | 400Mhz | 700Mhz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 128Mb | 22.4Gb/s | 4.8 Billion | Compare |
| Radeon X800 Pro | 475Mhz | 900Mhz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 256Mb | 28.8Gb/s | 5.7 Billion | |
| Radeon X800 XL | 400Mhz | 1Ghz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 256Mb | 31.4Gb/s | 6.4 Billion | |
| Radeon X800 XT | 500Mhz | 1Ghz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 512Mb Max | 32Gb/s | 8 Billion | |
| Radeon X800 XT PE | 520Mhz | 1.12Ghz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 256Mb | 35.8Gb/s | 8.32 Billion | |
| Radeon X850 Pro | 520Mhz | 1.08Ghz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 256Mb | 34.6Gb/s | 6.24 Billion | Compare |
| Radeon X850 XT | 520Mhz | 1.08Ghz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 256Mb | 34.6Gb/s | 8.32 Billion | |
| Radeon X850 PE | 540Mhz | 1.18Ghz (DDR) | 256-Bit | 256Mb | 37.8Gb/s | 8.64 Billion |
PE in the Radeon cards means Platinum Edition. This is usually the best one available of each type.
You do have to remember that the raw power of graphics cards is not the be all and end all. With games looking more and more realistic all the time, graphics cards need more than simple pixel pushing power. You are now needing textures and shaders as well as other card specific technologies.
The table below shows the technologies that each graphics card posses and the pixel pipelines, texture units and Vertex shaders. Each generation of cards tends to have 2 or 3 variations to it. With the case of Nvidia these usually consist of a standard a GT version and an Ultra version. ATI use a standard a Pro version and a XT version. Generally speaking the fastest card is released and the others are derivatives of them but with less power, and occasionally less functionality.
| GFX Card | Pixel Pipelines | Texture Units per Pipe | Vertex Shaders | Chipset Technologies |
| Geforce 6200 | 4 | 1 | 3 |
CineFX 3.0 Ultra Shadow II Intellisample 3.0 (No colour or Z-compression) |
| Geforce 6600 | 8* | 1 | 3 |
CineFX 3.0 Ultra Shadow II Intellisample 3.0 |
| Geforce 6600 GT | 8 | 1 | 3 | |
| Geforce 6800 | 12 | 1 | 5 |
CineFX 3.0 Pixel Shader 3.0 Vertex Shader 3.0 Ultra Shadow II Intellisample 3.0 |
| Geforce 6800 GT | 16 | 1 | 6 | |
| Geforce 6800 Ultra | 16 | 1 | 6 | |
| Radeon X300 SE | 4 | 1 | 2 |
Smartshader 2.0 Smoothvision 2.1 Hyper-Z III Videoshader |
| Radeon X300 | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
| Radeon X600 Pro | 4 | 1 | 2 |
Smartshader 2.0 Smoothvision 2.1 Hyper-Z III Videoshader |
| Radeon X600 XT | 4 | 1 | 2 | |
| Radeon X700 | 8 | 1 | 6 |
Smartshader HD Smoothvision HD HyperZ HD Videoshader HD 3Dc |
| Radeon X700 Pro | 8 | 1 | 6 | |
| Radeon X700 XT | 8 | 1 | 6 | |
| Radeon X800 | 12 | 1 | 6 |
Smartshader HD Smoothvision HD HyperZ HD Videoshader HD 3Dc |
| Radeon X800 Pro | 12 | 1 | 6 | |
| Radeon X800 XL | 16 | 1 | 6 | |
| Radeon X800 XT | 16 | 1 | 6 | |
| Radeon X800 XT PE | 16 | 1 | 6 | |
| Radeon X850 Pro | 12 | 1 | 6 | Although the X850 does have a different chip, the architecture is the same as the X800. Improvements have been made in the manufacturing process |
| Radeon X850 XT | 16 | 1 | 6 | |
| Radeon X850 PE | 16 | 1 | 6 |
Unlike the first graphics card comparison that we did, the cards here from Nvidia and ATI are fairly well matched. The differences are the way that the cards use the power they have been given. More emphasis has been put on the quality of the image that the card produces rather than the huge amount of FPS that they can produce.