NOTE: These are mostly based on PC-EXPRESS and various tipidpc sellers' price lists
AVOID THE FOLLOWING:
I. PCI
well actually, you only have the MX440, FX5200 and FX5500 to contend with.. and ALL of them should be avoided because they are overpriced and perform poorly compared to AGP and PCI-E cards of the same price
II. AGP 2/4/8X
ATI
Radeon 7000 = really really really old. did i say it's really old?
Radeon 9200/9250 = DirectX 8 pa to.
X700/9550SE/9550ULTRA/9550pro = very slow and very old. Unless the most graphically intensive game you're gonna play is DOTA, avoid.
9600XT = A 7600GS AGP for 4k is even faster than a 9800XT in Crossfire! (if ever there is one -which of course there isn't ) hehehe
9700Pro/9800Pro/9800XT - A 7300GTDDR3 will beat the crap out of these old school "monsters"
X1300pro = Being similarly priced as its bigger X1600 bretheren, and bested by its Nvidia competitor the 7300GT, this overpriced card is not a good deal.
NVIDIA
Geforce 2 MX400/Geforce 4 MX4000/MX440 etc.. = old outdated technology and sometimes overpriced. AVOID at all costs. Geforce4 MX440 is just a Geforce 2 MX400 on steroids. Don't be deceived.
Geforce 3 Ti300/500 = Magmano kayo when you see these because they should have been buried a long time ago. Still if you see a used one selling for only around 300 bucks, then it's a steal :)
Geforce 4 Ti4200/4400/4600/4800 = Once king of the hill 5 years ago is no longer an option to buy..Even for second hand.
Geforce FX5200/5500/5600/5700/5800/5900 = many people fall for this especially the 5200... poor shader performance, and very deceiving despite their costs. (many people will think.. ok na to geforce 5 naman eh. WRONG.)
Geforce 6600 series = these older gen cards should have died along with its 5 series predecessors. If you really need to have one of these, make sure to stay away from the "LE" ones.
Geforce 7600 512mb DDR2 = This is marketing at its best, giving people delusions of greater speed with 512megs of memory. But the truth is, the 7600 128bit architecture won't be able to fully use this to its advantage, making it just the same speed with the 256mb version. Get that instead.
III. PCI-Express 1.0/2.0
ATI
X300/X550/X700/X700Pro = very old and very slow. period.
X1300hi mem/X1300 = also old and slow.
X1300PRO = "No Thank you. For the same price, im way faster than you!" - 7300GT DDR3
X1550 = this is an X1300 on steroids.
X1600PRO/X1600XT = the newer HD3xxxs are out and for the same price
X1650XT = Now that the affordable 8500/8600 series has come, i dont see any reason to buy this.
X800GTO/X800GT - SM2.0 lang, getting old narin because it's twice more expensive and just a bit faster (the GTO) than a 7300GT ddr3.. the X800GT is even slower.
X800XL/X800XT/X850XT = Thankfully nobody's selling these anymore! If you see one, they're not worth any more than 1.5k :)
X1800XT 512MB = its more expensive yet slower than an X1900XT 256/512mb. also try to avoid any other X1800 series of cards as newer, faster and cheaper alternatives are already out
X1900XTX / X1950XTX = Yup the HD4850 is twice faster and will eat this alive. not worth any more than 3.5k second hand.
HD2900 XT = Power hungry, and needs a big *ss power supply. It's performance is also not too inspiring. I'd get the HD4830 or the 9800GT, both of which are faster and cheaper....and consume less power.
HD2400 and HD2600 = No. Just no.
HD3450 and 3650 DDR2 version = The 3450 is simply pathetic. The 3650 however shows it can be faster than an 8600GT given that it has gDDR3 memory. So avoid the DDR2 version.
HD3850 = Unless you can source one for around 3k, then this card would be overpriced.
HD3870 gDDR3/gDDR4 The 4670 and the 4830 have now replaced this card, and should be priced no more than 4k brand new or second hand.
HD4870X2 = OH YES. As of March 12, the 4870X2 remains equally priced to the GTX295 (locally) even if the GTX295 beats it hands down. This does not help the fact that the X2 is still being plagued by poor driver support in some games. So unless prices come down to around 21k, avoid.
NVIDIA
Geforce 6200/6500/6600LE = They shouldn't be selling these anymore!
Geforce 6600/6600OC/6600GT/6800XT = these were once the best performing cards for their price, but the 9500gt ddr3 now trumps all these for only 2.8k!!!
Geforce 6800/6800GT/6800ULTRA = The fastest of the 6 series back then is now 4 generations old... don't buy these unless given at a low 2nd hand price(<2k)>Geforce 7100GS = oooh you can SLI this thing! but who cares? unless you need a simple GPU then stay away from this!
Geforce 7300LE = Again, the 9500GT is here.
Geforce 7300GT DDR2 / 7300GT DDR3 = DX10 is here and so is the 9500GT priced the same as the 7300GT DDR3 in some stores. The 9500GT is a lot faster, and has more features. The rest is common sense. :)
Geforce 7600GS = DX10 has come and so has the 8500GT/8600GT/and 8600GTS which will replace the 7600GS/7600GS(T)DDR3/7600GT! The 8500GT will be the wiser choice vs. the 7600GS ddr2. It has roughly the same performance but is future-proofed by DX10, is cheaper, and supports all new G86 features like accelerated H.264 decode.
Geforce 7600GT = Almost all Geforce 7 series cards have now been put into the avoid list since the 8 and 9 and GTX series has come out, and despite the 7600GT's replacement the 8600GTS not quite living up to it's name.
Geforce 7800GT/7800GTX = these are the older and slower and more expensive cards that are slower than the 7900gt in almost everything, except for the 7800GTX 512. so avoid :)
Geforce 7900GS = Unless priced under 3k, the 8600GTS would be faster, but then again, you should avoid that card too.
Geforce 7900GT = like the 7900GS, only get this if selling for less than 2k, second hand. :)
Geforce 7900GTX 512mb & Geforce 7950GX2 1gb ddr3 = These cards should be avoided since everyone knows that the 8 series has already come out. Now unless you can get used/2nd hand samples of these under 3k since the HD 4670 512mb (4k) is faster than these. A single 8800GT 512mb is also FASTER than two 7900GTX in SLI :o :o or Even two 7950GX2s in QUAD SLI :o :o :o :o :o
Geforece 8500GT (all models) = no point in buying this now since the 9500GT costs 500-1000 more but is 2x faster. ...not unless you REALLY REALLY need that 500 elsewhere... you're still wasting your money though
Geforce 8600GT gDDR3 = The advent of the newer and faster 9500GT(but not much faster) costing cheaper than this is enough to make you stay away.
Geforce 8600GTS = Honestly, i was very disappointed with its performance, slotting in between the 7900GS and the X1950Pro. I was expecting more performance (7900GT levels) just like the 6600GT and 7600GT did when they came out. (6600GT faster than 5950XT ; 7600GT faster than 6800ultra). Stay away from this.
Geforce 8800GTS 320mb AND 640mb = with the release of the 8800GT 512 and the 8800GTS 512mb, these two cards suddenly became obsolete. don't buy unless offered 2nd hand under 4k. The 9600GT costing 4.5-5.5k is even faster than these.
Geforce 8800GTS 512mb = This is debatable... The 9800GTX is dropping its price to around 9-10k, so old stock of the 8800GTS will sell for 11k. That's the only reason this should be avoided, if ever.
Geforce 8800GT (G92) 512mb = Yep! You can find the new 9800GT much cheaper than this. Although the 9800GT is a renamed 8800GT, there are small differences such as hybridSLI and HybridPower which allow for huge power savings... given you are using the right Nvidia board and chipset
Geforce 8800GTX 768mb AND 8800ULTRA 768mb = These older model G80 chips are phased out and for its performance should cost around 7-9k second hand, with the Ultra costing around 10k.
Geforce 9400GT (all variants) = unless you really need that 500, I'd suggest using that and get the 9500GT (256mb gDDR3) instead and experience a 50% increase in performance. The 9400GT is no more than a rebadged 8500GT.
Geforce 9500GT 512/1gb & DDR2 = the best performing 9500GT (and the cheapest) is the 256mb gDDR3 version as well.
Geforce 9800GTX/GTX+ = As of March 12, These 2 cards have already been replaced/rebranded as the GTS250 which comes in at a very affordable php7,500. While the GTS250 is essentially a rebranded 9800GTX+, which is a smaller die 9800GTX, which is a rebranded 8800GTS 512, avoid the GTX/GTX+ unless you can have them for 7500 or less brand new.
Geforce GTX 260 896mb = This is the non-core 216 version, and of course the older 65nm fab. Avoid this card if priced above 11k brand new or second hand.
Geforce GTX 280 1gb = The advent of the GTX285 suddenly made owners of 280s insecure. Avoid this card if priced above 16k brand new or second hand, as the faster GTX285s can be had for 17k
"Feel free to add more cards and comment on my post :) Obviously its not perfect :) "
IV. On Multi-GPU Gaming (SLI/TRI-SLI/QUAD SLI/CROSSFIRE/HYBRID CROSSFIRE/HYBRID CROSSFIREX) (OMGG)
Multi Core gaming is now becoming mainstream. Whereas SLI and Crossfire before is reserved for enthusiasts, mainstream consumers are realizing the potential that SLI and Crossfire wields.
Crossfire and SLI performance scaling has also been improving with each generation of video cards and each release of drivers.
Years ago, you'd have to spend 50+k on a single 7950GX2 dual core video card. Now, you can get two 9800GX2's with less money, or beat the monstrous GTX280 with two HD4870's!. The GT200 chip of Nvidia and RV770 chip of AMD has definitely made things more interesting. Nvidia now holds the fastest single and dual chip graphics cards in the world (GTX280 & GTX295), while ATI is holding on to the best value for money cards right now.
With the new releases, Nvidia and AMD are fighting once again for market share. Here is a rough breakdown (in philippine PESO)
2-4k = 9500GT/HD4670
4k = 9600GT
5-6k = 8800GT/9800GT/GTS240/HD4830
7-8k = HD 4850, GTS 250
11-13k = GTX260 Core 216/ HD4870 512/1gb
17-18K = GTX285
23-27k = HD4870X2 / GTX295
- HD4850X2 still has no pricing here.
- The GTX260 has finally dropped its prices locally to compete with the 4870! The GTX260 is faster than the 4870 with AA enabled, while the 4870 is faster w/o AA, but overall, the GTX260 is now faster due to newer drivers. Get the Core 216 version. It's faster than the 4870 1gb.
- The 9800GT has been rereleased and renamed as the GTS240
- The 9800GTX+ has also been rereleased and renamed as the GTS 250
V. Warning!!!! READ THIS!!! (WRT)
AVOID and do not be fooled by cards with DDR2 (as much as possible, get cards equipped with at least gDDR3), lowend cards with 512mb RAM, or midrange cards with 1gb of ram.
Let's do a little example. Examine these cards and their prices
512mb Palit 8600 GT Super (128bit) DDR2 pcie ---- php2810
1gb Palit 8500 GT Super+ (128bit) DDR2 pcie ---- php2840
256mb Palit 8600 GT Regular (128bit) DDR3 pcie ---- php 3050
256mb Palit 8600 GT Sonic (128bit) DDR3 pcie ---- php3450
1gb (1024mb) Palit 8600 GT Super+ (128bit) DDR2 pcie ---- php3560
-they are arranged according to price, BUT NOT ACCORDING TO PERFORMANCE/SPEED.
Here is the real list from slowest to fastest:
1gb Palit 8500 GT Super+ (128bit) DDR2 pcie ---- php2840
512mb Palit 8600 GT Super (128bit) DDR2 pcie ---- php2810
1gb (1024mb) Palit 8600 GT Super+ (128bit) DDR2 pcie ---- php3560
256mb Palit 8600 GT Regular (128bit) DDR3 pcie ---- php 3050
256mb Palit 8600 GT Sonic (128bit) DDR3 pcie ---- php3450
1. See how the most expensive card with 1Gb is not the fastest?
2. See how the 8600GT with 512mb DDR2 is slower than it's 256mb gDDR3 counterpart?
if you want to learn more about graphic cards / video cards performance, speed, ranking and benchmark, (click here)
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