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just4kix

In this article I propose to analyze some Graphics Cards. There are budget cards, entry level cards, mid-range and the ultimate.

But before I start the analysis, some background on the two major players - NVidia and ATI.

NVidia Graphics
NVidia suffered a major setback with the 8400/8600 series cards because the chipsets were faulty. However with the 9400/9600/9800 series, they seem to have recovered quite a lot of the lost ground. The later series cards which contain the PhysX feature bring a lot of reality feel in games. Also boosting the performance of the NVidia cards is the "Compute United Device Architecture" (CUDA) that brings parallel computing into the new cards. This brings a lot of advantage in terms of scattered reads and provides shared memory. This allows the program to run with multiple separate GPUs.

ATI
When the 4000 series was launched the red brigade cut a huge lead over the green goblin. The 4000 series had more Pixel Shader count, support for DX10.1 and GDDR5, more memory bandwidth and to top everying on a 40nm chip. But ATI has not stopped there at performance gain only. They released the first unified driver for Vista as well as Win 7. This assures the user more reliability. Because ATI launched into the 40nm arena first they have a huge technology advantage. While ATI is already getting ready for DX11, Nvidia seems to be struggling.

ATI always had the technological advantage - when NVidia was in th 65nm territory, ATI was in 55nm. They were/are the first with GDDR4 and GDDR5.

But what does this mean to the average Joe Bloke? Not much. Unless there is a real graphics crunching application like 3D Maya or a Crysis Warhead game, it won't be much noticeable. What matters to the average user is:

• What is the best that a GC can do for me?
• What is going to cost?

In the next set of post, I will try to suggest some graphics' cards that will suit all budgets:

• Budget level - upto Rs. 3,500/-
• Entry level - Rs. 3,500/- to Rs. 6,500/-
• Mid range - Rs. 6,500/- to Rs. 10,000/-
• High End - Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 17,000/-
• Extreme - Rs. 17,000 or more.

To be continued ...

Source: various articles, web, wikipedia, etc.

__________________

just4kix

These budget level graphic cards are for those who want something better than onboard graphics. They are basically cheap and bring better game play into picture. Most of these graphic cards are below Rs. 3,500/- and are limited to 1024x768 or at most 1280x1024.

Mind you that such graphic cards may well suffice your needs if you are not an avid gamer. A high end graphic card will bring no benefit if all you are doing is working on spreadsheets/document and occasionally playing rudimentary games.

There are many cards in this range, but I am concentrating on the top three.

Sparkle 9400GT
The lineup in this range starts with the 9400GT. Starting at just Rs. 2,500/- it is a very competent card. It renders good graphics. It has 1 GB memory and 128-bit bus width. It may not be able to handle a game such as Crysis Warhead but does most other jobs quite satisfactorily.
Sparkle_9400GT.jpg

Galaxy 9500GT
Another one from the NVidia stable, it supports GDDR3 memory. It has 512 MB memory and 128-bit bus width. It performs very well too but because of its massive heat sink, it also remains quite cool.
This card costs about Rs. 2,900/-.
Galaxy_9500GT.jpg

XFX 9500GT
The final one is the top of the line in this range. It has 512 MB memory and 128-bit bus width. The Crysis Warhead game is very much playable on this card. It costs Rs. 3,500/- and if you wish decent performance without burning a hole in the pocket, look no further.
XFX_9500GT.jpg

just4kix

The entry level cards are slightly more expensive but offer more capabilities. Once again there are many in this category but I have picked the top three.

XFX 9600GSO
Priced just below Rs. 5,000/-, this card gives a lot of juice. Usually teamed with 512 MB (other memory variants exist), it sports dual DVI out. The massive heat sink and fan keeps the GPU generally cool to warm. It can run the Crysis2 game at 1280x1024 resolution with ease. The graphics turn out smooth. However, trying to play games such as Quake Arena ans such games, the games froze at high resolutions.
XFX 9600 GSO.jpg

MSI 4670
For feature by feature comparison, this card outshines the 9600 series but is slightly expensive at Rs. 5,000/-. It comes with memory variants from 384 MB to 1 GB. It also offers dual DVI but not S-Video. The cooling fan is also a bit noisy. It is a great card apart from the above shortcomings.
MSI 4670.jpg

Galaxy 9800GT
This is the top of the line card in this range. It is priced around Rs. 6,000/- at the base level but the extra 1K is well worth the money. It is a massive card. I will recommend the 512 MB variant. It supports the 256-bit memory bus that results in better pixel shading and comes with an onboard HDMI slot that allows full HD content to be played. In the Entry level category, the buck stops here.
Galaxy 9800GT.jpg

To be continued ...

Source: various articles, web, wikipedia, etc.

just4kix

The mid-rangers will be the most attractive to core gamers - they provide excellent game performance and at the same time do not burn a deep hole in the pocket.

Once again, I found a lot of cards in this range but I was most impressed by the reviews of the three I found below.

ASUS 4770
The Radeon HD 4770 'RV740' GPU, manufactured on the 40nm process, made it the first GPU from nVidia or ATI to be on the 40nm process technology. The GPU itself contains 826 million transistors, and total board power sits around 80W. Smaller manufacturing processes improve power efficiency and to some extent allows the GPU to be clocked higher without the lock-step increase in heat. This is a marvellous card when it comes to performance and standard. Indeed ATI set the standard with this GPU chip. This card costs around Rs. 7,250/-.
ASUS 4770.jpg

Galaxy GTS250
The Galaxy GTS250 is indeed an extremely good rival in this segment. It matches notch for notch, pixel for pixel, feature for feature with all the cards in the segment. In fact, it is only love for ATI which may make you swing away from this card. It is a massive card with twin GPU's and even with just looking at the card outside the system, you can't but feel a sense of awe. The card is available for around Rs. 8,200/- and you just have to look at the performance as well to know that it’s excellent value.
Galaxy GTS250.jpg

MSI 4850
Ha! Another monster. Once you get the card out of the wrapping, you will be able to take your first look at the actual card, and the beautiful cooling solution that MSI has put on the card. It has aluminum heatsink fins, and four copper heatpipes connecting the base of the cooler to the fins for maximum heat distribution. The Crysis game is yet to be challenged by any single or dual GPU card but if any card in the mid-range comes close, the Radeon 4850 series cards are just there. This card sells around Rs. 9,000/-.
MSI 4850.jpg

To be continued ...

Source: various articles, web, wikipedia, etc.

just4kix

It would be difficult to imagine why someone would like to spend a huge amount of money on these costly cards but then there are enthusiasts for whom money is not the object - the aim is sheer pleasure and thrill.

NVidia and ATI have some GPUs that come in this category. I have selected the following as the top three:

Galaxy GTX 260+
This card is a boon for avid gamers. When it was launched, it caused instant disturbance (of the good kind). It carries everything you want for a card that has been out for a while; a pretty mean looking cooler and an overclock that is going to give us a bump in performance. It supports GDDR3 memory and the utilizes the NVidia united architecture and features 26 processor cores. It contains 2 and sometimes 3 fans for cooling. The GTX 260+ continues to be an excellent performer and is a great choice for people wanting to game at resolutions of up to 1920 x 1200. If you don't have a monitor that's capable of that resolution and you have something that outputs 1680 x 1050, the card is also a very good choice as you would be able to really crank up the detail and start turning on settings like AA and AF. The card sells around Rs. 11,000/-
Galaxy GTS 260+.jpg

XFX 4870
When it comes to the high end, can ATI be far behind. The Radeon 4870 powered card is just the answer in this segment. The card uses two 6pin PCIe power sockets, supports CrossFireX via the connectors on the top edge of the card and features a fan which runs at the same noise levels as a reference 4870. Underneath the cooler is a 55nm RV770 core featuring 800 Unified Shaders and 16 ROPs. Finally all of the standard Radeon features are available on this card including PCI-Express 2.0, DirectX 10.1 and Avivo HD. But one of the disappointments is the non-availability of the HDMI-out on this card. Surely that would not be too much to ask for. Another small problem with this card is that it can heat up to 85° C and hence you better have a good cooling cabinet. This makes it miss out on the top spot. This card sells for nearly, Rs. 15,000/-.
xfx-4870.jpg

Galaxy GTX 275
On first looks, this top of the line card in this range, looks very much similar like the GTX 260+ with the 3 fan design. It betters the 260+ by having a higher core clock of 633 MHz, and memory clock of 1134 MHz and all these features make it the best of the lot. It yields a very impressive 27 fps in Crysis and 50 fps in FarCry 2. The cooling system keeps it between 40°C to 70°C and once again a good cooling cabinet is recommended. The card retails just under Rs. 15,000/-.
Galaxy GTS 275-1.jpg
Galaxy GTS 275-2.jpg

To be concluded ...

Source: various articles, web, wikipedia, etc.

just4kix

The Extreme range cards offer top of the line performance in exchange for making your wallet light by huge quantum. I can't imagine why people would need such cards but apparently there is a market for them and people do buy these US$250+ cards.

There are two that I have selected for comparison.

MSI GTX N260TX Lightening
This card boasts military class components. It comes with a whopping 1792 MB GDDR3 memory and has unbleievable overclocking potential. The card contains only two fans, yet the card stays below 70°C. But the overclocking and cooler are average at best for a card in this category. It performs 27 fps in Crysis and 48 fps in FarCry 2. The card sells aroung Rs. 17,500/- but prices are dropping rapidly. But in my personal opinion the GTX260 is a much better option because this card is like buying the same car/automobile except with steel rims, if you know what I mean.
MSI N260GTX Lightning.jpg

Sapphire HD 4850 X2
This is a huge card from Saphhire sporting the Radeon 4850 chip and boasts 4 DVI ports. But God knows if the average Joe Bloke is going to need them. Although it performs slightly less (29 fps in Crysis and 58 fps in FarCry 2), it steals the march because it matches the much more costly HD 4890 and GTX 285. This card sells for Rs. 17,000/- but with the anticipated advent of the new DX11 compatible card, expect the price to drop rapidly.
Sapphire Radeon HD4850 X2.jpg

Concluded.

Source: various articles, web.

ShAdOwCoN

i am woofully out of touch with the gaming world

1. As of Aug 2009 which is the best "Value for money card" ? (ati and nvidia)
2. Does processor really bottle neck a gfx performance ?

just4kix

In my opinion (and my opinion only, please do not flame me ), ATI cards are slightly better (see post #1).

I am also not an expert at all when it comes to Graphic cards. I have stated so in the posts above that the articles are copy/pasted. My effort was to sift and sort.

As to Q2, and with my caveat above, I think that the processor does not bottleneck the GFX performace. In fact it should be the other way round. The game in question, e.g. Crysis 2 or Farcry 2, may have a lot of content that could be displayed but the GPU on the graphic card may not be able to render the pixels.

But perhaps some experts here could answer the question better.

Also, in my opinion, it is not wise to invest in a costly card when the monitor is not capable.

rajan1311

Its been a long time since i have seen you around this section. Welcome back !!

From ATI's side, value for money card: ATI 4770 and ATI4850 are still the best choices.

Nvidia's side: GTX275 is very good at the Rs11,000 range.

It depends on the processor that you have. If you have a high end GPU, you need a good processor to go with it, else it will bottleneck the gaming performance. A P4 with a ATI4670 will bottle neck the card. You may low a lot of performance. Even in my case. My old D805 made me play crysis at med. With an E5200 i can play at high at same res. So, it depends on the combination of both.

J4K really gr8 effort by you to compile this article. Rep+

Sid

A very useful post J4K.

I am thinking to upgrade my Graphic card & at that time this article might come in handy

Rep+ for the useful article.

And,also can you tell me which graphic card should I purchase for long term benifits.Say for next 2-3 years,without any upgrade.

just4kix

Thanks, rajan for the rep.

Thanks sid too for the rep.

ShAdOwCoN

best buy cards ftw
look at post no 9

is it worth waiting for GTX 275 to get to 10k before buying it ?

18lama

But even gtx 275 is not totally future proof.

The next big thing is going to be DX11. and GTX 275 only supports DX10. Naturally all the currently available cards will have a limited DX11 support but you might find yourself in a situation where your card feels old right from the start.

ShAdOwCoN

We have just barely moved to DX 10 .... how many games would you have played that were DX10 ?

I am not so sure that software devs will switch over to dx 11 that quickly

18lama

Some big producers have already promised new games with DX11 support. so yeah we are basically moving towards a new standard.

rajan1311

DX11 should have a better adoption rate than DX10. DX10 did not do so well as it was kinda new to all, and apparently was a bit messed up. Developers had to do extra work in order to make a DX10 game, they would have to make some separate files for DX9 and some for DX10. If DX11, for what i understand, its simplified, and it makes changes automatically based on your hardware (ie DX11,DX10,DX9), i could be totally wrong.

Well, by the time GTX275 hits Rs10,000 , some DX11 cards would be out. I would w8 for the first DX11 game and then decide which road to choose.

just4kix

Post # 6 is now updated and the article concludes there.

rajan1311

We could have that poll. I have played 2. Crysis warhead and assassin's creed.

just4kix

Thanks for all the reps and ratings.

I deliberately stayed away from various technical data as this is easily available from various web sites such as AnandTech, TechTree, etc.

The idea of the article was to point out the best of the lot from the various segments segregated by price.

Note that prices could be wrong also as they get revised south all the time. In a month this may become outdated.

vickyinstru2000

Hello ppl,
My old 7600GT was just screwed and i am planning to but a new GC ASAP.And i am a bit confused which one to go for.I mean Nvidia or ATI.Also because i need to play it on my new Samsung 22" Lcd Monitor which Graphic card will be a perfect match for the resolution to match up with 22".
My PC Config :
1)Gigabyte Mobo 945GCMX-S2 series with core 2 Duo E6550 2.33Ghz
2)2 GB ram (DDR2) 667 mhz[can be upgraded to 4GB]
3)one pci-e 16x slot
4)120GB(Soon going to upgrade to 500GB sata)
5)22" Samsung 2233SW
Help is really Appreciated.]
Thank you in advance.

Note : I need a GC that can deliver Max. performance on my Gigabyte Mobo
And,also can you tell me which graphic card should I purchase for long term
benifits.Say for next 2-3 years,without any upgrade.
Budget : 10K