The Short List: the Best Gaming Videocards for the money - Page 5

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NOT in Canada lol. cdn cpu parts pricing are all out of whack

Yeah, in Canada all the older cards are always a total rip off. My friend is buying a 7600 GT eVGA CO version for $225.00 CAD today. Not a bad deal. From the store in Vancouver where I always buy, www.atic.ca

But yeah, an X850XT is like $450 CAD, if you can find one new.

They had X800GTO2s for $193 CAD last week, but thats so close to a 7600 GT its totally not worth it.

Well, when I bring up suggested changes, I try to take into account both markets. This is why I really pushed Cleeve to put in the 7600 GT, since in Canada, its a really good deal, and also in the US it is good as well.

I think that it(The Short List) is very applicable to Canada as well, it is just that people might have to be wary of some of the older cards that become cheaper in the US and are overpriced in Canada. (ie X850XT)

Lol, yeah, I'm Canadian, too.

I feel your pain my brothers. Frankly, the Canadian videocard market makes no sense and is too volitile to make a sticky for.

I encourage Canadians to look at this sticky, but do a little more local research and buy accordingly.

In General, prices take much longer to fall for older premium cards than they do in the US, so you're much better off with new cards like the 7600 GT over older, overpriced-in-canada cards like the X850 XT.

Or just give up and buy from the US to save a couple hundred bucks...

Yeah choosing between X800GTO2 and 7600 GT is a hard choice. I mean even if you max your X800GTO2 it wont be exactly like an X850XT, even after pipe unlocks and overclocking. Also most people probably wouldn't have any idea how to unlock pipes and overclock, and some might not want to since it voids warranty. However, for most of the people on this site, I would say that the X800GTO2 has some things going for it.

All depends on what kind of results you can get out of it. Not really a risk since we haven't heard of any not being able to unlock, plus they are good overclockers. Anyways, yeah I guess "saying totally not worth it" was a bit extreme. Still, I think I would pay the extra $30 CAD, and get a 7600GT.

Cleeve, I just had a suggestion for the list, at least when you talk of "pixel pipelines." It might perhaps make the most sense to simply break down these so-called "pixel pipelines" into their basic components, and list how many ROPs, TMUs, and PSUs each card has. As for the actual count, it's hard to tell which number you use if you want a "pipelines" count; clearly, TMUs are out, since all those "4-pipeline" cards of the past, like the whole GeForce line from the GeForce 2 GTS to the GeForce 4 Ti, had 8 TMUs.

That leaves ROPs, and PSUs; if you go by ROPs, then the GeForce 7800 and 7900 cards are all 16-pipeline, since they all have only 16 ROPs. (with the exception of the 7800GS, which has only 8) Otherwise, you might go with PSUs.

Funny you put it that way; after talking to so many Canadians looking to build their rigs for gaming, (particularly Oblivion) it seems that there's almost a parallel here; Americans go into Canada to purchase their prescription drugs, and Canadians come into the United States to purchase their PC hardware. Hence, we see international trade in action, as applies to our lives.

Well, I've been using the number of pixels a card can output per clock, regardless of other hardware.

But you're right, this number is no longer indicative of relative performance. I may be adding all relevant info to the cards soon...

Sweet...

$300.00 S939, PCI-E solution available......reaching for credit card....no...no.....must stop! Arrrgggghhh!!!![/bangsheadagainstwall]

Wheww!! That was close!

I do mention overclockability in many of the cards, for example the 7900 GT vs the X1800 XT.

Is it worth the extra $100 for the X1800 XT?

If you're looking for longevity, better visual features, and speed at higher resolutions... yes.

To be clear, an X850 XT will do a good job if you can't afford another $100 though. But if you have the money and want/can use the extra power of the X1800 XT, it's certainly not a bad buy by any stretch, but you're the only person who knows if it's worth it to you.

I don't believe so.

Yes, that makes more sense to me now. I know that it might make it more confusing for some people coming in here and looking, but it's better than them getting the potentially dangerous impressions that might be given by the blanket "pipeline" statement. It's not good if they become convinced that, say, a Radeon X1600pro, Radeon X800, and GeForce 7600GT are the same.

I must concur with what Cleeve had to say. If you have desire or use for the extra power, and SM 3.0, as well as universal HDR+AA support, then by all means get the X1800XT and send back the X850XT. It can be quite worth the extra $100US. It doesn't hurt that it's significantly more powerful to boot.

No, tragically, you can't. However, I've seen a bunch of Canadians make good friends with someone in the United States, and often ship it there, and collect it. Of course, this is more prevalent for people living at the border. (which is rather common where I live, given the huge boundary traffic between Michigan and Ontario, likely the most-crossed border section in the world)

Cleeve will answer...but the main advantage, I'd say, is moving up from SM 2.0b to full SM 3.0 support.

Just a note... might consider updating this since...
The price difference actual from online retailers line Newegg is more like a $40 to $50 difference, making it not that bad of a choice, even tho I would still get the XT...

it has been...

Some of you were discussing the 7600gt pricing in Canada.

I bought an EVGA 7600gt CO from NCIX.com at the end of march for $198 Canadian. I haven't seen them that low since, they're around $220 now, but keep your eyes open. NCIX is also in Vancouver, so no PST for me!

Under $100 it's a bit of a given, and the amount of memory doesn't really affect it's standing in the sub-$100 category, so I dunno.

I might add a footnote the next time I have a big update, but since it doesn't really change anything it's not a big priority right now, but thanks for the note.

For some reason, I didn't pay all that much attention previously, but I must say, I do kinda take issue with it being labelled as an X800GTO and all, since it is, in fact, an X800; the memory clocks are the only difference between the models. I think it was on this very thread, in fact, that I actually first pointed out such cards, being quite excited, but was noted that they aren't actual X800GTOs. I think it might be fair warning to re-label them, and perhaps give a note on them.

Of course, whether having only 128MB of RAM would affect its standing... Clearly, 256MB is necessary for full enjoyment of the latest games, and even 512MB isn't looking all that bad anymore, as it's starting to pay off in games like Oblivion. (assuming you use x16AF and the LOD texture-enhancing mod)

...However, such is beside the point; if you're paying less than $100US for a video card, you're likely not going to be keen on using the highest settings for the games that are today's latest, or of the future. You simply want something that can handle things acceptably, and look decent, and not be prohibited from running the latest games at all in 12 months. So, for that sort of purpose, a sub-$100US X800, even with only 128MB of video RAM, fits the bill very nicely.

the x800 gto owns it!

I hate to bring bad news, but--7300GS and 7300LE both are strictly PCI-e cards. I think NVIDIA is throwing people off with the GT/GS thing--most folks think GS means always AGP. With the 7800GS that is currently true--but as of 4/27/2006, the 7600GS and the 7300GS are PCI-e only cards.

Great post !

Helps alot trying to figure out what to buy

Keep up the good work !

Thank You very much.

Whose Aeries?

It's Aeris or Aerith.

Ahh...time to take out my old FF7 PC version CDs again...I love that unofficial FFVII Windows XP patch

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Thanks for the post. It was really helpful since I am building a new PCI-E system on a budget so I want the most bang for the buck. I am going with the X800GTO.

Thanks for the post. It was really helpful since I am building a new PCI-E system on a budget so I want the most bang for the buck. I am going with the X800GTO.