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Detailed graphics card specifications and reviews are great - that is, if you have the time to do the research. But at the end of the day, what a gamer needs is the best graphics card within a certain budget.
If you don't have the time to research the benchmarks, or don't feel confident enough in your ability to make the right decision, fear not. We at Tom's Hardware Guide have come to your aid with a simple list of the best gaming graphics cards offered for the money.
February Review and March Updates
February has been a great month for graphics card buyers: prices have been dropping hard across the board. A possible reason for this is the introduction of Nvidia's new 9600 GT.
The new Geforce 9600 GT 512MB offers performance just below that of the 8800 GT - and on par with the Radeon 3870 - for the exceptionally low price of ~$180. ATI has responded to this threat by lowering Radeon 3870 prices to the same range; indeed, the entire Geforce and Radeon lines seem to have been lowered in what looks to be a bit of a price war. The end result can only be good news for consumers, as it is now possible to buy a graphics card capable of real-world 1920x1200 gaming for less than $200!
This price shift makes it difficult to recommend the $450 dual-GPU Radeon 3870 X2 anymore. Two full-fledged Radeon 3870 cards can be bought and placed in a Crossfire configuration for almost $100 less!
Other than price changes, a notable change has been the availability of the AGP Radeon 3850 card in the $215 range. In the near future, Tom's Hardware will be reviewing graphics cards for one last AGP hurrah, to see if this card can deliver the performance we expect from it on the AGP bus.
The Best Gaming Graphics Cards for the Money
A few simple guidelines to keep in mind when reading this list:
- This list is for gamers who want to get the most for their money. If you don't play games, the graphics cards in this list are more expensive than you need.
- Prices and availability changes on a daily basis. We can't offer up-to-the-minute accurate pricing info, but we can list some good graphics cards that you probably won't regret buying at the price ranges we suggest.
- The list is based on some of the best U.S. prices from online retailers. In other countries or if buying retail, your mileage will most certainly vary.
- These are new graphics card prices. No used or open box cards are in the list; they might be a good deal, but that's outside the scope of what we're trying to do.
PCI-Express Interface
Best PCI-E Card For Under $100: Special Mention
| Radeon X1950 PRO | ||
|---|---|---|
| Codename | RV570 | |
| Process | 90 nm | |
| Pixel Shaders | 36 | |
| Vertex Shaders | 8 | |
| Texture Units | 12 | |
| ROPs | 12 | |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit | |
| Core Speed MHz | 575 | |
| Memory Speed MHz | 690 (1380 effective) | |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 9.0c / SM 3.0 | |
I've seen the Jetway X1950 PRO on Newegg for $90: this is an incredible price for a solid card. The rest of the X1950 PROs are in the $170 range right now, so $90 it's the best deal I've seen in a very long time. It's probably not going to last for long, but it's important enough to mention - once they're gone, the best you can do is the Radeon 2600 XT or Geforce 8600 GT GDDR3 listed below.
Best PCI-E Card For Under $100: Tie
| Radeon HD 2600 XT | |
|---|---|
| Codename | RV630 |
| Process | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 128 |
| Texture Units | 8 |
| ROPs | 4 |
| Memory Bus | 128 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 800 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 700 (1400 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The performance of the 2600 XT is very close to that of the GeForce 8600 GT, but the 2600 XT has a performance edge when antialiasing is disabled. Although the GeForce seems to lead when antialiasing is turned on, it's not much of a real-world advantage, since neither card can effectively use 4x AA beyond 1024x768.
| GeForce 8600 GT | |
|---|---|
| Codename | G84 |
| Process | 80 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 32 |
| Texture Units | 16 |
| ROPs | 8 |
| Memory Bus | 128 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 540 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 700 (1400 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 8600 GT was a terrible buy at $150, but now that it's under the $100 price point, it is much more attractive. The 8600 GT will slightly beat the old 7600 GT and X1650 XT in raw performance in the sub-$100 price category. In addition to speed, the 8600 GT has the added bonus of being DirectX 10 compatible, as well as being a good overclocker.
NOTE: Avoid the DDR2 versions of the 8600 GT! The GDDR3 versions are the recommended cards, DDR2 equipped 8600 GTs will be notably slower.
Best PCI-E Card For Under $110
| GeForce 8600 GTS | |
|---|---|
| Codename | G84 |
| Process | 80 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 32 |
| Texture Units | 16 |
| ROPs | 8 |
| Memory Bus | 128 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 675 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 1000 (2000 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
On release the 8600 GTS was grossly overpriced compared to the X1950 PRO, but now with both found as low $110, the 8600 GTS looks much more attractive. While the X1950 PRO has better raw specifications than the X1950 PRO (especially its 256 bit memory interface), the 8600 GTS has strong shaders that can perform very well in certain titles.
Best PCI-E Card For ~$170
| Radeon 3850 256 MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename | RV670 |
| Process | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 320 |
| Texture Units | 16 |
| ROPs | 16 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 670 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 833 (1666 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
The Radeon 3850 brings us something we've been begging for ever since the DirectX 10 cards were introduced: a sub-$200 card with performance comparable to the high-end products. The Radeon 3850 delivers Geforce 8800 GTS 320mb performance for over $100 less.
If you're looking to get the best possible performance for the dollar, this card hits the sweet spot.
Best PCI-E Card For ~$160
| Radeon 3850 512 MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename | RV670 |
| Process | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 320 |
| Texture Units | 16 |
| ROPs | 16 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 670 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 833 (1666 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
The 512 MB version of the Radeon 3850 offers some high-resolution performance gains, as well as the ability to use ultra-high texture quality settings. This card battles the more expensive 256 MB version of the 8800 GT, which is somewhat limited by its lower amount of memory.
Best PCI-E Card For ~$180: Tie
| GeForce 9600 GT 512 MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename | G92 |
| Process | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 64 |
| Texture Units | 32 |
| ROPs | 16 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 650 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The new 9600 GT is Nvidia's answer to the Radeon 3800 series: cheap, powerful, and efficient. The 9600 GT usually performs a bit below the 3870 with no antialiasing, and a bit faster than the 3870 when AA is enabled. Both cards are in the $180 range, and both are excellent buys that make sub-$200 high-resolution gaming a reality.
| Radeon 3870 | |
|---|---|
| Codename | RV670 |
| Process | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 320 |
| Texture Units | 16 |
| ROPs | 16 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 775 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 1125 (2250 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
The Radeon 3870 is a lot of card for $180. The 9600 GT has forced 3870 prices down, and if you have $200 to spend on a graphics card, either card offers an incredible gaming experience for the dollars spent.
Best PCI-E Card For ~$230
| GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename | G92 |
| Process | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 112 |
| Texture Units | 56 |
| ROPs | 16 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 600 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 8800 GT offers incredible Geforce 8800 GTX-class performance at almost half the price. It beats the Radeon 3870 by a notable margin, but it does tend to be a bit more expensive. That said, if you have $230 to spend on a graphics card, you couldn't do better than a nice 8800 GT.
Best PCI-E Card For ~$290
| GeForce 8800 GTS 512 MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename | G92 |
| Process | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 128 |
| Texture Units | 56 |
| ROPs | 16 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 600 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 8800 GTS is essentially an 8800 GT with a little more firepower; it sports 128 universal shaders compared to the GT's 112. It bests its 8800 GT brother, but not by much, and it's more expensive - in most cases the GT will suffice, but if you have ~$300 to spend, this is your card. At higher price points than this performance increases taper off quite a bit, and you'll only really see benefits at 1920x1200 or higher resolutions.
Best PCI-E Card For ~$360: Tie
| 2x Radeon 3870 in Crossfire Configuration | |
|---|---|
| Codename | RV670 |
| Process | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 640 |
| Texture Units | 32 |
| ROPs | 32 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 825 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
While multi-card solutions are far from perfect, they can offer significant performance increases for those with a high budget who demand high-resolution gaming performance.
At ~$360, two Radeon 3870 cards are about $100 cheaper than a single dual-GPU Radeon 3870 X2 card. Since the performance is pretty much identical, two cards are the way to go.
| 2x GeForce 9600 GT 512 MB in SLI configuration | |
|---|---|
| Codename | G92 |
| Process | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 64 |
| Texture Units | 32 |
| ROPs | 16 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 650 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
Two 9600 GT cards in an SLI configuration will offer a similar price/performance ratio to two Radeon 3870 cards in a crossfire configuration. Either way, performance is unprecedented at the ~$360 price point.
Best PCI-E Card For ~$460
| 2x GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB in SLI configuration | |
|---|---|
| Codename | G92 |
| Process | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 112 |
| Texture Units | 56 |
| ROPs | 16 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 600 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 900 (1800 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
Frankly, the performance increase of two 8800 GTs over two 9600 GTs is usually not worth mentioning, but there are a handful of games where the 8800 GT will win by a notable percentage at high resolutions. If high resolution gaming with high image quality options enabled is your forte, and budget isn't a concern, two 8800 GTs might be justifiable for you.
AGP Interface
Best AGP Card for Under $100
| Radeon HD 2600 PRO | |
|---|---|
| Codename | RV630 |
| Process | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 128 |
| Texture Units | 8 |
| ROPs | 4 |
| Memory Bus | 128 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 600 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 500 (1000 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
In this category we're recommending the low-priced Radeon 2600 PRO. This card is almost as fast as the older Geforce 7600, but can now be found for less than $100 on the aging AGP bus. At that price, it's a good buy.
Best AGP Card for ~$120
| Radeon HD 2600 XT | |
|---|---|
| Codename | RV630 |
| Process | 65 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 128 |
| Texture Units | 8 |
| ROPs | 4 |
| Memory Bus | 128 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 800 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 700 (1400 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10 / SM 4.0 |
The 2600 XT is relatively new to the AGP scene, but almost as cheap as its PCI-E cousin. This is a decently fast DirectX 10 card available for AGP, and surprisingly offers a great deal of performance at the $120 price point.
Be forewarned that it's been reported the official ATI drivers don't work with the AGP version of this card, but that the modified Omega drivers work fine.
Best AGP Card For >$170
| Radeon X1950 PRO | |
|---|---|
| Codename | RV570 |
| Process | 90 nm |
| Pixel Shaders | 36 |
| Vertex Shaders | 8 |
| Texture Units | 12 |
| ROPs | 12 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 575 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 690 (1380 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 9.0c / SM 3.0 |
The aging X1950 PRO is still a powerful AGP card. The only card over the X1950 PRO you might want to hold out for is the Radeon 3850, which may be too powerful for your older AGP system to utilize fully.
Best AGP Card For $215
| Radeon 3850 512 MB | |
|---|---|
| Codename | RV670 |
| Process | 55 nm |
| Universal Shaders | 320 |
| Texture Units | 16 |
| ROPs | 16 |
| Memory Bus | 256 bit |
| Core Speed MHz | 670 |
| Memory Speed MHz | 833 (1666 effective) |
| DirectX / Shader Model | DX 10.1 / SM 4.0 |
Forever rumored and now finally available to purchase, the Radeon 3850 is, frankly, a curiously powerful card for the aging AGP bus. It is possibly too powerful to be properly utilized on the single-core CPUs that are typically paired with this platform.
Regardless, this is the most powerful AGP card you can get. Perhaps you have an AGP gaming system you just can't bear to part with, or perhaps you have an anomalous motherboard that has both a dual-core CPU and AGP slot. Whatever the reason, you can't get better than an AGP 3850, and if anyone ever releases a more powerful card in the future for the dying bus, we'll be incredibly surprised.
What About This Other Card That's Not On The List? How Do I Know If It's A Good Deal?
This will happen! In fact, it's guaranteed to happen, because both stock levels and prices change quickly. So how do you know if that graphics card you've got your eye on is a good buy in its price range?
Here are two resources to help you judge if a graphics card is a good buy. The first is the graphics card hierarchy chart, which groups graphics cards with similar overall performance into "tiers." The top tier contains the highest performing cards available, and performance decreases as you go down the tiers from there.
You can use this hierarchy to compare the pricing between two cards, to see which one is a better deal, and also to determine if an upgrade is worthwhile. I don't recommend upgrading your graphics card unless the replacement card is at least three tiers higher. Otherwise, the upgrade is somewhat parallel, and you may not notice a worthwhile difference in performance.
At the request of readers, I have added mobile and integrated chipsets to the hierarchy chart. I want to make it clear that there is very little performance data available for these graphic solutions. While the discrete video chipsets on the chart are placed based on a lot of information, many of the laptop chipset positions in the chart are guesstimates based on their specifications. At worst I don't think they're more than a tier away from their actual performance, but this is something to keep in mind when considering mobile graphic chipsets.
| Geforce | Radeon |
|---|---|
| 8800 GTX, 8800 Ultra | 3870 X2 |
| 8800 GT 512MB, 8800 GTS 512MB | |
| 8800 GTS 640 MB, 9600 GT | HD 2900 XT, 3870 |
| 8800 GS | 3850 512MB |
| 8800 GT 256MB, 8800 GTS 320MB | HD 2900 PRO, 3850 256MB |
| 7950 GX2 | X1950 XTX |
| 7800 GTX 512, 7900 GTO, 7900 GTX | X1900 XT, X1950 XT, X1900 XTX |
| 7800 GTX, 7900 GT, 7950 GT | X1800 XT, X1900 AIW, X1900 GT, X1950 PRO, HD 2900 GT |
| 7800 GT, 7900 GS, Go 7950 GTX, 8600 GTS | X1800 XL, X1950 GT, Mobility X1800 XT |
| 6800 Ultra, 7600 GT, 7800 GS, Go 7800 GTX, Go 7900 GTX, 8600 GT | X800 XT (& PE), X850 XT (& PE), X1650 XT, X1800 GTO, Mobility X1900, HD 2600 XT, 3650 (DDR3), 3670 |
| 6800 GT, 6800 GS (PCI-E), Go 7800, Go 7900 GS, 8700M GT | X800 XL, X800 GTO2/GTO16, Mobility X800 XT, HD 2600 PRO, Mobility HD 2600 XT, 3650 (DDR2) |
| 6800 GS (AGP), Go 6800 Ultra, Go 7600 GT, 8600M GT | X800 GTO 256mb, X800 PRO, X850 PRO, X1650 GT, Mobility HD 2600 |
| 6800, Go 6800, 7300 GT GDDR3, 7600 GS, Go 7700, 8600M GS | X800, X800 GTO 128mb, X1600 XT, X1650 PRO, Mobility X1800 |
| 6600 GT, 6800LE, 6800 XT, 7300 GT DDR2, Go 7600 (128 bit), 8500 GT | 9800 XT, X700 PRO, X800 GT, X800 SE, Mobility X800, X1300 XT, X1600 PRO, HD 2400 XT |
| FX 5900, FX 5900 Ultra, FX 5950 Ultra, 6600 (128 bit), Go 6800 (128 bit) | 9700, 9700 PRO, 9800, 9800 PRO, X700, X1300 PRO, Mobility X1450, X1550, Mobility X1600, Mobility X1700, HD 2400 PRO, Mobility HD 2400 XT, Mobility X2500 |
| FX 5800 Ultra, FX 5900 XT, Go 6600, Go 7600 (64 bit), Go 8600M GS | 9500 PRO, 9600 XT, Mobility 9800, 9800 PRO (128 bit), X600 XT, Mobility X700, X1050 (128 bit), Mobility X1350, Mobility X1400, Mobility X2300, Mobility HD 2400 |
| 4 Ti 4600, 4 Ti 4800, FX 5700 Ultra, 6200, 8400 GS | 9600 PRO, Mobility 9700 (128 bit), 9800 LE, X600 PRO, Mobility X600, Mobility X1300, Xpress 1250, Mobility HD 2300 |
| 4 Ti4200, 4 Ti4400, 4 Ti4800 SE, FX 5600 Ultra, FX 5700, 6600 (64 bit), 7300 GS, 8400M GS | 9500, 9550, 9600, Mobility 9600, X300, X1050 (64 bit) |
| 3 Ti500, FX 5200 Ultra, FX 5600, FX 5700 LE, Go 5700, 6200 TC, 6600 LE, 7200 GS, 7300 LE | 8500, 9100, 9000 PRO, 9600 LE, Mobility 9700 (64 bit), X300 SE, X1150 |
| 3, 3 Ti200, FX 5200 (128 bit), FX 5500, Go 5600, Go 6200, Go 6400, Go 7200, Go 7300, Go 7400 (64 bit) | 9000, 9200, 9250, Mobility 9600 (64 bit), Mobility X300 |
| FX 5200 (64 bit), 6100, 6150, Go 7200, Go 7400 (32 bit) | 9200 SE, Xpress 200M, Xpress 1000, Xpress 1150 |
| 2 GTS, 4 MX 440, 2 Ultra, 2 Ti, 2 Ti 200 | 7500 |
| 256, 2 MX 200, 4 MX 420, 2 MX 400 | SDR, LE, DDR, 7000, 7200 |
| Nvidia TNT | ATI Rage 128 |
Summary
There you have it folks: the best graphics cards for the money this month. Now all that's left is to find and purchase them, and we leave that part up to you. The best prices will almost certainly be found online, but sometimes large retail outlets might surprise you with a good sale.
Don't worry too much about which brand you choose, because all of the cards out there stick pretty close to the reference designs by Nvidia and ATI. Just pay attention to price, warranty and the manufacturer's reputation for honoring that warranty if something goes wrong.
Also remember that the stores don't follow this list. Things will change over the course of the month, and you'll probably have to adapt your buying strategy to deal with fluctuating prices. Good luck!
