- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
First, a benchmark for all the AGP/PCI-Express cards from the past 2 generations can be found here
This was calculated by averaging out benchmark scores from Doom 3, Half Life 2, and Unreal Tournament 2004. Following the descriptions of various GPU components is a list of all GPU's and their specs. Sorry about the insane size, it is pretty hard to read any smaller. I'll work on it for the revised edition soon, though.
Chipset or GPU: This is the integral part of a graphics card. If you think of your graphics card as a mini motherboard, think of the chipset as the CPU. It performs all of the 'thinking' that your card does. In essence, this is the most important part of a graphics card. The chipset's speed is determined in MHz. Really, speed doesn't always matter. What really does is speed AND the chipset and it's process.
RAM: RAM stores information for the chipset to process later - just like on your computer. RAM is important, but only as much as your GPU can handle. An old card is really no good with 256MB, as you cna see above; you might as well get the 128MB version of many, because that's about how much it will process anyway. However, in uber-powerful cards, up to 512MB and beyond of memory is used, and not only is that memory expansive, but it's also fast, ie GDDR3. The other thing that is important with memory is its data transfer, also measured in MHz. In addition, RAM is measured in bits. Bits are the actual data-widths of the RAM interface with the core - how much data can actually pass through per clock? New cards use 256-bit memory. This is very exhorbitant and can help you get to those ultra settings on Doom3, but 128-bit is perfectly fine for all but the latest-gen cards. 256-bit is a good investment for now, though, as games will soon thrive in 256MB+, 256-bit+ environments.
Interface: AGP, PCI, or PCI Express? That is the question. Old PCI cards use a PCI slot, common on most computers. The data transfer between the motherboard and the card is minimal - I highly disapprove this type of graphics card. AGP slots nowadays are all 8x, although they do support 4x for older boards. This is a good transfer rate, and has been the standard. PCI Express is about a year old. It allows fast data transfer, however, as of now, AGP vs. PCIe board tests show that both have similar performance. Motherboards with PCIe slots cost about $30 more than those with AGP, and the PCIe cards cost about $30 more than AGP cards. If you can find the extra $60 or so, just get it. You will be able to upgrade your card in a few years again, rather than getting a whole new pc.
Integrated Graphics: Intel boards seem to have this more than AMD boards. Integrated graphics have a chipset implemented on the motherboard. However, if you actually play games, you need a graphics card. The integrated graphics are only for people who don't play games or like to see mc grey and the warthog as a green blob. They are absolutely terrible. If all you have is integrated graphics and you wish to play Halo, you need to get a graphics card. Recently, ATi has released their own line of integrated graphics on some motherboards that hold their chipset. Performance wise they're better than the other integrated units on the market, but still nevertheless integrated. Integreated uses system memory, so in addition to having a crappy GPU, it bogs down the rest of your system's resources.
Pipelines: This gets down to the roots of your graphics card. (Analogy alert), think of your graphics card as LA, and the number of pixel and vertex pipelines as each lane on the freeway. The more pipelines/lanes you have, the more information your card can handle. Let’s take two cards as examples. The 9600XT has 4 pipelines. Cool. The X850XT has 16 pipelines (!!!). Very cool. In general, the performance of your card can be a function of chipset, core/memory speed, and pipelines. This will help you even more when deciding to get a card. 8 pipelines deliver sub-mid range performance, 12 mid to above average performance, and 16 will give you absolutely awesome graphics. This is one reason why the X800XL is such a steal. 16 pipelines, while its competitor 6600GT has 12. Pipelines are in essence data-width or how much data can pass through the GPU core processor in one GPU clock cycle. This is different than RAM data-width...
Overclocking: While you can just leave your graphics card the way it is, there are some good programs to squeeze out more. Overclocking basically pushes your card faster than it's specifications say. This can save you a significant amount of money. When overclocking to find your optimal setting, check the temperature every 15 minutes while playing a demanding game. Make sure it doesn't get above 70C or so, or whatever your card manufacturer has deemed unstable temperatures. Also check for artifacts, any anomalies like lines on the screen, random texture errors, geometry errors, etc. If any of that happens, turn it down a notch, about 15MHz. You should be able to run your GPU on a torture test like the one in ATi Tray Tools for 24 hours without errors.
Overclocking Software: I like to go to Guru 3D. The best I’ve found for ATI is ATI-Traytools, although Coolbits is good for nVidia and RadTools for ATi, I’ve heard. The tray tools app lets you make graphs of temperature as a relation to gpu/memory speeds when trying to find your optimal settings while also providing a feature for detecting artifacts, again to get that optimal setting.
SLI: SLI is very new (less than a year). It involves dual PCI-e slots, two cards of the same build (ie two 6600GT's), and a small connector that links them. In this configuration, the computer believes it is dealing with one card, instead of two. SLI requires a special motherboard, specifically nForce 4 SLI motherboards. This is one huge advantage Nvidia has over ATI. ATI cards do not support SLI. There are problems, though. The cards must be from the same manufacturer, be the same model, and have the same BIOS revision. ATi has announced Crossfire, their answer to SLI, but it has not been released yet.
Recommended Interface:
PCI: Oh, hell no! If all you have are PCI slots, you at least need a new motherboard, probably a new pc, too!
AGP: Good for now, it still has nice cards, but manufacturers are discontinuing production of new cards for AGP soon.
PCI-Express: Getting a new computer and have a budget that’s not too tight? Get PCI-e. You’ll be happier with it than with AGP.
Trusted ATI Brands: Sapphire (just don’t get the 9800 pro!), Gigabyte, Asus, Connect3D, Abit, HIS [Best cooling, best overclocking]
Trusted Nvidia Brands: BFG, XFX, Gigabyte, Chaintech, Asus
Buy your cards from the above manufacturers. They are licensed and inspected for quality by their respective companies (ATI or Nvidia), and usually have more powerful cards for a cheaper price.
Good places to buy cards are Newegg and ZipZoomFly, though do not discount new-in-box cards on eBay.
I like Newegg for it's great interface and prices, but ZipZoomFly has free 2nd day delivery. However, Newegg usually gets the good stuff to you faster than you expect, every time. The cheap 5-day shipping option usually gets my orders to me within a few days.
3D Labs' Wildcat series cards I like to...exclude from these suggestions. For the price tag (over $1000), they're a bit overkill. Heck, $500 is a bit too much. At 208MB - 512MB of memory they will handle any CAD design programs like 3ds with ease, and their chipsets and dual-RAMDACs are unmatched. However, they're built for CAD programs like 3DS Max, not games. In fact they can't even play games. They posses some very new technology, such as volumetric texturing (instead of textures being applied to the surface of the model, they are actually applied to the actual 3D model itself, so if, in the rendering views, you could cut, say a rock in half, the inside would be textured as well, not just the outside surface). 3D Labs is an innovator of graphics tech. My suggestion: respect them for their view to the future, but don't get their cards. They are really for work with developers. If you want to get into 3D-design I'd say wait and use the card you have. Why? A developer card is pricey. Very pricey. Again, why? It's such a small market and the products are so advanced that they have to hike prices high to make money. eBay is your friend here. I do have some experience, I own the Wildcat 6110. By far, faster than my X850XT for 3DS, and yet it is from 2002. Of course, I saved $800 by buying it on eBay Wink
New 7800GTX out! After the R520 cores by ATi hit, I will update the graph. In the meantime - spec sheet!
[Edited on 9/1/2005]