Buying Videocard advice

[Shernand]

Hi,
I have been reading a lot of reviews and stuff about the two options below but i was hoping if you people could help deciding which one is a better buy... (note that i've narrowed to two options due to the local retailer, i'm in Uruguay)

In "one corner of the ring" we have :

MSI-branded RADEON X1300PRO 16X PCI-X 256MB (U$S 123 + Taxes)
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=RX1300PRO-TD256E&class=vga

And "in the other corner of the ring" we have :

MSI-branded GeForce 6600 16X PCI-X 128 MB (U$D 119 + Taxes)
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/vga/vga/pro_vga_detail.php?UID=619

Fight!... I mean... waiting for advices...

Br,
Shernand

 

[M. Mellough]

Hi,
I have been reading a lot of reviews and stuff about the two options below but i was hoping if you people could help deciding which one is a better buy... (note that i've narrowed to two options due to the local retailer, i'm in Uruguay)

In "one corner of the ring" we have :

MSI-branded RADEON X1300PRO 16X PCI-X 256MB (U$S 123 + Taxes)
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=RX1300PRO-TD256E&class=vga

And "in the other corner of the ring" we have :

MSI-branded GeForce 6600 16X PCI-X 128 MB (U$D 119 + Taxes)
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/vga/vga/pro_vga_detail.php?UID=619

Fight!... I mean... waiting for advices...

Br,
Shernand

Hum.... At first glance I though that choice was obvious but then again... the X1300 Pro is an entry-level card while the 6600 is mid-range and more powerful so if speed is what matters most to you the 6600 is what you need.

But on the other hand the X1300 Pro is a newer design and may include features that aren't present on the 6600. Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with the 1300 Pro to know what its edge on the 6600 could be. AFAIK the 6600 is in the same category as the X1600 series.

 

[zekrahminator]

X1300=SM3 version of 9800pro. 6600=midrange competitor to Xx00 series. X1300>6600 http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=188&card2=328# even the extra 4 pipelines don't help the 6600 out.

 

[bruins004]

If you pay those prices for those cards then you are getting ripped off. Newegg has a x1600 Pro for about $100 shipped and the 6600GT for about the same price. I dont know if it still on sale but they did have the 6800 for about $100 as well. All of these cards would beat both of the cards you showed and you would get them for cheaper.

 

[M. Mellough]

If you pay those prices for those cards then you are getting ripped off. Newegg has a x1600 Pro for about $100 shipped and the 6600GT for about the same price. I dont know if it still on sale but they did have the 6800 for about $100 as well. All of these cards would beat both of the cards you showed and you would get them for cheaper.

Shernand lives in Uruguay, not a big market so prices are higher. I'm not sure if Newegg ships there but if they do freight cost and customs duties would likely kill any savings.

 

[MZ3692]

Is that 6600 with DDR1 or DDR2? The DDR2 is much better for games and is pretty close to the 6600GT. If it is the DDR1 version of the 6600, then get the X1300 for better features.

 

[Shernand]

bruins004 -> M. Mellough is 100% right, even if newegg could ship, shipping costs + custums taxes would kill me...

I doesn't cease to amaze me that these two cards perform so different in the benchmarks out there, i mean, in some benchmarks the X1300 seems to be the winner, but in others the 6600 wins, the "features" comparision still has to be seen also since they seem to be pretty close in that too...

 

[Shernand]

MZ3692 -> good question.

Anyone knows if the MSI-branded GeForce 6600 16X PCI-X 128 MB ships with DDR1 or DDR2 memory?

 

[markkleb]

I would buy neither...

save a little more money and get a better card..

 

[Shernand]

markkleb -> another good point, but for example, the MSI RADEON X1600PRO
16X PCI-X 256MB is U$S 159 + Taxes, and taxes are a little more than 23% in Uruguay, which would put it at U$S 200 "grand cash total", compared to the U$S 150 "grand cash total" of the MSI 6600

 

[Shernand]

MZ3692 -> From MSI's 6600 info page : "Support Memory : 128MB DDR SDRAM"

Does this means DDR1 or DDR2?

 

[M. Mellough]

MZ3692 -> good question.

Anyone knows if the MSI-branded GeForce 6600 16X PCI-X 128 MB ships with DDR1 or DDR2 memory?

The MSI site only says "DDR" so my guess is that it's DDR1 otherwise they would boast about it. The more I look at it the more I'd tend to lean in favor of the X1300.

 

[cjoyce1980]

As they are both different cores and the memory is different, it is not a really fair comparison but out if the two, most would favor the ATI card as it benchmarks higher.

 

[markkleb]

I build computers for others(over 200 so far)
When people say they want a cheap video card it never fails later they want a better one. try to get around the tax problem (buy a used one, check e-bay, have a foreign friend help you)

If you are gonna spend $200 get something "so so" than buy a Cheap card for now till you can get a good one later (like a 9200 or 6200 or 9800)

 

[Shernand]

Thanks everybody for the advice, things got a little complicated since the retailer got out of stock of motherboards and athlon 64 processors (GRRR), but i guess it's the curse that cames with living in such a small and expensive country. About the videocard i think i'll stick to the X1300 PRO and hope for the best... again, thanks

Br,
Shernand

 

[Satchmo]

both of the selected "contending" cards will trade off back and forth in benchmarks depending on the game, however i think x1300 will perform better then the 6600 in upcoming games.

the same exact thing is true for the x1600xt and 6800gt, theyre both suppose to contend. most reviews state 6800gt is better, yet the benchmarks trade off back and forth. If you pay attention to the benchmarked game, you should notice the games that the x1600xt (1300) win at are relatively new games with the new technology, however older games like HL2 and splinter cell, the 6800 wins due to having more power.

 

[CjStaal]

Get a x850xt used, its 125 on newegg

 

[Cybie1111]

Newegg dosent ship outside the United States if I remember correctly.

 

[drade]

Id just go for the 6600 if your on a budget. thats just me

 

[killatia]

if you can try buying a this geforce 7600gs:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130011

the passive cooling model dose an excellent job against the radeonx1300 and the geforce 6600 so that overclocked model with active cooling should be even better.

btw here a benchmark of a geforce 7600gs with passive cooling:
http://www.gamepyre.com/reviewsd.html?aid=700&p=5