For old AGP rig - 7600 GT vs HD 2600 XT

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Jacez44

Limp Gawd
Joined
May 9, 2007
Messages
417
I'm upgrading my old Pentium 4 AGP rig.

What would be better, a 7600 GT or an HD 2600 XT?

I know the 2600 XT is better with no AA, but actually worse with AA, like all the other HD-series cards.

I'd like to be running games at 1024x768 with 4xAA, as optimal.

Thanks.
 
7600 GT will demolish HD 2600 XT, but you might also want to look at AGP 7900 GS or AGP X1950 Pro if you can find one. Last time I was looking, they weren't all that much more expensive than AGP 7600 GT.
 
7600GT demolish a 2600XT..???

i don't think so.....they should be neck and neck in most games, the 8600GT and 2600XT run almost the same with the 8600GT having a lead most of the time

pretty even match between all three honestly, but i would agree with looking for a 7900GS or x1950 or similiar which will outperform either 7600, 8600 or 2600
 
I agree the 7600GT is a better option. I also agree you should grab the 7900GS over the 7600GT. Fry's had the 7900GS on sale last week for $129. Looks like they sold out. Newegg has the 7900GS for $149.00 after rebate. Something to consider.
 
What are you replacing? Don't you think overpaying for an AGP card is a bad decision? Why not just switch to PCI-E? Cheap Core2 processors and motherboards are all over, and it would be a much better upgrade than paying $150 for an AGP card that's only worth $50.
 
^eMpTy^ said:
What are you replacing? Don't you think overpaying for an AGP card is a bad decision? Why not just switch to PCI-E? Cheap Core2 processors and motherboards are all over, and it would be a much better upgrade than paying $150 for an AGP card that's only worth $50.
Click to expand...

The price of the AGP versions of the 7600 GT and the HD 2600 XT isn't that much higher than the PCIe, and I just need around that level of performance.

BTW, thank you for sponsoring GPUReview.com.
 
lodingi said:
I agree the 7600GT is a better option. I also agree you should grab the 7900GS over the 7600GT. Fry's had the 7900GS on sale last week for $129. Looks like they sold out. Newegg has the 7900GS for $149.00 after rebate. Something to consider.
Click to expand...

My generic 500w 20A PSU won't be able to run anything above the 7600 GT, I'm afraid.
Although, I don't know how much power the 2600 XT takes.
 
Jacez44 said:
I'm upgrading my old Pentium 4 AGP rig.

What would be better, a 7600 GT or an HD 2600 XT?

I know the 2600 XT is better with no AA, but actually worse with AA, like all the other HD-series cards.

I'd like to be running games at 1024x768 with 4xAA, as optimal.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

I ran a p4 system for longer than any respectable gamer should run one. At the end of its life, I had a p4 2.8 in there overclocked to 3.34 with a 7600GT overclocked as well. If I turned everything on low in games, I could get very high frame rates. My typical BF2 config was everything on low, shadows off, 1280x1024 resolution. I kept similar framerates as my buddy's dualcore system with 7900GT (since he ran everything on high with 4xAA). The 7600GT is a hearty card, but expect to turn down a lot of settings for a good multiplayer experience.

What are you upgrading from btw?
 
Tzzird said:
I ran a p4 system for longer than any respectable gamer should run one. At the end of its life, I had a p4 2.8 in there overclocked to 3.34 with a 7600GT overclocked as well. If I turned everything on low in games, I could get very high frame rates. My typical BF2 config was everything on low, shadows off, 1280x1024 resolution. I kept similar framerates as my buddy's dualcore system with 7900GT (since he ran everything on high with 4xAA). The 7600GT is a hearty card, but expect to turn down a lot of settings for a good multiplayer experience.

What are you upgrading from btw?
Click to expand...

On that computer? Just an FX5200.

So you're saying I should go with the HD 2600 XT? I think so too.
 
For new games:
7600gs < 7900gs < 8600GT = 2600XT < 1950pro

For old games:
7600gs < 8600GT = 2600XT < 7900gs < 1950pro

The 7900gs does really $%@ty in new games like crysis, ut3, gears, oblivion, bioshock.....

Here's Crysis: (x1950pro, 8600gt, 7900gs listed under 1024x768 medium settings)
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6182806/p-5.html

Heres's UT3:
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=693&p=5
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3128&p=3

Here's Oblivion:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=729&model2=712&chart=296

Here's BioShock: (1950pro, 8600gt, 7900gs listed under 1024x768 high settings)
http://uk.gamespot.com/features/6177688/p-6.html#
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/bioshock_directx10_performance/page6.asp (7900gs vs 1950pro only)

Gears of War has similar results to UT3.
 
Your really pushing it with only 20A on the 12V with any of these cards.

I know the 7600GT is a very efficient card and will probably be fine. The HD2600 i couldn't find anything showing power requirements or consumption in a quick google search but i would hope its not an inefficient power sucking pig like its 2900 counterparts.

I would definitely look into the power consumption of the 2600 before buying one.
 
Jacez44 said:
On that computer? Just an FX5200.

So you're saying I should go with the HD 2600 XT? I think so too.
Click to expand...

I'm not saying that at all. The 7600GT is better simply because it's cheaper. As others have stated in this thread, they are of relative strength, pixel pushing wise. If you need the HD stuff that goes with the HD2600XT, go with that. Don't expect the DX10 to be of ANY use though. The card is way to weak to even consider DX10 mode. 7600GT was the best midrange card a year and a half ago. Now, it's still considered a great entry point gamer card.

I asked you what you were upgrading from to get an idea of how you'll benefit. After seeing your last card... wow. Huge benefit from going to a 7600GT.
 
ClearM4 said:
For new games:
7600gs < 7900gs < 8600GT = 2600XT < 1950pro

For old games:
7600gs < 8600GT = 2600XT < 7900gs < 1950pro

The 7900gs does really $%@ty in new games like crysis, ut3, gears, oblivion, bioshock.....

Here's Crysis: (x1950pro, 8600gt, 7900gs listed under 1024x768 medium settings)
http://www.gamespot.com/features/6182806/p-5.html

Heres's UT3:
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=693&p=5
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3128&p=3

Here's Oblivion:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html?modelx=33&model1=729&model2=712&chart=296

Here's BioShock: (1950pro, 8600gt, 7900gs listed under 1024x768 high settings)
http://uk.gamespot.com/features/6177688/p-6.html#
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/bioshock_directx10_performance/page6.asp (7900gs vs 1950pro only)

Gears of War has similar results to UT3.
Click to expand...

Wow, thank you very much for all your work and effort!

I agree that the 2600 XT is better than the 7600 GT without AA, but with AA, the 2600 XT flops, and displays worse performance than even the 7600 GT.
 
pfunkman said:
Your really pushing it with only 20A on the 12V with any of these cards.

I know the 7600GT is a very efficient card and will probably be fine. The HD2600 i couldn't find anything showing power requirements or consumption in a quick google search but i would hope its not an inefficient power sucking pig like its 2900 counterparts.

I would definitely look into the power consumption of the 2600 before buying one.
Click to expand...

According to every review site I've seen so far, it's just a little more than the 7600 GT, being based on the 65nm process.

But the good thing is, I can easily underclock to 2600 Pro speeds, if I need to.
 
Tzzird said:
I'm not saying that at all. The 7600GT is better simply because it's cheaper. As others have stated in this thread, they are of relative strength, pixel pushing wise. If you need the HD stuff that goes with the HD2600XT, go with that. Don't expect the DX10 to be of ANY use though. The card is way to weak to even consider DX10 mode. 7600GT was the best midrange card a year and a half ago. Now, it's still considered a great entry point gamer card.

I asked you what you were upgrading from to get an idea of how you'll benefit. After seeing your last card... wow. Huge benefit from going to a 7600GT.
Click to expand...

Around here (Israel), they can both be found for exactly the same price, so that's not an issue.

I'm not looking at DX10 performance, just 1024x768 with 2-4xAA. I just know that the 2600 XT fails with AA, and since I need more AA than resolution, as I only have a 17" monitor to go with that computer, the 7600 GT could be the better choice.

But the 2600 XT does seem to be more powerful without AA, and it's a lot better for newer games, overall.
 
Jacez44 said:
My generic 500w 20A PSU won't be able to run anything above the 7600 GT, I'm afraid.
Although, I don't know how much power the 2600 XT takes.
Click to expand...
I'm running a 7600 GT on a 250w 16A PSU, so depending on the rest of your system, you should be able to squeeze a 7900 GS. Definitely not X1950 Pro, though.
 
arthur_tuxedo said:
I'm running a 7600 GT on a 250w 16A PSU, so depending on the rest of your system, you should be able to squeeze a 7900 GS. Definitely not X1950 Pro, though.
Click to expand...

I'm running an AGP X1950 Pro 512mb on a 330w Seasonic with an 8A rail and 16A rail. :D Quality over quantity.
 
Forgive me, I don't mean to thread-jack... Just seems to be a lot of knowledgeable individuals here discussing a very similar question to mine own. Makes it feel hardly worth starting a new thread.

So... how then would you rate a 6800GT-OC compared to a HD2600-PRO??
Obviously the 6800 is lower than a 7600, but I think a 2600 PRO is lower than an XT.
The 6800GT only has 256Mb and 2600Pro has 512. Both are AGP 8X.

I have a 6800GT-OC that I was about to install in my daughter's PC. But another [H]member is offering the HD2600Pro for only $80.00. So opinions?

And to the OP: If you are interested in the PRO to save some coin over the XT... I wouldn't be offended if you beat me to it. ;)
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1252340
 
wjogert said:
Forgive me, I don't mean to thread-jack... Just seems to be a lot of knowledgeable individuals here discussing a very similar question to mine own. Makes it feel hardly worth starting a new thread.

So... how then would you rate a 6800GT-OC compared to a HD2600-PRO??
Obviously the 6800 is lower than a 7600, but I think a 2600 PRO is lower than an XT.
The 6800GT only has 256Mb and 2600Pro has 512. Both are AGP 8X.

I have a 6800GT-OC that I was about to install in my daughter's PC. But another [H]member is offering the HD2600Pro for only $80.00. So opinions?

And to the OP: If you are interested in the PRO to save some coin over the XT... I wouldn't be offended if you beat me to it. ;)
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1252340
Click to expand...

Does your daughter like Anti-Aliasing? If the answer is no, then the 2600 Pro is the clear winner.

Not that I can, but I wouldn't take a graphics card from a little girl. I know she'll enjoy it.
 
Jacez44 said:
Does your daughter like Anti-Aliasing? If the answer is no, then the 2600 Pro is the clear winner.

Not that I can, but I wouldn't take a graphics card from a little girl. I know she'll enjoy it.
Click to expand...

LOL @ "little girl". She's 15. :p

I'm confused by your first statement, though. Anti-aliasing is a GOOD feature, right??
So are you saying that the 6800GT is the better card because the 2600Pro doesn't have anti-aliasing?

I did some google'ing this weekend. Doesn't seem like the 2600 series (in general) got that great of reviews.
 
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