- home
- reviews
- news
- downloads
- cnet tv
On TechRepublic: Five super-secret features in Windows 7
- log in
- join CNET
- welcome,
- my profile
- log out

ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT comparison

Add to my list
Print
E-mail
Share

Features
Remove from comparison	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove
Product name	ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT	Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 (PCI-e 2.0, 2GB, GDDR3)	Nvidia GeForce GTX 295	Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX (768MB)	ATI Radeon HD 3850
Price	$113.99	$244.99 to $1,005.11	Check Prices	Check Prices	Check Prices
CNET editors' rating	3.5 stars Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)	4.0 stars Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)	4.5 stars Overall score: 9.0 (4.5 stars)	4.5 stars Overall score: 9.0 (4.5 stars)	4.0 stars Overall score: 8.0 (4.0 stars)
Average user rating				3.5 stars	3.0 stars
Release date	June 28, 2007	November 08, 2008	January 09, 2009	November 08, 2006	November 15, 2007
The Bottom Line	If you're looking to build a home theater PC, we recommend ATI's Radeon HD 2600 XT as the midrange card to use, thanks to its nearly perfect HD video image and its no-fuss installation. But for 3D gaming, you'd be much better off looking for a good deal on a faster, older graphics card.	Even if it's a relative power hog, the Sapphire Radeon HD 4850 X2 brings so much speed and utility to the table it's hard for us to recommend another midrange 3D card. Only the particularly power conscious or those who play games with known multichip scaling issues should look elsewhere.	Nvidia's GeForce GTX 295 is the single fastest 3D card on the market, and for a relatively aggressive price. Added bonuses like power efficiency and PhysX support sweeten the deal, but even without those extra benefits, we'd still recommend this card for its processing power and comparative value.	This one is easy. Nvidia's GeForce 8800 GTX not only beats ATI to market with its next-gen 3D graphics hardware, it also eliminates ATI's image-quality advantage in current-generation titles. Throw in its sheer horsepower, and Nvidia gives the high-end enthusiast every reason to make this purchase.	Despite the usual caveats of an ever-fluctuating 3D market, for the moment, at least, ATI's new Radeon HD 3850 graphics card delivers the best bang-for-the buck in PC graphics hardware. Until now we haven't had an acceptable sub-$200 option for PC gaming this year. Thanks to AMD, now we do.
Similar Products	Compare more products	Compare more products	Compare more products	Compare more products	Compare more products
Max resolution (external)	2560 x 1600	2560 x 1600	2560 x 1600	Info unavailable	2560 x 1600
Video RAM installed	512 MB	2 GB	1792 MB	Info unavailable	256 MB
Interface type	PCI Express x16	PCI Express 2.0 x16	PCI Express 2.0 x16	Info unavailable	PCI Express 2.0 x16
API Supported	DirectX 10	OpenGL 2.0 DirectX 10.1	DirectX 10 OpenGL 2.1	Info unavailable	OpenGL 2.0 DirectX 10.1
Video interface(s) provided	DVI-I (dual link) VGA HDMI HDTV output	DVI-I HDMI HDTV output	DVI-I (dual link) HDMI	Info unavailable	DVI-I (dual link) HDMI S-video / composite / HDTV component video output
Graphics Processor	ATI Radeon HD 2600XT	ATI Radeon HD 4850	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295	Info unavailable	ATI Radeon HD 3850
Max monitors supported	2	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	Info unavailable	2
Compatibility	PC	PC	PC	Info unavailable	PC
Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications	Full specifications
Buying choices	Amazon.com Marketplace $113.99 In stock: Yes Price from 1 CNET Certified store	Amazon.com $244.99 In stock: See Site Amazon.com Marketplace $1,005.11 In stock: Yes Prices from 2 CNET Certified stores	Reference product review See products in this family starting at: $475	Reference Product review See products in this family starting at: $300	Reference product review See products in this family starting at: $60
Remove from comparison	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove