Version: 2008
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ATI Radeon HD 2600 XT comparison

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Product name
Price $113.99 $244.99 to $1,005.11 Check Prices Check Prices Check Prices
CNET editors' rating
Average user rating 0 stars 0 stars 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.
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Features
Max resolution (external)2560 x 1600
2560 x 1600
2560 x 1600
Info unavailable2560 x 1600
Video RAM installed512 MB
2 GB
1792 MB
Info unavailable256 MB
Interface typePCI Express x16
PCI Express 2.0 x16
PCI Express 2.0 x16
Info unavailablePCI Express 2.0 x16
API SupportedDirectX 10
OpenGL 2.0
DirectX 10.1
DirectX 10
OpenGL 2.1
Info unavailableOpenGL 2.0
DirectX 10.1
Video interface(s) providedDVI-I (dual link)
VGA
HDMI
HDTV output
DVI-I
HDMI
HDTV output
DVI-I (dual link)
HDMI
Info unavailableDVI-I (dual link)
HDMI
S-video / composite / HDTV component video output
Graphics ProcessorATI Radeon HD 2600XT
ATI Radeon HD 4850
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 295
Info unavailableATI Radeon HD 3850
Max monitors supported2
Info unavailableInfo unavailableInfo unavailable2
CompatibilityPC
PC
PC
Info unavailablePC
Full specifications Full specifications Full specifications Full specifications Full specifications Full specifications
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