Vid. Card generation guide/timeline

[Warman]

i used to be very well informed regarding video cards but honestly since i finished college and started work i havent really kept up with it... so im a little lost.

im currently running a Nvidia 7600 GS

I know it is kinda old by todays standards but im not too sure exactly how much, im very confused by the product naming that ATI and Nvidia use.

Can anyone tell me a brief time line of the so called "generations" ? if im not mistaken nvidia went from 4xxx to 5xxx to 6xxx to 7xxx to 8xxx to 9xxx ?

that seems simple enough , but now i see some gt260 , gt270 etc...

where do these fit in the time line?

and ATI is a bit more confusing with their models too so i dont know where they fit as to compared to Nvidias offerings.

i tried looking for a guide that could easily help me make sense of all this.

 

[vj8usa]

This might be of use to you:
http://www.overclock.net/graph...g-3rd-times-charm.html

That's just to get a general idea, though. Make sure you read reviews with benchmarks when comparing a handful of competing cards, so you can see just how well the cards you're considering purchasing will perform in games you play.

Oh, and that list's missing a few newer cards. Generally speaking, the GTX275 = 4890 = GTX280, and the 4770's a bit weaker than the 4850. The GTS250's pretty much the same thing as the 9800GTX+ as far as performance is concerned.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

ATI is now similar to how nV used to number theirs. But basically, the higher the number the better... GTX285 is better than a GTX260 216, the 216 is a newer core of the GTX260. 4890 is the best ATI AFAIK, for gamers.

I'm sure someone who knows more than I do will elaborate.

 

[Warman]

Originally posted by: vj8usa
This might be of use to you:
http://www.overclock.net/graph...g-3rd-times-charm.html

That's just to get a general idea, though. Make sure you read reviews with benchmarks when comparing a handful of competing cards, so you can see just how well the cards you're considering purchasing will perform in games you play.

Oh, and that list's missing a few newer cards. Generally speaking, the GTX275 = 4890 = GTX280, and the 4770's a bit weaker than the 4850. The GTS250's pretty much the same thing as the 9800GTX+ as far as performance is concerned.

Thats an awesome indicator , thanks a lot sir.

i also just found this link which helped me make more sense out of the whole "generation" jumps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...phics_processing_units

 

[dguy6789]

In order from older(slower) to newer(faster):

ATI:

Radeon 7XXX
Radeon 8XXX
Radeon 9XXX
Radeon X8XX
Radeon X18XX
Radeon X19XX
Radeon HD 29XX
Radeon HD 38XX
Radeon HD 48XX

Nvidia:

Geforce 2
Geforce 3
Geforce 4
Geforce FX
Geforce 6XXX
Geforce 7XXX
Geforce 8XXX
Geforce 9XXX
Geforce GTX

 

[vj8usa]

Originally posted by: Warman
i also just found this link which helped me make more sense out of the whole "generation" jumps.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...phics_processing_units

Yeah, those wikipedia pages are useful for looking up specs too. Here's the ATI one:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C...phics_processing_units

 

[bryanW1995]

toms does a monthly video card update. the last page on it has a handy chart, too:

http://www.tomshardware.com/re...phics-card,2387-7.html

 

[midnight growler]

Obviously running out of numbers after their 9xxx series, Nvidia reset their numbering scheme to the 2xx series. When their next family comes out in the future, it will (presumably) be the 3xx.

 

[TurtleCrusher]

Originally posted by: Warman
i used to be very well informed regarding video cards but honestly since i finished college and started work i havent really kept up with it... so im a little lost.

im currently running a Nvidia 7600 GS

I know it is kinda old by todays standards but im not too sure exactly how much, im very confused by the product naming that ATI and Nvidia use.

Can anyone tell me a brief time line of the so called "generations" ? if im not mistaken nvidia went from 4xxx to 5xxx to 6xxx to 7xxx to 8xxx to 9xxx ?

that seems simple enough , but now i see some gt260 , gt270 etc...

where do these fit in the time line?

and ATI is a bit more confusing with their models too so i dont know where they fit as to compared to Nvidias offerings.

i tried looking for a guide that could easily help me make sense of all this.

Welcome Lurker.