which is the better 7600gs?

[Frugal1ty]

right now i'm rollin with a 3DLabs Permedia2 8MB video card, so i think it's time to upgrade. . . had planned on it anyway eventually but have been avoiding it because i know i'm not goin to get caught up gaming on that card. . . BUT nevertheless i've got a gaming rig without the card, so. . .

BIOSTAR Geforce 7600GS core: 400MHz, mem: 512MB @ 800MHz $145

or

XFX Geforce 7600GS Extreme Edition core: 500MHz, mem: 256MB @ 900MHz $130

 

[karthik123]

XFX , the extra 256MB on the biostar one does not make a difference to performance.

 

[BernardP]

I like the second generation 7600 GS by BFG, Leadtek and MSI that are cooled by a fan surrounded by a ring of fins. Cooler than the passive 7600 GS and reportedly quieter than the 7600 GT

BFG

Leadtek

MSI

The Leadtek page also shows the passive cooler version of the card, as some of them are still in the retail pipeline.

 

[Captante]

Between the two you picked I'd go with the XFX ... as karthik said, 512mb's is a waste on a card at that performance level...the higher clocked (& most likely lower latency) ddr on the 256mb board will do a lot more good ... the Leadtek card looks pretty nice too.

 

[hans007]

well the xfx is clocked higher, but pretty much all 7600gs cards can do those speed, so i dont really consider that an advantage.

for $15, i think i'd take the 512mb just so that when i get around to selling the card some retard on ebay would probably be more likely to buy it.


i'd say though you could probably get a 7600gt for $150 after rebates, or go with an even cheaper normal clocked 7600gs and just OC it yourself instead of letting xfx do it for you.

 

[akshayt]

will 512mb help vista as well?

 

[skooma]

 

[Captante]

512mb's won't help anything at all performance wise & I doubt it'll help add any significant resale value to the card either since its becoming more common these days...besides buying computer parts for there possible resale value is just silly. The Leadtek board has a better cooling solution then any of the others & the XFX is the highest clocked, buying one of those two instead is a much smarter choice.

 

[amenx]

The best is the Galaxy 7600GS. It comes with a Zalman cooler, is factory OC'd and performs on par with the 7600GT:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/347/

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: amenx
The best is the Galaxy 7600GS. It comes with a Zalman cooler, is factory OC'd and performs on par with the 7600GT:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/347/

doesnt it also cost nearly as much as a 7600gt anyway?

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: hans007

Originally posted by: amenx
The best is the Galaxy 7600GS. It comes with a Zalman cooler, is factory OC'd and performs on par with the 7600GT:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/347/

doesnt it also cost nearly as much as a 7600gt anyway?

... and is it available in North America and even worse :disgust: ...in Canada?

I had seen that review. Galaxy put DDR3 on the card and overclocked the core from default 400 Mhz to 500 Mhz. It is practically a 7600 GT bearing the GS moniker.

The Zalman cooler looks massive though, and I am wondering if the card has to be considered as dual-slot. I doubt it would fit on my MB where things are tight between the integrated graphics chip/heatsink and the PCI-E slot.

 

[Kromis]

Remember everyone...

The manufacturer's make it 512mb of video ram in order to attract uneducated buyers.

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: Kromis
Remember everyone...

The manufacturer's make it 512mb of video ram in order to attract uneducated buyers.

True for gaming, but I understand this large on-board memory could have some use with other apps, such as photo or video editing.

 

[A554SS1N]

Originally posted by: BernardP

Originally posted by: Kromis
Remember everyone...

The manufacturer's make it 512mb of video ram in order to attract uneducated buyers.

True for gaming, but I understand this large on-board memory could have some use with other apps, such as photo or video editing.

Not really - unless you're doing some CAD designing that requires a lot of video memory, it is more system memory that is better for photo and video editing - the graphics card memory isn't really used for this specifically.

 

[Frugal1ty]

i hear what you're sayin, but i'd be happy with 7600gs SLi passively cooled rather than something else faster but noisier. plus the advatage of the GS is it doesn't need additional power lines comin in from the power supply. you might be able to get away with a (well built) fanless 350-400w PS. . . silent SLi with a fanless PS and somethin quiet on the CPU. . . that would be nice

 

[Mingon]

I have 2x the xfx cards running pretty cool in a htpc with a 240 watt psu

 

[Frugal1ty]

Originally posted by: Mingon
I have 2x the xfx cards running pretty cool in a htpc with a 240 watt psu

well then that's even better

 

[Cookie Monster]

I suggest leadtek

You DONT OC 7600GS with passive cooling. Those XFX hit high 100c due to the high core/mem clock than stock.

 

[Mingon]

The xfx card are running 500/900 and your not going to get much higher than that on most card without vcore adjustments. I use an 80mm fan at a low rpm aimed at the front of the card and it keeps them at 60c underload