Demuwan Posted June 5, 2006 Author Posted June 5, 2006 Yea higher number doesn't necissarilly mean its a better card. Your, 7300 is a series 7 card, but the lowest 7 series card. The 6800 (and its varients) are the best of the 6 series. You cant get a 6800 from ebuyer for around £120. The 7300LE is around £30, the 7800/7900 is around £200. The 6800 is a decent upgrade choice it was top of the range in the 6 series, but the price has dropped since the launchof the 7 series. So your getting a good cardfor a decent price. A X1600XT for around £100 isn't that bad either. JUst do a bit of research, price vs performance. take a gander at http://tomshardware.co.uk/graphics/index.html they have a useful "buyers guide" going on at the moment Thanx for your help. But I still don't understand why someone would make a newer card that is worse than the old model. It seems ridiculous to me.
c0Zm1c Posted June 7, 2006 Posted June 7, 2006 I still don't understand why someone would make a newer card that is worse than the old model. It seems ridiculous to me. It's because each model is aimed at a particular market. Graphics cards usually fall into three different categories within a given series: high-end, mid-range, and budget. Each with varying specs (clock speeds, shader unit count, etc.) and is normally priced and numbered accordingly, designating which category it belongs to. This is why a high-end card from a previous series (the most expensive, numbered the highest, and the best performing in its series) will usually perform better than a budget card from a new series (the least expensive, numbered the lowest, and the worst performing in its series). High-end cards are aimed at the power-user market, and are for people who demand the best in performance. Mid-range are for those who don't wish to spend a premium, but at least want a decent level in performance from their hardware. Mid-range cards are usually considered the best value for money. Budget cards are, as the word suggests, for those on a tight budget. They're best avoided by gamers.
AshMat Posted June 7, 2006 Posted June 7, 2006 7300 i would've thought would run it.. my 6200 runs it great.
Bluejay Posted June 7, 2006 Posted June 7, 2006 Yes, but remember. Your 5700 was the top of the 5 series. The 7300 LE is the LOWEST you can get, it wouldn't supprise me if a mid range 6 series could beat it. My 5200 runs HL2 pretty well too, and it really sucks.
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