We designate the entry-level graphics market as any video card that has a street price of under $100. These cards are targeted at value-system buyers, and we usually don't find the high-performance hardware at this price range. Of course, that doesn't mean that gaming performance or features have to suffer, and only having a C-Note in your pocket is no reason to start looking in the bargain bins or scouring Ebay for refurbs.
In each guide, we usually welcome a new entrant or two into the entry-level video card list, but the level of activity can change slightly from month to month. This is certainly true of late, as the entry-level selection has mushroomed, and is now by far the largest sub-group. We added a ton of new cards for July, including five existing models that dropped below the $100 mark and another five in the form of new card entrants. The most prominent were on the ATI side, with the new Radeon HD 2400 Pro/XT and HD 2600 Pro cards and the surprising $99 Radeon X850 XT 256MB. This is a great time to be shopping for a low-cost video card, as these new models are pushing the value rating through the roof.