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.
The entry-level video card market has not been very active in terms of new entrants, but January 2008 did welcome a pair of mainstream cards that fell below the $100 barrier. These were the Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB and GeForce 8600 GT 256MB, while the Radeon HD 2400 Pro 512MB AGP made its chart debut. In terms of top price-performance values, we still like the Radeon X800 Pro 256MB, Radeon HD 2600 Pro 256MB, GeForce 7600 GT 256MB, and GeForce 8500 GT 256MB/512MB cards, but the recently-added Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB and GeForce 8600 GT 256MB definitely move to the top of the entry-level class.
RSS feed
Sitemap
Comment and Contribute
