Card Suffixes?

OldBuzzard

Gentlemen (and Grace)

Santa was good to #1 son and brought him a new puter for christmas. It has integrated graphics, so he's looking at the X1950's.

Now, since the mfgs change the suffixes (Pro, GTO, XL, ABC, XYZ) like ppl change underwear, I'm trying to figure out the current system.

Am I correct that it's currently Pro < XT < XTX ???

CompressorX

I think its GT < GTO < XL < PRO < XT < XTX
Just not sure if GT is < or > than GTO anyway you are correct.

jp306

That's right you just left some out

ATI is a little more tricky at the low end ,but high end(X1900) is

GT/ Pro<XT<XTX...... GT and Pro are the same level in the 1900/1950s ATI just called the 1900s GT and 1950s Pros. The pro is newer, but performs almost the same as the GT, but has smaller chip size and some models have a better quieter cooler.

Nvidia goes like this: GS<GT<GTO<GTS<GTX

H3X4D3C1M4L

I think the safest way to tell is cost. The one that costs more is going to perform better in some capacity.

aNy_oNE

Not necessarily, an online computer store in my country has a 7600GS priced higher than the same brand of GT. I'd say stick with what you know, don't trust the vendors to get it right.

jp306

Sorry dude, but that's just not true at all.

H3X4D3C1M4L

Oh? A GeForce 8800GTX won't be better than a GeForce 8800GTS? An X1900XTX not faster than an X1900XT?

If you're looking at one place's inventory (i.e. just Best Buy) then 90% of the time the more expensive card performs better excluding any sales. Now, whether its a better value or not is a whole other story

aNy_oNE

Once again, one store has a 7600GS priced higher than a GT. I don't think that would perform better... I'd say better to know yourself than trust the stores to get it right.

jp306

Dude newegg has x1650xt's listed for more than x1900pro's and 7900gs's. I saw a x800xl list for like $280 there the other day. So yea I would say you're wrong... Again.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814195035

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814121031

kris23

this guy speak the truth.......when i was designing a pci express system (that i NEVER got) i let price guide me and i chose an X850PE over a X1800XT

H3X4D3C1M4L

That much is true but if I was a total noob and all I wanted was the best performance for my budget I could be reasonably assured that a $400 card would perform better than a $250 one no? Again I'm talking retail environment MINUS any sales, not online where prices frequently fluctuate and sales/manufacturer rebates come in.

Newegg does that alot. So do most online places. However, in my experience from shopping at retail stores I've never seen that. I do agree that the whole price thing isn't the best, most sure fire way of getting what you want but again wouldn't a $50,000 car be expected to be, in some qualitative way, better than a $30,000 car? (Not accounting for personal taste). Again with video cards... I'm pretty sure a $500 GeForce 8800GTS will perform better than a $200 X1600XT. Once the prices get close, i.e. between $300 and $310 for example, then of course the lines get more blurry and alittle research would pay off.

So be thankful you didn't make that mistake, and maybe next time ask yourself why an X850 would perform better than an X1800 (I can conclude that you made that guess because you hadn't done any reading online or otherwise as to which card was the faster performer and no one had told you).

Again I'm not saying that the highest price method is the most surefire method of chosing the best, because it isn't. Nor am I attacking anyone here. I just didn't explain myself well enough I suppose.

So rather than saying the higher priced card will perform better in some capacity, I should have said something more like "If the price delta between two cards is more than $100-$200, you could be reasonably assured that the more expensive card would be a better performer provided you could afford either one".

And it was for that reason that I picked a Radeon 8500 over a Radeon 7500. I did my research on the next purchase (9800 Pro vs. 9600XT), but the price delta there was $200 at the time and, as most people know, a 9800 Pro would kill a 9600XT in any benchmark.