GeForce 7600GT, but which manufacturer ??

FlamingMoe · Feb 28, 2007, 04:08 AM

as you can see in my title, i decided to buy a GeForce 7600GT PCIe.

the only thing i couldnt figure out so far was, which manufacturer to choose. is it just a matter of personal preference or are there any real differences in handling and reliability??

ive got xpertvision/palit, point of view, club3d, gainward, asus, pny, leadtek, sparkle, msi, gigabyte to choose from.... so basically every manufacturer.
any recommendations??

the amount of memory something else im not really sure about. how much do i really need? are 128mb enough for gaming or are 256mb better for recent games??

thanks for your help.

Tipstaff · Feb 28, 2007, 12:52 PM

From the many hours of research (and believe me.. it's a lot) pretty much all the cards are the same for the 7600GT with a few exceptions. Almost all of them are the reference design, and almost all of them overclock their cards. However, because these manufactuers still use the reference cooler it isn't sufficient to disapate the heat, and they lock up. The ones that use a different cooler though, work pretty damn good. So, here's my top choices, and I'm gonna break them down into non-overclocked/overclocked with replacement cooler:

Non-Overclocked (default 7600GT clock rate for the GPU is 560mhz):

EVGA 7600GT (part number: 256-P2-N615-TX) (this is my first choice overall)
This is the card I'd recommend over any of the others. It's not the reference design, although it uses the reference cooler, but since it's clocked at the reference speeds this thing has zero issues with overheating. It's also smaller by an inch than the reference design, and uses better capacitors throughout the board. If you get this card be sure to register it with EVGA right away to get the 2 year warranty, otherwise you will only get 1 year if you RMA the card after the intial 30 days.

Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH (Exclusive design)
This is a reference design, however clocked at reference speeds. Also, they've replaced the cooler with a massive heatpipe, so it's quiet as hell. Not sure if it's a good card for gaming though since it has not active cooling. It'd work, but again, it's not active cooling.

Asus EN7600GT/HTDI/256M
The beauty about this card is that it's the reference design, with a slightly different version of the reference cooler, but instead VGA or DVI second output they've replaced it with an HDMI out. Only one problem: the fan is loud.

Overclocked with replacement cooler:

Leadtek WinFast PX7600 GT TDH Extreme (my first choice for OC'd cards)
This is a superclocked card (to the max at 590mhz), but it actually runs stable due to Leadteks use of a replacement cooler.

EVGA 7600GT KO (part number: 256-P2-N554-AX)
They also have the CO card, but this one, due to it's better cooler, fairs better.

I know I didn't exactly answer your question, specifying exactly one card or brand, but at least this would make the choice easier. However, seeing the numerous complaints people are having with the overclocked versions of the card from every manufacturer my choice would be the default clocked cards over all the others.

As for 128 vs 256 video card ram, the bare minimum these days for decent gaming is 256mb. You will notice the difference. The real debate is 256 vs 512. Yes, 512 is nice, but on mid-range cards, such as the 7600GT, most manufacturers use slower ram to keep the cost down. So, when put head to head with a 256mb 7600GT that has faster ram it beats the snot out of the 512mb card in most tests.

FlamingMoe · Mar 5, 2007, 09:19 AM

great help, thanks. better than in any other forum ive asked this...

and ive found the not-overclocked eVGA GeForce 7600GT for about 120�. seems like a good price to me.

but maybe im gonna have some more money to spend on updating my computer. so whats the next step after the 7600GT? as far as i know its a pretty popular card, so there should only be a few problems and technical issues should be relatively easy to solve.
having that in mind, what would be your next recommendation beyond the 7600GT?? another nVidia or would you change to an ATI??

or is the card alright, but instead on spending some more money on that, would you do it somewhere else? like a better board or a better CPU or more RAM?

i know this maybe should be moved to another forum, but im sure there are others who know how to do that...

Sandok · Mar 5, 2007, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FlamingMoe

having that in mind, what would be your next recommendation beyond the 7600GT?? another nVidia or would you change to an ATI??

or is the card alright, but instead on spending some more money on that, would you do it somewhere else? like a better board or a better CPU or more RAM?

i know this maybe should be moved to another forum, but im sure there are others who know how to do that...

I just bought a new system and let me tell you, if you can find one, do buy a X1950 GT. It's priced the same as the 7600GT but is MUCH faster. It's a different league all by itself

But to be honest, the card isn't half bad (7600GT).. And well, I dunno about the rest of your PC but if you got 2 gb of ram and a decent cpu, plonk money for the vidcard

FlamingMoe · Mar 5, 2007, 01:48 PM

of course i can FIND an X1950, but its not at all the same price as a 7600GT, so i guess its just natural to be somewhat faster.
but to be honest, i still tend to buy an nVidia card, because ive got an ATI now, and it just doesnt work too smoothly. plus, i plan on changing my system to linux, and as far as i know there are far less issues with linux an nVidia then there are with linux and ATI.

Sandok · Mar 5, 2007, 01:57 PM

Na mate, the normal X1950 XT or Pro is in a different price range, but the X1950 GT is way cheaper...

Hell I could have bought it (if available) for exactly 121 €

Tipstaff · Mar 5, 2007, 08:00 PM

The X1950GT is pretty much a slightly slower X1950 Pro. Both have identical specs, except the GT is clocked at 500mhz for the GPU vs 580mhz for the Pro. It also comes in 256mb and 512mb versions.

Going up from the 7600GT, look at either the X1950 Pro/GT, or nVidias 7900GS which both hit around $250, and if you can spare a little more, say around $350US, then you might want to consider the newer 320mb 8800GTS.

Just be aware that if you can afford to wait a little longer, say mid April, do so. nVidia has the 8600GT/Ultra cards coming about that time, and according to rumors it should hit about the same price as the X1950 Pro at around $225-275 respectively.

In any event, the decision is pretty much based on what you want to pay. Right now, for less than $150 you can get the 7600GT, less that $250 you can get the X1950Pro/GT or 7900GS, or for less than $350 the 320mb 8800GTS.