Build an $800 Gaming PC - Graphics Power
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This is really at the core of our entire system. Games rely on graphics card horsepower more than any other application, and a good GPU can make or break your gaming box. One of the best deals going is the GeForce 6600GT—we found good prices on XFX's model. It would be nice to push up to a 256MB graphics card, but that's just not in the budget.
At least we still have a current-generation card, with full support for all DirectX 9 features including shader model 3.0. This should be enough muscle to run almost any game at 1024x768 with the details cranked up. With some games, you might even get away with higher resolutions.
| Product: | XFX GeForce 6600GT 128MB |
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| Company: | www.xfxforce.com |
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| Price: | $163 (
check prices) |
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| Pros: | Extremely cheap; great driver support from Nvidia; doesn't require additional power. |
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| Cons: | Only 128MB of video RAM; not quite fast enough for Shader Model 3.0 and HDR games coming up. |
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| Summary: | You'll definitely want to upgrade this as the midrange cards using the next generation of PC graphics chips hits the market, but for now it's a great deal. |
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| Rating: |
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