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by Editors of [H] Enthusiast
[H] Enthusiast reviews several video cards every month. Testing is excellent and superbly documented. Reviews are comparative and objective. Conclusions are clear and decisive. Products aren't rated, but… the best products are honored with Editor's Choice Gold or Silver awards. While [H] Enthusiast doles out those awards too liberally, many products aren't recommended at all, so the balance is reasonable. Reviewers do an exceptional job of delineating between measured performance and real-world perceivable performance during gaming. Other reviewers of any types of products rarely make those types of distinctions.
by Paul Lilly, Rich Caporali
HardwareLogic's approach to reviews is consistently very good. The site's video card reviews are very well written, entertaining and organized, but they might be too technical for some readers. In addition,… direct comparisons are minimal, but the unparalleled scoring system more than makes up for both weaknesses. Each reviewed card is rated in six weighted subcategories, which add up to an overall rating. Comments about each subcategory rating are clear and very helpful. Reviews are thorough, substantive and very well balanced. Regularly updated system guides direct readers to the best video card choice for enthusiast, mainstream and budget systems.
by Alexey Stepin, Yaroslav Lyssenko and Anton Shilov
In this roundup, engineers test and directly compare video cards from Asus, EVGA, Foxconn, Gainward, Gigabyte and XFX that are based on the same Nvidia GPU with the same amount of VRAM. Graphs show how each… card performed in nine games, as well as how they compare with higher-end and lower-end video cards. Cards are tested at several resolutions. Overclocking performance is also tested. Although performance is very similar, the testers identify the best of the bunch. They also discuss other buying considerations, such as bundled games and toys. In a previous roundup, the same engineers tested and compared four GeForce 8800 GTX video cards.
by Jason Cross, Joel Durham Jr.
ExtremeTech is a prolific reviewer of video cards in price ranges from bottom to top. In many cases, individual branded video cards aren't reviewed; instead, the generic Nvidia or AMD/ATI card is reviewed.… Regular upgrade guides recommend the best choices in various price ranges. Reviews are thorough and comparative. Each card is given a single rating, and some are not recommended. Alternatives are discussed. Reviewers are assertive about their conclusions and place their recommendations in context of the current and future market. For people who aren't computer hardware geeks, ExtremeTech's reviews are easier to understand than most.
by Tim Smalley
For this roundup, U.K. computer hardware review website Bit-tech.net evaluates five video cards with Nvidia GeForce 8800 chips. Some are factory overclocked, while others are tested at stock and overclocked… speeds. Some are also tested in a couple of configurations, and benchmark comparisons are shown. In the conclusion, each card receives an overall rating and subcategory ratings for features, performance and value. An excellent feature of this roundup is that warranties and support are compared and factored into the ratings. One card earns an excellence award, and two others are recommended.
by Editors of X-bit Labs
Along with frequent roundup comparisons, X-bit Labs regularly reviews individual video cards and new cards from Nvidia and AMD/ATI. X-bit labs claims to be one of the top three hardware review websites,… based on 1.8 million monthly readers. Testing is extremely thorough, and extras such as bundled games and accessories are evaluated, too. Reviews are balanced and objective. Products aren't rated, but the best products are identified, and alternative considerations are provided. Reviews aren't limited to gaming products, but the low end of the market is ignored.
by Geoffrey Van Landeghem
Madshrimps is a Belgium-based gaming and hardware enthusiast website. This superb comparison test is from a gaming perspective, which is arguably inappropriate for entry-level video cards, but all bases are… covered. Testing is comprehensive. The cards are compared with each other, as well as all viable alternatives. Because test results for the cards are nearly identical, Geoffrey Van Landeghem makes extensive comparisons with the next step up and ATI's closest competitor. In simple enough language, Van Landeghem discusses specific applications and types of applications (primarily games) where the GeForce 8400GS is or is not a good choice.
by Leo Waldock
U.K. website Register Hardware reviews video cards on a fairly regular basis. The reviews are mostly of Nvidia and ATI technologies, rather than individual brands of video cards. Testing and comparisons are… good. Reviews are balanced and refreshingly cynical. However, they don't jibe well with the single ratings. Ratings are too similar, and Leo Waldock doesn't make the productive correlations between price and performance that other reviewers do. If you have a budget in mind for a card for a new system, you are unlikely to settle on a product based on these reviews, in spite of the overall high quality.
by Gabriel Torres
Hardware Secrets claims it is oriented to entry-level PC enthusiasts. However, while the reviews are simpler than some competing sources, they are full of technical terminology. Both general Nvidia and ATI… cards and specific individual models are reviewed. The reviews are extraordinarily comparative. Testing is very good, and we're impressed that charts show the percentages of how much faster or slower other cards are. Conclusions attempt to steer readers to a buying decision, but the absence of ratings is a hindrance.
by Edward Chester
TrustedReviews regularly reviews video cards. This U.K. website covers individual brands of cards, as well as Nvidia and ATI cards. Testing and reviews aren't as comprehensive as some, but they are more… than satisfactory and relatively concise, which is a benefit for people who prefer that approach. TrustedReviews gives all products overall and subcategory ratings, and ratings are typically high. Many video cards earn Recommended awards (TrustedReviews doles them out far more selectively in other categories), but only the Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT is honored as an Editor's Choice. Comparisons in the review copy are good, and the ratings and benchmark test results provide a greater basis for comparison.
by Stuart "Veridian3" Davidson, Peter "Who_Knows" Gracar
DriverHeaven.net's reviews are refreshingly easy to read. This is one of the few reviewers to evaluate HD video playback. DriverHeaven.net is an extremely prolific reviewer of video cards, and many of the… reviews are roundups with direct comparisons. Products aren't rated, but many receive either Gold awards or Editor's Choice awards. Only a small percentage of products do not receive an award. As almost everything is highly recommended, DriverHeaven.net does a poor job of guiding readers to a buying decision.
by Rob Williams
Techgage Networks has begun regularly reviewing video cards in recent months. Testing and descriptions are good, although benchmark graphs usually just show one alternative. Reviews are easy enough to… understand for someone who is a game fanatic, but not a technogeek. Conclusions are productively comparative, but usually in context of other GPUs, rather than other specific video cards. The reviews are unbalanced in favor of everything reviewed. Nearly all cards are rated 8/10, although one is selected as an Editor's Choice. Techgage's strength is reviewing some entry-level video cards that aren't necessarily suitable for gaming.
by Jon "Whoopty" Martindale
XSReviews is a new (as of last year) British computer-hardware review website. Reviewers had worked for competitors. Reviews are very good, but not as substantive as the best. For example, Jon Martindale's… opinion of a video card's aesthetics isn't important, but his evaluations of heat and noise are. Yet, he doesn't attempt to measure noise, and he only occasionally reports operating temperatures. Comparisons are fair, but we'd like to see more products compared in benchmark graphs and in conclusions. Most products are rated, while some are given no ratings, but value awards. Distinctions are not clear.
by Editors of Bjorn3D.com
Bjorn3D.com is another prolific reviewer of video cards. Reviews are lengthy and easy enough to read, with plenty of illustrations that help. However, the quality of reviews is variable, since many… different authors tackle the task evaluating video cards. For example, some cards have well-explained ratings in areas such as build quality, video and gaming performance and more, while others simply list pluses and minuses. Each card does receive an overall rating, but because so many hands are on board, it is tough to put those into meaningful context.
by Hilbert Hagedoorn
Hilbert Hagedoorn reviews a new video card every other week. In spite of this demanding regimen, reviews are comprehensive. In fact, they are long and long-winded. Conclusions are balanced and helpful, but… comparisons are vague. Testing and graphing of test results are exceptional. Hagedoorn measures noise and temperature under passive and realistic conditions. Few reviewers convey this information as objectively and informatively. Unfortunately, ratings are hard to understand; some products aren't rated, but they appear to be recommended anyway.
by Damien Triolet
BeHardware.com is a French website devoted to computer hardware evaluation. Its testing process is always excellent, but reviews in some categories are more helpful than in others. Video card reviews are… hard to read because they are very technical and in awkward English. Otherwise, the individual reviews are very good, though collectively they don't adequately lead readers to a buying decision. Products aren't ranked, and individual brands of video cards aren't compared. One excellent article compares integrated video options from Intel, ATI and Nvidia. It concludes that they aren't acceptable and suggests viable inexpensive alternatives.
by Don Woligroski
This regularly updated column identifies the best video cards in a variety of price ranges. These cards have been previously tested, but not necessarily individually reviewed. Only gaming cards are… considered, so nothing cheap is recommended. The limitation is that specific cards aren't even mentioned. Instead, in each case Don Woligroski recommends any card based on a specific chipset (e.g. Radeon X1950 PRO), saying that brand variations are insignificant. Nvidia and AMD (now owner of ATI) will tell you the performance rankings of their GPUs, so ultimately, all this article reveals is which of the two companies is better at each price point.
by Darren Polkowski, Tino Kreiss
This regularly updated chart is essentially a do-it-yourself performance review. An interface allows readers to compare any pairs of Nvidia or ATI cards in any of a slew of benchmarks, including games and… 3DMark06 benchmarking software. This tool is only useful once you've narrowed your choices down to a few cards. If you play any of the seven games in the database, you can see how a specific card compares with every other card on the market for those games. Even then, you're only one step closer to a buying decision. You still need to choose a brand of card.
by Editors of NV News
NV News is a website for fans of Nvidia video cards. It is a prolific reviewer of new video cards from individual brands, as well as related products. The bias rules out this site for consumers who don't… already favor Nvidia over AMD/ATI. However, reviewers don't show a predisposition to like one brand of card over another. Testing is fine, though comparisons are mostly general, except for those shown in benchmark graphs. Ratings are cleverly shown in baseball terminology, from base hit to grand slam. Too many cards lead the league in slugging percentage.
by Brandon "Sandman" Bell
FiringSquad describes itself as the "home of the hardcore gamer." That's true only if the hardcore gamer is also interested in the technical minutia of computer hardware. Discussion of transistors and… stream processors will leave many readers glassy eyed. The review format and test results are in a standard format, but reviews are harder to follow than most. Buying advice is generally very good and is consistent with other reviewers. FiringSquad used to select top individual video cards as Editor's Choices, but has not chosen one in almost two years.
by Editors of HotHardware.com
HotHardware's reviews are uneven because they are written by too many different people. All reviewers clearly have sufficient expertise and knowledge of the market, but the presence of multiple reviewers… and the absence of ratings make comparing products covered in different reviews difficult. Some reviews are excessively technical, others are wonderfully comparative, and some are neither technical nor comparative. All reviews appear to be objective and scientific. One strength is that individual cards are reviewed. Given the positives and negatives of HotHardware's reviews, the site works best as a secondary resource once you've already narrowed your choices or settled on a GPU.
by Derek Wilson
AnandTech reviews video cards less often than other hardware enthusiast sites, and the reviews are usually of Nvidia or ATI cards, rather than specific brands. Reviews are long, comprehensive and balanced.… Derek Wilson is very analytical, and many readers will prefer less rumination and more simplicity. Products aren't rated or ranked, but that isn't much of a shortcoming here. The October 29 review titled, "Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT: The Only Card That Matters," establishes an up-to-date best product.
by Contributors to Newegg.com
Newegg is a top online computer parts reseller. At press time, we found 30 video cards with more than 100 reviews. The most popular brands are EVGA, MSI and XFX. More than half of the bestselling cards have… average 5-star ratings, but only eight have more than three-quarters of owners giving it a 5-star rating. The least expensive of those is the XFX PVT73GUGF3 GeForce 7600GT, which has no 1-star ratings. The top models are all Nvidia-based. The MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256E-OC GeForce 8600GTS is the only other top card not in the expensive GeForce 8800 series.
by Editors of Overclockers Club
Overclockers Club's reviews are extremely uneven, even though all are presented in the same format. The presence of too many reviewers waters down the frame of reference and makes comparisons between… reviews difficult. We found some excellent reviews, as well as others where the reviewer lacks a real-world perspective or an understanding of his audience. Ratings seem more generous than the reviews warrant. Given this website's target audience, we expected a more specialized approach than what we found here.
by "W1zzard," "Darksaber"
TechPowerUp conducts exhaustive game and benchmark software testing. Reviews are very technical and very oriented to people who plan to buy and overclock a high-end card. If that suits you, TechPowerUp's… reviews are great, but expect that you will want to buy everything reviewed. Reviewers accomplish a superb job of sales through transfer of enthusiasm. We found appropriate and meaningful criticisms in review copy and lists of cons, but they aren't reflected in the ratings. All products are recommended.
by Rich Brown
CNet.com occasionally reviews video cards. The reviews are short and relatively simple. Some are of individual brands of cards. Comparisons are fair. Each review attempts to find a market niche for the card… and a reason to buy it. Testing is done by CNet's affiliate, GameSpot.com, which does not review video cards. Although he doesn't review a lot of cards, Rich Brown does demonstrate a good understanding of the market. However, in this category we feel a more comprehensive approach is necessary.
by Editors of Viper Lair
Viper Lair's reviews are average in most regards, but they suffer from a lack of specific comparisons. Products aren't ranked or rated, and benchmark comparisons are minimal compared to reviews elsewhere.… Conclusions aren't sufficiently decisive to offset those shortcomings, and the writing here is more technical than necessary. Viper Lair reviews some inexpensive and midrange cards, which is a necessary contribution to the body of information about those products, but even that seems at odds with the stated mission of serving affluent technology enthusiasts and IT professionals.
by Jason Cross, Joel Durham Jr., Loyd Case
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PNY XLR8 GeForce 8800 GT 512MB PCIe SLI-Ready Graphics Card VCG88512GXPB
 from Amazon.com
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XFX PVT86SWAQG GEFORCE 8400GS 256M SUPPORTING 512M 64B PCIE DDR2 DVI HDTV Video Card - Retail
from Amazon.com New: $32.99 In Stock.
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XFX PVT80FSHF9 GeForce 8800GTX 575MHz 768MB PCI Express x16 SLI Ready Video Card ( Dual DVI / S-Video )
from Amazon.com New: $399.00
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