Conclusion

After reviewing the new data in relation to my prior opinions, I think my previous recommendations would change a little. If an end user was looking for a Sub-$200 PCI Express graphics card, I would go for either the Radeon X700Pro OR a NVIDIA based 6600GT based card such as the XFX reviewed here today. I think overall, the 6600GT would provide more consistent results in most games. However, there is the disadvantage in that an end user could experience a limitation in FSB overclocking of their Intel platform while using a 6600 based card. If your thinking of going AMD in the future, or hold out hope Intel will release an SLI capable P4 (read non Xeon) or NVIDIA nForce5 motherboard, the 6600GT could also be judged the better board due to the possibility of running two of the same cards in SLI mode, getting near 6800 Ultra performance. This would spread out your investment in video cards, and potentially perform just as well.

For users wishing to spend less, the Albatron 6600 offered tremendous bang for the buck, and throughout benching reminded me somewhat of the old Geforce2 MX cards that really brought 3D into the mainstream. Available for as little at $112 in OEM form, this is the little engine that could. On a side note I was able to overclock this card to 500MHz core, and really did have a healthy overclock on the memory as well. This boosted scores significantly, however I choose not to re-bench at these speeds due to time considerations.

Users who wish to know how PCI Express cards run on AMD systems will be glad to know they run well. In fact, in the limited time I've had playing with a Gigabyte K8NF-9 based on an NVIDIA NF4 chipset I have noted no problems running any graphics cards up to 270MHz HTT. This indicates to me that at least with this sample board, the PCI Express locks are indeed functional, making any concerns regarding NVIDIA Graphics boards limiting overclocking moot. The added CPU/Gaming power of the A64 is not wasted on the 6600GT either, and at least for now I was able to capture the #1 spot for 6600GT PCI Express cards on Futuremark's 3DMark2001SE benchmark (The person above me has an AGP version that seemingly overclocks much higher than my card at 585/1130).

So for now at least we are done. If more cards come about, we may update this article further. Albatron has released a new product called the 6600U, which is a model that falls somewhere between the vanilla 6600 and a 6600GT. Using BGA memory and slightly higher stock clocks, this unit promises very good overclocking for a modest price. Whether it's a viable alternative to the 6600 or the 6600GT is yet to be seen.

Furthermore, ATI is said to be coming out with new cards, which is always the case with the cat and mouse each trying to one up each other. In the end, this competition is good for all of us, and true mainstream cards with good potential for gaming are now a reality in the Sub $200 graphics card market.

Question/Comments: forum thread