Premium Graphics Cards
At this time, the absolutely fastest graphics card officially unveiled is NVIDIA GeForce 7800 GTX 512 that is also available in overclocked flavours from partners like EVGA, Gainward and XFX. Some manufacturers have also recently launched turbo-charged versions of the RADEON X1800 XT 512MB, but those yet have to reach the market and it is highly unlikely that those boards will dethrone the GeForce 7800 GTX 512

High-End Graphics Cards
In the high-end segment the RADEON X1800 XT 512MB seems to be the fastest and the most expensive. While it is significantly faster compared to the GeForce 7800 GTX, it is also more expensive, but still not as costly as the GeForce 7800 GTX 512. Given that 256MB flavour of the RADEON X1800 XT yet has to emerge, we do not think that we should keep it in mind just yet when comparing to the GeForce 7800 GTX. In case of the GeForce 7800 GT and the RADEON X1800 XL, we would say that there is a draw between them in terms of speed: the former wins in Age of Empires 3, Call of Duty 2 and Serious Sam 2, while the later tops in F.E.A.R., Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory and Quake 4; the results in Battlefield 2 are similar. Unfortunately, the RADEON X1800 XL has a driver flaw that limits its performance in Battlefield 2, Call of Duty 2 and Serious Sam 2. While the error may be corrected one day, at this point it does exist and you should consider it when purchasing.

While the RADEON X850 XT-series still has some huge power, it is behind the today's leaders and we would recommend to purchase it only at the price significantly below that of the RADEON X1800 XL and the GeForce 7800 GT, as the year-old GPU does not support an array of modern features that may be useful in the coming year

Performance-Mainstream Graphics Cards
NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS wins in Call of Duty 2 and the Serious Sam 2 benchmarks when compared to the RADEON X800 XL, but loses in Age of Empires 3 , F.E.A.R., Quake 4 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory. Battlefield 2 scores of the two boards are nearly equal. ATI's recently formally launched RADEON X1600 XT 256MB is a pretty strange product: it competes very well against the GeForce 6800, but at its price point of $249 it does not seem to be an appealing product, as for that amount of money customers can get a RADEON X800 XL or a GeForce 6800 GS. But if the price is right - $179 or $199 - it may become a very fine mainstream graphics card.

Mainstream Graphics Cards
When we talking about mainstream graphics cards at about $150 or so, then the RADEON X800 GT seems to be the preferable choice: it is faster in Age of Empires 3, Battlefield 2, F.E.A.R., Quake 4 and Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory thanks to its highly-efficient architecture and 256-bit memory bus. The only game where the GeForce 6600 GT is superior is Serious Sam 2. The RADEON X1300 PRO does not seem to be competitive in this segment.

You should probably choose a $120 graphics card according to game preferences. Generally, ATI's RADEON X700 PRO better handles full-scene antialiasing with anisotropic filtering and is faster in such games as Battlefield 2 and F.E.A.R., whereas the GeForce 6600 GDDR2 is faster in the Serious Sam 2 game. While the RADEON X1300 PRO seems to be a better competitor here: it wins in some cases, it still cannot claim clear lead.

In case you are choosing a graphics card for about $100, then the RADEON X700 will probably be the strongest choice: it is faster compared to the GeForce 6600. The RADEON X1300 PRO seems to be better than the GeForce 6600 as well and sometimes even outperforms the RADEON X700