To satisfy the ATI fans out there, MSI have released the Raden HD 2600 XT graphics card based on ATI's RV630 graphics core. Last month we've taken a look at the Radeon HD 2900 XT graphics card from Sapphire. It features ATI's high-end GPU, the much delayed R600 and is aimed at the enthusiast's market. But in order to target the mainstream market, ATI/AMD have released the Radeon HD 2600 XT, which competes directly with NVIDIA's GeForce 8600 series. We haven't had much ATI based graphics cards in our hands for testing lately. One of the reasons could be the fact that ATI have been struggling to capture both the enthusaist and mainstream markets. - CPU3D

MSI Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB Vista Ready Review

The contents and package is very well presented as with all MSI products. We particularly like the included silent heatpipe cooling with no fans, which is ideal for consumers that cherish a silent system. This package comes with all the usual drivers and manual on CD, but no games included. The silent cooling is actually a backside cooling solution, with the front heatpipes leading the heat to the other side. This version of MSI is equipped with 256MB memory which are supplied in Hynix GDDR3 memory chips. Next to that it is a standard Radeon HD 2600 XT PCB, with the CrossFire interconnect bridge.

We find the MSI Radeon HD 2600 XT a pretty average card for the mainstream user. It did complete all the benchmarks with no problems and was able to run DirectX 10 games like Call of Juarez and Lost Planet. However, the performance was a little below what we had expected. We thought it would really give cards based on the NVIDIA GeForce 8600 series GPU, a ran for its money but in the end, it was outperformed by the GeForce 8600 GTS easily. Picture quality and video playback is very good as with most ATI based cards. Watching DVD's at full High Definition format is a real treat.

Somehow we think ATI/AMD was again one step too late in introducing the Radeon HD 2600 XT cards on to the market. The NVIDIA GeForce 8600 GTS had already dominated the mainstream market for gamers, offering pretty good performance for the price. So ATI really needed something a little bit better than what it's got to offer right now. Anyway, MSI have produced a Diamond edition of this card, featuring an overclocked GPU and 512MB of higher speed GDDR3 memory, maybe that could attract some consumers. The contents and package although is very well presented as with all MSI products.

Pricewise, the MSI Radeon HD 2600 XT currently costs around $130 which isn't too pricey, and is ideal for ATI fans and the cost conscience gamer. But, if you could save and add another $40-50, you could get a GeForce 8600 GTS based card, which we think is a better option. The MSI Radeon HD 2600 XT is pretty average card that performs okay overall. It could appeal to some ATI fans and the cost conscience gamer...