Would it be worth it to install a GeForce 6200 PCI Express video card into an
ASUS A8N-VM/CSM motherboard which has the new integrated GeForce 6150 GPU?
This article suggests the 6200 is better. One reason might be its
4 pixel pipelines versus 2 pixel pipelines on the 6100/6150.
http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2537&p=4
I cannot really find any representative benchmarks. There have been a
few articles comparing integrated graphics to low end separate video
cards, but those articles are not repeated for each generation of
hardware. While I did find some benchmarks, they were done with
different processors, and cannot be compared with one another.
If I had the choice of spending $50 for a slightly better card, and
spending $120-$130 for a 6600GT, I'd probably go for the latter card.
I guess my thinking is, when you buy a video card for a computer, it
should be the card you think will stay with that computer, until the
computer is replaced/upgraded. That way, you are not continually
buying video cards that are only slightly better than the previous one.
In a way, buying a 6200 to improve a 6150 is just too tiny a step
to justify the price. It is like saying, "I want to throw away $50".
If you are a gamer, admit it, and buy a half decent bit of kit,
something you'll hold onto for more than two weeks. While many will
laugh at my choice of the 6600GT, I'm trying to keep the price down.
It is even possible you could pick up a used 6600GT for a better
price than the one quoted above.
The 6600GT scored well on the "bang for bucks" chart here.
The ATI X1300Pro also did well in that chart, but performance wise
it is a slightly lesser card than the 6600GT. Notice that these
cards are not "barn burners", but I think the 6600GT is certainly
going to do a better job than your 6150 integrated graphics.
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28135
Paul
