Designers of graphics processors always for the top spot in the reviews and benchmarks, but, in fact, they do not always try to develop only the fastest products possible. There is always intention to create a competitive solution that would not cost a lot for entry-level computers, which have the largest market share. The latest technology evolutions, such as PCI Express and optimizations of memory bandwidth usage by graphics cards, allowed ATI and NVIDIA to design technologies that allow graphics cards to use system memory as frame-buffer, which reduces the amount of expensive onboard memory and pricing of such graphics cards.

?ATI HyperMemory and NVIDIA TurboCache both do a good job of taking advantage of system memory through PCI Express. The cards perform surprisingly well considering their inexpensive price tags and small amount of on-board memory, and are a definite upgrade over integrated graphics solutions, including ATI's competent Radeon Xpress 200,?The TechReport web-site believes.

?Based on the results of our testing, NVIDIA's GeForce 6200 128MB TurboCache with a 64-bit memory bus and 32MB of memory on-board looks like the best option. The 64-bit/32MB HyperMemory card is very competitive considering its slower core and memory clocks, but it doesn't beat the TurboCache card by much in Half-Life 2, and comes up way behind in DOOM 3. To ATI's credit, HyperMemory cards run about $10 cheaper than equivalent TurboCache products, but we?d cough up the extra money for TurboCache's superior overall performance and Shader Model 3.0 support,?concludes The Tech Report.

• The Tech Report: A New Battle in Budget Graphics.