MSI releases the RX2600XT based on ATi's Radeon HD2600XT (RV630) ... More good news for ATi fans?

Introduction

Last month we've taken a look at the Radeon HD2900XT 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 HD2600XT, which competes directly with Nvidia's Geforce 8600GT/GTS. And in this review will be taking a look at MSI's RX2600XT graphics card, which utilises ATi's RV630 GPU and features 256Mb of DDR3 ram.

We haven't had much ATi based graphic cards in our labs for testing lately. One of the reasons could be the fact that ATi/AMD have been struggling to capture both the enthusaist and mainstream markets. Nvidia have been very strong in both these markets, and have recently dominated the gaming scene with their Geforce 8800 and 8600 series of graphic cards.

You probably think I'm a Nvidia supporter, but the truth is whoever is on top of their game, especially in this cut-throat industry is the real winner. And sadly, ATi/AMD have not been at their best for the past 6 months. Delays in releasing their products and much rumoured in-house "fighting" (with ATi's CEO resigned last month) hasn't helped their cause.

Usually, when I get a new product for review before it hits the UK shelves, I'm really excited ... however, I have a feeling that this card might not be what I expected. ATi's Radeon HD2600XT looks all good on paper, but in reality it's going to be difficult to compete against the already established Nvidia Geforce 8600 based cards. ATi might have one thing that could help them ... the many devoted ATi fans out there. 

OK, not's waste any more time and see how well the MSI RX2600XT (Radeon HD2600XT) will perform against others on the market ...