MSI DAAMIT 2600Pro and 2400Pro tested

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Product: MSI 2600Pro and 2400Pro graphics cards
Website: 2400Pro details and 2400Pro details
System Requirements: PCI-Express support
Price: Approx. £30, £50

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MSI HAS KINDLY lent us a couple of new DAAMIT graphics cards - featuring two of the lower end chips from the new range.

The cards, and box art

The first card features the lowly 2400Pro, and the second comes with a 2600Pro mid entry chipset.

These cards are deliberately priced low for big OEM wins, and consumers can currently pick up relatively high powered cards for a small price.

The MSI 2400Pro can currently be picked up at around £35 inc VAT, and when the 2600Pro is in supply, it should be available at just over £60 inc VAT. OEMs should get a huge discount compared to these prices, so expect to see plenty of design wins.

The card specs in full:

MSI RX2400Pro, 525MHz core, 256MB DDR2, 800MHz memory, 1 VGA, 1 DVI, 1 TV-out, (RX2400PRO-TD256EH)
MSI RX2600Pro, 600MHz core, 256MB DDR3, 1400MHz memory, 2 DVI, 1 TV-out, (RX2600PRO-T2D256EZ/D3)
Reference card: MSI Nvidia 8600GTS, 675 MHz core, 256 MB GDDR3, 2000 MHz memory (NX8600GTS-T2D256EZ-HD)

The cards, up close:

The passively cooled 2400Pro

The heat-pipe cooled 2600Pro

Now that one of the first Directx 10 games is available, we're able to compare DX9 and DX10 performance side-by-side, using Lost Planet under Windows Vista.

Composite Figures 3Dmark 06	3DMark 06	?	?
Reference 8600GTS	4825	?	?	?
2600PRO	3788	?	?	?
2400PRO	1552	?	?	?
?	?	?	?	?
SM2.0 Test	Score	GT1	GT2
Reference 8600GTS	2137	16.927	18.691	?
2600PRO	1278	9.324	11.981	?
2400PRO	515	3.866	4.723	?
?	?	?	?	?
HDR/SM3.0 Test	Score	HDR1	HDR2
Reference 8600GTS	1665	16.022	17.277	?
2600PRO	1630	0.620	0.977	?
2400PRO	593	0.622	0.969	?
?	?	?	?	?
?	?	?	?	?
FEAR High Quality	1024x768	1280x1024	1680x1050
Reference 8600GTS	118	80	61
2600PRO	60	40	30
2400PRO	24	16	12
?	?	?	?	?
FEAR High Quality FSAA 2X	1024x768	1280x1024	1680x1050
Reference 8600GTS	84	57	43
2600PRO	39	27	19
2400PRO	16	10	8
?	?	?	?	?
?	?	?	?	?
Lost Planet DX9 1280x720 Default	Cave	Snow
Reference 8600GTS	42	31
2600PRO	31	24
2400PRO	12	8
?	?	?	?	?
Lost Planet DX10 1280x720 Default	Cave	Snow
Reference 8600GTS	30	27
2600PRO	10	12
2400PRO	6	5

Test System:
Intel Core 2 Duo 6600
MSI 975X Platinum PowerUp Edition
4GB OCZ OCZ2P8004GK) PC2-6400 DDR2 memory
OS: Windows XP (3DMark, FEAR), Windows Vista (DX9 Lost Planet, DX10 Lost Planet) Drivers: Nvidia XP 158.22 - Vista - 162.22, ATi XP - 7.7 - Vista - 7.6

In Short
The 2400Pro isn't a performance card, but you're still getting FEAR in playable form for £30, which isn't a bad deal, if you're not looking to future proof for DX10 games.

The problem is, paying just £20 more will get you much better performance from other cards, including the 2600Pro.

Thus the 2600Pro must be the primary choice when weighing up the two cards.

It gets more interesting when the performance of the 2600Pro versus its competitors (i.e. Nvidia ) is analysed.

We've compared the card to an 8600GTS - which thoroughly trounces both cards in all tests. It's the 8500GT which comes in at the same price, and unfortunately we didn't have the card to hand at the time of the tests, but its performance is a known quantity.

A comparable 8500GT scores around 2500 in 3D Mark - you can see the 2600Pro easily outstrips this score.

The 2600Pro's performance coupled with the advantage of its well known higher video decoding throughput, ensure it's the clear winner at the same price bracket as the 8500GT.

The Good
Both cards passively cooled without the need for a fan.
2400Pro has a very cheap entry price for older games.
Both cards come with TV-out. 2400-2600 series has better video decoding over that of Nvidia.
2600 has native support for dual-link DVI ports with embedded HDCP.

The Bad
Paying £20 more than the 2400Pro's entry price will buy you a 2600Pro.
2600Pro runs very hot.

The Ugly
2400Pro should be avoided.

Bartender's Report

2600Pro

2400Pro

?

See also
DAAMIT seeds ninja 2900 rig
Radeon 2400 and 2600 benched
1GB HD2900XTs arrive
OC UK starts selling 1GB 2900XT for £279