Labs

It's a straight battle between the X1600 Pro and GeForce 7600GS in the budget category this month. Both will give you change from £80 and offer silent running thanks to their passive heatsinks, but the X1600 Pro just can't compete elsewhere.

Essentially, the Pro is the same GPU as the X1600 XT, but the core clock has been

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reduced from 590MHz to 500MHz. Far Cry and Call of Duty 2 threw up some interesting results: at 1,024 x 768, the X1600 Pro averaged 26fps in the former, which is respectable at this price. But it's an amazing 13fps slower than its rival, which also enjoyed a clear lead at 1,280 x 1,024. Call of Duty 2 is less comprehensive: the X1600 Pro scored 30fps, trailing the 7600 GS by 3fps.

On the rear is a dual-link DVI output and a D-SUB port, while a bundled adapter cable provides S-Video and component connections. Also in the box is a rally game, CyberLink PowerDVD and Gigabyte's V-Tuner tweaking utility.

Plus, the card is CrossFire-compatible should you want to add another card at a later date to an appropriate motherboard.

If £80 is your limit, the X1600 Pro is a reasonably good media-centre option. But, for exactly the same price, Nvidia's 7600 GS is a much faster card that offers superior value.