WHEN NVIDIA first announced the GeForce 6800 series, the company boasted that its new graphics architecture would scale down to mid-range and value markets by the end of the year. GeForce 6 trickle-down has already spawned the GeForce 6600 series, whose performance and feature set are a revelation for the mid-range market. Today, NVIDIA extends the GeForce 6 series even further into the value segment with the GeForce 6200. This four-pipe GeForce 6 brings Shader Model 3.0 support to graphics cards in and around the $129 mark, giving cash-strapped gamers an intriguing new low-end option.

How does the GeForce 6200 fare against competition that includes ATI's budget Radeons and Intel's Graphics Media Accelerator 900? Read on to find out.