6800GT PCI-E Availibility

[WaxHaX0rS]

Ok, I've finally got all the parts together on a list to buy for the new comp and I'm just waiting for the A8N DELUXE-SLI's to become more widely available and a little lower than $200 before I buy. I anticipate this to be in mid-January. The only other part on the list that is unavailable is a 6800GT PCI-E for under $400. Currently the BFG 6800 GT PCI-E is available at www.chumbo.com for 399.99 but it's out of stock. If the A8N's become available in mid-January like I hope and the 6800GT's are still low on availability, would it be a bad idea to get Dual 6600GT's and just wait until 6800GT's get to about $350 OR the next-generation of Nvidia cards comes out and then SELL the 6600GT's. I don't know why people bash the dual 6600GT's so much, they offer similar or slightly lower performance than the 6800GT for less money. Slightly less performance for less money doesn't seem too bad. Can anyone give me a moderately detailed explanation of why this might be a bad idea? Or tell me if it's a good idea.




PS: (I know I already posted a similar question a few weeks ago and abandoned that post when I found the 399.99's on chumbo.com, but now they are "On Order" and I'm in the same boat that I was in a few weeks ago.)

 

[xtknight]

No, do not get two 6600 GTs. Please do wait until the 6800 GT PCI-e comes in stock, because it's a much better card than the two 6600s! The 6600s lag up to 20 fps behind the 6800 GT at high res/aa/af. The 6600s become memory limited with their 128-bit interface. Not to mention the compatibility issues with SLI. First of all, the ones at Chumbo were in stock a week ago, and are about $5 more expensive than the two cheapest 6600GTs. Is a 10-15% increase in FPS worth $5? I would think so... If you're not going to be running high resolutions (1600x1200+) or any AA/AF whatsoever then I suppose the dual 6600s are fine. Wouldn't you rather have a single card that performs better for the same price, though? Additionally, you can pop in another 6800 GT next year.

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

I won't be running any higher than 1280x1024 as that is my LCD monitor's native resolution. Does this change anything?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: WaxHaX0rS
I won't be running any higher than 1280x1024 as that is my LCD monitor's native resolution. Does this change anything?

I'm in the same situation right here. Well, I edited my above post but you probably didn't see it in time. "If you're not going to be running high resolutions (1600x1200+) or any AA/AF whatsoever then I suppose the dual 6600s are fine. Wouldn't you rather have a single card that performs better for the same price, though? Additionally, you can pop in another 6800 GT next year."

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

TTT (Other opinions too!)

 

[jamesbond007]

I am also somewhat in the same boat as well. If a person got a regular Leadtek 6800NU and unlocked the pipelines and such, what does that bring the card up to, in terms of speed? Also, it'd be a permanent change, right? Like through a BIOS flash. Sorry, I'm kinda newb when it comes to unlocking things like that and overclocking.

The card is currently $339@NewEgg...a bit more than the $208 Leadtek 6600GT, but if the $339 card can be transformed into a 6800 Ultra or something, it'd be worth it.

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

Bumpity

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

Oh...I see how it is.

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

OK, it's been about two weeks and the 6800GT's are still unavailable, I'm really starting to get annoyed about waiting. It maybe be over another month before I can get my hands on a 6800GT for $400 or less. As much as I don't want to, I'm thinking about biting the bullet on the 6600GT's, please somebody tell me this is a good decision! (heh)

 

[Interfire]

Well you could always get them off eBay like I did and some others on the board.

 

[mechsiah]

Well Wax, I am right there with you. My order for a GT at Chumbo is looking dubious at best. I have beautiful parts sitting in their boxes, and a LAN party in a week or so. Unless something miraculous happens over the weekned, I will be buying a 6600GT. I think I can get one for a little over $200.

It will certainly do the trick for a couple of months until the 6800 GTs become more readily available. When that happens, I'll try and sell the 6600GT for $130 - $150. If I get really lucky, the 6800s may be common enough I won't have to spend MSRP of $400 for one and it could end up a wash.

Who knows- I may even decide the 6600GT is fine for what I'm doing and I may keep it.

Nah.

Mechsiah

 

[Mudbone]

Originally posted by: WaxHaX0rS
OK, it's been about two weeks and the 6800GT's are still unavailable, I'm really starting to get annoyed about waiting. It maybe be over another month before I can get my hands on a 6800GT for $400 or less. As much as I don't want to, I'm thinking about biting the bullet on the 6600GT's, please somebody tell me this is a good decision! (heh)

Oh 6800GTs are available. Its just a matter of being willing to take an eVGA instead of a BFG and then paying the price. You do your own math. Its gonna cost you $400 to $425 for a pair of 6600GTs now. A fair guess is that 6800 GTs will be on the market in stable amounts in 60 days or less. Thats roughly 7 bucks a day. Forget getting $150 for the 6600GT after 6800GTs have stabilized below $400. You'll be lucky to get $100. Another way to look at it is suppose you buy those eVGAs now. If you keep them, They are going to cost you $184 extra for 60 days. (assuming your price point is 400 each.) That's roughly 3 bucks a day. If you sell them, you can wait until the BFG 6800 Ultra OC comes out, (which will be more than 60 days), and still probably get $300 each for them. Of course another option would be to buy one of the eVGAs now and another later. Assuming that you keep them that would only cost you $92 extra in the long run. Either way, if you can't wait, a 6600GT now just doesn't make sense. And two really don't make sense. Its a better financial decision and upgrade path to overpay for the 6800GT now. Or better yet just be patient.

edit for spelling

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

http://www.gameve.com/gve/stor...s.aspx?sku=VC-EVGA-055

Free shipping, acceptable resellerrating

$179 x 2 = $358 no?

Although, you do have a point with depreciating prices over the next couple of months. Maybe I should go with Mechsiah's plan and try a single 6600GT and go from there. It would cut my losses in half as opposed to two of them. Who knows, one may be enough for me. Way better than my current Geforce 2 MX. Also, the grand total for the initial build would look less painful, heh.

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

*Cough*

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

.

 

[JMag]

Originally posted by: WaxHaX0rS
I won't be running any higher than 1280x1024 as that is my LCD monitor's native resolution. Does this change anything?

I have seen alot of issues with widescreen resolutions and SLI... I haven't done much research into it because I am using 1600x1200 which is 4:3 aspect...

Your native reolution seems kinda weird unless u really mean : 1280x960 cause your Aspect ratio is like 4:3.2 or 16:12.8 (which makes no sense to me)

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

Originally posted by: JMag
your Aspect ratio is like 4:3.2 or 16:12.8 (which makes no sense to me)

Or 5:4... 1280 x 1024 is pretty common from what I've read, most review websites (including Anandtech) show it and the possible FPS on it when benchmarking, along with 1024x768 and and 1600 x 1200.

 

[bkzshabbaz]

If you're willing to pay 492 for a 6800GT, united micro has it in stock, supposedly.

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

400 is the limit.

 

[bkzshabbaz]

then u're going to have to wait... and heres some more good news for you, availability on these things are limited for the first half of 2005

 

[slash196]

It's funny how radically successful the 6600GT launch was, and yet you couldn't find a 6800Gt PCI-e to save your life.

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

6600GT, here I come.

 

[MyGrain]

Originally posted by: bkzshabbaz
then u're going to have to wait... and heres some more good news for you, availability on these things are limited for the first half of 2005

Link to that bit of news?

Por Favor!

 

[WaxHaX0rS]

You don't need a link, just look for a 6800GT for $400 and you will see that many of them aren't in stock and few have ETA's. I emailed chumbo and they said they "hoped" to have them in 2-3 weeks, which really means they might have it in 4 weeks, which really means that they will probably have it in a month or two, which really means that I don't feel like finding out how long it will take.

 

[bkzshabbaz]

Originally posted by: MyGrain

Originally posted by: bkzshabbaz
then u're going to have to wait... and heres some more good news for you, availability on these things are limited for the first half of 2005

Link to that bit of news?

Por Favor!

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