Best AGP NVIDIA card..

[samusaraniv]

Got a friend looking for a new card in that price range. He does NOT want to go ATI and doesn't want to go above the $175 mark, and the card needs to be AGP.

I've been looking at these three:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121216
512MBs of DDR2 and 12 pipelines, but 128-bit mem and low mem clock rate (he will overclock, though)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814141026
512MBs of DDR2, 256-bit mem and high mem clock rate, but only 8 pipelines (can he unlock more with this card? I'm not at all familiar with the process). Also, the card is OUT OF STOCK at both locatiions that's I've found it at, ChiefValue.com and Newegg.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150157
256MBs of DDR3, 256-bit mem and highest mem clock rate out of the three, but, again, only 8 pipelines.

Which would you guys choose out of the three? Can you recommend a better option?

 

[996GT2]

It's too bad that your friend does not want to go ATi, because ATi has several great AGP offerings in that range, one of them being this X800GTO by PowerColor.

To answer your question, you can take the 2nd and 3rd cards out of consideration right away. The 6800XT is not a very good choice here, as its performance is about level with a 6600GT. The first choice is "ok", but there is no need to pay extra for 512mb of DDR2, as the card is not powerful enough to utilize it fully.

So, in the nVidia camp, I would look for an AGP 6800GS. This is $20 over his price limit, but it's the only one at Newegg (maybe you could find a cheaper one elsewhere). The 6800GS offers better performance than any of the 3 cards you listed. Barring that, tell your friend to buy a 6600GT unless he is ok with ATi or will spend a little extra for nVidia.

 

[Nextman916]

tell your friend its a really dumb decision to only go nvidia, try to convince him into going ATi.

 

[secretanchitman]

though i would go with nvidia...why doesnt your friend even consider ati? its not like they're the devil...hehe.

 

[samusaraniv]

996GT2: I am having trouble finding on Newegg the 6800GS you referenced. Can you link me? Also, what's the faster card: this one or the Powercolor X800GTO you mentioned?

My friend has always used NVIDIA as long as he's been playing computer games, so he is really reluctant to switch companies. I can probably convince him to go ATI if they've got the fastest in his price range.

 

[996GT2]

To the OP:

Sorry about the 6800GS AGP on Newegg comment, Newegg doesn't have any right now. My bad.

Here's one at MWave for $195
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=3940291&CartID=done&nextloc=

Now, the X800GTO I was talking about:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814131010

It is $40 less than the 6800GS, and the two cards are similar in terms of performance. The 6800GS is a bit faster than the GTO (this gap shortens with AA/AF on), and the AGP version of the GTO cannot be unlocked to 16 pixel pipelines, unlike some PCI-e versions such as the Sapphire GTO^2s. Also, the X800GTO does not have SM3 support and may not OC as well as the GS. It's up to you and your friend whether these tradeoffs are worth the $40 difference.

Heres a comparison between the two, although the PCIe verisons are used:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/powercolor-x800gto.html

 

[LiekOMG]

If he doesn't mind used, try picking up a used 6800GT off the forums here. The price/performance ratio is quite good. Just make sure its agp, as there are a lot of PCI-E versions of this card too.

 

[kmmatney]

Here is somewthing to consider:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102609R

or, for a more power:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102016R

The 6800GS would be a good option, but its out of stock everywhere, or priced too high. The original 6800 512 MB card you listed in the beginning is a good card. The X800GTO has a lot of overclocking headroom.

Here are some AGP benchmarks. The X850Pro is not listed but is about the same as the 6800GS.

http://www.rage3d.com/reviews/video/nvidia6800gs/index.php?p=4