comparison of the 6800 cards

[Rike]

I stand by what I said before about the 6800; it is not a bang-for-buck card. I gave you a link that is a straight head-to-head, inculding AA tests. It clearly shows that across several resolutions and in AA tests the 6800 holds no noticible advantage (10% or more) over the 6600GT. In fact, at 1024 x 768 with 4x AA the advantage is all of 3.8%. Anyone who tell you that that is a margin they can notice has been smoking something. Even at current prices, I still would not recommend a 6800, AGP or PCIe.

On a lighter note, none of that really matters to the OP, because he needs an X800XL PCIe! I'd buy one now if I were building from scratch. :thumbsup:

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: mkygod
Whats the best bang for the buck if you have an Athlon XP 1700+?

Would i be wasting my money if i opted for anything better than a 6600gt?

Probably. You'll be CPU limited. A 6800GT would of course be faster than a 6600GT, but your CPU would hold it back so you wouldn't see the card really stretch its legs. A 6600GT AGP would be a good match for your system.

 

[xyyz]

i'm considering trying the 6800 pcii-e and seeing if i can unlock it.... if not, i guess i'm leaning towards the x800xl... or maybe the 6800gt if i can push it to 6800u speeds.

 

[Rike]

You know, I just looked up the word "indecisive." You were there.

 

[xyyz]

it's funny you mention that...

'cause now i'm thinking about getting an AGP card to improve performance on my Athlon XP 2000+ a bit, until nvidia introduces it's next GPU in june... i figure i might as well wait until they're actually in production by the end of q3, by that time, the prices on the higher end 6800's and the higher end x8-series should drop enough for me to have this discussion all over again.

 

[xyyz]

alright... one more.

the 6600 AGP, how unlockable is it? i'm thinking about throwing it in my existing system and holding back for a while with my system upgrade. will i be able to get it up to 6600GT levels?

 

[fstime]

Originally posted by: xyyz
i'm considering trying the 6800 pcii-e and seeing if i can unlock it.... if not, i guess i'm leaning towards the x800xl... or maybe the 6800gt if i can push it to 6800u speeds.

NO.

6800PCIE CANNOT UNLOCK!

It physicly doesnt have the extra pipes.

Dont bother with a 6600, theres nothing to unlock on it anyways.


Get the XL, be happy.

 

[xyyz]

the AGP X800XL is running 310 on pricewatch... ouch.

 

[discdog]

Ok, I doubt you care about this item, but if you are thinking of using linux at all now or in the future, the collective wisdom is that ATI sucks for linux. Driver problems. Nvidia is the choice if you think you might dual boot etc.

Just an FYI, probably not one that is relevant.

 

[discdog]

BTW, I'm wondering why more people aren't suggesting the ATI AIW X800 XT. newegg $383 - $50 MIR. I realize this is a bit out of the OP's price range and a lot to spend on an AGP card these days, but seems like blow you
away performance. I suppose, as other people have said, if you play at XGA res then it is overkill. I just got a new 20" LCD (birthday present) that does UXGA. Wondering what games would look like on it at UXGA.
Might actually see ghosting if I was running on something besides my FX 5200 (monitor is way faster than the 5200). So is there a reason this very featured card isn't making the talk list. A quick looks shows that the after
rebate price is about $45 more than the cheapest 6800GT on newegg. Love to hear some arguments for or against. A bit odd: you can't even buy a vanilla x800XT at this price (takes about $392 bones for that)?

 

[imported_scoobydoo]

Time for another question! I've got a Dell fpw2405 (1920x1200 native resolution). I do not play FPS's at all, but one game that I would like to play is Need for Speed: Underground 2. I'm having a tough time getting benchmarks for this game.

The rest of my specs are:
1GB RAM, AMD64 3000@2.4GHz (the ones that matter)

Edit: forgot to say, PCI-E bus.

Obviously, running at 1920x1200 is out of the question and I have heard that NFSU2 is a pretty tough game to run comfortably. Which graphics card will be suited for the task? (I have also read of reports that 6800 cards have some kind of problem with this game). I guess the target resolution to aim for would be 1600x1200?

 

[aatf510]

NFS U2 is kind of tough. I am running @ 1280x960 with everything max out, and even my machine would choke at start-up of the races because of the smoke, the rest of it is better smooth.

 

[xyyz]

if i'm gonna spend $300+ i'm going to invest it in the new pci-e system. right now, i'm thinking about a 9800 XT for about $120.

 

[imported_DaveA]

Originally posted by: xyyz
if i'm gonna spend $300+ i'm going to invest it in the new pci-e system. right now, i'm thinking about a 9800 XT for about $120.

i just got your pm on my 9800 xt for 120. its sold pal.

 

[jfrog]

I got a FX 5900 for $100 (I know it's older), but I'm happy playing games in 1024X768. I might get a 6800 after Nvidia announces their next GPU in June, thereby driving prices down

 

[imported_DaveA]

dude just go pickup a 6800 GT in the FS/FT forum. i grabbed one two days ago for 259 shipped.

 

[xyyz]

Originally posted by: jfrog
I got a FX 5900 for $100 (I know it's older), but I'm happy playing games in 1024X768. I might get a 6800 after Nvidia announces their next GPU in June, thereby driving prices down

my thinking exactly. how well does it do 1280x1024?

an agp 6800gt for 259? hmmm

 

[Rike]

Do you walk to work or bring a lunch?



Please do not seriously consider a 5XXX Nvidia. So many better things to spend your money on . . .

 

[imported_DaveA]

Originally posted by: xyyz

Originally posted by: jfrog
I got a FX 5900 for $100 (I know it's older), but I'm happy playing games in 1024X768. I might get a 6800 after Nvidia announces their next GPU in June, thereby driving prices down

my thinking exactly. how well does it do 1280x1024?

an agp 6800gt for 259? hmmm

Yes 259. If you browse the FS/FT forum occasionally a sweet deal will pop up.

And someone should smack you for even considering Geforce FX line.

 

[xyyz]

i've been fishing... nothing anywhere near 259. you got a deal, that's as big as two deals.

also, consider me smacked.

 

[richardrds]

Originally posted by: Rike
I stand by what I said before about the 6800; it is not a bang-for-buck card. I gave you a link that is a straight head-to-head, inculding AA tests. It clearly shows that across several resolutions and in AA tests the 6800 holds no noticible advantage (10% or more) over the 6600GT. In fact, at 1024 x 768 with 4x AA the advantage is all of 3.8%. Anyone who tell you that that is a margin they can notice has been smoking something. Even at current prices, I still would not recommend a 6800, AGP or PCIe.

On a lighter note, none of that really matters to the OP, because he needs an X800XL PCIe! I'd buy one now if I were building from scratch. :thumbsup:

, The benchmark link you point to is only showing performance with one game (HL2), There are alot of other comparison benchmarks that show the 6800NU has alot greater advantage over the 6600GT when testing several game engines and using higher screen resolutions or higher levels of aa/af.
Also if you get a AGP version of the 6800NU there is a better then 50% chance that you can softmod it and unlock the last 4 pipes and 6th vs for a total of 16 pipes and 6 vertex shaders. The BFG6800OC is a NU card that has the core OCed out of the box from 325 to 350Mhz and this card also has the best chance of a sucessful softmod to unlock the 4 extra pipes and 6th shader (higher then 60%). So if you are a little bit lucky and get one that can be softmoded it really blows away the 6600GT and starts to get close to 6800GT performance with an additional core and mem OverClock.
For the differance between $160 for a 6600GT or $200 for a 6800NU, I wouldn't think twice about, go with the 6800, especially if you want to play at higher resolutions or higher levels of aa/af.

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: richardrds
[
, The benchmark link you point to is only showing performance with one game (HL2), There are alot of other comparison benchmarks that show the 6800NU has alot greater advantage over the 6600GT when testing several game engines and using higher screen resolutions or higher levels of aa/af.

I have not seen any of the benchmarks you refer to, but I don't claim to know everything. However, I posted my link; you have not. Please post your link(s).

Also, I am not a betting man, so I don't make recommendations based on what someone might be able to do. People tend to get mad at you when their bet that you recommended doesn't work out. It might be irrational to blame someone else, but in my experience, most people aren't very rational. They are rationalizing, making up reasons or excuses for doing what they really wanted to do all along and then blame others when things go wrong.

 

[richardrds]

Originally posted by: Rike

Originally posted by: richardrds
[
, The benchmark link you point to is only showing performance with one game (HL2), There are alot of other comparison benchmarks that show the 6800NU has alot greater advantage over the 6600GT when testing several game engines and using higher screen resolutions or higher levels of aa/af.

I have not seen any of the benchmarks you refer to, but I don't claim to know everything. However, I posted my link; you have not. Please post your link(s).

Also, I am not a betting man, so I don't make recommendations based on what someone might be able to do. People tend to get mad at you when their bet that you recommended doesn't work out. It might be irrational to blame someone else, but in my experience, most people aren't very rational. They are rationalizing, making up reasons or excuses for doing what they really wanted to do all along and then blame others when things go wrong.

The following benchmark testing is probably the most thorough i have seen on the 2004 graphics cards, it test using many differant game types, and does testing at differant resolutions and differant levels of eye candy (aa/af). Page 45 is a summary page for the 6800NU/6600GT performance (lucky for us they put them in the same High End Class so they are on the same summary chats with each other). I think the results prove my point that often there is much greater then 10% performane gain differences between the two cards, sometimes as high as 25-35% if you look at charts with higher resolutions and higher levels of aa/af with the newer games.
Also keep in mind that you have a good chance (50 percent minimum, but higher with the latest version of RivaTuner_15.5) of softmodding the AGP version of the 6800NU form 12pipes/5vertexshaders to 16pipes/6vertexshaders. If you can unlock thos elast 4 pipes then that will add another 10-15% in performance with high resolutions or aa/af.

So i will stick with conclusion that the AGP 6800NU is a better bang for the buck then the 6600GT if you like to play games in higher resolutions or with more eye candy (aa/af) turned on, even though it costs about $40-50 bucks more to buy.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/2004-27gpu2_45.html

 

[Rike]

Originally posted by: richardrds
The following benchmark testing is probably the most thorough i have seen on the 2004 graphics cards, it test using many differant game types, and does testing at differant resolutions and differant levels of eye candy (aa/af). Page 45 is a summary page for the 6800NU/6600GT performance (lucky for us they put them in the same High End Class so they are on the same summary chats with each other). I think the results prove my point that often there is much greater then 10% performane gain differences between the two cards, sometimes as high as 25-35% if you look at charts with higher resolutions and higher levels of aa/af with the newer games.
Also keep in mind that you have a good chance (50 percent minimum, but higher with the latest version of RivaTuner_15.5) of softmodding the AGP version of the 6800NU form 12pipes/5vertexshaders to 16pipes/6vertexshaders. If you can unlock thos elast 4 pipes then that will add another 10-15% in performance with high resolutions or aa/af.

So i will stick with conclusion that the AGP 6800NU is a better bang for the buck then the 6600GT if you like to play games in higher resolutions or with more eye candy (aa/af) turned on, even though it costs about $40-50 bucks more to buy.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/2004-27gpu2_45.html

The softmod only works on 6800 AGPs.

It's funny you mention 25-35% better. Remember that is the greatest margin the chart you linked to shows. However, even at the very best current prices you will pay 25-35% more for a 6800 vs. the cost of a 6600GT. By your own admission, the 6800 sometimes has a 25-35% advantage. According to your chart, most of the time, it has a smaller advantage, regardless of resolution, AA or AF setting. Therefore, the 6600 GT is still king of the bang-for-the-buck hill. I will concede that the 6800 looks better than it used to at around $300, but the prices of the 6800 and the 6600GT will have to be closer before the 6800 can take over from the 6600GT as the bang for the buck leader.

 

[fuentefan]

On this topic, I just sold my 6600 GT to a buddy and picked up an XFX 6800Nu. My 6600GT scored 7666 on 3DMark03 while my 6800 (16x6) scored 10040. Quite a difference there.