Graphics card question

[Mechinn]

I'm planning on buying a new computer in a few days and I have a question about graphics cards. Would it over all be better to get 1 GeForce 6800 PCI-E 256MB (GPU speed 350 MHz Memory speed 1000MHz) or a SLI configuration of dual GeForce 6600 GT PCI-E 128MB (GPU speed 500 MHz memory speed 1000 MHz, 8 pipelines)

My bank account tells me that I cant get 2 6800s and It's been a while sens I last bout a card so I'm out of the loop so any help will be, well.. helpful

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Welcome to AT.

Are you building this system or are you ordering it?

I think you're asking about a 6800gt vs two 6600gts in SLI. (not a regular 6800)

I think most people are agreed that a single 6800gt is a much better idea than dual 6600gts.

For one thing, you need a better powersupply and motherboard to support SLI and that adds to the cost. Also a single 6800gt usually outperforms 6600gts in SLI.

Another card to consider is the X800XL.

It offers performance clost to a 6800gt and costs significantly less.

You'll probably get some comments on how it doesn't support SM3.0 This is a feature that will become prevalent in games later on, but isn't a good reason to spend the extra to get a 6800gt in my opinion. Also, a 6800gt might not be fast enough to use SM3.0 in newer games.

X800XL benchmarks

SLI benchmarks

 

[Mechinn]

I'll be getting this computer from Alienware. And thanks for the info. I think I'll be going with a X850 XT

 

[flipkc]

Ouch...I thought you were going to say Alienware. I hope you have a big enough income! I'll have to repeat myself when I say...you can build a better computer for less...unless you don't have the expertise then at least go with other pre-built configurations not from Alienware. They would be my last resort...Alienware.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: flipkc
Ouch...I thought you were going to say Alienware. I hope you have a big enough income! I'll have to repeat myself when I say...you can build a better computer for less...unless you don't have the expertise then at least go with other pre-built configurations not from Alienware. They would be my last resort...Alienware.

:thumbsup:
avoid alienware/dell they charge hefty premiums for falling quality and service.

falcon northwest and voodoo charge hefty premiums too but at least they back it up buy building, servicing and shipping your computer with the most care and best quality components. also, benchmarks show their comps are consistently faster than the sum of their parts would suggest. their tech support isnt moronic like alienware, dell(non xps line) service.

still, i suggest building your own. it isnt hard at all, and if something goes wrong, you have over the combined tech service of 100k mostly knowledgeable members to help you out.

also, dont forget that ati cards dont support sm3. if you absolutely need every feature go with nv(priced higher for similar performance.) otherwise buy ATi (good value). to tell you the truth SM3 isnt too different from SM2b implemented on ATi cards. SM3 is just slightly easier to code for, but 95% of those games with SM3 support iwll probably also have SM2 support. just look at all the games with SM1.1 support still.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

I suggest building it yourself too.

To get an idea of what's involved, check out mechbgon's system builder guilde. It's mainly just screwing stuff in and plugging things together.

 

[hippotautamus]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
mostly knowledgeable

heh.

I would also recommend building your own, or having someone you know who has done it before help you out. Generally the worse you can do is wire a couple power cables wrong and make your reset button your power button by accident.

 

[DaveyTN]

Why Alienware? There are soooooo expensive. An alternative would be Monarch Computers. Alienware has a customer satisfaction rating in the low 6s while Monarch Computers has a customer satisfaction rating of 9.23 (resellerratings.com). And, I can guarantee you that you will get things much cheaper on Monarch.... Just my .02 worth....

Good luck.

 

[knothead34]

 

[knothead34]

i wouldnt go alienware either. i assume since you were buying this machine mainly for gaming amd 64 would be a better route. also if you dont feel you can handle building it yourself....compusa and frys and microcenter can build for you or some local computer store i would check them out is all.

 

[Mechinn]

As for Alienware this is the setup that I'm looking to buy:
OS: XP Home adition
CPU: Pentium 4 550 w/ HT tech. 3.4GHz 1mb Cache
Motherboard: Alienware PCI Express Motherboard with Intel 925XE Chipset
GPU: GeForce 6800 Ultra PCI Express 256MB DDR3 (they have cards with 512mb or ram. is something like that even worth getting right now??)
Hard Drive: (Serial ATA RAID 0) 320GB (160GB x 2) Serial ATA 7,200 RPM w/16MB Cache
Optical Drive: NEC ND-3520 16x Dual Layer DVD±R/W Drive
Sound Card: some on board crap card. Will be putting in a Audigy 2 ZS that i have.
All for a low low price of $2,218!!!!! ($67 /mo.)

Just to give you an idea of what I'm getting. Is there another site that I might check out that would give me a better deal on something like this? And no, I'd rather not build my own.

 

[LatinJones]

You should really try to find someone to help you order the parts and put it together. You would be much better off that way. You could definately get enough advice here about what components you need to order and there isn't a single person that should be scared of getting inside a comptuter case. With the proper instruction anybody can build their own PC.

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you really don't want to build your own (not everyone has to ) also compare prices with abspc.com (sister company of newegg) along with Voodoo and Falcon.

For gaming, you definitely want an Athlon A64 processor not intel.

If a 1024x768 resolution is good enough, consider saving a huge pile of cash and just getting a single 6600GT.

 

[Green84061]

I also didnt really feel like building my own computer this time around and i bought from monarch and it has worked out great so far for me.

 

[Mechinn]

Oh... well now. Seams I can get a VERRY nice system from Monarch for less than Alienware. And that includes a Logitech Z-5500 Digital 5.1 Speaker system w/Digital Decoder.

Only problem is I dont have $1,874 lying around....

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: Mechinn
Only problem is I dont have $1,874 lying around....

So what is your budget?

 

[Mechinn]

I don?t even have $1,000 lying around. I'll have to get my computer threw financing or whatever. Monthly payments.

 

[kini62]

I know this won't go over well, but here goes.

Dell is/was having 34% off on the XPS Gen 4, and I can guarantee you that it will play all the games currently out there at acceptable frame rates and resolutions.

It's not Athlon 64 fast in gaming but as fast or faster in most other things. It's quiet and seems to be reliable and with the XPS you get good old American Tech support (at least you're supposed to)

AND THEY FINANCE!!!

 

[beany323]

Originally posted by: kini62
I know this won't go over well, but here goes.

Dell is/was having 34% off on the XPS Gen 4, and I can guarantee you that it will play all the games currently out there at acceptable frame rates and resolutions.

It's not Athlon 64 fast in gaming but as fast or faster in most other things. It's quiet and seems to be reliable and with the XPS you get good old American Tech support (at least you're supposed to)

AND THEY FINANCE!!!

i would have to agree. I got a 4700c 3.4 p4 chip, 80gb hdd, 256 gt6800 video card. cd r/w, 512 ddr2 mem - all for like 500-600. (sound card also)(not the best one, but with headphones sounds great).
it plays wow very nicely. found some good ddr2 mem also. bought a 3504a (i think thats the correct #) dvd burner. and installed them. got a 200gb hdd and installing that tonite.

is it a bleeding edge machine, nope. does it play doom3/wow .. yea.

it is your call. but you can build a very nice, stable system. ( i know about credit, i am saving my extra funds so i can buy all the pieces at once, and maybe when i do decide to get my rig it'll be a little cheaper then.)

system planned:

Projected Project ATM:
{Case} :Thermaltake Armor Black ATX Full Tower Case
{MB}: DFI "LANPARTY nF4 SLI-DR"
{Monitor} : Dell UltraSharp 2005FP "20" LCD
{Floppy}: NEC 1.44MB Black Internal Floppy Drive
{HDD}: Seagate 200GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive
{Mem}: (still deciding btwn)
2 x OCZ Enhanced Latency Series Gold Edition VX 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-4000
or
2 x Mushkin Hi Perf LII V2 Dual Pack 184-Pin 1GB(512MB x 2) DDR PC-3200 w/ Heatspreader
{OS}: Microsoft Windows XP HOME
{PSU}: OCZ PowerStream 520W Power Supply With Adjustable Power Rails With LED Indicators
{CPU}: AMD Athlon 64 3500+ (ATM)
{VC}: Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra Video Card, 256MB
{COOLING} atm - air.
{COOLING PROJECT} WATER
so far at about 1600... (still cant decide on the case and chip set)

good luck!

 

[KoolDrew]

If you really want to buy one instead of building one Monarch is your best bet definitely.

 

[Mechinn]

Well.. if I play my cards right I may be able to get the computer after all. But I gess I'll see what happens.

Thanks for all of you help.
Alienware is not looking to hot any more :shocked: