Originally posted by: CaiNaM
Originally posted by: Cerb
Originally posted by: CaiNaM
Originally posted by: CerbNote: bang/buck is not there intentionally. If it were, it would overwhelm the poll . With stock and OC'd performance in there as well, it would also dilute the results, as the best for your money rides quite a bit on those two choices.
but that's exactly what motivates me... while i certainly like the 6800u, i'm not gonna pay $600 for one when i can get an 800xt for $450 (or the $350 i paid for my x800pro).
AH, but also what about the guy who gets the 9800SE because it's cheap and has good performance. Oh, he can softmod it, too, and OC it. Well, there's three of the poll choices.
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ahhh... but you can't pick 3, can you? therefore the entire poll is flawed [/quote]Heh, yeah, but that's example of about the highest bang/buck there is.
I specifically separated them, as part of what prompted my curiosity was that I am debating between two cards, and the price, stock peformance and OC performance are weighing.
If you pay $600, obviously it's for the stock performance (as not much OCing will be had for a few months yet).
not in the context of this forum.. most ppl here would overclock thier card whether it was a $60 card or a $600 card..
And I'm in that camp, but the question, in that case, would be: are you buying it more for the performance you
should get overclocking, or for the performance you
will get out of the box?
If you paid $200, was it for stock, or get those 9800XT (or 5950u) speeds and still save a wad of cash?
Or did you scour for a deal and manage a FX 5200 for $40 (as McArra noted)? Oc'd or not, that wouldn't be a bad call.
see, but 1 performance (on a scale of 1-10) for $40 compared to 8-9 for $3-400 is certainly not best "bang for the buck", it's a compromise of performance for lack of funds (or lack of knowledge - ignorance, after all, is bliss)...
on the other end of the price spectrum, i could have bought a 9800xt last gen, but why pay 60-80% more for 10% increase in performance? there is a point of diminishing returns...
...or did you shell out an extra $20 because it was a BFG?
Budget usually has little impact (unless you're a very early adopter) on whether or not you wish to OC the hell out of it.
i'll agree with that. like i said, most ppl are likely to oc whether it's a budget card or a "flagship" card.. this is, after all, where "enthusiasts" hang out
I'm going to go for passive cooling
and OCing, regardless of my decision, so, uh, yeah .
Sapphire 9800 Pro + RAMsinks and ZM-80C (~$245, and OC it!), or
Sapphire 9800 Pro Ultimate (~$235, so-so OCing), or
Leadtek FX 5900XT + RAMsinks and ZM-80C (~$225, and OC it!)?
(+$10 if I decide to buy it all from Newegg)
Given that a new Id engine is coming out, OpenGL performance, where the FXs do rock, can't be discounted, so the performance per dollar is very similar with even minor overclocks, both are pretty reliable now, Leadtek is cheaper and probably has a bit better 2d.
Decisions, decisions!
But anyway, I have everything I need to make my decision, including prospective BIOS info and such, I just have to get around to blowing near a whole check on a video card!