SLI vs X800XTPE

[vanish]

What would be better performance, an ATI X800XTPE or two nvidia 6800s (regular) hooked up in SLI? I'm thinking about getting a computer (hah. yeah right.) and i'm wondering which would be better for gaming

 

[EvanB]

Probably two 6800s.

 

[lordtyranus]

I think the x800 XT. 2 6600 GTs were shown to be well behind 1 6800 GT.

 

[AristoV300]

Depends which 6800, but it is pretty obvious that the SLI would be better. However cost for performance, it is not worth it.

 

[MDE]

There probably won't be PCIe 6800s, but 6600GTs are on par performance-wise. The X800XT PE will most likely be faster anyways. It's kinda pointless to compare those cards when there's a $250-300 price gap between them, and that's if you can even find an X800XT PE. I'd just get a PCIe 6800GT and later on slap another in for SLI goodness.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: lordtyranus
I think the x800 XT. 2 6600 GTs were shown to be well behind 1 6800 GT.

The OP asked about dual 6800nu's...

 

[Kabob]

6600 GT is faster than 6800NU on most programs anyways...

Or so the reviews say

 

[Pete]

What reviews?

Anyway, as there probably won't be a PCIe 6800 (at least, with the NV40), the question may be moot (until NV41, anyway). Not to mention (again) that 128MB is kind of limiting with that much shader power and memory bandwidth. But SLIed 6800s would probably be faster, on average, below 16x12 AA+AF (where RAM limitation kick in).

 

[lordtyranus]

Originally posted by: nitromullet

Originally posted by: lordtyranus
I think the x800 XT. 2 6600 GTs were shown to be well behind 1 6800 GT.

The OP asked about dual 6800nu's...

See MDE's post. If 2 6600 GTs can't beat a 6800 GT, it seems that 2 6800 NUs (which are slightly faster than 6600 GTs) would be slower than an x800 XTPE (which is slightly faster than a 6800 GT).

Also notice that at 16x12 4x/8x, the ram on a 6800 nu becomes a huge limiting factor. What other resolution do you need 2 of them for?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: MDE
There probably won't be PCIe 6800s, but 6600GTs are on par performance-wise. The X800XT PE will most likely be faster anyways. It's kinda pointless to compare those cards when there's a $250-300 price gap between them, and that's if you can even find an X800XT PE. I'd just get a PCIe 6800GT and later on slap another in for SLI goodness.

Link? Why do you say this, I'm unaware of any plans not to build PCIE 6800s?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: kabob983
6600 GT is faster than 6800NU on most programs anyways...

Or so the reviews say

What reviews? 6800NUs smack around 6600GTs at most usable settings?

I'm very interested to see what effect (if any) rendering half as much has on the bandwidth limitations of the NU.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: MDE
There probably won't be PCIe 6800s, but 6600GTs are on par performance-wise. The X800XT PE will most likely be faster anyways. It's kinda pointless to compare those cards when there's a $250-300 price gap between them, and that's if you can even find an X800XT PE. I'd just get a PCIe 6800GT and later on slap another in for SLI goodness.

Link? Why do you say this, I'm unaware of any plans not to build PCIE 6800s?

Link me to some plans to build PCIe 6800s. It's pointless from Nvidia's standpoint to use NV40+HSI when a 6600GT is almost as fast and doesn't need a bridge chip which IIRC, costs $20 a pop.

EDIT: Don't forget about an actually functional PVP on the 6600GT.

 

[Thermalrock]

there are definitely gonna be 6800 standards pci-e the guy doesnt know what hes talking about.

 

[klah]

Originally posted by: MDE

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: MDE
There probably won't be PCIe 6800s, but 6600GTs are on par performance-wise. The X800XT PE will most likely be faster anyways. It's kinda pointless to compare those cards when there's a $250-300 price gap between them, and that's if you can even find an X800XT PE. I'd just get a PCIe 6800GT and later on slap another in for SLI goodness.

Link? Why do you say this, I'm unaware of any plans not to build PCIE 6800s?

Link me to some plans to build PCIe 6800s. It's pointless from Nvidia's standpoint to use NV40+HSI when a 6600GT is almost as fast and doesn't need a bridge chip which IIRC, costs $20 a pop.

EDIT: Don't forget about an actually functional PVP on the 6600GT.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19539
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19271

From the beginning, Nvidia wanted to make some kind of cheaper to produce 6800 standard card and that?s what NV41 is all about. There is a slight change of interface as NV41 is PCI Express. It will use exactly the same clock speeds as the 6800 Standard AGP card. NV41 based cards will be branded as Geforce 6800 PCIe and will come as PCIe cards only.
...
NVIDIA IS ALREADY shipping NV41 PCIe cards. Those cards are meant to quietly replace NV40 in the cheaper segment of high end market.

These are native-12 pipe cards to reduce costs, so no chance of unlocking any disabled units.

 

[Momental]

This review done back in September, pits the latest PCIe cards against one another. In this link, the 6600GT bests the X800 XT by a few FPS: http://www.gamepc.com/labs/vie...=pciegpuso&page=10

The next link shows the X800 XT pulling ahead of the 6600GT in FarCry. http://www.gamepc.com/labs/vie...=pciegpuso&page=11

The point? For less than one X800 XT, you could get two 6600GT's and have a better set-up. This is all of course, dependent upon the release of the new SLI-capable MoBo's which should be out before the end of the year!

 

[Mrvile]

Cmon Momental, where were you? Two 6600GTs perform worse than a single 6800GT according to AAT's latest benchies: http://www.anandtech.com/video...oc.aspx?i=2258&p=1. The 6600GT solution is only for people on a really tight budget and look into future upgrades.

Anyway, to answer your question, the 6800 PCIe is on its way, but since 256-bit vanilla 6800s AGPs cost an upwards of 400 bucks, you're better off going with GTs. But you also realize that the mobo will cost 250+ bucks, the GPUs will be about 900 bucks, so you're spending over 1.1k on video alone. Then throw in the FX processor you want so bad...

So if you're on a budget at all, I'd stick with a plain old PCIe X800XT. The PE is rare, costs around 600 - 700 bucks if you can find one, and only gives you an extra 100 mhz, a.k.a. isn't worth it. Then get a nice NF4 plain or K8T890 *my choice* mobo, break out the FX, and you have yourself a nice 2k dollar system.

 

[Lonyo]

*

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: klah

Originally posted by: MDE

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: MDE
There probably won't be PCIe 6800s, but 6600GTs are on par performance-wise. The X800XT PE will most likely be faster anyways. It's kinda pointless to compare those cards when there's a $250-300 price gap between them, and that's if you can even find an X800XT PE. I'd just get a PCIe 6800GT and later on slap another in for SLI goodness.

Link? Why do you say this, I'm unaware of any plans not to build PCIE 6800s?

Link me to some plans to build PCIe 6800s. It's pointless from Nvidia's standpoint to use NV40+HSI when a 6600GT is almost as fast and doesn't need a bridge chip which IIRC, costs $20 a pop.

EDIT: Don't forget about an actually functional PVP on the 6600GT.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19539
http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=19271

From the beginning, Nvidia wanted to make some kind of cheaper to produce 6800 standard card and that?s what NV41 is all about. There is a slight change of interface as NV41 is PCI Express. It will use exactly the same clock speeds as the 6800 Standard AGP card. NV41 based cards will be branded as Geforce 6800 PCIe and will come as PCIe cards only.
...
NVIDIA IS ALREADY shipping NV41 PCIe cards. Those cards are meant to quietly replace NV40 in the cheaper segment of high end market.

These are native-12 pipe cards to reduce costs, so no chance of unlocking any disabled units.

I stand corrected, but i still don't see the point of a PCIe 6800, and am even more confused that they'd do a partial redesign and create a whole new chip when the 6600GT is almost identical performance-wise. I guess they're banking on the whole "bigger numbers is better, duh" mindset.

 

[Mik3y]

the x800 xt will be faster. a single 6800gt was a tad faster then 2 6600gt's in sli.

 

[Momental]

Originally posted by: Mrvile
Cmon Momental, where were you?

He-he Sorry. I was applying some blonde highlights this morning and I might've left in the 'Nice n' Easy' a little too long.

I'm n00bage, admittedly. Don't get me wrong, if the PCIe version of the 6800GT became available at or around the same time as the new PCIe MoBo's did, then I'd be muscling (is that a word?) all of you outta my way in line to get one!

I guess I was approaching my comments from the standpoint of what's available right now and coupling that with the expense of two 6600GT's vs. the rather hefty cost of one X800 XT. $400 for two cards vs. $500+ for one and you're not getting a mind-blowing difference between the two set-ups. Maybe I read that wrong! With all this new information, my brain is currently resembling a great guac recipe I made for last year's Super Bowl party, which was a huge hit by the way. Who knew I could cram 15 friends into my living room in front of my 36" JVC???? Give 'em a drink and some munchies and the whining ceases immediately.

Has anyone heard when the 6800GT might become available to the masses in the PCIe flavor? I'm savin' my pennies!! (stealing a few from unwitting old ladies too)

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by: MDE
I stand corrected, but i still don't see the point of a PCIe 6800, and am even more confused that they'd do a partial redesign and create a whole new chip when the 6600GT is almost identical performance-wise. I guess they're banking on the whole "bigger numbers is better, duh" mindset.

I think a 12-pipe card at 450MHz with 256-bit memory will smoke the 500MHz, 8-pipe, 128-bit 6600GT. The point is for nV to use a GPU that's easier and cheaper to produce than the ginormous NV40. Better for them to crank out a 110nm 12 pipe card than a 130nm 16 pipe one, especially if the former can be clocked high enough (450MHz) to perform about as fast as the latter (350MHz).

 

[nRollo]

MDE:

I stand corrected, but i still don't see the point of a PCIe 6800, and am even more confused that they'd do a partial redesign and create a whole new chip when the 6600GT is almost identical performance-wise. I guess they're banking on the whole "bigger numbers is better, duh" mindset.

They're not almost identical performance- wise MDE. The 6800NU is a much better card than a 6600GT, as it's price reflects.

Observe:

TRAOD
12X10 6600GT 55fps 6800NU 65fps

Splinter Cell
12X10 6600GT 68fps 6800NU 78fps

Far Cry
12x10 4X 6600GT 38fps 6800NU 57fps

Doom3
12X10 4X8X 6600GT 49fps 6800NU 61fps

There really aren't any relevant settings in that review the 6600 wins by a noticeable amount, but many the 6800 wins by 20% or more. The 6600GT is a good card for the price, but it's no 6800. (and if you unlock a 6800, whole other story)

 

[Thermalrock]

oh well the 6600gt has its video processor working

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Thermalrock
oh well the 6600gt has its video processor working

LOL True dat.

And in a few weeks the 6800 will as well.

Of course, on the other hand, my 22" NEC is by far the smallest screen in my house, so it's not like I'd ever be squinting at little videos other than downloaded pRon on it anyway.....

 

[pxnspd]

Can't remember which one of you guys said the XTPE was a lot more expensive and not a lot better... well I read some review somewhere (very concise I know, but was about a month ago) that showed the XTPE being a lot better than the plain ol' XT. And my main components supplier (not useful for you guys as I think your all american) showed an XT PE as cheaper than the expensive makes of XT. and I read another review somewhere showing the XTPE beat SLi 6800s... and just to sort out your little predicament about which is better... 6600 or 6800, its the 6800. (btw when following this link its the "connect3d" XT PE that is cheaper) http://www.overclockers.co.uk/...py_of_X800_Series.html