x800 xl or 6800GT?

[ascarytiger]

Okay should I get an x800 xl or a 6800GT? the GT is going for $369ish, and the xl is around $300. Going with ATI would save me some money, however I've always been sort of an NVIDIA guy. I need to know what you guys think.

 

[kurt454]

I prefer the 6800gt, but I have not used an ATI card since my 9700NP.

 

[nitromullet]

I am quite happy with my 6800GT, but if I was in the market right now, the XL would get my vote. If you only run Windows and want a great gaming card at a decent price the XL is it.

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

yay my 6800gt is great, even without overclocking. basically, when you get to the facts, both cards are equal: nvidia mainly for doom3, far cry, ati for half life 2 and i don't know. but get what ever is cheaper or what ever you like better. personally, the 6800gt will last you longer since more advanced feautres and you can overclock it past ultra speeds.

 

[CheesePoofs]

I would go for the X800XL. Its almost as fast as the 6800gt (faster in some games), but it costs significantly less.

 

[Buck Armstrong]

I realize ATI is touted as the card for HL2, and it may actually still win the benches (I haven't paid attention in months), but I can tell you this: I played HL2 at 1600x1200, all graphic options maxed, with 4xAA and 8xAF, on my eVGA 6800GT, and I was simply blown away by how fast and smooth it was.

 

[CheesePoofs]

Originally posted by: Buck Armstrong
I realize ATI is touted as the card for HL2, and it may actually still win the benches (I haven't paid attention in months), but I can tell you this: I played HL2 at 1600x1200, all graphic options maxed, with 4xAA and 8xAF, on my eVGA 6800GT, and I was simply blown away by how fast and smooth it was.

Thats because of the game, not the features of the card. It will be just as smooth and good looking and be faster (although you won't notice the difference) with the X800XL.

 

[CaiNaM]

if support for sm3 is of no consequence (and with current games, it really isn't) to you, then at the prices you quoted the XL is the better value imo.

 

[Creig]

If buying AGP, get the 6800GT. If buying PCI-E, get the X800XL. They'll both do the job.

 

[dartworth]

I just ordered a eVGA 6800GT with dual DVI...:thumbsup:

 

[stardust]

Buy whichever is cheaper. I once made a decision based on the color of the pcb . I think you will be happy with the X800XL. If you do any sort of extreme cooling, you can use the $70 you saved to buy a waterblock and overclock!

 

[fierydemise]

Originally posted by: stardust
Buy whichever is cheaper. I once made a decision based on the color of the pcb . I think you will be happy with the X800XL. If you do any sort of extreme cooling, you can use the $70 you saved to buy a waterblock and overclock!

The X800XL doesn't overclock well, despite that I'd go with that over the 6800GT unless SM3 means a lot to you, also you can get a X800XL for $275 at monarch.

 

[Bushman5]

x800 xl simply the smarter choice. OC alot more cheaper + new ati drivers big performance increase

 

[stardust]

Originally posted by: fierydemise

Originally posted by: stardust
Buy whichever is cheaper. I once made a decision based on the color of the pcb . I think you will be happy with the X800XL. If you do any sort of extreme cooling, you can use the $70 you saved to buy a waterblock and overclock!

The X800XL doesn't overclock well, despite that I'd go with that over the 6800GT unless SM3 means a lot to you, also you can get a X800XL for $275 at monarch.

"well" is very subjective. I overclocked my friend's X800XL to 460/1120. I consider that a well overclock, do you? The only downside is that the small stock heatsink couldn't really handle the chipset's heat.

I'm sure with water and a volt mod, most X800XL's will overclock well. I'm sorry about your card not living up to your expectations. You're ONLY getting more performance than your money has paid for.

 

[legcramp]

here's my 2cent, for a PCI-E system, the GT would cost more, so grab the XL for an agp system, the GT is the same price as the XL, grab teh GT

 

[fierydemise]

Originally posted by: stardust

Originally posted by: fierydemise

Originally posted by: stardust
Buy whichever is cheaper. I once made a decision based on the color of the pcb . I think you will be happy with the X800XL. If you do any sort of extreme cooling, you can use the $70 you saved to buy a waterblock and overclock!

The X800XL doesn't overclock well, despite that I'd go with that over the 6800GT unless SM3 means a lot to you, also you can get a X800XL for $275 at monarch.

"well" is very subjective. I overclocked my friend's X800XL to 460/1120. I consider that a well overclock, do you? The only downside is that the small stock heatsink couldn't really handle the chipset's heat.

I'm sure with water and a volt mod, most X800XL's will overclock well. I'm sorry about your card not living up to your expectations. You're ONLY getting more performance than your money has paid for.

You miss understood what I said, I don't overclock I was just saying that most of the reviews I've read say you won't get that good of an overclock (besides the powercolor one with the extra power connector), congrats to your friend for the good overclock on his.

 

[hans030390]

6800gt is slightly more future proof with Sm3.0
X800 XL is still good for today's games

if i had to choose, i'd be safe and take a 6800gt...or you can wait for next gen cards, which i recommend.

 

[vision33r]

I bought the 6800GT and skipped the X800XL due to 2 factors. On games that ATI was faster, they were faster than the 6800GT by 5-10% Games where the the 6800GT was faster, it was by atleast 20%+ In game support, I find Nvidia had a lot of extra support such as the SM 3.0 for Riddick and Far Cry. Upcoming games will support SM 3.0 and you won't get SM 3.0 until next summer for ATI, that's when the next gen cards becomes affordable.

Atleast Unreal 3.0 will have SM3.0 and Nvidia SLI support out of box. Its the game support that matter the most.

 

[Insomniak]

Is your priority bang for buck or top performance?


Feature set does come into play too - as others have mentioned, the 6800GT is a bit more future proof.