X800XL, XT or 6800GT?

[utchman3]

I've been gaming with a GeForce 5200 FX since 2000. It has served me quite well, even running HL2 respectably, and Doom 3 at mediocre speeds. I'm definately in the market for a new AGP video card, in the $250-350 range. Been doing a little homework for the last few weeks (although I am nowhere near knowledgable on them--I'll leave that to you guys), and here are my candidates/options:

-X800 XL -
+Pros: On par with the 6600 GT price wise, but beats it in performance, even getting up to 6800 GT range on certain games. It also outperforms the X800 Pro in terms of bang for buck.
+Cons: I can't find many used cards for the life of me

-6800 GT -
+Pros: Been seeing more of these popping up around AT and Ebay, and nVidia's drivers appear to be sturdier(?).
+Cons: The fact that it runs only slightly ahead of the X800 XL, while being a little more expensive.

-X800 XT -
+Pros: It's a little more costly, but I'd also feel better knowing I have another card to last me awhile.
+Cons: If I want an AGP version of this card, I'm probably only going to find luck with the A-I-W (which I don't really NEED). And why get the best with the new generation coming out?

So this is my dilemma--I've got new video card fever, and I'm salivating at the thought of playing through Doom 3 again with better gfx. However, I'm not familiar with the r520's launch date, but next-gen cards mean lower prices on what I'm looking at now. Problem is, patience is a virtue I need a tad more of. I highly doubt I'd get a r520 at launch; I just don't have that money. Should I take a good offer on a current card now, or wait for the price drops in x-number of months? Thanks for any and all input, it's GREATLY appreciated!

EDIT: My system specs:
-2.6 Ghz Pentium 4
-512 MB RAM
-That's about it.

 

[SNM]

If you're running on a 5200 right now, I'd just get a 6600GT. Those can be had for $165, so I'm not sure how you think it's got the same pricetag as an X800XL.
The jump in performance will be huge, and it'll save you money. Which is always good. Plus, this way you can upgrade in a year to whatever the mid-range card of the new generation is, and it'll have cost you less total than you're willing to spend now, while giving better performance in the end.

 

[Kogan]

As far as the video cards you listed, the X800XL is a very good choice for price/performance. But overall, all of those cards are great and will be a massive improvement over your 5200 fx.

I actually just bought a plain 6800 for $149 shipped (refurbished) at newegg. This is also a great price/performance card (for the price), and I'll be able to tinker around with it and unlock pipes for a possible added boost

Edit:

Oh, and if you find some good deals on ram, upgrade it to 1gb or more and you'll have a lot less drive-cashing in new games. And there's no need to get performance ram unless you already tweak your ram settings to get every last drop of speed out of them.

 

[utchman3]

BUMP for the morning. Thanks for any input!

 

[utchman3]

Any comments/recommendations? Thanks in advance!

 

[Hajime]

I just picked up a 6800Ultra for $360-ish. And that's PCI-E.

I wouldn't be surprised if you could find an AGP 6800U comfortably in your price range.

 

[johnnqq]

i'm using a geforce 2 gts, a p3 at 933mhz. cutting edge was a geforce 2 ultra and a 2.0 p4. my computer came out in 01...yet your 2.6 came out in 2000?

it really depends on what u play. it sounds like u play doom 3 a lot, and since you want to spend over 300, a 6800 gt is a good option. both the xl and gt start around 270. the xt is a waste of money because a gt or xl is 90% of the performance for $100 less.

you COULD wait a little longer, but i don't think the gt will go below 250 for agp anytime soon (more than 3 months)

6800 gt it is!

 

[utchman3]

Morning bump, thanks!

 

[stag3]

you can't really play the waiting game because you will always be waiting then, get the best you can afford now. if doom3 is your flavor, i'd get an nvidia card, if you plan to play hl2 more, get the x800xl.

 

[majmera]

X800XL is on par with 6800GT price wise not 6600 GT

 

[sbuckler]

For agp got to be the 6800gt in your price range. If you were pci-e I say an x800xl but on agp they are more expensive and 6800gt's are much cheaper.
However with your machine (2.6 p4) I would have thought both those cards would be too fast in that you'll be bottle necked by your slower cpu (i.e. it's not going to be fast enough for next years games so why buy a graphics card that is?). A vanilla 6800 might be a better match - save the extra money for that dual core pci-e upgrade in the future. Even the vanilla 6800 is still much much much faster then a 5200.

Edit - thinking about it spend the left over money after buying a vanilla 6800 on another 512mb of memory, that will make more of a difference to most modern games then buying an even faster graphics card.

 

[utchman3]

Yeah, I'm getting some more RAM this weekend while NewEgg still has their Kingston prices pretty low.

 

[utchman3]

Bump

 

[blckgrffn]

Wow, are you ever going to see a big jump in performance! Anyway, I am getting my x800xl in the next week or so, an since I have already had a 6800 & a 6800U, I will know the answer probably a couple weeks from now I would steer clear of the XT unless you can get it for the same price as the GT.

 

[utchman3]

How much did you pay for it? Right now I'm staring at a straight up XL for $225 and thinking about pulling the trigger...

 

[hans030390]

get a 6600gt or a 6800nu or gt or whatever...they have Sm3.0, and if you're still on AGP, you'll want that for future games. Unless the R520 cards are released in AGP that is.

so add that to a Pro of the 6800gt : Shader Model 3.0

read up on it and see if its important to you

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: sbuckler
Edit - thinking about it spend the left over money after buying a vanilla 6800 on another 512mb of memory, that will make more of a difference to most modern games then buying an even faster graphics card.

I concur. Insufficient memory capacity will degrade performance whatever the viddy card and CPU.

 

[happy medium]

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=45&threadid=1620663&enterthread=y

I'd grab this card for $235.00
Edit: wow $225.00 for an XL go for that

 

[imported_g33k]

I'm salivating at the thought of playing through Doom 3 again with better gfx.

6800gt

 

[Mrvile]

Originally posted by: g33k

I'm salivating at the thought of playing through Doom 3 again with better gfx.

6800gt

x1000

 

[Zebo]

The best price/performance card out is the x800xl no matter how much nvidiots deny it.

 

[Longkid]

Just picked up a x800xl AIW for $333 AR. Probobly the best price/performance at the moment.

At Newegg

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: Zebo
The best price/performance card out is the x800xl no matter how much nvidiots deny it.

nvidia is better at doom 3

I'm salivating at the thought of playing through Doom 3 again with better gfx.

 

[Emultra]

6800GT.

 

[utchman3]

I got the X800XL on Ebay for $225. It was just an irresistable deal. Thanks for all the help guys. I actually play HL2 more than Doom 3 as of now, but only because my old card just couldn't handle D3 real well. It'll be a completely new experience! Adios!