im already planning for what im gonna do with my tax returns, i know im going to get a video card, but alas, i dont trust many of the reviews i find due to serious inconsistencies with the sources and their reviews, so i bring my question to the only people i truly trust with the matter, you guys.....

with $400, which is the better card, plz dont bring up HL2 or Doom 3 as i am not going to choose the card based on biased game specific performance, i just want the best overall, plz be specific too...

i appreciate any help on the matter, for reference, heres what i have been eyeballing for about a week now, hopefully prices will come down but i should still be able to afford it in the unlikely event that they do not...

XFX 6800GT


Powercolor X800 Pro


EDIT: for the record, im leaning toward the X800 Pro, looks a hell of alot cooler, and is made by ATI who i kind of trust more than Nvidia, but the 6800 GT implements several new technologies that the x800 does not, and alot of newer games (Unreal 3) are being built with its architecture in mind, so im left in the grey area...

Personally, I'd go by what the NewEgg reviews say, but the X800 card doesn't have any. I've heard alot of good things about the X800 but I've never heard anything about Powercolor, nor XFX. If it were really up to me, I'd go with the X800 based on looks and the software it comes with (CS:CZ is a decent game ). I also noticed that the accessories for the 6800 GT state that it comes with "drivers" and the X800 comes with the drivers CD. I'm not sure if that means they come preinstalled on the 6800 GT or not, but having the driver CD's is always a plus in my book.

Edit: The system power requirements are also lower for the X800

X800 all the way.

and just for bumpagge, would it make much sense upgrading to either of those if i currently have a perfect working 9700 pro and only play HL2?

EDIT: and i appreciate the response ShoRyuKen, duly noted, i too like the looks of the x800 more, but it scores 22,000 avg in 3dmark2k1 and around 10,000 in 2k3, where my current setup scores around 17,000 in 2k1 and 5,000 in 2k3, is there much sense in upgrading if many people consider these kinds of score overkill to begin with?

Quote: and just for bumpagge, would it make much sense upgrading to either of those if i currently have a perfect working 9700 pro and only play HL2?

If you only play single player, don't bother upgrading, but if you play multiplayer which I'm sure you do, the 9700 PRO isn't going to get you the best results on HL2. Depends on your system specs, but upgrading to either of those cards will give you a nice boost in performance, especially online

Thanks for posting this thread. I, too, have been questioning myself the same exact question, actually. I might as well refer to this thread for now.

Anyway, I was looking at the two cards' status on OpenGL, Shader Model, and things like that. From the mere information I've gathered, I was leaning towards the 6800 GT (not the XFX though - MSI one looks real nice). Though I don't have much information as to why, I'll just sit back and see what other people have to say.

Quote: Originally Posted by Erad Thanks for posting this thread. I, too, have been questioning myself the same exact question, actually. I might as well refer to this thread for now. Anyway, I was looking at the two cards' status on OpenGL, Shader Model, and things like that. From the mere information I've gathered, I was leaning towards the 6800 GT (not the XFX though - MSI one looks real nice). Though I don't have much information as to why, I'll just sit back and see what other people have to say.

yer welcome

i can play hl2 at max detail at reasonable rates at 1280 x 1024 no AA or AF (i never use either, never have), and get very playable rates at 1024 x 768 max everything, im hl2dm i have very little problem playing multiplayer, but i do run into areas where i experience lag due to gpu stress, unless these cards are going to make a night-and-day difference, i really dont feel right spending that kind of money, i would just as soon grab me a Raptor and another 512 mb ram before spending $400 on an extra 10 FPS...

EDIT: i know in my first post i said i know im getting a new video card, but for some reason im having second thoughts as it looks like the gains from going from a 9700 pro, even non-overclocked, arent enough to warrant the $400 cost....

Quote: Originally Posted by Erad Thanks for posting this thread. I, too, have been questioning myself the same exact question, actually. I might as well refer to this thread for now. Anyway, I was looking at the two cards' status on OpenGL, Shader Model, and things like that. From the mere information I've gathered, I was leaning towards the 6800 GT (not the XFX though - MSI one looks real nice). Though I don't have much information as to why, I'll just sit back and see what other people have to say.

I've been doing the same research. I've come to the conclusion that I'll be better off with a 6800Gt -Either MSI or BFG's OC version which comes already OC'ed to 370mhz, is supposed to give performance just under that of a 6800 Ultra but costs $100 less ($400 if you can find it).

Only problem is that I really want to wait for the DFI Nforce4 SLI mobo , which means a new 939 Proc. and PCI-E graphics at the same time -- Unfortunately LOT's of money required . The positive will be the ability to add another card for a 60-70% performance boost when I can afford it (or when the wife actually lets me spend the money )

I do belive that $SOLID$ and his x800pro w/ a 3100 sempr0n edged out
CPUKiller's 6800 EE w/ a 3200 a64...in the PR challenge. So the potential is there with the right tunning.

Here are 3 reasons why I am going X800pro for my next card and that is up from 9800pro/soft XT

http://www.maxitmag.co.uk/article.php?articleID=79

http://www.pcunleash.com/bbs/zboard....desc=asc&no=26

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/...ng/vidcard/100

I'm sure there will be other reasons after I get my grubbies on it...Good luck in your decision, it is a tough one

ZENN, bad move bro.

The OLD X800 Pro's (1st gen'ish, all gone now) and the VIVO's were the only ones that modded to XT's. The current ones probably won't let you mod them.

as for the benchies?

"UBER PIMP"
Top overall 6 test score

CPU KILLER 143,156
(Post #594)

http://forums.pcapex.com/showthread.php?t=15065

CPU killa by a mile. His old scores were no OC'ed.

In short the 6800 GT SLAUGHTERS the X800 Pro, in HL2 they are about equal but the GT still wins more than it looses. The GT"s also have 16 pipes 24/7 and most are hitting Ultra stock speeds; I can attest that Ultra stock speeds are sic, nasty.

For my final argument,
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2278&p=11
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2290&p=9

Point being that at its BEST the X800 TIES the 6800 GT, the rest of the time it looses to it

Quote: Originally Posted by Arkangyl ZENN, bad move bro. The OLD X800 Pro's (1st gen'ish, all gone now) and the VIVO's were the only ones that modded to XT's. The current ones probably won't let you mod them. as for the benchies? "UBER PIMP" Top overall 6 test score CPU KILLER 143,156 (Post #594) http://forums.pcapex.com/showthread.php?t=15065 CPU killa by a mile. His old scores were no OC'ed. In short the 6800 GT SLAUGHTERS the X800 Pro, in HL2 they are about equal but the GT still wins more than it looses. The GT"s also have 16 pipes 24/7 and most are hitting Ultra stock speeds; I can attest that Ultra stock speeds are sic, nasty. For my final argument, http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2278&p=11 http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2290&p=9 Point being that at its BEST the X800 TIES the 6800 GT, the rest of the time it looses to it

It wasn't that long ago that I was doing some research was it? ...
I guess I better look again before I start in on the warden for new toys huh?
Thanx Ark

I have my 6800GT on the way....

I'm with Ark & Spike on this one (for what it matters ). I went with the BFG 6800 GT OC. Two reasons: 1) i wasn't gonna wait 1 month+ (with a radeon 7000, i might add -feel the power ) for ATI to get their production in gear and start shipping the x800 xt pe again.
2) the BFG 6800 GT came out on top of the x800 pro in most of the benchies (+ pipelines, etc).
It took a few days to get used to the 6800 GT, but after all was said and done, i'm very happy with my purchase.

lol im in the exact same situation, i have a 9700 pro and have kinda been looking at both cards, but it seems to me like the 680gt is the way to go with its more advanced technologies

sweet, and its around the same price as the x800 pro as well, think ill be goin with the 6800GT, as i have decided that i will, in fact, upgrade....

since i am hitting a plateau with my current graphics card, i guess its about time anyway, games are only going to get more demanding, and i think the trusty 9700 pro has served its purpose and served it well, in fact, it will be given to a good friend of mine who needs it for newer games....as there really isnt anything wrong with it, just that i personally demand faster....

while im on the subject of upgrading, my current system is an Abit NF7-S 2.0, 768 MB pc 3200 CAS=2 DDR / barton 2500 @ 2.2ghz all at 400mhz fsb, audigy gamer, dual layer dvdrw, 16x dvd rom, enlight 420 watt psu, 20 gig 7200 rpm ata 100 hdd, 80 gig 7200 rpm ata 100 hdd, volcano 7+ hsf

if this were your system, would the 6800 GT be on your list for an upgrade?

I should have asked this same question a week or so ago. Not sure if the 6800GT card is the same as the 6800Ultra, but I had to step up to a 680 watt power supply to run it at its fullest. Just upgraded to the Abit AV8 board with an Athlon64 939 3500, two 512's of pc4000, two raptor 120 serials and like all the rest of us, gotta have lotssa lights.
On a side note, the 6800 card with the other new goodies, is by the far the best gaming pc I have ever owned. The graphics is unbelievable, maybe alittle to good for Civilization 3

Who loves Ark? :p

just to add to what spike said, IMO here's how the card situation is; (worst to first)

X700 Pro
6600 GT
Ananad's 6600 GT vs. X700 Pro head to head
6800
X800
X800 Pro / X850 Pro
6800 GT
X800 XT, X850 XT (not PE, 16 pipes, lower clocks)
X850 XL (16 piped R420, low clocks though)
6800 Ultra
X800 XT PE (IMO tied with the 6800 Ultra, see me v spike on that one)
X850 XT PE

Specs on the new ATI cards

now those are in terms of performance; here are some price's on cards that, IMO, are great price v. performance with overclockability taken into account;

6600 GT $200
(probably the best budget card out there, at $200 soundly beats the X700 competition 80% of the time and OC's nicely)
X850 XL $350
(with all 16 pipes it is to the XT PE's what the GT is to the Ultra, just lower clocks baby )
6800 GT $400
(they're hitting Ultra speeds fairly often and some are doing 420 / 1.12 which gives great results for the price)

6800 GT only requires one power connection

Fu3l: the 6800 GT (seriously check out the BFG - http://www.bfgtech.com/6800GTOC.html) won't be a waste of $$, and, depending on when you decide to upgrade your mobo+proc, it'll still be completely viable (although i'd say you've still got plenty of life left in that socket A ).
Only catch is: do you think you're gonna be interested in going PCI-E when you upgrade mobo + proc?

to add fuel to the fire (pun intended) the 6800gt that i have rocks completly and utterly. I have the BFG 6800gt OC and is at ultra speeds and owns the compition right now. Sure the x800pro being modded to 16 pipes back in the day was somewaht of a good deal but the 6800 already has those pipes and just needs overclocking. IMO it beats out my friends x800 in everyway.

im just wondering if the 6800 can be flashed to the gt or not.