need a new card.. 6800??

[juliendogg]

So a while back my 9800 bit it hard. I had to go back to my trusty old radeon 8500. yikes. Now i really need a new card that will run far cry, hl2, doom3.. i can't swing an X800 or 6800GT and feel right about it considering i plan on upgrading to a new rig with pci-X sometime next year. I was looking at 256MB 9800pro's and then started looking more towards the 6800NU. I've allways been a huge ATI fan back since the rage days, but for just a few bucks more than the 256MB 9800pro it looks like that card really kicks azz. I could scrape up the cash for it but i wanted some opinions on the EVGA card on sale for $280ish @ newegg. It comes bundled with far-cry so i save myself around $50 there. sweet. Is this a good card? it has a slower stock core speed than most the others.. only 325. Does anyone have experience overclocking this card? or would a different brand be a better buy ? Some advice would be great i'm planning on ordering tomorrow or monday.

Thanks O/C bro's

J>

[Maxvla]

i'm looking at the 6800GT for the money its the best i've seen even on directx it beats up on the x800pro often.

the gt has all the features of the ultra but just slower clocks, which i'm sure you know how to fix ;)

the x800xt is a good overall card but i found the lowest frame rate spikes on the doom 3 hardware guide on Hardocp to be somewhat disturbing. the x800xt was spiking as low as 26fps compared to 40 for the gt and ~45 for the ultra.

i think the 6800 non ultra is a mistake because you only get 128mb of ram and even lower clock speeds as well as the fewer pipelines. 128mb ram means you need to run medium settings for doom3 which didn't look that great compared to high quality. 100 bucks is alot of difference but at least you do gain quite a bit with that money.

[nocturnal714]

from what i hear the 6800gt is good performance for the cash. only problem is i've seen some and they are huge. unless you don't plan on moving out your ram or hd for a long time i might consider a smaller card. the 6800s were made specifically for doom3 so if you want that to be the main reason why you get a new card then get it. :thup:

[scott_55X]

from what i hear the 6800gt is good performance for the cash. only problem is i've seen some and they are huge. unless you don't plan on moving out your ram or hd for a long time i might consider a smaller card. the 6800s were made specifically for doom3 so if you want that to be the main reason why you get a new card then get it. :thup:

Ahh...misinformation once again :rolleyes: . Get the GT, it's an awsome card. The previous post should be .....well I won't say anymore.

[Crap]

i think the 6800 non ultra is a mistake because you only get 128mb of ram and even lower clock speeds as well as the fewer pipelines. 128mb ram means you need to run medium settings for doom3 which didn't look that great compared to high quality. 100 bucks is alot of difference but at least you do gain quite a bit with that money.

A little bit of misinformation there. The 6800 runs Doom 3 just dandy with high quality settings. In fact, on an Athlon xp 3200+, it averaged 57 frames per second at 1280x1024 high quality. The 256 MB 9800 xt averaged 50 frames per second at 1024x768. You get much closer to 60 frames per second AT A HIGHER RESOLUTION with the 6800 compared to the 9800xt, and the 6800 is cheaper.

6800: http://www2.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTA5MDc4NzE0M1RPNjJBTU9FV1hfN18zX 2wuZ2lm

9800xt: http://www2.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTA5MDc4NzE0M1RPNjJBTU9FV1hfN184X 2wuZ2lm


The 6800 is a great card, and i'm considering picking up the same card from newegg myself. eVGA is supposed to be a great company. Also, they are able to be modded to open up all 16 pipes. At this point in time though, it is almost guaranteed that you will get artifacts if you unlock them as most of the 6800s are 6800GTs/ultras that had fewer than 16 working pipes. Good luck!

[Maxvla]

i agree with your interpretation, however anyone buying a 9800xt for the current price.. well... i fear for their wallet. currently the 9800xt is in no mans land. priced with the hotshots but a generation old. i don't even consider the 9800xt to be buyable at its price/performance.

the better comparison is the 6800 and 9800pro. the 6800 is 300. the 9800pro is 200. 9800pro can easily be oc'd to XT specs most of the time so really its 200 dollar 9800xt vs 300 dollar 6800. still the performance is there, but you are again limited to 128mb ram and 4 fewer pipes than the GT or Ultra. the gain from GT to ultra is not nearly worth the money as all you get is clockspeed and .1v more vcore.

what you get for 100 bucks going from 6800NU to 6800GT:

128mb -> 256mb
higher clocks
12 pipes -> 16 pipes
more futureproof

i don't find the performance gain of the 6800NU to be that great over the 9800pro oc'd to XT for 200 dollars. i know i'm comparing a oc'd to a non oc'd and thus its not exactly a fair fight but certainly nobody is buying 9800xt's anymore.

i guess what it comes down to is do you want to spend 300 dollars for a medium range card? i certainly don't. 400 gets you all the features and a little oc gives you top of the line for just 100 bucks more. the most i've ever paid for a video card was a TI4400 when first introduced at $240 dollars. i thought that was quite high at the time but it was next to the best card available and a small oc made it better than the best.

by no means am i saying the 6800NU is a bad card, i just think with all the other options out there it is not the wisest move.

[juliendogg]

hmmm.

this really is a complicated desicion. when it comes down to it i just can't swing $400 for a card that i won't be able to use after next year. $280 for the eVGA 6800 is doable, and $250 for a 256MB 9800pro is doable. Subtract about $50 for far cry and i'm only paying $230 for the 6800NU. If i wasn't planning on going 64bit and PCI-E by the middle of next year it wouldn't be an issue and i'd be grabbing an x800pro. After what i've read the 9800 isn't really so much of an option. What i really need is a card i can play far cry on now, and hl2 and doom3 at their release. My 8500 is obviously not going to cut it anymore.

J.

[nocturnal714]

hmmm.

this really is a complicated desicion. when it comes down to it i just can't swing $400 for a card that i won't be able to use after next year. $280 for the eVGA 6800 is doable, and $250 for a 256MB 9800pro is doable. Subtract about $50 for far cry and i'm only paying $230 for the 6800NU. If i wasn't planning on going 64bit and PCI-E by the middle of next year it wouldn't be an issue and i'd be grabbing an x800pro. After what i've read the 9800 isn't really so much of an option. What i really need is a card i can play far cry on now, and hl2 and doom3 at their release. My 8500 is obviously not going to cut it anymore.
i think you'll be able to play d3 and hl2 with the 9800pro.
J.

[Sentential]

Go for the 6800. It does about 10k+ on 3d03. The 9800PRO is outdated, and is not future proof at all. Especially with these monster GPUs now available.

[juliendogg]

here is basically what my choices have come down to.

Evga 6800 with far cry $283
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-130-202&depa=0
Sapphire 128MB Pro with.. tomb raider??? $200
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-268&depa=0
Sapphire 256MB pro with no bundled game as far as i see $266
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-361&depa=0

Take off the price of far cry and the eVGA 6800 doesn't cost much more than the 128MB pro. I don't much care for tomb raider.

J.

[juliendogg]

A little bit of misinformation there. The 6800 runs Doom 3 just dandy with high quality settings. In fact, on an Athlon xp 3200+, it averaged 57 frames per second at 1280x1024 high quality. The 256 MB 9800 xt averaged 50 frames per second at 1024x768. You get much closer to 60 frames per second AT A HIGHER RESOLUTION with the 6800 compared to the 9800xt, and the 6800 is cheaper.

6800: http://www2.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTA5MDc4NzE0M1RPNjJBTU9FV1hfN18zX 2wuZ2lm

9800xt: http://www2.hardocp.com/image.html?image=MTA5MDc4NzE0M1RPNjJBTU9FV1hfN184X 2wuZ2lm


The 6800 is a great card, and i'm considering picking up the same card from newegg myself. eVGA is supposed to be a great company. Also, they are able to be modded to open up all 16 pipes. At this point in time though, it is almost guaranteed that you will get artifacts if you unlock them as most of the 6800s are 6800GTs/ultras that had fewer than 16 working pipes. Good luck!

Got any more info on that pipe mod for the 6800?????

J.

[Nandro]

My 6800NU spanked my 9800XT, and is pretty close to the GT on most stuff. I have the chaintech and the core runs atable at 415 which is the same as my GT. I paid $280 for it from the egg, and it was well worth it.

[juliendogg]

another ?, the eVGA shows 128MB DDR, this XFX shows 128MB GDDR3

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-150-068&depa=0

these cards use the same memory or not????

J.

[Nandro]

All of the 6800NU's use regular ddr memory

[juliendogg]

All of the 6800NU's use regular ddr memory

das what i thought. Anyone have the xVGA card? how are they as a company? Decent cards? I'm sure i'll be sticking a wb on whatever card i get anyway, not so worried about the stock cooling solution.

J.

[Maxvla]

bfg and their free game ;)

thats the only reason their 6800 is somewhat worth buying since its 'cheaper' when you consider the cost of the game, which really costs them next to nothing.

for this price difference the 6800 is definately worth it over the 9800pro.

[nocturnal714]

bfg and their free game ;)

thats the only reason their 6800 is somewhat worth buying since its 'cheaper' when you consider the cost of the game, which really costs them next to nothing.

for this price difference the 6800 is definately worth it over the 9800pro.
that is true but me i would finally like to get out of the 128mb era and move on up to 256 :p

[Maxvla]

that is true but me i would finally like to get out of the 128mb era and move on up to 256 :p
yes i agree. this is one reason i think the 6800 is a mistake. with the free game its still a mistake as far as what kind of hardware you are using seeing as you are upgrading to a very handicapped card. the performance boost is there but not nearly as much as the upper cards. the mistake costs less so its not so bad.

frankly with the performance coming from the 9800pro's i consider them to be overpriced at 200 and certainly the 256mb versions at 250+.

[Crap]

Umm...of course the 6800 is crippled, just like the x800 pro is a crippled version of the x800xt. Your logic is flawed...you are esentially telling people not to buy a video card unless it is top of the line. Not everyone can afford a top of the line card, like the maker of the thread, for instance. He wants to know which is better, a 9800 pro or a 6800. Instead of raining on his parade, why don't you just answer his question? The 6800 is far better than either of the 9800s and is much more future proof. It's price in line with it's performance. Great bang for the buck.

[Maxvla]

Umm...of course the 6800 is crippled, just like the x800 pro is a crippled version of the x800xt. Your logic is flawed...you are esentially telling people not to buy a video card unless it is top of the line. Not everyone can afford a top of the line card, like the maker of the thread, for instance. He wants to know which is better, a 9800 pro or a 6800. Instead of raining on his parade, why don't you just answer his question? The 6800 is far better than either of the 9800s and is much more future proof. It's price in line with it's performance. Great bang for the buck.
i'm sorry i didn't read his first post carefully. i didn't see him say he couldn't swing the GT. when i saw the thread title he said 6800 and didn't specify which kind. when i see 6800 i think of the series. 6800NU means the card to me.

i am not suggesting a top of the line card. the GT is 150 dollars less than top of the line (6800 extreme ultra).

you are correct about the x800pro being crippled like the 6800nu but the x800pro performs in a completely different league than the 6800nu so i don't consider it to be that crippled. also remember the x800 has 256mb of ram instead of 128 for the 6800nu.

[Supadude]

Another thing to consider is that if you go with eVGA they have a step up program. So you can buy the 6800nu now and step it up to a GT or Ultra within 90 days by paying the difference.

[Maxvla]

Another thing to consider is that if you go with eVGA they have a step up program. So you can buy the 6800nu now and step it up to a GT or Ultra within 90 days by paying the difference.
very good point. :)

[juliendogg]

Well, i went on and ordered the eVGA 6800NU. I figure if i'm unhappy i will save money over the next 90days and trade up for a GT. this way i get a decent card now and an awesome card later? Thanks for all the advice guys!

J.

[Nandro]

You wont be dissapointed. If anything I think you'll be impressed that the NU is considered a low end card. As I pointed out, I had all 3 6800's and the performance on any of them is supurb. If you had an ultra and had to go to the NU you might notice, but if you are moving up you'll just flat out be impressed.

[deception``]

i'm sorry i didn't read his first post carefully. i didn't see him say he couldn't swing the GT. when i saw the thread title he said 6800 and didn't specify which kind. when i see 6800 i think of the series. 6800NU means the card to me.

i am not suggesting a top of the line card. the GT is 150 dollars less than top of the line (6800 extreme ultra).

you are correct about the x800pro being crippled like the 6800nu but the x800pro performs in a completely different league than the 6800nu so i don't consider it to be that crippled. also remember the x800 has 256mb of ram instead of 128 for the 6800nu.

I think that the fallacy made here is one of incorrect comparison...a 6800NU should be compared to say....an x800Non-Pro, which of course we know does not exist at this time. The 6800GT was meant to go toe to toe with the x800 Pro. We'll see if ATI comes out with a Non-Pro R420 in the near future.

deception``

[Maxvla]

I think that the fallacy made here is one of incorrect comparison...a 6800NU should be compared to say....an x800Non-Pro, which of course we know does not exist at this time. The 6800GT was meant to go toe to toe with the x800 Pro. We'll see if ATI comes out with a Non-Pro R420 in the near future.

deception``
you are exactly right. you see why its hard to argue in the 200-350 range cause only one maker has a next gen card in that price range.

[fynanceguy]

I just bought the eVGA 6800nu and am really happy with it. Far Cry runs awesome, even better with the 1.1 patch enabling P3.0.
I figured, after CA tax, the difference (quote from Newegg.com) is $464.39 (6800 GT) - $306.35 (6800NU) = $158.04. The cost of the 6800GT is over 51% compared to the 6800NU.
How much is the difference in performance?

[Maxvla]

you using the 409 dollar GT to base your price on? seems a little steep on the taxes.

[fynanceguy]

In Los Angeles County, CA the sales tax is 8.25%
$283 for the eVGA 6800NU plus tax retail
$429 for the eVGA 6800GT retail.

I could have bought another sapphire 9800pro for around $211 retail, a 34% price increase for a 6800NU. I think the 6800NU is much more than 34% faster. My 3dmark03 scores at stock went up from 5500 to 9050, and I can now play Far Cry at 1600 by 1200, same AA-AF settings, with no, or minimal lag.

[Supadude]

I think on buy.com you can get a 6800GT for 416 ish with Doom 3. Thats a pretty good deal.

[fynanceguy]

On my P4 3.0c machine. I have two computers.

[fynanceguy]

I may take up eVGa on their upgrade offer once the prices stablize.