ok! got 600$! What to get?

[Scph9002]

Ok I am planning to buy an gfx card and are ready to pay around 600-650 bux... what graphics card is the best for that amount of money??

My mobo has and agp slot btw.. so no pci-x card!

[Scph9002]

Ok I am planning to buy an gfx card and are ready to pay around 600-650 bux... what graphics card is the best for that amount of money??

BTW i have an agp slot on my mobo so no pci-x cards!

[atigamerguy]

Get a x850xtpe or a 6800ultra.

[A1Killer]

theres the 6800 ultra for about 499-439 and then the x800xt pe to x800xt from 655-469

[Rottys-R-Us]

NOT to be a smarty @$$ but do your reading and get what you want not what others say is best, "That is just openning a can of worms".

Some will say Nvidia & some ATI for various reasons.

[A1Killer]

oh and those are on www.newegg.com

[Wicked Klown]

You could get a X800 XT PE (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-161-128&depa=1) or a 6800 GT. As the 6800GT at ultra speeds will do better cause of the tighter ram timings.

[snyper1982]

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=320815

Best AGP card besides the XT PE. You will honestly not notice a difference between this card and an xt pe though, so i say save the 60 bucks.

[glock19owner]

Why not get a PCI-E motherboard and a decent PCI-E card with that 600.00?

ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 6800 N/U PCI-Express x16 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-190&depa=0) for 382.00 at newegg...(not in stock at the moment)...and a good PCI-E motherboard between 100.00 - 150.00 (not too sure of a good Intel PCI-E motherboard)...and still have some change left over...

I had been debating on upgrading my Pro...but have decieded not to spend a few hundered on a AGP card that will be replaced within a year with a PCI-E system...

You might want to think about going PCI-E now before it starts to really hit mainstream and the prices start to go up...

[Scph9002]

cause i want to know peoples opinion man.... and i posted in both because I want many answeres....

[JigPu]

cause i want to know peoples opinion man.... and i posted in both because I want many answeres....
Double posting == No.

You can get plenty of opinions here in the general section. I'll garuntee that most anybody who visits the ATi or nVidia section also visits this section, and will give you the same opinion regardless of if it's in the vendor-specific sections or not.

JigPu

[sean478]

if u can find them cheap enough get 2 6800 gts unless u dont have pcie then i would get a x800 pro vivo and flash it into a xtpe

[snyper1982]

Or just get the x800 xt for 439, and you are gauranteed 16 pipes, and dont have to flash.

[Blackmage]

Yeah an X800XTPE, OR 6800Ultra You Cant go worng!

[aaronrkelly]

Why not get a PCI-E motherboard and a decent PCI-E card with that 600.00?

ASUS nVIDIA GeForce 6800 N/U PCI-Express x16 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-190&depa=0) for 382.00 at newegg...(not in stock at the moment)...and a good PCI-E motherboard between 100.00 - 150.00 (not too sure of a good Intel PCI-E motherboard)...and still have some change left over...

I had been debating on upgrading my Pro...but have decieded not to spend a few hundered on a AGP card that will be replaced within a year with a PCI-E system...

You might want to think about going PCI-E now before it starts to really hit mainstream and the prices start to go up...
I have always found adopting new tech costs WAY more - as it becomes more popular I see the prices coming down. I have boughten many new technologies to see the price go down in 6 months.

Also I would not bother upgrading just yet - dual core processors are on the verge and when they come out you will most likely be buying another mobo all over again.....maybe not though.

[glock19owner]

Dual cores will not be out for over a year and a half and even then...they will be running on the M12 socket and DDR2...and if you notice...PCI-E prices are going up...not down right now...I know for a fact the 6600 is up 30.00 more then when I was looking at them in Dec...

But here is the thing...why waste 600.00 on tomorrows technology...and when the new stuff hits...resell value will be well under 200.00 for the same card...when the resell value of a PCI-E system will be much higher since PCI-E will be more mainstream then...

This is not a new technology buy...but a cost efficient buy

[SantiMun]

and when the new stuff hits...resell value will be well under 200.00 for the same card...when the resell value of a PCI-E system will be much higher since PCI-E will be more mainstream then...
Resell value?? This is a video card dude not a freakin car :p
And actually Scph9002m IS making a cost efficient buy. Everyone's jumping on the PCI-E and 64bit bandwagon too early when by the time longhorn comes out, it'll be crap. PLUS dual core processors will definitly make those people regret giving in too early. Your AGP mobo will last you until the dual cores come out.
Stick with either the X800XTPE, OR 6800Ultra and you'll be fine. In fact, the cheaper of the two would be best since the difference isn't THAT much compared to the difference in price.

[deathman20]

Dual cores will not be out for over a year and a half and even then

Ummm Dual Cores are coming out this year. All AMD's line will be out by winter and Intels whole line will be out by early next year (Xeon's are the last to be added early 06').

Yes there may be slow downs but we'll start seeing dual cores by summer time.

As for vid cards. Don't get "the top of the line" get 1 step below it. You'll save money, and when you get ready for a new system in the future you won't feel as guilty of buying it. Most likely you can OC the card to the others speed and even more, but more so then not your CPU will be holding you back from getting faster FPS.

[glock19owner]

Ummm Dual Cores are coming out this year. All AMD's line will be out by winter and Intels whole line will be out by early next year (Xeon's are the last to be added early 06').

Dual Cores will NOT be out this year nor will DD2, not for AMD...Dual Core...DDR2 is not slated until Q1 and Q2 of next year...and even they you add 3 to 6 months for any delays...

Athlon 64 (http://www.c627627.com/AMD/Athlon64/)


Resell value?? This is a video card dude not a freakin car :p


What you have never resold anything in your life but a car...everything has a resell vaule...case in point...less then a year ago...9800 Pros where still going for well over 250.00...you can find them new for less then 200.00 and in some cases less then 175.00...so do you think I can turn around and resell my Pro for 250.00?

[deathman20]

Dual Cores will NOT be out this year nor will DD2, not for AMD...Dual Core...DDR2 is not slated until Q1 and Q2 of next year...and even they you add 3 to 6 months for any delays...

Athlon 64 (http://www.c627627.com/AMD/Athlon64/)

Thats why I only quoted your first part of the sentence. Toledo core is due out 4Q this year which is a Dual-Core AMD CPU.

And also according to that website Denmark, Italy, Egypt cores are running DDRII coming out this year. They are from what has been said, suppose to be out around summerish time frame.

[glock19owner]

Everyone seems to get the new play toys before we do anymore...but I did see where AMD showed off the Dual Core last week...but I still have serious doubt that we (NA) see it before Q2 of 06 to be honest...

[Webzta]

both cards seem to be getting old to me...the number of both for sale on ebay all the time is a joke - get something mediocre - 6600gt, if u really need something for now.... and wait and jump on the next bandwagon.... for me the 6800gt/x800's haven't dropped enough in price to justify buying one right now....

I bought a 6800gt when they first came out.... great card.... waste of money.

[Enablingwolf]

I am a firm beliver of just get what you want now. Don't rely on what is comming out, unless it just isn't available in your region yet. Or has a FOR SURE set dates! (Seems like all the droolie cards are always out of stock.)
Look at how the 4GHz intel was stalled. Dual cores... The list just goes on. If your current needs are for a lot of moola in video, get what you can order or willing to wait on back order. I like both platforms, they kinda balance each other out in a sort of competitive way.
What are your ultimate goals with this new card? How long do you plan to use this card? Do you need new parts often? What games do you usually run? There is so many factors to ask yourself.
One interesting factor is the # of fps in some game engines. The new DOOM engine seems to thrive under the NVidia platform. On the other hand ATI does well under HL2. So if you are in the market for up and comming releases, look at what engine they might be using.
Now if your pockets never run out of money, just convert to SLI and enjoy the benifits. Later on you can upgrade and have the "joy of the build".
For now, the top ATI and NVidia offerings are both fine options, unlike this time last year. It kinda boils down to card maker and platform of your choice. :D (hint: has the 6800xx fixed its video issues yet?)

[Jotolicious]

get a 6800GT or Ultra. also you could afford the new ATI :D

[sean478]

the x850 pro agp w/512mb ram might be something to consider (when it comes out)
should be in that price range and most likely is flashable

ps. the x800pro vivo has better ram than the xt so thats y i suggested it over the xt and the chances getting of bad pipes is about 10-5 percent and even if that happens u can still flash to a 12 pipe xtpe with a costom bios

just make shure its a vivo (fyi) :)

[Webzta]

yeah if you're dead set on a x800/6800 i'd go for the x800 pro vivo.. Also checkout ebay if you wanna save some cash..

[deathman20]

the x850 pro agp w/512mb ram might be something to consider (when it comes out)
should be in that price range and most likely is flashable

The 512MB card is just a reference card currently. They got working versions and such and shows a nice preformance increase at top res with AA and all but its extreamly costly.

It really sounded like they wheren't going to make them at all for this generation. Next generation on the other hand its possible that they might start making them, but think lots of $$$.

[KoolDrew]

This is my opinion, but I see no reason to spend so much money. Get yourself a 6800GT and overclock it to Ultra speeds. You will spend about half of what you plan on paying and get very similair performance.

[tweaker]

get the newest out,roughly $500 then spend $50 or so on the cooling and your still under $600.
later tweaker