x700 or 6600?

[Too Smart]

Both of these cards are available at a local computer store for $150 (Canadian). Both cards are the basic version, ie the x700 is the non-pro and the 6600 is the non-GT. There is also something called the 6600LE for $20 less than the regular 6600.

I have decided that I will definitely get one of those three (I know I can probably find better deals online but I want to buy from this store). Which card of those three would be the best buy? It will be replacing my FX5200.

[Rattle]

i would say the 6600
the x700 is basically about as fast as a 9800 pro.

if you can get a 6600gt thats even better.
look for 500/1000 speeds

[Too Smart]

Hmmm I just read that the 6600 supports DirectX 9.0c while the x700 supports only 9.0b. Is this a serious shortcoming of the x700 or is it not important? But the x700 seems to get higher marks in 3dmark 2003.

[Too Smart]

Just to make sure, neither of these cards require another power connector, right? Cuz I don't think my case/ps has an extra one.

[WarriorII]

No extra power is needed.

Only the 6800> need it, not sure about the ATI big boiz.

6600 is good. GT if ya can.


EDIT: my bad, I guess the GT's do need external power. :shrug:

[Rattle]

if the 6600 your getting is AGP then it may require external power.

The 6600gt AGP's do
while the 6600gt PCIX dont

more voltage thru the slot for PCIX

[>HyperlogiK<]

X700 it has GDDR3 instead of DDR so there should be more headroom for overclocking on the ram. DX9.0c basically means that it supports a load of fancy new effects including HDR (a new effect that simulates sun glare and similar lighting), Displacement Mapping (which essentially makes lumps and bumps on a model look more realistic), Geometry Instancing (where lots of the same model are on screen, the card draws one
once and copies it), and I think that the GPU in the SM3 cards has some extra registers that allow effects to be registered more efficienty. The only thing is, most games don't take advantage of all these fancy effects, and by the time games are out that will have full SM3.0 support (quite a while), the 6600 will probably struggle to run them. The 6600LE is really an overclocked 6200 and not powerful enough for future gaming.

I would rate the cards in this order

6600 LE
6600
X700
6600 if it has DDR2 (check though)

There is one consideration in favour of the 6600LE, while it is an overclocked 6200 ordinarily, you can sometimes use a program called riva tuner to unlock extra vertex and pixel pipelines in the core and if it works you have a 6600 for very cheap, if not there is no damage to the card. This worked really well on the 6800LE, but I'm not sure what the success rate is with the 6600LE.

Also consider a second hand 6600 GT or X700 XT from the classified section on this site, it would be more performance for your price and some would still be witthin 3 year warranties.

I have seen 2 agp 6600s with power connectors, but don't worry if you don't have another power connector, as long as your psu is ok just get a $2 splitter from a computer/electronics shop that turns one molex into two.

[stang8118]

X700 it has GDDR3 instead of DDR so there should be more headroom for overclocking on the ram. DX9.0c basically means that it supports a load of fancy new effects including HDR (a new effect that simulates sun glare and similar lighting), Displacement Mapping (which essentially makes lumps and bumps on a model look more realistic), Geometry Instancing (where lots of the same model are on screen, the card draws one
once and copies it), and I think that the GPU in the SM3 cards has some extra registers that allow effects to be registered more efficienty. The only thing is, most games don't take advantage of all these fancy effects, and by the time games are out that will have full SM3.0 support (quite a while), the 6600 will probably struggle to run them. The 6600LE is really an overclocked 6200 and not powerful enough for future gaming.

I would rate the cards in this order

6600 LE
6600
X700
6600 if it has DDR2 (check though)

There is one consideration in favour of the 6600LE, while it is an overclocked 6200 ordinarily, you can sometimes use a program called riva tuner to unlock extra vertex and pixel pipelines in the core and if it works you have a 6600 for very cheap, if not there is no damage to the card. This worked really well on the 6800LE, but I'm not sure what the success rate is with the 6600LE.

Also consider a second hand 6600 GT or X700 XT from the classified section on this site, it would be more performance for your price and some would still be witthin 3 year warranties.

I have seen 2 agp 6600s with power connectors, but don't worry if you don't have another power connector, as long as your psu is ok just get a $2 splitter from a computer/electronics shop that turns one molex into two.


The 6600gt has ddr3 also. And if your video card requires a molex (like some of the agp 6600gts), it is best to give it a line that has nothing else pluged into it. Splitters are not the best thing for video cards because then it has to compete for power with whatever device is plugged into that rail.

[dicecca112]

The 6600gt AGP's do
while the 6600gt PCIX dont

more voltage thru the slot for PCIX


Rattle its PCI-E not PCI-X, PCI-X is a PCI slot that is used in workstation boards.

Also consider a second hand 6600 GT or X700 XT from the classified section on this site, it would be more performance for your price and some would still be witthin 3 year warranties.

no such thing as an x700xt only an x700pro and x700. They never released the x700xt. Most can be clocked to the xt speeds though. As for the x700 series, they don't need external power.

[Too Smart]

I am leaning more toward the x700 because of its higher 3dmark score. Does this mean the x700 should give a higher framerate in games?

[Fathom1990]

no such thing as an x700xt only an x700pro and x700. They never released the x700xt. Most can be clocked to the xt speeds though. As for the x700 series, they don't need external power.

http://froogle.google.co.uk/froogle_cluster?q=x700+xt&pid=4870100821824824541&oid=16010411961049540794&btnG=Search+Froogle&scoring=p&hl=en

I was sure I had seen one reviewed, and they seem to have them.

[DDR-PIII]

No extra power is needed.

Only the 6800> need it, not sure about the ATI big boiz.

6600 is good. GT if ya can.


EDIT: my bad, I guess the GT's do need external power. :shrug:

actually my 6600 does have a molex connector o nit, fyi ;)

[Yuriman]

Last time I checked, 6600 < X700 < X700pro < 6600gt.

[DDR-PIII]

thats correct :)

[Fathom1990]

yeah but too smart didn't ever mention the 6600GT

[Yuriman]

Well, I would go with the X700np over the 6600.

[>HyperlogiK<]

yeah, I was gonna get the 6800GS instead of the X800GTO2 (quite a similar comparison), but even though it's only PS2.0+ the extra horsepower seemed to make the ATI card a better option.