Which out of these two cards to buy?

[d3v]

I'll have just enough money in the next couple of days to replace my FX 5900 with a good DX9 card to play Oblivion on.

My budget is £75 and so it will have to be either of these cards...

XFX 256MB 7600GS AGP (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=443219)

Or

Leadtek 128MB 6800XT AGP (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=378694)

The 7600GS has 256MB RAM and 12 pipes onboard but has a 128 memory bit rate as opposed to the 6800XT which has half the memory of the 7600GS but has double the memory bit rate but 4 pipes less than the 7600GS. But then theres the possibility of unlocking those 4 extra pipes on the 6800XT?

I'm personally thinking the 7600GS would be the best option but I'm sure most of you here have more experiance so please tell me which would provide the best bang for my oh so scarce buck!

Thanks.

[Drinkyoghurt]

i'd go for the 6800xt because you can unlock the pipes(atleast thats what i've heard) it also has a 256bit interface as opposed to the 7600gs. also the memory of the 6800xt is gddr3 and the 7600gs memory is gddr2(which is worse)

6800xt would be my choice

[d3v]

So if I unlocked the pipes on the 6800XT, it would play oblivion better than the 7600GS?

[fireandice]

7600gs man.

alot of the 6800xt's people are getting reavently are lazer cut and cant be unlocked.

i see your buying agp. go with the new BFG 7600gs. they jkust put one on new egg and its cheaper than the outher gs's and its got 512mb of memory.

[d3v]

can't buy from newegg or i'll stand a high chance of being hit by the satanic import tax.

[doublejack]

First, I believe the 6800XT uses regular DDR memory like a 6800LE or 6800NU. At least the one linked above appears to. I know the 6800GS came with DDR3 memory so it's possible some 6800XT's do as well.

As to performance, the 7600GS would perform better stock, no question about it - especially at lower resolutions. The 7600GS has a 90nm GPU vs 130nm for the 6800XT so it will clock higher and be more energy efficient, plus it has the extra pipes and a superior fill rate. But at 1280x1024 & above the much higher memory bandwidth on the 6800XT comes into play and it would substantially close the gap or maybe even pull ahead by a little bit. But then we're getting into a range where both these cards begin to struggle a bit.

If you're able to unlock the extra pipes and shaders then the 6800XT basically becomes a 6800GT (with slower memory) and would be the faster of the two. It's a gamble though. The 7600GS is the sure bet and I'd probably go in that direction. Then again, I'm pretty averse to taking risks :)

[tech2487]

id get the 7600gs. but thats me

[BossBorot]

heck a 6600gt about = a 6800xt because the cores used on the 6800xt are lazer locked. I would buy the 7600gs, out of those two, even if the 6800 were a lot less. The 7600gs will smoke the 6800xt.

Also most 6800xt cards have 256mb of gddr3 those with 128mb of ddr have a higher chance of unlocking, but 128mb of ddr ram is beginning to get swamped in most newer games.

If you could find a used 6800gs that you could buy on the cheap that would be the way to go if you want an nVidia card in this price range, but the 7600gs is not a bad card by any means so if you cant find one any want to stay nVidia that is the way to go.

[doublejack]

heck a 6600gt about = a 6800xt because the cores used on the 6800xt are lazer locked.

I didn't know that the newer 6800XT's were lazer locked.

That makes this an easy choice - go with the 7600GS.

[Mr. Roboto]

Another 7600 vote. If you can get the GT though, it's really worth it.

[fireandice]

if you go with a 6800gs go with the xfx 250mb. theres a 128bit version and a 256bit. go with the 256bit. new egg has them listed as the same but the cheaper one is the 128bit version.

really i dont know im in the same boat. some of the bench's i seen on the 6800xt show it to be slightly better "not by much" than the 7600gs. outhers about equal. also bfg just put out a 512mb 7600gs agp. its on new egg and is one of the cheaper agp gs's on there. if you go gs i would go with that one.

[Enablingwolf]

Since both cards are about the same, just excel in some areas over the other.. I would look at the extras the cards offer.

Does the 6800XT offer transparent AA? How does it handle other techniques used in games. Versus the other card.

If what I think the 7600GS offers over the 6800XT. I would say the 7600GS is the better card over the two.

[Memphis69]

newer tech. faster card! VIVA LA 7600GS!

[ShadowPho]

6800 Ultra if you can get one. It works so gooooooood! Transparent AA if you install the drivers, fast perfrormance, really cool looking too :D

[dittohead]

haha i got the same choice problem as you
looking into the 7300GT ddr3 ;)