ok! got 600$! What to get?

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...

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.

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. (hint: has the 6800xx fixed its video issues yet?)

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

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)

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..

sean478 said:

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

Click to expand...

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 $$$.

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.

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