Deciding: 6600GT or 6800GT: Which Brand?

Its one of these two...I'm either going to play it cheap and go with a 6600GT now that my 9800 Pro has died (and run the 6600GT overclocked a bit), or get a 6800Gt and overclock it as well.

For the post part I run my games at 1024x768, with no AA or AF. The only reason I'd go any higher in resolution is in the event I go to a flat-panel screen someday, which means games will be forced to use a higher native resolution like 1280x1024 or what have you.

Which Brand is "The one to get" on these cards...would prefer to order from newegg, given their selection is there one brand to go for? With the 6600GT do you automatically need to replace the stock HSF? I'd prefer NOT to have to tinker if I didn't have to.....

if you want a good stock HS for a 6800GT... a Leadtek A680 looks like a GREAT card... the cooler looks bigger than my 7000cu

I am partial to the BFG 6800GT oc, since I own it, and love what it has done for my gaming.....See my sig, no artifacts. I get 5689 in 3dmark2005....so I am Glad I waited till I had the $ for the 6800GT.

I hear good things about EVGA, and the XFX. Also many others with different experiences.

You will be happy with either card, it just depends on how much You can afford, and how bad do you need it? ( Will You always wonder "what if ?", if You get the 6600GT?)
Good luck....Iron.

I guess...problem is...I dont see myself doing much gaming on the PC in the future, the games just dont seem to be out there...now that Half Life 2 is out.....and every other game I have will run fine with a 6600GT.

By the time we see some source-engine games come out that stress a 6600gt or a new version of the CryTek engine, I'm wondering if even a 6800GT will be a dog.

ie: Why spend $400 bucks when a $200 card will do nicely, and you can't be sure the $400 card will really make you future proof...??

(decisions, decisions).

Any one have a Leadtek 6800 ?

I would either choose a BFG or a Leadtek. The stock heatsink on the leadtek 6600 GT kept my card idling in the low 40's. I was going to get 2 BFG's, but newegg didn't have them at the time so I went with refurb Leadteks and could not be happier. With the heatsink mod, these cards have to be the best cards I have ever had.

or maybe go half an half and get a 6800!

Hehehee...I dont think the 6800 is really worth it......I dont see anywhere that the 6800 actually excels at anything.

I'm probably going to err on the side of caution here and go with a 6600GT. While its going to be a step up from the Radeon 9800 Pro, perhaps not a HUGE step up but a step up nontheless. I just dont really *want* to spend $400 bucks on a videocard that can't, well, get 100 FPS in FarCry with 4xAA and 8xAF.....

Oh you can get that with a $600 card but man.....thats more than the rest of my SYSTEM cost Forget that!

I think I'm going to opt for the 6600GT...spending double the money on the 6800GT doesn't seem like its worth it. If the framerates were doubled or something...maybe...but they aren't. The 6600GT is actually suffereing from being a bit "too good" for its class right now, or so the comparisons I am reading seem to indicate.

But, I sure would love to see a comparison between a 6600GT and a 6800GT...for the life of me I can't find this comparison anywhere on the web. You know, see exactly what I'm giving up by sticking with the cheaper card.

lol head to http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1780533,00.asp

They just did a very interesting article on cost per FPS and all the cards are in the shoot out. 6600 GT is the king of bang for buck.

I decided to bite the bullet and just get the 6800GT

I always buy the best card I can afford, within reason. An X850 PE is just insane in its pricing. The 6600GT is a super bargain...but....another poster was right: The first game I ran that gave me performance issues I'd go "damnit I should have bought that 6800 with its 16 pipelines!".

I made a smart move by spending $300 bucks on my Radeon 9800 Pro back in the day, it kept me into games well into the Doom3/FarCry period. Had I gone with another board back then, I would have to have upgraded earlier...

My next monitor will be a 19 or 20" LCD rather than a CRT, so I'll need that extra horsepower to run games at 1280x1024 or whatever the native resolution of the panel is.

While $375 is still alot of cash for a video card...fact is, if it buys me a few years of high-FPS gaming, its worth it in the end.