enlighten me

airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
edited August 2005 in Hardware
alright, im gonna post some stats here of some agp vid cards and i want you to make sense of them
Image1.gif

Tell me this, for the same price (6600 GT, 6800) why are the 6800's spec speeds lower?

is it something about the 256 bit memory?? aghhh. can someone list these card in order from least to most performance, im wantin to spen ~ $200 on a video card, what should i get?? the X800, 6600 GT, or 6800
«1

Comments

  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    ...why did you make 2 threads? :scratch:
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    i was tryin to edit it, and i hit the back button in between and something happened??? not sure how i did it, but i didnt do it intentionally, it was a blunder so i just locked one of them.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    oh ok. I wish they would enable thread deletion and thread editing :mad:
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    how come they disabled it. i know it used to be enabled cause i deleted a thread or two of mine, back to the topic, can someone help me out.
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    hmm...so the main decision is: 6600 GT, 6800, or X800 Pro??? which one, im having problems finding benchmarks.
  • djstubbsdjstubbs NJ
    edited August 2005
    I should ask....

    PCI-express or AGP?

    I'd personally go for the x800 pro out of those you had there.

    It's got the highest clock/ memory speeds, and the same pipelines as the 6800.

    Pipelines make the most difference when it comes to video cards...

    Here are some AGP benchmarks:

    image002.gif

    This next benchmark would be the main reason to go for the x800 pro:

    image004.gif

    Here is a link to the full article:

    http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050705/index.html
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    The speeds for the 6600 and 6600GT are higher for less money because they are 128mb memory interface parts and all the other cards you listed including the ATI card are 256mb memory interface parts. The 256mb memory interface allows twice the memory bandwidth which essentially makes those cards twice as fast. (this is just a cut down version for simplicity) :thumbsup:
  • NosferatuNosferatu Arizona
    edited August 2005
    I'd recommend going with the evga 6800 agp. these cards are known to have very high success rates unlocking the extra shader and extra 4 pipelines. a friend of mine bought one a month ago and had no problems at all unlocking the shader and pipelines. No artifacts or anything, just pure BF2 goodness. :D

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130202

    http://firingsquad.com/hardware/geforce_6800_unlocking/
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    I might look into getting a 6800 myself :)
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited August 2005
    Clock speeds alone are very misleading, there are many other factors that affect a graphics card's performance. Thinkings like number of rendering pipelines, vertex shaders, and memory interfaces can make a much larger performance impact than the core and memory clocks alone. The 6800 vs. the 6600GT for example: The 6800 is clocked significantly lower, but employs 12 pixel pipelines compared to 8 on the 6600GT. There are also additional shaders. So even though it is clocked lower than the 6600GT, it is a faster card. A similar comparison can be made between ATI's lineup. The X800Pro has 12 pixel pipelines, and the X800XT has 16. Their clocks are similar, but the XT is notably faster.

    IMO: The best bang for the buck in an AGP card (as mentioned above) is the vanilla 6800 card w/128MB. Its a fast card in it's stock form, but if you can unlock the pipelines, it isn't far behind the 6800GT in performance.
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited August 2005
    For some reason I redid the chart...... Prices from Newegg

    IMHO Grab the cheapest 16pipe 256MB card you can find. I was able to get a X850 XTPE for $300 by scrounging around forums. I also saw a 6800U SLI deal go for $610 (Missed that one by an hour :bawling: )
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    thanks for the redo, i was in a bit of a hurry, i was leaning towards the x800 pro, because of the 12 pipelines and only $225, remember i am on a budget here. I was looking at benchmarks last night and the x800 pro beat the 6800 in some benchmarks, and 6800 beat the x800 pro in some benchmarks, but if i unlocked the extra pipelines then would the 6800 beat the x800 pro in just about all the benchmarks, and I know how to do it, but what is the success rate for unlocking them
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited August 2005
    Omega65 wrote:
    For some reason I redid the chart...... Prices from Newegg

    IMHO Grab the cheapest 16pipe 256MB card you can find. I was able to get a X850 XTPE for $300 by scrounging around forums. I also saw a 6800U SLI deal go for $610 (Missed that one by an hour :bawling: )

    Just curious Omega? Do you game? I don't remember you mentioning it before?

    Tex
  • JimboraeJimborae Newbury, Berks, UK New
    edited August 2005
    I've had two Leadtek 6800 nu & both unlocked with no problems & also overclocked really well (425 core/900 mem). Check out my 3mark 03 score to see how fast they can go. I just can't see any reason to upgrade at present because these cards are so good.

    *Edit* It appears the Futuremark ORB is down atm but I managed to get over 13000 in 03 which ain't bad at all.
  • GobblesGobbles Ventura California
    edited August 2005
    Nosferatu wrote:
    I'd recommend going with the evga 6800 agp. these cards are known to have very high success rates unlocking the extra shader and extra 4 pipelines. a friend of mine bought one a month ago and had no problems at all unlocking the shader and pipelines. No artifacts or anything, just pure BF2 goodness. :D

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130202

    http://firingsquad.com/hardware/geforce_6800_unlocking/


    The thing with BF2 is though that the higher the res the smoother it runs on all most all systems as long as you have 1 gig of memory and a card 9800pro or better. I run BF2 @ 1600x1200 low settings because I get about 30fps more than 1024x768 medium settings.

    Im running a 9800xt
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    well...so i need to know, cause im looking to get this card within the next few days, 6800 or x800 pro, and what is the success rate of unlocking the 6800? What is your honest opinion?

    EDIT: I wont be back from work until at least 4:00 CST so take your time getting back with me. but im wanting to make a desicion then on which card.
  • djstubbsdjstubbs NJ
    edited August 2005
    Even if you know how to unlock the pipelines on the 6800, it doesn't guarantee it will work.

    Sometimes it causes graphical problems in -game and whatnot, I wouldn't reccomend banking on that.

    Get a refurb ATI x800xL, that's your best bet.

    16 pipelines for around $230.
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited August 2005
    Tex wrote:
    Just curious Omega? Do you game? I don't remember you mentioning it before?

    Tex
    Not too much anymore, Time constraints. But I still like to have an up to date machine.
  • TexTex Dallas/Ft. Worth
    edited August 2005
    Just curious. My position is that if you don't game...... you will never tell the differance in a $40 and a $400 video card.

    On my KVM switching back and forth I see no differance in the built in rage 8mb video on my server MB's and my pci-e x600 watching dvd's or movies.

    Tex
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    i think im gona go with the 6800 and try and unlock the pipelines and shaders heard a lot of good things about it and hoping to get a good card.
  • djstubbsdjstubbs NJ
    edited August 2005
    airbornflght wrote:
    i think im gona go with the 6800 and try and unlock the pipelines and shaders heard a lot of good things about it and hoping to get a good card.

    That's my old card, I wouldn't reccomend it but to each his own.
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    its all i can afford, i dont have $500 to spend on a video card, im just in high school and work at braums for god sakes, not to mention that gas eats up my paycheck like a mofo. ive read good things on it and like the benchmarks. not to mention that ill actually be able to play video games now.
  • djstubbsdjstubbs NJ
    edited August 2005
    airbornflght wrote:
    its all i can afford, i dont have $500 to spend on a video card, im just in high school and work at braums for god sakes, not to mention that gas eats up my paycheck like a mofo. ive read good things on it and like the benchmarks. not to mention that ill actually be able to play video games now.

    I'm also in HS, I'm a senior.

    But I'm not saying you should spend $500..

    Actually less than half that.
  • JimboraeJimborae Newbury, Berks, UK New
    edited August 2005
    djstubbs wrote:
    That's my old card, I wouldn't reccomend it but to each his own.


    Just out of interest why wouldn't you recommend it??

    airborn, if you do go for a 6800, try & get a Leadtek one. A lot of people, including myself, have had a lot of luck unlocking them. Obviously thats no guarantee you will but it should increase your chances.
  • Omega65Omega65 Philadelphia, Pa
    edited August 2005
    Tex wrote:
    Just curious. My position is that if you don't game...... you will never tell the differance in a $40 and a $400 video card.

    On my KVM switching back and forth I see no differance in the built in rage 8mb video on my server MB's and my pci-e x600 watching dvd's or movies.

    Tex
    Sure I can. Right now I'm looking at a $40 Radeon 8500 and a $400 Radeon X800XT AIW....I can tell the difference. :D:D:D
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    well, i heard that the success rate of unlockign AGP 6800's is a whole lot better than PCI-E 6800's, and ive heard that the XFX and eVGA cards had good chances of success. Im hoping for the best. :thumbsup:
  • djstubbsdjstubbs NJ
    edited August 2005
    airbornflght wrote:
    well, i heard that the success rate of unlockign AGP 6800's is a whole lot better than PCI-E 6800's, and ive heard that the XFX and eVGA cards had good chances of success. Im hoping for the best. :thumbsup:

    Because you're taking a risk at that.

    And there are better cards for not that much more money.

    A refurb or new x800 XL is the best bang for your buck card right now.

    Either that or a 6800 GT.
  • sfleurietsfleuriet Texas New
    edited August 2005
    airbornflght wrote:
    its all i can afford, i dont have $500 to spend on a video card, im just in high school and work at braums for god sakes, not to mention that gas eats up my paycheck like a mofo. ive read good things on it and like the benchmarks. not to mention that ill actually be able to play video games now.
    omg thank you. he just doesnt get that we're not all loaded with money like him and our parents don't give us thousands of dollars. :rolleyes:
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2005
    Stubby,

    im on a budget of $200, i can only afford to go like $25 over that, unless you can get me a link to these i havent found any at a reasonable price.
  • rykoryko new york
    edited August 2005
    agp or pcie?

    x800gt is coming out soon and might be a good choice for you. it's priced around $150 - $200 and suppossedly a very nice performer. keep in mind that if you can wait just a little longer, ATI will be releasing a full new lineup of cards which will push the old lineup down in price. in a few weeks you should be able to find a new x800xl around $225 or less.

    related articles...

    http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=25272

    http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=25213

    http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=25314

    one last thing is that the pcie 6800 is not capable of being unlocked. it is different architechturally than the agp 6800 and is designed as a 12 pipeline gpu from the ground up. the agp 6800 is made from a 6800gt core with 4 pipelines disabled, hence the possibility to unlock them. something to keep in mind. :thumbsup:
Sign In or Register to comment.