Well I'm looking to do some upgrades to my PC and video card is one of 'em. I've been scared of Nvidia after I'd wasted ridiculous amounts of money on their FX series a few years back(sadly both 58&59xx series).

I've been pretty happy with my current Ati x800xl, but Nvidia seems to be all the hype these days. I can't afford a crazy SLI setup, but I've been looking at the Geforce 7800GT 256MB PCIe. Does the 7800GT give the x800xl a run for the money overall? I'm looking for overall performance, not Nvidia specific games like Doom 3.

If the 7800 is indeed a better card, what difference is there in the manufacturer? I have only bought "made by Ati" cards so I'm guessing Nvidia doesnt do the same. For the price I'm looking for eVGA, MSI and Albatron are what I'll probably end up buying. Unless of course the BFG, XFX or Leadtek cards are noticeably better.

Any insight is appreciated!

Most brands are good but usually bfg xfx use good quality mem so it gives you more overclocking potential if you want to push it farther.
I had also good experience with msi.

At stock settings there mostly equal.

You must check mem type (overclocking potential) and cooling solution (noise).

I have always used XFX cards as I've never experienced any problems with them. I'm not much of an overclocker. I currently have a 7800GT with 256 ram and PCI express. It basically just laughs at anything I throw at it. Awesome card.

first of all, Nvidia has taken over in almost every GPu segment. ATi's x800's are getting old, they are fast and competes against the 6800's. However, none of them support HDR or Shader 3.0 so if you're looking for eye candies then yes get the Nvidia's. It's just that ATI has too much of a gap between their cards (e.g. X800 to X1800) THe 7800gt is probably the wisest investment you can make today for $300. For performance comparison, click here to check game benchmarks(not just the 3dmark). You can see that the 7800gt has a lead over the x800xl mostly because it can play games the X800XL doesn't support.

Bottom line, for new game with nice effects you need to up the GPU, otherwise the X800XL is a very fine GPU. So if you do wanna upgrade, you can probably sell the X800XL for like $150 and you are halfway there for the 7800GT

For future reference, don't by made by ATI cards because 1) they are more expensive and are at stock speed 2)it's partners have cheaper ones obviously and they are tweaked for your needs and usually have bundles.
Nvidia does have "made by Nvidia", but it's something $$$ can't buy.

The most popular is the eVGA these days for its price. I think newegg has the XFX and Albatron on rebate for $290, so I would get the XFX for it's look. It's a personal choice though as both core run at the same speed but i don't know bout he memory. Remember to get the free COD2 that you gotta register for!!! The Big BLEEP Gun usually has the highest factory OC and best service but comes at a few more Hamiltons.

To margag,

I like your signature, quite funny

I'd say it's much closer to about 50/50 actually.

But as for high-end gaming cards above $200, Nvidia has the advantage to be sure.

I'm pretty sure nVidia makes nothing, as they are fabless. No cards are nVidia branded and all the chips are made by subcontractors. Don't take my word for it, see:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia


Aikon

I've got a 7800 GT and it is great but it really does not bench that much higher than my x800. The 7800 GT is an improvement and the best card for the money right now but I don't know if it is worth the upgrade from a x800. If you are the type of person that would trade in a 3GHz CPU for a 3.6 than the 7800 GT or perhap even the GTX or GTX-512 might be just the thing for you. The x800 is still a respectable card but it is your money, and you only live once!

Brand does matter a bit. Asus is normally a great brand but in the case of the 7800 they are overpriced, have a crummy warranty and are under clocked compared to XFX. The XFX card is cheaper, has a forever warranty and is factory overclocked for higher benching.

Haro,

Yeah 7800 GT is very good to get. Evga's 7800 GT CO has a clock of 470 and mem of 1100. Also a copper hsf. Get it at zipzoomfly.com as they have free 2nd day and charges no sales tax.

That depends on where you live. If you live in CA like me then you will have to pay TAXES!!! Beware of "free 2nd day" shipping, resellerrating.com doesn't give it a good review since their processing time isn't always 2nd day.

I was talking about the reference cards in case there's a confusion.

Like I said above, he only needs to upgrade if he wants to play games the X800XL can't support, not necessarily too slow for the games.

nVidia for life guys!!! 8)