What is best graphics card (nvidia) for under $200

[thegamejunky]

Im a poor gamer trying to put together a (somewhat) newer system on an after christmas budget, can anyone (a gamer preferrably) recommend a 3d card for under $200? I mostly play World of Warcraft, which prefers nvidia i believe. Any suggestions from the gurus would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Admiral_Cecil]

Hello,

Well the 6800 128mb like the GS is under $200. Then the mid-range 6600 GT.

ATI tends to do better since their cards are much cheaper. Even the X800 XL with 16 pipes is under $200 at newegg.

 

[sprinklegenie]

Actually, if you read through Tom's reviews on graphics cards, it looks like your best bet may be the XFX Geforce 6800XT 256MB. It's about $170 on newegg at the moment (I've actually been shopping for the same thing lately).

 

[Samsa]

The consensus at AnandTech.com is 6800 GS.

The problem I see with ATI X800XL (from Tom's Charts) is it doesn't support a number of new technologies. It has PixelShader 2.0 instead of 3.0, and it doesn't support HDR or SoftShadows. Other than the X800XL seems to perform slightly better in most cases (i.e. by about 5%).

And, the problem I see with the 6800XT is that it only has 8 Pixel Pipes , where the 6800 GS has 12. This can make a world of difference in terms of performance, and I think most guru's will say the more pixel pipes the better.

Here's an article by Guru 3d on this card:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/286/1/

Their conclusion states that its definitely a good buy at around $150 at most retailers (MWave.com, etc.), but that the GS is even better for $50 more. So the decision is pretty much up to you and how much you want to spend on the card.