Where to buy the 6800GS AGP

SinisterBlack

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Was reading around and saw that alot of people allready have their 6800GS AGP cards. Only place I've seen a link to purchase one was on eVGA's site, but it was preorder.

Saw that some were getting XFX ones, but I haven't seen a link that shows them for sale. (Seams like alot of the posters were in Europe... not sure if thats why)

So if anyone knows of any places selling the 6800GS AGP, post a link =)

I'll probably go with eVGA, but wanted to see the prices from other companies... and eVGA didn't list a shipping date for their preorders.. no idea if it ships tomorrow or two weeks from now :?
 

SinisterBlack

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Thanks for the replies guys. Turns out that eVGA is shipping their 6800GS AGP cards out now. Wish they would have put a date.. could have got quake 4 free for preordering... oh well heheh

here is the link for anyone looking to get one from a US shipper:

eVGA GeForce 6800GS AGP
 

pauldh

Illustrious
$215 is getting better. Otherwise at $250, this card falls behind the X800XT and X850XT, which can both be found in the $250-270 range. IMO, this card needs to be priced at $200 or below as long as the faster X8x0XT's stay low; same goes for the X800GTO, which will need to be priced under this card. $189 & $159 sound good to me. :D

More and more PCI-e prices are plummeting in comparison to AGP. I've seen X800 pro and X800GTO for around $150 in PCI-e. :cry:
 

MTLink

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Many PCI-E cards have higher clock speeds than their AGP counterparts.

It may be slower, but it's not really such a huge gap. If anything you can OC it to PCI-E speeds or greater
 

GeneticWeapon

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I was seriously pondering this card....but I cant stand my LOD textures crawling off the screen.

That, and I get a sick feeling in my bones, when ever I run an nVidia graphics card.

......also cocks.
 

GeneticWeapon

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Lol...I can only find one of them.......and no....that bag of pot doesnt belong to me 8)

phto0056s6va.jpg
 

cleeve

Illustrious
350 mhz vs. 425-485 mhz is a pretty big deal. That's like a 20% reduction.

Enough to push the GS below stock performance of the cheaper X800 GTO, methinks...

I hope this is not the case with all manufacturers.
 

Samsa

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$215 is getting better. Otherwise at $250, this card falls behind the X800XT and X850XT, which can both be found in the $250-270 range. IMO, this card needs to be priced at $200 or below as long as the faster X8x0XT's stay low; same goes for the X800GTO, which will need to be priced under this card. $189 & $159 sound good to me. :D

More and more PCI-e prices are plummeting in comparison to AGP. I've seen X800 pro and X800GTO for around $150 in PCI-e. :cry:

Well ATI is reaping the whirlwind in the AGP segment because of the prices on the cards you pointed out. There are 3 things that would make me choose a 6800GS AGP over those cards though:

1) Pixel Shader 3.0
2) HDR
3) OpenGL 2.0


X800s are just behind the 6800s technology-wise. And there are a LOT of very cool games that will be exploiting these features in the near future. See TES: Oblivion, NWN 2, and others.

Sure the X800s have 16 Pixel Pipes, but if you get lucky with your 6800GS you might be able to unlock to 16 pipes. I think I'll take that risk.
 

cleeve

Illustrious
1- The 6800 GS isn't fast enough to run HDR, so that's moot.
Also, the X800 series *can* do HDR, just not the SM 3.0 method. X800's can do HDR just fine in Half Life 2.

2- The 6800GS is a new die. 12 pipes, no more no less.
There are no pipes to unlock.

Having said that, if the 6800 GS was the same price as the X800 GTO, the 6800 GS would be the card of choice for overclockability alone.

However, if the lowest the 6800 GS is found is at $215, then it's hard not to justify spending the extra $35 for the X800 XT, which will slaughter the 6800GS.

If the GS is truly crippled at 350 mhz, there's no reason to buy it at all. I'm hoping that's not the case though.
 

Samsa

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1- The 6800 GS isn't fast enough to run HDR, so that's moot.
Also, the X800 series *can* do HDR, just not the SM 3.0 method. X800's can do HDR just fine in Half Life 2.

It may not be fast enough to bother running with HDR at stock speeds, but it definitely can run it, and I'm sure with overclocking it won't be a problem. Furthermore, I'm willing to bet that won't always be the case as more games come out. In fact, as I look now, I see the 6800GT getting 45 fps in Serious Sam 2 with HDR enabled in the THG VGA Guide for Winter 2005, and the PCIe 6800 GS performs comparably with 6800 GT in most other benchmarks I've seen. Clearly they're not the same card, but my point is not moot just because the card gets less than 60 fps. I reserve my judgement for when the new benchmarks come out and feedback starts circulating.

2- The 6800GS is a new die. 12 pipes, no more no less.
There are no pipes to unlock.

How do you know the GS is on a new die for the AGP models? That's good info to know and I'll consider myself corrected if you have a link to the source. However, most of the chatter I've seen in forums around the net indicates that NVidia will be using NV40 dies that didn't make the cut for GT or Ultra models because of potentially bad pipes. Perhaps I misread or shouldn't believe everything I read.

This article refutes your claim, though its an understandable mistake on your part, since the PCIe version has a new core.

http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=28504

Having said that, if the 6800 GS was the same price as the X800 GTO, the 6800 GS would be the card of choice for overclockability alone.

However, if the lowest the 6800 GS is found is at $215, then it's hard not to justify spending the extra $35 for the X800 XT, which will slaughter the 6800GS.

If the GS is truly crippled at 350 mhz, there's no reason to buy it at all. I'm hoping that's not the case though.

The prices we're seeing now are more than likely going to go down, as these are the initial prices for a brand new, if obscure, model of card. Once they get enough of the things shipped out the price will probably come down.
 

cleeve

Illustrious
Well, my 6800 Ultra is too slow to run HDR in Far Cry, IMHO.
Combine that with the fact that 6x00/7x00 GPU's can't run HDR and AA at the same time and... well, IMHO it's useless. But whatever floats your boat. Somebody might use it I guess, but let's be realistic, it's not a huge advantage for the GS...

How do you know the GS is on a new die for the AGP models?

Pure assumption, and if I'm wrong I happily stand corrected. Indeed, using crippled NV40's would explain the low reported clocks of the 6800GS.


The prices we're seeing now are more than likely going to go down, as these are the initial prices for a brand new, if obscure, model of card. Once they get enough of the things shipped out the price will probably come down.

That remains to be seen. However, the X800 GTO is available TODAY for cheaper, and the X800 XT is available TODAY for a bit more, and it's a sure thing.

If the 6800 GS reaches the GTO price, and is proven not to be crippled by it's clocks, or if it is proven to unlock pipes, then I'll happily endorse.

But not yet, to be sure. That's alot of if's.
 

Samsa

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Well, my 6800 Ultra is too slow to run HDR in Far Cry, IMHO.
Combine that with the fact that 6x00/7x00 GPU's can't run HDR and AA at the same time and... well, IMHO it's useless. But whatever floats your boat. Somebody might use it I guess, but let's be realistic, it's not a huge advantage for the GS...

How do you know the GS is on a new die for the AGP models?

Pure assumption, and if I'm wrong I happily stand corrected. Indeed, using crippled NV40's would explain the low reported clocks of the 6800GS.


The prices we're seeing now are more than likely going to go down, as these are the initial prices for a brand new, if obscure, model of card. Once they get enough of the things shipped out the price will probably come down.

That remains to be seen. However, the X800 GTO is available TODAY for cheaper, and the X800 XT is available TODAY for a bit more, and it's a sure thing.

If the 6800 GS reaches the GTO price, and is proven not to be crippled by it's clocks, or if it is proven to unlock pipes, then I'll happily endorse.

But not yet, to be sure. That's alot of if's.

Hrm, well I guess I have to take your word for it on the HDR thing...but still having OpenGL 2.0 and Shader Model 3.0 make the card more likely to outlive the usefulness of the X800 series, which was my main point.

I've looked around a bit, and besides TheInquirer.com, Guru3D also reports that 6800 GS AGP will be on the NV40 core. Guru3D claims XFX as their source, so I guess I'll take their word for it. http://www.guru3d.com/newsitem.php?id=3372

I guess I shouldn't be so quick to endorse the card. But as a midrange card, I'm thinking this will be a good buy for people who can't afford to upgrade frequently.
 

pauldh

Illustrious
Cleeve kinda responded the same way I would have done. I too have a 6800U (BFG OC model), and I find it too slow for HDR in farcry or SC:CT. I honestly give little bonus for the GF6's having SM3. I'd rather just get the best performing card for the money, whether that be an SM2 or Sm3 card. Granted, if performance and price were totally equal, sure then I'd got for the SM3 card as the tiebreaker.

I just tried to order an AGP X850XT for $200 after $50 rebate. Better than my 6800U for $200!!! I was giddie when I saw it. Well, until I clicked buy and it said no longer available. :cry: 8O :cry:
 

Samsa

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Cleeve kinda responded the same way I would have done. I too have a 6800U (BFG OC model), and I find it too slow for HDR in farcry or SC:CT. I honestly give little bonus for the GF6's having SM3. I'd rather just get the best performing card for the money, whether that be an SM2 or Sm3 card. Granted, if performance and price were totally equal, sure then I'd got for the SM3 card as the tiebreaker.

I just tried to order an AGP X850XT for $200 after $50 rebate. Better than my 6800U for $200!!! I was giddie when I saw it. Well, until I clicked buy and it said no longer available. :cry: 8O :cry:

oooh. Those evil bastards. *pats consolingly*

But what do you do when everyone is using SM3.0 and you can't use your old cards anymore???? And what if there's a new game that only runs on OpenGL 2.0 and you really really want it????

Sorry, maybe I'm a little paranoid because I got stuck with an ATI Mobile Radeon 9000 and had to upgrade because it didn't support DirectX 9.0c. Or rather, I couldn't find drivers that would allow me to play DX 9.0c games... I suppose its possible I didn't look hard enough. :?

Edit: ATI told me I had to rely on my retailer (Dell) for them drivers, and I think I eventually loaded Omega's drivers, but I was still unable to play KotOR.
 

pauldh

Illustrious
But what do you do when everyone is using SM3.0 and you can't use your old cards anymore???? And what if there's a new game that only runs on OpenGL 2.0 and you really really want it????
I just don't see Sm2 support being dropped, during the cards useful lifespan,with all the cards out there. Kinda like buying a Radeon 8500 back in it's day because it supported PS1.4 (DX8.1) and the Ti4200 was PS1.1 only(DX8). Eventually out came a game(BF2) that needed PS1.4 support. But, does anyone really want to play BF2 on a Radeon 8500? All in all, the Ti4200 was still a much better card to own. And Even though a game eventually game out that only the 8500 supported, both cards basically hit the end of their life at the same time, or the Ti4200 outlasted the 8500(Power outlasted features).

Anyway, long story to say, I'd rather have a faster Sm2 card like a X850XT over a slower SM3 card like the 6800GS. Both cards will last about the same amount of time before needing replacement, with the X850XT giving the better framerates until that day. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my take on it.