Well, I'm not trying to peev ya off GW; you know I'm a fan. :roll: :tongue:
I was trying to comment on the Sm3 performance boost you speak of. And personally I don't see that side of the arguement meaning much as generally the X800 series keeps up with or defeats it's equivelent 6800 series card in games that the GF6's should have the speed boost advantage. Of course each have certain games they clearly win. But I compare and recommend based on best stock bang for the buck. All I really care about is the best real world gaming experience for the price, reguardless of brand. And since the 6800's suck at HDR and the performance boost they are getting doesn't put them in the lead in games such as farcry, then to me Sm3 for GF6 still means little. Priced the same, I'd buy the 6800GS for sure; but they aren't priced the same.
As far as overclocking/unlocking... I agree with you and can see your point. I don't at all question you liking the 6800GS more based on max enthusiast potential. You are a freakin nut job when it comes to that stuff, and I mean that as a compliment. It does seem the 6800GS is the better card for that compared to the GTO and in the end if someone like yourself had a few of each to mess with, I don't doubt a 6800GS would come out on top. So I understand your quarrel with Thomson as he unlocked his card and post 3dmarks, which you are saying the 6800GS would have done better. But that doesn't mean it's the better card for everyone, especially based on current pricing.
Personally, I'd buy a $160 X800GTO or better yet $185 X800XL anyday over a $200+ 6800GS, especially since 4/5 cards I buy are not mine to keep and I'm not going to OC/mod cards for a customer. I just haven't seen any reason to think that the BFG 6800U's SM3 has given me anything except the ability to toy with HDR in some games the X800XTpe can not. So I also don't see a 6800GS AGP being worth more than a X800XL. Make sense?