The better buy? X1800GTO or 7600GT

X1800GTO gets my vote.

Close, but I'd go X1800 GTO as well.

Way more overclocking headroom.

http://www.trustedreviews.com/graphics/review/2006/03/2...

check out the other pages in that review as well

Try an x1950 pro instead, it's a few bucks more but a much better performer! But if you don't want to stretch that far you could always get a 7900GS/x1900GT

Thanks for the fast responses everyone! And thanks for that link redwing.
I had been leaning towards the X1800GTO just due to my overall experience with ATI.
The reviewer's main gripe in redwing's link seems to point to noise level. That isn't a concern in my case, as the CPU fan is a Vantec tornado. 8)

Also, there are indications that a flashed BIOS on the X1800GTO can unlock the 4 pipes that separate it from the X1800XL.

Finally, Newegg is advertising a $99.99 "Open Box" X1800GTO ... that's an incredible deal, in my opinion.

I'd love to see some more opinions though.

What the hell have you been smoking?!?!

X1800GTO.

It's got a 256-bit bus and if you can overclock it, it will pretty much beat the 7600GT in everything.

If anyone bothered to click on the extensive review link that I posted a bit higher, they would have seen that the cards are virtually identical in performance.

The x1800GTO mainly has an advantage in Oblivion (or other games that favor ATI cards). The 7600GT has an advantage in terms of power consumed and heat produced.

That is all

Initial findings lead me to believe that only the HIS X1800GTO can have the 4 pipelines unlocked through a BIOS flash. So the Sapphire I have my eye on is now excluded. But hey, a mid-range card with fairly new tech for under a hundred bucks isn't bad to me. Plus, I won't be using the computer it will be going in....ever.

Well, if anyone's got any info on whether I can update the Sapphire BIOS to unlock some performance, please post!

If you're playing Oblivion you might want to save a few more dollars and get a X1950 Pro otherwise you'll have to turn down the detail levels quite a lot in order to get "playable" performance. Personally I prefer the green guys [/flame nvidiot] simply because of all the problems that I have had with ATi's, err, AMD's video cards. But still I cannot deny that the general consensus is correct - go with the DAAMIT solution. Especially if you can bag one for a hundred bucks.

[/wishing I had PCIe] :roll:

I disagree. I tested an X1800 GTO with Oblivion and it worked extremely well at high settings compared to a 7600 GT.

x1800gto ftw

I got the bfg 7600gt for $80 from newegg... can't wait to try it out.

Or this... X1900

I wanted to spend as little money as I could for performance. I saw the BFG 7600GT, but doesn't it come to $80 after a $65 MIR? I'm lookin' at immediate prices, and the $99 Sapphire Radeon X1800GTO seemed like the best deal. So I ordered it!

That's actually a really good price on the X1900GT, PCAnalyst. Other X1800GTO's are going for $189.99 ... I guess those companies (like connect3D and GeCUBE) didn't get the mark-down memo.

In addition to the video card, I also ordered:
[*:248b751e38]DFI LanParty UT RDX200 CF-DR Socket 939 ATI Radeon Xpress 200 CrossFire ($59.99 after $40 Instant Savings)
[*:248b751e38]AMD Athlon 64 3800+ Venice 2.4GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket 939 ($82.50)

As you can see, all this hardware is budget. These pieces will replace an ABIT Socket A motherboard, an AMD Athlon XP 2500+, and a ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (128MB).
Christmas shopping hasn't been cheap this year...

Thanks for the advice everyone.

That'l work

Have fun with that... and Merry Christmas to ya.

The case that I'm putting the X1800GTO in has an Antect SmartPower 400W PSU. That should be enough, shouldn't it?

The only worry I have is the power connector. I don't have one that'll fit the size of the plug on the card, and since the card was ordered "Open Box", I shouldnt be expecting any accessories.