Good upgrade from 6800 gt?

[mattc84]

hey guys, whats a pretty decent upgrade from a 6800 gt (pci express x16 slot).. lets say for $200-250?

Thanks If you need anymore info, just ask ^_^

 

[Heyyou27]

An ATI X1950Pro or X1950XT.

 

[mattc84]

I've always gone nvidia, no ATI please =P should of said that.. sorry.

 

[PSYCHoHoLiC]

I've always gone nvidia, no ATI please =P should of said that.. sorry.

LOL!

Get rid of those green glasses bud.. your games will look better and run smoother (unless you went with an 8800)

 

[mattc84]

well, i'm pretty much just looking for a solid vid card that can run games smooth, clear fraps quality, etc..

hmm, maybe I should try ATI

why is ATI > Nvidia?

 

[Bobsama]

IF you can wait a month, a GeForce 8600 Ultra. They'll be launched end of Feb or start of March.

 

[-silencer-]

In that price range, ATI > nVidia.. although the 7950GT is decent. If you're going to put that much on a videocard, might as well go with an 8800GTS.. blows away any single card less than a 8800GTX, and you get DX10 capability with Vista someday.. or just wait till the 8600 series cards are out.. there will be a few in that price range.

 

[PSYCHoHoLiC]

Eh, i wouldnt say ATI is BETTER.. its all relative, However in most cases the X1900 series will offer better performance, and better IQ. The performance is mostly due to the 48 Pixel shaders vs NV's 24.

I agree with bob though.. i forgot about the new lower end DX10 cards coming out, the 8600U Looks like a winner in the price/perf area.

 

[mattc84]

So, I can wait like 1-2 months and grab a DX10 card for around $250-300?

Is DX10 worth waiting? I haven't read anything on it.

 

[prozac26]

You didn't mention your system? What's the CPU, RAM and power supply?

I would say hold off upgrading until you actually need a DX10 card, to run DX10 games on Vista.

In your price range, ATI has better cards than nVidia, like X1950XT and X1950Pro.

 

[mattc84]

e6300
asus P5LD2
not sure on the ram specs, but its ddr2 (2 gigs)
good PSU

Looks like I might as well wait for DX10 since my 6800 gt is actually still pretty decent.

 

[jitpublisher]

If you want to get something now, and make your games look great, and spend $200. Get a X1950Pro.
You may want to wait for the DX10 cards if your performance is okay for you now with what you have.
But, I think you may be in for a long wait before you see them dip to the $250 range. Also, it will be a while before DX10 becomes mainstream. Probably not until late in the year.

 

[I]

Hmm, I'd take a few FPS loss just to avoid ATI's worse drivers. Guess everyone values something different, if/when the performance matters there are game settings I could change. I'm not really an nVidia fanboi, I have several ATI cards and just prefer nVidia drivers.

 

[PSYCHoHoLiC]

frankly i dont see where nv drivers are any better than ati's.. the biggest reason why i returned my 8800GTS and went back to my 1900XTX was because of the NV Drivers.

If you have several ati cards, i'd recommend you try new cats within the past year or so.. they have been vastly improved.. hell even the CCC Loads really fast now.

edit: Just realized i need to change my sig, still has my 8800 listed..hehe

 

[prozac26]

Hmm, I'd take a few FPS loss just to avoid ATI's worse drivers.

That's an ancient issue now. Drivers aren't really better or worse.

 

[bjmarler]

Matt, I hate to be a stickler, but a "good psu" may not be good enough for the newer video cards.

You have to check the manufacturers web site for the exact specs, but most new cards have VERY HIGH psu requirements to guarantee the video card runs properly and does not overheat due to drawing more amps than the "good" psu can deliver. For instance, many ATI and Nvidia new cards state they REQUIRE around 30 amps on the 12V rail. Typically that means at least a 450 Watt psu, but can mean up to a 750 Watt psu depending on the brand, etc... To make it worse, many high watt psu's DO NOT have enough amps on the 12V rail for the new cards.

So, unless you actually know for sure the 12V rail amps of your current psu you may actually have a "bad" psu - well bad for these new cards. Hopefully not, but better to be safe now than sorry later.

 

[Bobsama]

I hope you will look at the specs for the 8600 Ultra; it will preform as well as upper-end 7900's for about the same price, but it has DX10 suport and SM 4.0 *iirc*

 

[Bloated]

In that price range, ATI > nVidia.. although the 7950GT is decent.

the problem with reccomending any 79xx series card now is that Nvidia has stopped doing any performance optimisations for them while they desperately focus on 8xxx development.

if ppl wish to buy Nvidia they should do so early in the model generation they generally have the better initial support and are on time and fast but if the series is near the end of it's lifecycle and new gen cards are on the market then the clear option is ATI for a few reasons, ATI offers much longer driver support and they usually tweak an architecture for a cppl of generations compared to Nvidia which prefers to replace a generation after a refresh abandoning driver support beyond keeping the drivers compatible with all cards.... but no performance updates.

if you are buying now and have a budget of $200 - $250 the best option is ATI in the X1900 GT, X1900 XT area by a significant amount the drivers are really improving above and beyond, the architecture will be around in optimised form for likely the next 2 years and each driver release will spread performance improvements across the entire series.

if you really want to remain Nvidia loyal then hold off and keep your 6800gt for another 2 months while Nvidia get's it's full 8xxx lineup out and prices stabilise, also R600 is due out in a cppl of weeks and then well be able to see where the performance crown stands as well.

keep in mind for the coin mentioned the X1900 GT and X1900 XT won't be performance losers at all though even when the new gens come out so if you want to upgrade now go ahead although the difference from your 6800GT will be noticeable it won't be as dramatic as the benefits from waiting a little longer.

 

[outlw6669]

If you just want something cheap to get you by, you can get a 7800GT for $136.
It should give you a decent boost while you wait for DX10 cards to come down in price.

 

[I]

Hmm, I'd take a few FPS loss just to avoid ATI's worse drivers.

That's an ancient issue now. Drivers aren't really better or worse.

If you are happy with ATI drivers, good for you. That does not make it an ancient issue for anyone else. Many people do in fact still consider nVidia's drivers better, today.

 

[Bloated]

Many people do in fact still consider nVidia's drivers better, today.

that is certainly their mistaken impression to maintain and I feel badly for anyone who deliberately makes poor buying decisions based on village logic.

 

[Datman]

Hmm, I'd take a few FPS loss just to avoid ATI's worse drivers.

That's an ancient issue now. Drivers aren't really better or worse.

If you are happy with ATI drivers, good for you. That does not make it an ancient issue for anyone else. Many people do in fact still consider nVidia's drivers better, today.
I have both Ati & nVidia, they are about the same as far as drivers go.
Both have good & bad points, about equal IMO & experience.

 

[sirheck]

If you want to get something now, and make your games look great, and spend $200. Get a X1950Pro.
You may want to wait for the DX10 cards if your performance is okay for you now with what you have.
But, I think you may be in for a long wait before you see them dip to the $250 range. Also, it will be a while before DX10 becomes mainstream. Probably not until late in the year.

The 8600Ultra is said to be $179 upon release.

really 8O
woohoo :lol:

 

[Bobsama]

save up your money and SLI if you can! :lol:

 

[sirheck]

save up your money and SLI if you can! :lol:

if they are around that price, then i might just do that.