ATI 9800 Pro or nVidia 6600GT?

[almostdecent]

I'm in the process of getting a 19-inch LCD monitor, whose native resolution (as all of that size) is 1280x1024. Clearly my *very* old GeForce2 isn't going to be able to handle it so I'm getting a budget 3D card to handle it.

At first I was thinking of something like a $100 plain vanilla nVidia 6600, but reviewing the test results at THG, it's clear that spending the extra $40 or so to get an ATI 9800 Pro or an nVidia 6600GT is worth it as they are far better able to comfortably handle that type of resolution. ZipZoomFly has both for roughly $140 (they must be AGP also, and support DVI), so the question comes down to which. Any suggestions, or will it not make any real difference?

Any feedback would be much appreciated.

Cheers,

Albert

 

[KCjoker]

Between those 2 cards the 6600GT easily. However you should look at the new ATI X800GT.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Agreed on both counts.

The GF6600GT is an easy winner, and while the X800GT is a better card in some ways, be sure it is in the games you want;

Good quick idea of GF6600GT versus X800GT

<A HREF="http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2005/09/02/x800gt_roundup/1.html" target="_new">http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2005/09/02/x800gt_roundup/1.html</A>


<A HREF="http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=ODA5LDU=" target="_new">http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=ODA5LDU=</A>

It's not always clear which is better as sometimes one wil have higher AVG FPS but lower min FPS. And also depending on the games sometimes better settings.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internët account)</i> ! - <A HREF="http://www.redgreen.com/" target="_new"><font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red></A> GA to SK

 

[almostdecent]

Thanks for the replies. It seems like the 6600GT will be the chosen one, as the X800GT is solely PCI-Express as far as I could see, and upgrading the whole machine is not an option right now. Many thanks once more.

Albert

 

[HardWareBoss]

I haven't seen X800GT or GTO in AGP.

 

[KCjoker]

Yea since you need AGP that makes it an easier choice. The 6600GT is a good performer for it's price, enjoy it.

 

[HardWareBoss]

Did you buy the 6600GT? Which one?

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Yeah I was thinking 'new build' mode really.

For an AGP system, definitely the GF6600GT, there's little else before the plain X800 equal or better, and the X800 is usually a bit more money.

The GF6600GT should do fine for a while, unfortunately games like F2 and such may not like to push at such high pixel resolution so perhaps a cheap plain GF6800 would be nice, but I've seen the GF6600GTs just bottom out in the price category so the GF6800 may be quite a bit more money.


- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internët account)</i> ! - <A HREF="http://www.redgreen.com/" target="_new"><font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red></A> GA to SK

 

[magneezo]

6600GT.

AMD 64 3400+
MSI RS480-2
WD 200bb
TSST DVD/r
LTR 16x DVD
RealTek 5.1
PowerColor x700/256mb

 

[almostdecent]

Once again, many thanks for the replies. As it turns out, I did decide to go the extra $30 from $140 to $170, to get a Leadtek 6800. I chose the Leadtek for its large heatsink, a definite selling point for someone who lives in a warm place such as myself (Rio de Janeiro).

In fact it seems like I'm splurging the whole 9 yards, since my projected $350 budget for the 19-inch LCD has been upgraded to allow me to get the newly released Viewsonic VP930b which I see several vendors selling for below $420. Note that that is cheaper than the cheapest VP191b I have found, which the VP930b supposedly replaces! But what the heck, I expect this to last me a while, so it is less a splurge than an investment.

Albert

P.S. I have someone bringing this from the US, one of the reasons I'm taking advantage to do this much needed upgrading, but just to give you guys an idea, here in Brazil, I checked and saw the VX924 going for over US$1500, and a plain vanilla 6800 was at close to US$1000. Sick, isn't it?

 

[liquidpaper007]

6800LE and unlock it not too sure about chaintechs LE unlocking, but the leadtek one on newegg unlocked good, but they dont have it there any more :\

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(") bunny pwns j00

 

[cefoskey]

Newegg has an XFX 6800 vanilla for $150 that unlocks to 16x6 every single time.

"Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my drive?"
P4 3.0C HT, Intel D865GBF, 1GB Crucial PC3200 DDR, 2x WD 36GB Raptor 10kRPM, BBA Radeon X800XT PE, SB Audigy, Hauppage WinTV

 

[HardWareBoss]

Wow those prices are NUTS!!!!!

 

[almostdecent]

The Leadtek is not available at NewEgg? Perhaps you are thinking of a different model than the one I mentioned. As far as I can see, not only do they carry it, but it is in stock:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122193

As to a 6800LE, as far as I could see, there is no such model. I checked even at the nVidia site.

Albert

 

[cefoskey]

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150106" target="_new">Best deal for the money</A>

Like I said before, I owned this one and all of them (model -DD3) unlock to 16x6 using rivatuner.

"Who is General Failure, and why is he reading my drive?"
P4 3.0C HT, Intel D865GBF, 1GB Crucial PC3200 DDR, 2x WD 36GB Raptor 10kRPM, BBA Radeon X800XT PE, SB Audigy, Hauppage WinTV

 

[almostdecent]

Ok, I read the user reviews, and they seem to agree that far more people successfully unlocked the pipes and shaders on the XFX model you recommend, than the Leadtek, so I'll go with your suggestion instead. Thanks for the advice!

Albert

 

[chubbza5]

Good choice. I also did what your doing, go for a small upgrade and keep saying, just 30 dollars more and i could have this....I went from a Radeon 9550 to a 7800gt. Oops! Oh well. I think where your at right now is pretty good. If not get a 6600GT by far. They are the best midrange card.

 

[almostdecent]

)

I wondered myself whether that wasn't what happened, but the reason I moved up my budget was simply due to this very site. One thing my reading about an LCD monitor has made clear is that they are far better when running in their native resolution, which in the case of the monitor I'm getting means 1280x1024. If I'm going to enjoy any kind of genuine gaming experience then the card has to be able to handle it at that resolution. My initial budget wouldn't cover the cards that could according to the VGA Charts from THG. Decent to good framerates only started with the ATI X700, the 9800 Pro, or the 6600GT. Using the prices I got at NewEgg among others, that meant having to spend around $140. After all, I don't usually splurge, but as long as I've committed to $140, then an extra 30 isn't the biggest deal if it can really add to the experience.

It is much like the LCD model I chose. I initially was eyeing the VX924 at about $360, but was very attracted to the newly released Viewsonic VP930b, priced at $419, the supposed successor to the best all-round model, the VP191b. I don't expect to be getting a new one for a few years, so why not spend the extra 60, get the one I really want, and not spend that time second guessing myself. ;-)

Albert

 

[almostdecent]

Cefoskey,

Many thanks for the suggestion. I took a look, did a little research, saw that user experience agreed with you, and bought it. Since I was waiting for someone to bring it to me from the US (I live in Brazil), I only got it yesterday. It unlocked with RivaTuner without a hitch, and is running beautifully at 16/6 !

Many thanks to all those who opined of course, but I've got to hand it to cefoskey for getting me by far the most value for the money.

Albert

 

[pauldh]

Good deal, enjoy. That should handle your native resolution with high details far better than the 9800 pro/6600GT you originally mentioned.

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