Videocards

Hey guys I was wondering if I can get a bit of info. I am currently looking
at the XFX Geforce 6600GT and the XFX Geforce 6800. The only difference
between the 6600's is one has 128bit GDDR3 and one has 256bit GDDR3. The
plain 6800 however has 22.4GB of bandwidth. The 6800 is cheaper though lol.
I know the 6800 Ultra is better to get but the sites I am buying from don't
carry it. So which would be the better card?

XFX Geforce 6600GT with 128bit GDDR3

XFX Geforce 6600GT with 256bit GDDR3

XFX Geforce 6800, which has more bandwidth.

TIA

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 21:09:28 GMT, "Jamie"
<jamieivany@nf.sympatico.ca> wrote:

>Hey guys I was wondering if I can get a bit of info. I am currently looking
>at the XFX Geforce 6600GT and the XFX Geforce 6800. The only difference
>between the 6600's is one has 128bit GDDR3 and one has 256bit GDDR3. The
>plain 6800 however has 22.4GB of bandwidth. The 6800 is cheaper though lol.
>I know the 6800 Ultra is better to get but the sites I am buying from don't
>carry it. So which would be the better card?
>
>XFX Geforce 6600GT with 128bit GDDR3
>
>XFX Geforce 6600GT with 256bit GDDR3
>
>XFX Geforce 6800, which has more bandwidth.


The latter two are about the same performance but the 6800
has more overclocking potential.

So the 60 bucks in difference isn't worth the extra 128bit GDDR3. Is
everything about the plain 6800 better then the 6600GT's?

On Wed, 21 Sep 2005 21:54:31 GMT, "Jamie"
<jamieivany@nf.sympatico.ca> wrote:

>So the 60 bucks in difference isn't worth the extra 128bit GDDR3.

Rephrase the question?

256bit memory bus IS worth more $, on a gamer's card where
maximumize performance is the whole reason for the high
price.

Only you can decide if it's money well spent, for example of
the rest of your system can keep up.


>Is
>everything about the plain 6800 better then the 6600GT's?
>

Reread what I wrote previously, two of them were about the
same, not "better", but 6800 has more overclocking headroom.

You'd have to consider the exact cards though, and you
didn't mention those. The best way to gauge these is to go
to a review 'site that benchmarks the two you are
contrasting or at least same speed and specs if a different
brand.

So where would be a good site to get some benchmarks of these two XFX cards
the online sites seem to be very vague with the whole specs for each card.
Here is what the XFX site says. The benchmarks I found didn't seem to be
all that different as well.

6600GT

http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/...urationId=1084

6800

http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/...urationId=1079

They do seen to be pretty close with the exception that the 6800 has 128MB
of DDR while the 6600GT has DDRIII. I have also read that with the 6800,
using RivaTuner you can open up some extra pipelines and get it running like
the 6800 Ultra.

What I meant by the $60.00, was the fact that the two 6600GT's both of which
are more expensive then the 6800, have a version with 128bit and 256bit DDR3
the 256bit DDR3 card is $60.00 more then the 128bit. I was just wondering
if that was worth the extra money.

So basically it is get the cheaper 6800 and maybe be able to overclock it to
perform like a 6800 Ultra with RivaTuner. Or get the 6600GT which has the
faster memory.

TIA

On Thu, 22 Sep 2005 15:43:45 GMT, "Jamie"
<jamieivany@nf.sympatico.ca> wrote:

>So where would be a good site to get some benchmarks of these two XFX cards

Forget that they're XFX cards and just find benches for same
card configurations with 6800 or 6600GT.


>the 256bit DDR3 card is $60.00 more then the 128bit. I was just wondering
>if that was worth the extra money.

I can't tell you that, gamers have a non-rational idea of
what's worth extra $. It is a little faster but only you
can decide of that $60 is best spent on a wider memory bus
or some other system improvement instead. You'll have to
consider your system performance as it stands, the
resolutions you want to run, the games, how much eyecandy
per game, a myriad number of variables. The generic answer
is that if your system is still worth over $400, yes it's
probably worth the extra $60.

>
>So basically it is get the cheaper 6800 and maybe be able to overclock it to
>perform like a 6800 Ultra with RivaTuner. Or get the 6600GT which has the
>faster memory.


Yes, though I assume you don't mean a 6800LE, rather a
regular 6800. LE is definitely slower.

Just start looking at benchmarks, perhaps of the games
you're playing or will soon... since you don't have the card
yet you can gauge based on the game benchmarks to a certain
extent.

On Thu, 22 Sep 2005 15:43:45 GMT, "Jamie" <jamieivany@nf.sympatico.ca>
wrote:

>So where would be a good site to get some benchmarks of these two XFX cards
>the online sites seem to be very vague with the whole specs for each card.
>Here is what the XFX site says. The benchmarks I found didn't seem to be
>all that different as well.
>
>6600GT
>
>http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/...urationId=1084
>
>6800
>
>http://www.xfxforce.com/web/product/...urationId=1079
>
>They do seen to be pretty close with the exception that the 6800 has 128MB
>of DDR while the 6600GT has DDRIII. I have also read that with the 6800,
>using RivaTuner you can open up some extra pipelines and get it running like
>the 6800 Ultra.
>
>What I meant by the $60.00, was the fact that the two 6600GT's both of which
>are more expensive then the 6800, have a version with 128bit and 256bit DDR3
>the 256bit DDR3 card is $60.00 more then the 128bit. I was just wondering
>if that was worth the extra money.

Where does it say 256 bit? I checked and it says 128 bit mem
interface with 256 memory and the one they list with DDR 3 only has
only 128 megs called the Extreme Gamer. Maybe I missed it.


The AGP 6800s can possibly be unlocked but the PCI-es cant the last
time I heard cause the PCI-e 6800s are a different chip unless things
are different now.

My AGP 6800 unlocked perfectily it was an AGP version I bought PNY
before Xmas last year but Ive read some posts that a fair amount cant
unlock perfectly so who knows. Still the word was that the 6800 is
better. I dont know about the LE . In the US the LE and 6800 have
been posted in deals pretty low so Id probably go 6800, but I dont
know about these claims of pushing it up to GT or higher levels. Mine
had limited OC ability cause of the memory I think in posts , I never
tried it and would never hit GT levels but even with a bit of Ocing,
the possibility of unlocking the pipes (on the AGP version) and 256
bit memory interface it was a better deal though in stock form it was
close to the 6600.

128bit 200.00 bucks

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...20Technologies

256bit 260.00

http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...20Technologies

I have a XP 2800+, 1 gig of Kingston Hyper-X do you think i should get one
of these cards or the 6800?

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 01:57:26 GMT, "Jamie" <jamieivany@nf.sympatico.ca>
wrote:

>128bit 200.00 bucks
>
>http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...20Technologies
>
>256bit 260.00
>
>http://www.ncix.com/products/index.p...20Technologies
>
>I have a XP 2800+, 1 gig of Kingston Hyper-X do you think i should get one
>of these cards or the 6800?
>


You know unless theres a new model coming out that has the same model
number its a misprint. That same exact XFX listed at other stores says
128 bit memory interface.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...150-089&depa=0


Also at NCIX I see the 6800s going for 400 canadian dollars.

I think you are talking about the LE as its been pointed out by Kony.
So obviously if the price is close Id go 6800. Usually as been pointed
out the performance is close but the 6800 does better in the higher
res with things turned on (effects) cause of the 256 bit mem interface
I think and pipelines when the extra piplelines are turned on.

In the US Ive seen deals that were fairly close as I mentioned.


When you talk about an Overclocked XFX vs a LE --- hard to say as the
LE may not OC and the XFX may be faster out of the box but if the XFX
is higher than the LE thats another factor. My inclination is to get
the 6800 as everyone keeps posting about how all of the them are so
OCeable. I dont know if thats true or not as I mentioned my experience
was that my PNY unlocked the pipes no problem and others said the
samething. Ive read that some people claimed that it didnt work for
them but my impression was at least the early ones we got back in Nov
last year mpost seemed to unlock OK. And as I posted Ive seen wild
posts about 6800s and LEs Oced to super high levels which at the time
I had mine just wasnt true cause the memory really put a ceiling on
how high the whole thing OCed and it wasnt up to GT level but like I
said - if you get higher than the stock 6800 plus unlock the pipes its
a better deal than the 6600gts.

The whole thing is I think you are talking LE so how high can you OC
and mod the LE you are talking about vs the 6600 GT which seems like
its OCed already.

I called NCIX and they said the 256bit 6600GT would be arriving in a couple
weeks and they were taking orders on it, the 6800 that I was talking about
says nothing about LE or Ultra here is the link to it. I am a little
overwhelmed with videocards these days the last VC I bought was a Ti4600 I
believe lol.

http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...004009&CatId=0

Here is a link to the 6600GT that TigerDirect is selling and it has nothing
about the DDR3 at all.

Even though the DDR3 is faster, is it better to get the 6800 like you
suggested just for the fact it has more bandwidth but slower RAM? I am
sorry to be bugging you guys about this but I don't want to purchase the
wrong card lol

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 03:32:59 GMT, "Jamie"
<jamieivany@nf.sympatico.ca> wrote:

>I called NCIX and they said the 256bit 6600GT would be arriving in a couple
>weeks and they were taking orders on it, the 6800 that I was talking about
>says nothing about LE or Ultra here is the link to it. I am a little
>overwhelmed with videocards these days the last VC I bought was a Ti4600 I
>believe lol.
>
>http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...004009&CatId=0
>
>Here is a link to the 6600GT that TigerDirect is selling and it has nothing
>about the DDR3 at all.
>
>Even though the DDR3 is faster, is it better to get the 6800 like you
>suggested just for the fact it has more bandwidth but slower RAM? I am
>sorry to be bugging you guys about this but I don't want to purchase the
>wrong card lol
>


The key here is that whichever card you choose, your CPU
will be a bottleneck eventually if not already. If the
budget is limited such that you can "only" buy a video card,
get the cheapest one among those choices.

If the budget is not limited and you're looking for max
performance (or at least best long-term bang for buck), it's
time to replace the motherboard and CPU- and while you're at
it, make the move to PCI Express, get a PCI Express card
instead of AGP.

I was thinking about upgrading soon but I am not a huge PC gamer, on
November 22nd when the Xbox 360 comes out the most my PC will see is a bit
of World of Warcraft now and again.

I'm using 6800LE AGP and very happy with it.
The LE has most of the Pipes turned off. I opened them using RivaTuner, and
it works perfectly.
It priced the same as the 6600GT


Tal



"Jamie" <jamieivany@nf.sympatico.ca> wrote in message
news:xuTYe.95690$Ph4.3003487@ursa-nb00s0.nbnet.nb.ca...
>I was thinking about upgrading soon but I am not a huge PC gamer, on
>November 22nd when the Xbox 360 comes out the most my PC will see is a bit
>of World of Warcraft now and again.
>

On Fri, 23 Sep 2005 03:32:59 GMT, "Jamie" <jamieivany@nf.sympatico.ca>
wrote:

>I called NCIX and they said the 256bit 6600GT would be arriving in a couple
>weeks and they were taking orders on it, the 6800 that I was talking about
>says nothing about LE or Ultra here is the link to it. I am a little
>overwhelmed with videocards these days the last VC I bought was a Ti4600 I
>believe lol.
>
>http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applicatio...004009&CatId=0
>
>Here is a link to the 6600GT that TigerDirect is selling and it has nothing
>about the DDR3 at all.
>
>Even though the DDR3 is faster, is it better to get the 6800 like you
>suggested just for the fact it has more bandwidth but slower RAM? I am
>sorry to be bugging you guys about this but I don't want to purchase the
>wrong card lol
>
I would say yes but I havent seen any direct tests on it so Im only
guessing but the general advice is get the 6800 over the 6600 if its
close in price. You wont regret getting the 6800 or the 6600GT. Since
you cant get the 6600GT 256 bit if there is such a thing and I doubt
it would be that different than a 6800 and the 6800 has unlocking
potential Id still go with the 6800 though as Ive said I havent seen
any tests on it.

The currency rate now is 1.17 Canadian to US $.

In the US I didnt know Tiger Direct operated in Canada too but in the
US there are often sales close to the 6600GT price.

evga $153 after rebate 6800.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130202

The outputs may differ which may account for the price difference.
$153 for a 6800 is a good deal.

One thing as I mentioned about the 6800 they take a lot of power just
in case you have an ancient case with a really old power supply. If I
remember correctly they need an extra power plug that goes directly
into the card.

The other thing is the one I got was really big and long as Ive
mentioned before. Its so long it bumped into my 3.5" floppy cage. In
fact it really took a lot of squeezing and mashing to get it into the
case with the 3.5 floppy installed and a hard disk installed so I
actually just took the top one out and dont use a floppy. This is in a
full tower Antec.

I noticed Antec is blowing out many of the cases so they might be
planning a new line. Many of the new cases Ive used are actually
deeper designed to accept cards like the 6800.

I have a 520Watt OCZ Modstream in my case and a 480Watt Antec Neopower
sitting on the shelf. Can I get you to give me a rough measurement of the
6800. I have 7"-8" by my AGP slot before I hit my HDD cabling, may be able
to sqeeze 9" if I move the cabling and make it a bit better anymore then
that and the card will be touching one of the HDD's lol

On Sun, 25 Sep 2005 00:23:04 GMT, "Jamie" <jamieivany@nf.sympatico.ca>
wrote:

>I have a 520Watt OCZ Modstream in my case and a 480Watt Antec Neopower
>sitting on the shelf. Can I get you to give me a rough measurement of the
>6800. I have 7"-8" by my AGP slot before I hit my HDD cabling, may be able
>to sqeeze 9" if I move the cabling and make it a bit better anymore then
>that and the card will be touching one of the HDD's lol


This post says 8.5" in a consumer review on the evga 6800. Icant say
cause I sold it in Feb when I got my ATI 800XL which uses supposedly
less power that the 6800GT its main competitor and is much smaller and
doesnt use an extra power connector. But it doesnt have Shader 2,0 I
think which the nvidias have. I got the ATI when I moved to PCI
express.

The card is visually appealing, with a bright green board and a nice
big HSF fan over the RAMDACs, and a heat pipe contacting the memory
modules. The card is large, physically. The size of the card is almost
4" wide and 8 1/2" in length.

well i should be ok then, if not i'll move my HDD's in the cages to a
different cage no biggie, thx