Which of these two video cards should I get?

W

Wilken

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 17, 2002
Messages
151
I am ordering a new video card tonight.

I was planning on getting this:

eVGA Geforce 6600GT 128-P2-N368-TX Video Card - Retail - $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130214

...but then someone suggested that I would get better bang for my buck if I got a "6800gs." Now, I couldn't find a "gs" specifically on newegg, but I did find this, and it may be no different:

XFX Geforce 6800 XTreme PVT42EUDE3 Video Card - Retail - $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150130

Which card do you think I should get? Budget is at or around $135. I'm not an expert, so help is appreciated.

Other specs of the system are:
Asus 939 mobo
Amd 3000+ venice core

Thanks for reccomendations!
 
MrSatan said:
6800 for sure, it is quite a bit better then the 6600.
Click to expand...

No, you are deceived.

This is a 6800 XT, which has only 8 pixel pipelines, same as the 6600 GT, but it runs at the same core clock as the regular 6800 (350 MHz).

That said, if you can overclock the 6800 XT substantially, it will perform better, but I have no idea if it can clock that high.

* 6600 Gt if you want guaranteed solid performance

*6800 XT if you want to take your chances, and possibly end up with a faster card.
 
wee96 said:
325 core and 8 pipes...if your gonna spend money go with the 6800gs in this case.
Click to expand...
Yeah but there are no GS on newegg thats why I reccommended that.
 
If its between those two cards, I would go with a 6600GT. Solid performer.
Would be worth it to spend a bit extra on a 6800GS though.
 
I'm also going to try and sway you to the 6800GS. Why only newegg? Zipzoom's a reputable dealer and they should have it in stock. I doubt there is that much cost difference and if you are on a budget you should try and buy a card that can give you a little longer usuability (though I don't think much more). Also, you check to see if you cpu limited. You might find the 6600 would be a better pairing.
 
placeboFx said:
I'm also going to try and sway you to the 6800GS. Why only newegg? Zipzoom's a reputable dealer and they should have it in stock. I doubt there is that much cost difference and if you are on a budget you should try and buy a card that can give you a little longer usuability (though I don't think much more). Also, you check to see if you cpu limited. You might find the 6600 would be a better pairing.
Click to expand...

Agreed, as stated above the 6800gs is the best idea in this case, if funds are right, otherwise get the gigabyte 6600gt its $114 at the egg and passive.
 
A 6800XT is kind of like a super-gimped 6800. Only 8 pipelines at a core clock of 350. The 6600GT has 8 pipelines and comes stock at 500. The only thing the XT appears to have on it is 256-bit memory. At the resolutions you're going to be forced to run at, the 128 on the 6600GT shouldn't be a limiting factor.

It's a little late to be buying into a 6600GT. I see you linked PCI-express versions of the cards. For just a little bit more, you can have yourself one killer card: 7600GT.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127095 MSI $154.99AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283 eVGA $169.00AR

I would reccomend the eVGA one. I realize the initial price may be more than you can afford, and sorry if these suggestions aren't even realistic. The eVGA one comes with a free copy of AOE3. You could buy the card, send in the rebate and sell the game and you'd end up somewhere really close to your budget.

Your system needs more than a 6600GT to do do gaming justice, so if you can swing just a little bit more (hey, eat ramen for a week) and get the 7600GT, I think you'll be super-satisfied with your systems performance. I have a 6600GT and would definitely not look to be buying into one at this point in time (since other cards offer lots more performance for minimal amounts of cash difference).

I hope this helps.
 
Thanks for the thoughts so far, guys. I really appreciate it. I am willing to order from another reputable dealer if something better is available than what is at newegg. Anyhow, these are the components i'm currently looking at for my upgrade. (I am ordering this weekend). This is the best i've been able to come up with around my budget. If you guys *really* think that this set-up would be held back by the video card, then I suppose I could try to squeeze out as many pennies as possible to try to get a GS or something. What are your thoughts when you take this budget into consideration?

BUDGET = 500-550 dollars or LESS

UPGRADES:

ASUS A8N5X ATX AMD Motherboard - $79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131569

CPU - Athlon64 3000+ Revision E "Venice" core - $111
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537

GPU - eVGA NVIDIA Geforce 6600GT - $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16814130214

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - $86
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822154414

RAM - Patriot Signature Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16820220037


TOTAL = $490
 
I have a system with about those specs. It runs everything I have thrown at it. I don't use seagate hard drives so I couldn't tell you anything about it. I was looking to see if there were a dual core or opteron solution that would give you a little more power/capability so if you did decide to upgrade to newer card you could.

I'm sure the other readers have a great deal more experience on this than I do. Though I will say that when I go to build a system I read every review I can find and then look at the benchmarks that are achieved by other pc builders in this forum.

I use my pc's for DV editing first and foremost so Adobe Premiere benchmarks are what I use to determine my purchases. Then I just buy a mid range card from Nvidia and only becuase of brand recognition (ATI has excellent products as well).

Anyways, my advice is if you like FPS check the bench scores to see if AMD/INTEL or ATI/Nvidia will suit you better.

And as for RAM if you don't want to overclock just get what you have chosen. As far as I can tell it doesn't add much of a performance gain anywhere else.

Hope that helps and makes sense.
 
well first of all whoever said 6800Xt is wrong no offense, lol! but the 6800xt gets 2800 fillrate per second..and the 6600gt gets 4000 per second.. the 6800 may have 256bit memory interface, although the 6600gt can easily clock to 1.3ghz and 600mhz core..putting it way beyond the 6800xt.. im really not sure why they made it :D

a 6600gt at 600 core is getting 4800 texil fill rate per second.. proubly weilding 4200-4450 in 3dmark05 which is great for that card.. but for 30$ more you can get a x850xt PCI-E which knocks 2X 6600GT"S in sli over lol
 
For the cost of your motherboard alone you can get the Sempron+ECS mobo combo at Outpost. It shouldn't bottleneck your system any (if you're even thinking of getting a 6800gs then the Sempron will be plenty fast), and with the money you save, you can dump it into a much better video card. Unless you REALLY want socket 939 + pci-e, I'd truly suggest getting the combo at http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4705559. Pretty much guaranteed to overclock (very safely) to 2250mhz. I got one myself and am pleased as can be with it so far. Don't forget a heatsink too, http://shop3.outpost.com/product/4446386.
 
Wilken said:
Thanks for the thoughts so far, guys. I really appreciate it. I am willing to order from another reputable dealer if something better is available than what is at newegg. Anyhow, these are the components i'm currently looking at for my upgrade. (I am ordering this weekend). This is the best i've been able to come up with around my budget. If you guys *really* think that this set-up would be held back by the video card, then I suppose I could try to squeeze out as many pennies as possible to try to get a GS or something. What are your thoughts when you take this budget into consideration?

BUDGET = 500-550 dollars or LESS

UPGRADES:

ASUS A8N5X ATX AMD Motherboard - $79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813131569

CPU - Athlon64 3000+ Revision E "Venice" core - $111
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103606

GPU - eVGA NVIDIA Geforce 6600GT - $135
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16814130214

HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - $86
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148100

RAM - Patriot Signature Series 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) - $79
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...N82E16820220037


TOTAL = $490
Click to expand...

Few problems and suggestions with what you have chosen:

1) That is a socket 754 processor. The motherboard you have chosen is socket 939. 939 provides the option for dual-channel memory and future upgrades into dual core CPU's. If you are extremely budget limited, do not feel bad going for 754. It performs on near the same level and you will spend less in the process.

2) If you go with a 754 motherboard to accompany that great deal on the 3000+ Venice, get a single 1GB stick of memory. You can stick with the two 512MB's if you go with a 939 processor.

3) Get a SATA150 hard drive. You will notice the difference. I still think one of the biggest changes I ever had on my system (besides going from an Athlon XP 1800+ to an Athlon64 3400+) had to be changing from IDE to SATA hard drives. You can find a decent size one for the same price or lower as that IDE one you listed.

This is what I reccomend if you want to save as much cash as possible:

Motherboard: Biostar T-Force 754 (refurb) $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138268R
CPU: S754 3000+ Venice $112
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16819103606
RAM: Corsair ValueSelect 1GB $78
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16820145505
Video Card: PNY 7600GT $170
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814133150
Hard Drive: Seagate 250GB SATA150 $95
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16822154414

TOTAL: $486

That's a very formidable gaming PC.

You could opt for a cheaper motherboard, also. But I have heard some good things about the NV8. The CPU comes stock at 2GHz (in 939 form, you would need the 3200+ Venice for 2.0GHz stock). You can interchange some parts to save some money. You could also get a 7600GS (don't get one that is passively cooled) to save some more money:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130011

[edit] As said above, you can also save money by purchasing refurbished parts from newegg. If they don't work you can still RMA them.
 
burned-ati said:
although the 6600gt can easily clock to 1.3ghz and 600mhz core..
Click to expand...
This is a bit of an exaggeration from what i've seen. 580/1.1 is attainable with decent cooling though. 580/1.1 is right about where my card tops out.
 
themorningbells has a good point

the amd64 sys I put together was s754 and agp for exactly that reason. AMD is coming out with a new socket anyways so why pay more for 939 when it's being replaced? Chances are by the time you upgrade you will be replacing the proc/mobo/mem again. I have never just upgraded a proc, it's usually not worth it.

Excellent point themorningbells.
 
Ep1taph, thanks a ton for the suggestions. I am an idiot - I didn't realize I linked to a bunch of the wrong components...

themorningbells, i'll definetly consider that option.

Does anyone else have experience with newegg refurbished parts and their reliability? I am, quite naturally, wary of buying refurb parts. What exactly does that entail? Is it worth the potential headache?

So, the general consensus seems to be that this rig would be held back the most by the vid card so i'm definetly going to look for alternatives to cut some corners and try to buy a better card. The 7600gt for $155 after rebate is looking pretty attractive at the moment...
 
In general, refurbished parts are items that people returned. Either because they didn't need it, it was incompatible or something of the sort (not what they wanted/expected etc).

The refurbished parts can still be RMA'd if they are defective or broken, so you still have a pretty good peace of mind. I know a lot of people that have gotten RMA video cards and motherboards from newegg. Most of them say that the item was either not used at all or possibly used once or twice. Once someone buys it and opens the plastic, they just can't sell it as new anymore, nor can they for the same price.
 
ep1taph said:
In general, refurbished parts are items that people returned. Either because they didn't need it, it was incompatible or something of the sort (not what they wanted/expected etc).

The refurbished parts can still be RMA'd if they are defective or broken, so you still have a pretty good peace of mind. I know a lot of people that have gotten RMA video cards and motherboards from newegg. Most of them say that the item was either not used at all or possibly used once or twice. Once someone buys it and opens the plastic, they just can't sell it as new anymore, nor can they for the same price.
Click to expand...

or maybe broken?defective? etC...
 
I'll second that. The skt 754 3000+ Venice is a little screamer (see sig). I can get it to 288x9 or 260x10 with no problems. It takes high voltages and runs very cool with a good hsf. I can and have pushed harder but it requires voltages that are getting up there for air cooling. Mine has seen 1.73v for short (2-3 hr) periods of time at up to a 275x10 oc. Temps go to 54C load at that level. Make sure you have very good ram to go along with it.
I have the Abit NV8 which has a PCI-e graphics slot and its a nice board but is a little quirky. I think I'd recommend the Biostar TForce6100 board. I've heard they are mad overclocking boards and of course have PCI-e capability.
Too bad you don't have the funds to try the newly released skt 754 3200+ Venice. At 2.2 ghz stock (11x multi) I have a feeling its going to oc well. Its $158 at Newegg right now. Once the price hits $150 or below I'm gonna grab one. Right now the smart buy on a budget is either the Sempron64 2800+ (256kb L2 cache) or the A64 skt 754 3000+ Venice (512kb L2 cache). They both use the same DH-E6 core and 90nm SOI architecture. The Venice just has more L2 cache.
 
I have purchased several motherboards,video cards and lcd monitors refurbished and have had excellent luck!!!
With one motherboard I had to download the drivers and call ASUS for the I/O cover plate definately worth the trouble to save $40 to me.

If you use refurbished parts be sure to order what you need and assemble the system as soon as possible after the parts arrive as any RMA must be made within 15 days.

The sempron deal is outstanding and very capable but it is agp.One of my kids has one with a TUL mobo that has a pci-e video card slot.
With the 939 and pci-e you should be able to get a 7900 or1900 and a 2x cpu at a much better price a year from now if you want to upgrade.
 
antok86 said:
or maybe broken?defective? etC...
Click to expand...
They won't/can't resell broken/defective parts. They inspect them and if its broken or defective in any way they try to refurb it. If they can't it has to go back to the manufacturer. This applied to reputable dealers, of course. Stick with the better known names. Newegg and Mwave have never let me down. ZZF is another matter... :rolleyes:
 
Wow, the performance difference between the 6600GT and 7600GT seems fairly substantial. Seems like its definetly worth the extra dough...
 
It really is !!!

I bought a 7600gt for one of my kids computer so he could play oblivion.He has a 754 sempron 3000 with the 7600gt and it absolutely smokes an unlocked and overclocked 6800nu on a box with a 939 winchester my wife uses.

If you feel comfortable overclocking a little you might want to look around the for sale section some people are selling their opty 144 you might be able to get a deal but check current pricing as some people try to sell their old stuff for about the same price you can buy it for new.
 
the xt should be alot better then that 6600gt, xt has 256bit/256mb, both have 8 pipes, 6600gt has faster clocks though... but 6800 should still pwn it :)
 
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