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6800GT Flavors - Recommendations?

S

Strahd

n00b
Joined
Jun 9, 2004
Messages
31
Hey All -

Here's the quick synopsis - I got a promotion at work and the wife has allowed me one new 'toy' for my PC at home. ATM I have myself a Shuttle and i'm eyeing up a new Video Card for a few reasons.. 1, I have a 9800PRO flashed to XT with a Arctic Cooler 5 on it.. This causes the shuttle case to not close, since the fan now sticks out.. I want a replacement and noticed that the 6800GT with the regular sized heatsink/fans would fit, and its a substantial upgrade to my current card.

So, theres many many flavors out there.. Price really isnt an issue (in the 300-400 range is ok).. I won't go ultra and spend 600$ since that' s rediculous.. So i wanted to know opinions on the 'best GT card on the market for the price'.. I've seen them as low as 299$, but what am I sacrificing for that price drop?

I'll use it for gaming (CS, WoW, anything else that comes out in the future) along with playing movies and all that other fun stuff.

I was eyeing up the BFG 6800GT OC (obviously), and I've also always been partial to the Elsa Gladiac series of Video Cards.. They are both seeming in the 350-399 range online.. Can I get any other opinions on what I should be looking into?

All comments are most appreciated! (Yes, Ive read the FAQ stickies above, but they don't address the vendor flavors.. just the cards themselves.)

Help a brother out before his wife changes her mind!

-- Strahd

EDIT: My current PC stats in case it helps:
AMD 64 3200+
2x Raptor 10000RPM 74G drives (Raid Config)
9800XT (Flashed from PRO)
1G PC3700 Corsair TWINX
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Card has to be AGP flavor, the Shuttle does not have a PCI-E slot.
 
You can get an Ultra for $399.97 (after $50.00 rebate) HERE From what I've read on various forums, people like EVGA and BFG. I've also head that LeadTek is alright, but the reason why people like EVGA and BFG is for the great customer service and quality. I myself went with a BFG (is in the mail) because I found it for a great price and knowing the lifetime warranty and 24/7 tech support. Just my .02!!
 
Gainward PowerPack! Ultra/2400 Golden Sample GLH if you can find it :D
 
Thanks for the replies.. Keep them coming.. About the Ultra -

Isnt the Ultra cards a 2 slot fan/heatsink ? That would cause me yet again to not be able to close my case (without cutting it).. Im ATTEMPTING to avoid this, as 1) I don't own a dremel and 2) i'd rather not mess with the case. I know replacements are relatively cheap, but I just don't want to deal with the hassle.. However, a BFG Ultra OC for 399 might change my mind =).. I'll look into it.

Anyone know anything about the Elsa Gladiac 6800GTs? How do they perform/hold up againt competitors?
 
Well if you really need single slot then I think there is an EVGA one.
 
Hmmm Looking at the BFG 6800 Ultra.. It looks like although its a 2 slot config, would it be possible to cut/file down the silver insert and fit it as a 1 slot ? From the picture linked above, it looks like it might still fit.. Or is it just my bad eyes and the fan/heatsink is raised like a Arctic Cooler 5 ?

Looks very Tempting.. 399 for a BFG Ultra.. =)
 
The 299$ 6800GT at NewEgg is a LeadTek one.. It's heatsink is MUUCH bigger that the ones of BFG and EVGA..

Just wroth mentioning sine you said that you want a relatively small card..
 
I just headed to newegg.com to get better pics and yes, you do need two pci slots. Just to let you know, newegg.com has the same ultra for $489.00!!! :D Remember that the $50.00 rebate is only good until 4/30 so you have a dilema to solve. :eek:
 
geekcomputing said:
and maybe gainward.
Click to expand...

Any reason? The GS come factory overclocked and Gainwards have been the best cards i have ever had. Trying to find one during their reorginization will be hard but the cards are still smoking.
 
However, the gainward cooler isn't single slot, right? There's the same problem with the leadtek cooler or any 6800 Ultra. SFF PCs have different needs. :)

The BFG is good, however, it's really F'ing loud. I would take a look at an AGP BBATI X800XL, you can get them for $300AR at Best Buy, and obviously you get the money warranty.
 
doublejbass said:
However, the gainward cooler isn't single slot, right?
Click to expand...

No it isn't but a lot of GT coolers aren't and it hits Ultra speeds gauranteed from the factory and under warranty.
 
I just bought a BFG 6800 OC and its a single slot solution, and its overclocked out of the box at 350 instead of 325. Works great. and was $249.99 at Fry's. And my pixel pipes and the vertex shader unlocked with no trouble, and works flawlessly.
 
Spectre said:
No it isn't but a lot of GT coolers aren't and it hits Ultra speeds gauranteed from the factory and under warranty.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but he's putting this in a SHUTTLE. A double-slot cooler won't FIT, especially since the AGP slot is on the outside. Duh.

Does Gainward really guarantee Ultra speeds?
 
doublejbass said:
Yeah, but he's putting this in a SHUTTLE. A double-slot cooler won't FIT, especially since the AGP slot is on the outside. Duh.
Click to expand...

He is already using a double slot cooler.

Does Gainward really guarantee Ultra speeds?
Click to expand...

Yes.
 
Comte said:
I just bought a BFG 6800 OC and its a single slot solution, and its overclocked out of the box at 350 instead of 325. Works great. and was $249.99 at Fry's
Click to expand...

The 6800OC is nice, a little loud, if you get one that unlocks it's cool, I was able to get mine up to almost 11000 3dmark03, but it only has 128MB RAM, so as long as you're running at 1024x768, or 1280x1024, you're fine, but above that, the memory is going to hurt you. And for $249.99, you're only $50 under the AGP X800XL, which makes it a worthy upgrade.
 
Spectre said:
He is already using a double slot cooler.
Click to expand...

And that's why he's upgrading, the 9800P w/arctic cooler won't fit. Reading comprehension, people.

That's a cool fact about the gainward, though, thanks for sharing!
 
doublejbass said:
And that's why he's upgrading, the 9800P w/arctic cooler won't fit. Reading comprehension, people.

That's a cool fact about the gainward, though, thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...

He said attempting...so if that fails there are some really nice double slot ones out there. I will have try and find this again but before Gainward's US site started pointing to their Taiwan site they were selling a single slot cooler for a GT that you could buy and do yourself. It looks just like the cooler used on the Gainward 2100 and the EVGA that is single slot.

ANd some reading pleasure on the Gainward:

http://www.neoseeker.com/Articles/Hardware/Reviews/gainward6800gtg/
http://www.gamepc.com/labs/view_content.asp?id=gw6800gt&page=1&cookie_test=1

I love mine.
 
nicepun said:
You can get an Ultra for $399.97 (after $50.00 rebate) HERE From what I've read on various forums, people like EVGA and BFG. I've also head that LeadTek is alright, but the reason why people like EVGA and BFG is for the great customer service and quality. I myself went with a BFG (is in the mail) because I found it for a great price and knowing the lifetime warranty and 24/7 tech support. Just my .02!!
Click to expand...

I don't recommand TigerDirect.com, their reputation is kind of NOT GOOD.

Go buy card from store that has good reputation.
 
Lots of good info here.. To be more clear about my situation:

I current am using the modified 9800PRO (XT) WITH an Arctic Cooler 5 (equivalent to a Double slot).. It DOES fit and run, but i CANNOT close my case. I have to run my shuttle with the case off. My only other option is to cut the side of my case in order to close it, and I'm trying to avoid that.

However, the 399$ BFG Ultra is a VERY awesome deal - Unfortuntely I live in florida and therefore they 1) tax me 30+$ and their GROUND shipping is almost 20$.. So I wind up paying 450$ AFTER the rebate anyways... Not as good as the 399 anymore, but still about 50$ less then normal price.

Still no information on the Elsa Gladiac GT? I don't mind settling for a GT card and overclocking to Ultra speeds (as in the Gainward info above) if it's possible. The BFG GT clocks to I believe 350? ... The Ultra is a 425 speed so I assume the GPU is just a better step up to achieve the speed and trying to overclock the GT would result in a meltdown.

If I choose the route to replace the current cooling system on a BFG Ultra with a single slot fan/heatsink, would the card destroy itself by heat, or is this a possible (and more costly) alternative?
 
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