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Help a foreigner out (ATI vs. Nvidia thread *beware*)

C

Cloud9

n00b
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Messages
33
:p

Right. I need the help of the experts who post on this forum. I live in South Africa, video card prices are bloated beyond ur imagination here. I have a brother who lives in California, and my mother is visiting him at the moment.

Last year I got my brother to bring me a Sapphire 9800 Pro, which after about two months stared artifacting on me at stock speed. RMA'ing it was not an option. So now I sit with an underclocked 9800.

Now this time round, I wanna get a card thats fast, stable, future-proof and of good quality that has the least chance of dying on me. Wanna spend between $300 and $400 on it. Not sure if I'm gonna be overclocking it since its gonna be damn hard sending it back to the states for a refund.

So, which is better - 6800 GT or X800pro/XT
 
6800GT.

Tthis comes from someone with both an X800XT and a 6800 Ultra so it lacks a certain !!!!!!-ish flair ;D
 
I had the same problem with my 9500 pro I'd get artifacts at default speeds and wouldn't dare try to overclock it. I'm no fa n bo y for either company but I'd get a 6800GT if I were you. It's a whole new card while the xt800 is more like a revamped and overclocked 9800pro.
 
I love my eVGA 6800 GT. Runs fast, looks great, and after swapping the heatsink, the temps are reasonable. Haven't tried overclocking - the GTs OC pretty well from what I've been reading, and there's always the NV5 silencer for a little extra kick.
 
thanx for the replies guys.

Kevin, have u not had the strange coloured block problem that some eVGA GT owners have been having? Apparently it has something to do with the bios and the volts of the cards.

Just curious, as anything like this would, upon receiving the card in my country, make it very difficult indeed to get returned.
 
Cloud9 said:
thanx for the replies guys.

Kevin, have u not had the strange coloured block problem that some eVGA GT owners have been having? Apparently it has something to do with the bios and the volts of the cards.

Just curious, as anything like this would, upon receiving the card in my country, make it very difficult indeed to get returned.
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I have an eVGA gt and haven't had those problems. Overclocking the card was stable in 3d games and benchmarks (@ultra speeds that is) but I had weird issues w/ 2d. I left the 2d clocks @ stock but I think it must not have been changing between 2d and 3d speeds. So if you try to overclock an eVGA card you might have to give it more 2d volts. I am not sure about this, but I will test it when I finally get around to buying an NV5 silencer and oc'ing again. Hope that's somewhat helpful.
 
Personally i like my X800Pro better simply because it doesnt have the incredably annoying shimmering problem my GT does ( :rolleyes: ) HOWEVER id go GT because it is faster and you might not have the problem.
 
GT. Though you might want to stay away from eVGA. A few of us are having issues with properly OCing them [unstable 2d].
 
go 6800gt were on the verge of switching to pci express why spend all your money on a X800xt and have to switch that out for a new gfx and mobo soon dosent make any sense
 
Nope, no blocks. Only quality problem I've had with the card was the fan sticker issue - the first batch of eVGA GTs had weak adhesive on the sticker. I didn't want to chance it, so I went to take it off, and it peeled right off - not a good sign.

They already fixed that problem though, and the card has been smooth sailing ever since.
 
How bad is this shimmering problem? I've read through some of the thread dealing with it, but from what I gather u have to look really closely to c it. I hear a lot of ppl talking about SLI and the 6800, but thats just for the pci-e solutions right?

Not sure I'm gonna be bothering with that just yet, so based solely on AGP slot solutions and HL2 performance, will getting the 6800GT be better than getting an X800pro?
 
6800 GT. Acctually my Choice was the 6800 GT for $400 or a Radeon X800 XT for $70 more. Went with the 6800 GT as I was happier with the $70 and can always OC to make up the 3% performance Diff.
 
Cloud9 said:
How bad is this shimmering problem? I've read through some of the thread dealing with it, but from what I gather u have to look really closely to c it. I hear a lot of ppl talking about SLI and the 6800, but thats just for the pci-e solutions right?

Not sure I'm gonna be bothering with that just yet, so based solely on AGP slot solutions and HL2 performance, will getting the 6800GT be better than getting an X800pro?
Click to expand...
Makes some games like painkiller nearly unplayable because the floor does nothing but shimmer at the slightest movement. Some apparently dont have it through, so "meh".
 
:eek:

Thats quite a gamble then, what r the odds of picking up a card that shimmers!
 
Alright, so 6800 GT it is.

Any recommendations on a make and a place to shop? I have seen some Asus GT cards with only 128mb ram, so thats a big no no.

Where can I look for best price:
Which GT makes should I beware of:

Once again, thanx for the replies.
 
6800gt - with the 6800 you can do the stuff in this thread if you want:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=824369

:)

as for brands, beware of asus and leadtek as they make stripped down 6800GT cards (tho leadtek also makes a real 6800GT, otoh asus does not)

otherwise most are good, i like BFG and eVGA the best. evga is actually located in CA. :)
 
I've got an eVga 6800GT (stock). I've never seen shimmering. I don't even know what it is. I played Painkiller with it too.
 
Do u guys think the 6800 GT will run Half Life 2 well enough?

Thinking of getting an amd64 (939) cpu just in case :D
 
Hi,

Just a question from a fellow south african, how much do you pay import tax if at all?
I really want to know how much over all you are paying cheaper than here. I cannot afford the nice cards here...
 
Ahoy Piesang

Not too sure on the import tax amount, thats why i'm taking this opportunity to get my mother to bring it to me direct. U'll be saving in the region of R2000-R2500 if u get it directly from the states ($350=R2170).

Just for comparison, it costs about $350 for a 9800pro over here.

Hope that helps!
 
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