Is it worth it?

[erorr404]

I ordered a XFX 6600GT about two weeks ago from newegg for $189 ($159 after rebate), and I recently found out that you can get 6800NU's for around $219 ($189 after rebate). I think that the $30 increase in price is definately worth it, but if I decide to return my 6600GT, I'll have to pay a $30.40 restocking fee and possibly shipping.

So I calculated that after getting the refund, paying the restocking fee, and buying a new eVGA 6800 128MB card, I would have a net loss of $47.71.

Essentially I am paying $48 to upgrade from my XFX 6600GT to an eVGA 6800NU. Does this make sense?

 

[xFuryofFivex]

didnt usay that the there was a 30$ retocking fee?wouldnt that make it 70$ dollar upgrade...

all i know is that the 68OC is a better card and can possibly be unlocked to a GT

 

[Nazo]

6800NU has the potential to unlock those pipelines and get serious power out of it (mine almost performs at the level of a GT, despite the memory being so weak it can't make it even to 800MHz...) If I voltmod, my core goes up stable to 433MHz with all pipes unlocked. Results may well differ, but, there's a good chance of getting a lot out of a NU.

The 6800NU is definitely more powerful than the 6600GT in about every way, but, many of the differences are minimal and not very noticable in today's games. However, even if you can't unlock those pipelines, I think it will be better further down the road. IMO, it's worth about $50 for the difference.

PS. The 6600 core is essentially a crippled 6800 core. The differences are mostly minimal, but, you may have noticed the 6600GT runs at such a high clock yet the 6800s will outperform it.

 

[Wolfkin]

6800NU has the potential to unlock those pipelines and get serious power out of it (mine almost performs at the level of a GT, despite the memory being so weak it can't make it even to 800MHz...) If I voltmod, my core goes up stable to 433MHz with all pipes unlocked. Results may well differ, but, there's a good chance of getting a lot out of a NU.

Only true with the AGP version of the 6800 card, not possible to unlock the PCI-Express 6800.

 

[Nazo]

Only true with the AGP version of the 6800 card, not possible to unlock the PCI-Express 6800.

Not even with RivaTuner or a BIOS mod?

Ah, I wouldn't know about PCI-e, so I stand corrected I suppose.

Nonetheless, the only single advantage the 6600GT has over the 6800NU is that it's memory runs really fast -- then again, most people get their 6800NU's memory up to 6800GT specs or close. I'm just particularly unlucky in that respect (though apparently I must have gotten an Ultra core in this thing, so I was lucky in that respect...)

 

[erorr404]

didnt usay that the there was a 30$ retocking fee?wouldnt that make it 70$ dollar upgrade...

all i know is that the 68OC is a better card and can possibly be unlocked to a GT

no, it turns out to be 47.71 because i bought the XFX 6600GT from newegg and had to pay for tax and shipping, but im planning on getting the eVGA 6800 from monarch, which has no tax and free shipping. so the price difference between the two cards ends up being less than 30 dollars, making the total cost $47.71, which is below $60 (dont know how you got $70).

6800NU has the potential to unlock those pipelines and get serious power out of it (mine almost performs at the level of a GT, despite the memory being so weak it can't make it even to 800MHz...) If I voltmod, my core goes up stable to 433MHz with all pipes unlocked. Results may well differ, but, there's a good chance of getting a lot out of a NU.

The 6800NU is definitely more powerful than the 6600GT in about every way, but, many of the differences are minimal and not very noticable in today's games. However, even if you can't unlock those pipelines, I think it will be better further down the road. IMO, it's worth about $50 for the difference.

PS. The 6600 core is essentially a crippled 6800 core. The differences are mostly minimal, but, you may have noticed the 6600GT runs at such a high clock yet the 6800s will outperform it.

yeah, i think its worth it too.. does anyone know of any reviews showing benchmarks of both cards, side by side? im curious to know how they stack up in 3DMark05, as well as just normal games.
im also planning on overclocking it to 6800GT specs or flashing it. do the eVGA 6800NU's tend to overclock well?

Only true with the AGP version of the 6800 card, not possible to unlock the PCI-Express 6800.

not a problem, since im getting the AGP version.

 

[Nazo]

Heh, one thing I should remind you is that you may unlock nothing, or only the vertex unit which doesn't make much difference. If you get lucky like me and can unlock them all, the difference will simply amaze you. My card is almost as good as a GT when I OC it properly (I'm still afraid to push my memory after the last scare I had with it though. I think it just needed time to recover and is ok now, but, nonetheless, I'm going to be on the safe side until I find my card is no longer powerful enough -- probably when Oblivion comes out.)

 

[erorr404]

i just compared the specs of the 6800 and 6800 GT, and found that memory is indeed a lot slower on the 6800, 700 MHz and 1000 MHz respectively. the core clocks are quite close, 325 MHz vs 350 MHz. im guessing that i will have no problem getting the core up to 350, and probably even further.
however the 6800NU only has 128 MB, and the GT has 256 MB. is it even possible to flash it to 256 MB from 128 MB?

 

[Nazo]

Lol, no! If the hardware isn't there, flashing sure as heck isn't going to give it to you... Actually, it's cool about that because, unlike what one would suspect, the BIOS is smart enough to look at what you actually have. So, if you flash a NU with a GT BIOS (don't do this unless you know what you are doing, it can cause problems) it will fully recognize and accept that you have 128MB.

Let me just say the same thing here I say elsewhere when people play the memory card. I run Doom 3 smoothly at 1024x768 with maximum quality settings and FSAA and AF at moderate settings.

Right now, memory is more a matter of marketing hype. They love to just slap a little more memory on a low end card and sell it as if it were a new special thing. Games will in the near future be able to truly take advantage of more memory, but, overall it still tends to be more important to have a good GPU.

PS. Do bear in mind that many NUs have memory that can make it all the way up to GT clocks. Also, there's no guarantee on overclockability, but, yes, your core probably will at least make it to 350MHz. I don't think I've heard of anyone getting less than 375 or so off the top of my head. As a matter of fact, while my own GPU goes up as high as 386 or so, if I give it the power it needs (1.3V -- eg what the Ultra uses as stock I think it was -- loosing track) it goes all the way up to 433MHz... I have a suspicion that nVidia doesn't sell enough of the GTs and Ultras so is forced to stick a few of the higher end cores into lower end cards. The most important question is whether you'll be lucky enough to get a chip that can unlock those extra pipelines. That's the REAL difference between a GT and a NU.

EDIT: BTW. Don't forget about the so called 6800LE (OEM only.) It's essentialy an even more crippled 6800NU. Lower clocks and in many cases only 8 pipelines. This is really cheap, but, will often unlock at least to 6800NU levels. In fact, I've seen a case where a person unlocked their 6800LE and lowered their memory timings to the point where it could outperform a stock 6800GT.

 

[erorr404]

i admit that was a stupid question to ask. obviously you cant "overclock" the amount of RAM you have, since its more of a physical thing .
i think having 256 MB RAM over 128 MB will make a big difference in the future. already there are games such as Doom 3 that dont even run entirely smootlhly on a card with 256 MB on maximum settings (Ultra settings in the case of Doom 3). are you sure you are playing it on ultra and not on high?
but at decent resolutions with moderate AA and AF, it shouldnt make too much difference in todays games.

btw, does anyone know whether certain manufacturers have 6800NU's that overclock better than others? i heard that leadteks OC the best. how well do the eVGA's do?

 

[Nazo]

i think having 256 MB RAM over 128 MB will make a big difference in the future. already there are games such as Doom 3 that dont even run entirely smootlhly on a card with 256 MB on maximum settings (Ultra settings in the case of Doom 3). are you sure you are playing it on ultra and not on high?

Quite certain. As a matter of fact, I started from Ultra and manually configured a few things a bit higher (was it FSAA? Whatever it had in there that didn't default all the way up in Ultra, I raised.) No, you're wrong about that. What it is, is if you want to play Doom 3 in 1280 or 1024 with a really high FSAA & AF (I'm quite happy with my 4/4 as things look great to me with this) then you'll need more memory.

btw, does anyone know whether certain manufacturers have 6800NU's that overclock better than others? i heard that leadteks OC the best. how well do the eVGA's do?

Actually, Leadtek isn't the best, just among the best. I think BFG was officially the best. eVGA wasn't too low on the list I think. Thing is, you can't PROMISE overclockability of a card (though you can sell a card that's pre overclocked -- BFG's OC series.) You may well find a BFG card that barely runs at stock while you find a Generic (that's pronounced genaric) ^_^ brand that overclocks better than an Ultra. You just don't know what you're getting and there are not guarantees whatsoever since you're pushing over specs.

 

[erorr404]

Quite certain. As a matter of fact, I started from Ultra and manually configured a few things a bit higher (was it FSAA? Whatever it had in there that didn't default all the way up in Ultra, I raised.) No, you're wrong about that. What it is, is if you want to play Doom 3 in 1280 or 1024 with a really high FSAA & AF (I'm quite happy with my 4/4 as things look great to me with this) then you'll need more memory.

ah, ok. thats just an experience someone else had on this forum with the 256 MB (6600 GT i believe). i guess its not true for everyone. i could have sworn though that i read somewhere that Doom 3 needs to be run on a 512 MB card to get smooth gameplay on Ultra.

Actually, Leadtek isn't the best, just among the best. I think BFG was officially the best. eVGA wasn't too low on the list I think. Thing is, you can't PROMISE overclockability of a card (though you can sell a card that's pre overclocked -- BFG's OC series.) You may well find a BFG card that barely runs at stock while you find a Generic (that's pronounced genaric) ^_^ brand that overclocks better than an Ultra. You just don't know what you're getting and there are not guarantees whatsoever since you're pushing over specs.

i know that there is no sure way of knowing whether or not a card will overclock well. i wanted to know the probability that a certain manufacturers card would overclock better than another manufacturers. often times, some cards are just known to overclock well and others are known to overclock poorly. i was just wondering if people generally have good expereriences with the eVGA's or poor ones.

btw thanks for all the help

 

[Nazo]

ah, ok. thats just an experience someone else had on this forum with the 256 MB (6600 GT i believe). i guess its not true for everyone. i could have sworn though that i read somewhere that Doom 3 needs to be run on a 512 MB card to get smooth gameplay on Ultra.

512MB? Geez, that didn't even exist until just VERY recently, certainly not when Doom 3 was made. I suppose it was theorized, but, I bet they didn't really think anyone would make one before Doom 3 had reached the point that it's only value was as a game engine for other games to build on. I suspect what you read was that you need 256MB if you want to absolutely max out that game. As in not just ultra settings, but, high res combined with high fsaa and af. Bear in mind I'm using 4x AF while most people prefer 8x, so maybe that was the key detail that pushed me over the line of getting ultra at 1024 on my card. At these current settings, if I increase my resolution any, I immediately see that 128MB isn't enough. Also, keep in mind that my GPU is fully unlocked and running past stock GT specs, so it's better able to keep up with the extra processing. I suspect a 6800GT wouldnt' be powerful enough for my settings at 1280 to run smoothly either though to be honest. Maybe an ultra would. Guess this is where ATI's latest and greatest comes in. 512MB won't even be usable for a few years yet though I suspect. Right now it's just marketing hype.

BTW, if you are serious about overclocking, be sure to get the NV Silencer 5. I know it adds to the cost of the thing, but, it's worth it. Mind you, in my case I found that it's only two or three degrees cooler than the rather amazing cooler leadtek puts on there (in fact, I ended up keeping the peice they had put on the bottom of the card as it seems to help a bit and the NVS5 didn't provide one) however, more importantly, none of the NU stock coolers I saw at the time I bought this had a rear exaust. This isn't so much better for the video card as it is for the chasis.

My video card's GPU runs almost as cool as my CPU, and it's "ambient" temperature isn't much more than the chasis. ^_^ NVS5 is worth the cost.

 

[bradyapba]

what your forgetting about the 6600gt vs the 6800 nu is simple power.

6600gt 8 pipes, 6800 12.

6600gt 128 bit bus, 6800 256 bus.

You could put 512 ram on the 6600gt, its not gonna matter becuase it cant access it fast enough, it wont even be able to overcome that 128 bit bus.

The 6800 wins this battle every time.

Without even taking into consideration the fact you might be able to open the pipes to 16/6.

6800 is the winner.

 

[ricetek]

gl with gettin a 6800nu to 6800gt specs .. well memory that is.. core should be done fine. 325 vs 350 but 700 on ddr1 compared to 1ghz on ddr3 gl.

fastest i got my 6800nu was about 385/825 without any mods. then again i could only do 12/6

 

[Nazo]

Always seemed to me like it's the core that's the most important of the two though. I mean, faster is faster, yes, but, in the end there is only so much difference. Well, I don't have a GT to directly compare with, but, my benchmarks weren't so far below those of people running GTs on a similar enough system (bear in mind most of the benchmarks to compare with are from people running Athlon 64s. I'm CPU limited to some extent at least. A 2.2+GHz Barton still does fairly well for itself though.)

Anyway, it's not 6600GT vs 6800NU vs 6800GT, so really the point is moot. In the end, it's as simple as 6800NU > 6600GT. 6800GT doesn't really come into play here.