need help. ati or nvidia?

[stpstrn]

my father and i are building a pc over christmas break to support my gaming and graphic/advertising work for my degree. well if it supports gaming with games such as d3 or hl2 then obviously it will support the school work. here are some of the components we are planning on so far.....

ASUS K8n-E Deluxe MOBO
Athlon 64 3200+ (saw little difference between 3200 and 3400 not enough to sway towards 3400)
Crucial Mem. (hopefully at least 1G)

I work at Best Buy and get a discount so I am wondering between these two, the better?

BFG Technologies GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB GDDR3 AGP Graphics Card
or
ATI RADEON X800 PRO 256MB DDR AGP Graphics Card

Thx and any input/suggestions are welcome

 

[Visable-assassin]

Dont even ask that here it brings all the trolls out
Just pick one you cant lose either way. Both will play D3 and HL2 just fine.

 

[geekcomputing]

personally i prefer the 6800 series..

They are faster and support pixel shader 3.0., ati can only do 2.0.

some would argue that it doesnt matter..

but to me.. i dont ahve the cash to fork out a new card every year. Generally im stuck w/ a card 2 years or so.

so i get the max for my money.

thus,

faster and more features wins every time w/ me.

 

[swirly]

get the 6600GT

 

[stpstrn]

personally i prefer the 6800 series..

They are faster and support pixel shader 3.0., ati can only do 2.0.

some would argue that it doesnt matter..

but to me.. i dont ahve the cash to fork out a new card every year. Generally im stuck w/ a card 2 years or so.

so i get the max for my money.

thus,

faster and more features wins every time w/ me.

i figured this would bring about argument but i cant really ask in 1 particular forum (ati or nvidia) because there is an obvious bias in there. im in your spot as well. i bought my first laptop for school thinking it would be great but i miss being able to game and to update when need be. this will have to last me awhile

 

[The Doomguy]

The 6800GT is easily the better buy. Don't even entertain thoughts of the castrated Pro.

 

[independantvariable]

This is all realitive. Read reviews from multiple sites and make your own decision. Though most will probally say the 6800

 

[firey-eyez]

the 6800GT is more powerful for most tasks. however if you get a VIVO and are open to the idea of softmodding and OCing it you have a chance at an X800XTPE-like card for around $420-450

 

[{NcsO}ReichstaG]

my father and i are building a pc over christmas break to support my gaming and graphic/advertising work for my degree. well if it supports gaming with games such as d3 or hl2 then obviously it will support the school work. here are some of the components we are planning on so far.....

ASUS K8n-E Deluxe MOBO
Athlon 64 3200+ (saw little difference between 3200 and 3400 not enough to sway towards 3400)
Crucial Mem. (hopefully at least 1G)

I work at Best Buy and get a discount so I am wondering between these two, the better?

BFG Technologies GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB GDDR3 AGP Graphics Card
or
ATI RADEON X800 PRO 256MB DDR AGP Graphics Card

Thx and any input/suggestions are welcome

In my eyes its a very VERY obvious choice- the 6800 GT.
Why?
Like everyone knows it has more piplelines , 16 than the x800 Pro 12 pipeline x800 Pro. I dont know but in your comment, you show that the Ati x800 Pro has 256 MB of DDR memory, and I know that the BFG has GDD3. If its true that the x800 Pro uses DDR memory instead of the newer GDD3 than another reason to go for the 6800 GT. The only good thing about the x800 Pro besides its (SO FAR) better performance in HL2 is that its ability to flash to x800 XT and unlock those pipes/run at faster speeds. However, that is always risky. Also, with those SM 3.0 the 6800 GT will be good for tommorow's games in case you dont have the money to upgrade every year, lol.

Final Verdict- 6800 GT hands down