NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GS Preview @ [H]

If you ask me, this is an incredibly well implemented kidney punch on the part of nVidia. I just built a computer for a friend, and he wanted a graphics card in the 200-250 range. We threw in a crappy pci graphics card so he could run his system until he could get his hands on an X1600XT. Well, then along comes nVidia, and not only do they release a faster card, but it was Hard launched, and launched at $30-50 under MSRP! If thats not a gut punch to ATi, I don't know what is. My friend is an ATi fan, but after I showed him the 6800GS review last night, he immediatly pre-ordered one on newegg, and then ordered a NV Silencer so he can OC it. I'm sure that this story isn't alone, I bet there are a lot of people who were eyeing the 1600XT that just changed their mind.

All I can say is way to go nVidia. Though I will go with the best product out their, I am an ATi guy at heart, so when I say nice job NV, that means a lot. Its gunna take something freakin huge for ATi (and not just a good card, but a solid hard launch at decent prices, or several decent hard launches) to catch up this time. I'm not saying its impossible, just look at what nVidia pulled after the 9700 came out and everyone thought they were done.

In conclusion: I love competition! :D
 
pilotman2004 said:
If you ask me, this is an incredibly well implemented kidney punch on the part of nVidia. I just built a computer for a friend, and he wanted a graphics card in the 200-250 range. We threw in a crappy pci graphics card so he could run his system until he could get his hands on an X1600XT. Well, then along comes nVidia, and not only do they release a faster card, but it was Hard launched, and launched at $30-50 under MSRP! If thats not a gut punch to ATi, I don't know what is. My friend is an ATi fan, but after I showed him the 6800GS review last night, he immediatly pre-ordered one on newegg, and then ordered a NV Silencer so he can OC it. I'm sure that this story isn't alone, I bet there are a lot of people who were eyeing the 1600XT that just changed their mind.

All I can say is way to go nVidia. Though I will go with the best product out their, I am an ATi guy at heart, so when I say nice job NV, that means a lot. Its gunna take something freakin huge for ATi (and not just a good card, but a solid hard launch at decent prices, or several decent hard launches) to catch up this time. I'm not saying its impossible, just look at what nVidia pulled after the 9700 came out and everyone thought they were done.

In conclusion: I love competition! :D
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He ordered early. Cancel it and go through clubit...$199 w/ free shipping.

-tReP
 
The GS performs identically to the GT, looking at the anandtech.com review. Clock speed increase cancels out pipeline number decrease, apparently. So you are getting a GT-level card for $50 less, basically.

Also look at techreport.com. Somehow in their tests GS SLI beats out any other single video card.
 
This card will be hot when u get a dual dvi version for ~$200, at which time i will immediately buy one.
 
Netrat33 said:
Oh gosh..maybe not such a biased website after all ;)
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No, if even a biased ATI website is saying "nVidia kicked our ass", then it really means that nVidia is the King of Price/Performance. ;)
 
God, I wish this would push 6800NU prices lower, I hate newegg :mad: why is there a 6800nu that is more expensive than a GS, who would actually buy that.
 
Juic3 said:
God, I wish this would push 6800NU prices lower, I hate newegg :mad: why is there a 6800nu that is more expensive than a GS, who would actually buy that.
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Someone who doesn't know any better? :p
 
JimmyHa said:
Not a bad card. Unfortunately the last quad will NOT unlock, 12pipe is all you get. It is still slower than a flashed c3d x800gto for $154. I think at ~ $140 it would be a sweet deal.
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AFAIK, there IS no last quad, so there is nothing to unlock. It's not that it isn't unlockable. This is a new chip, which only has 12 pipelines, not 16 with 12 turned off.
 
its based on the NV42 core. which is 6800ultra. Ya think it can be softmodded or hardmodded to it?
 
54YW4T said:
its based on the NV42 core. which is 6800ultra. Ya think it can be softmodded or hardmodded to it?
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I don't believe so. The 6800 Ultra, as previously said, is not the NV42 core, it is the NV40. The die process for the NV40 is 130nm, and the process for the NV42 is 110nm. You can't unlock parts of a chip unless the parts are there and locked in the first place, and starting with the NV41 (the native PCIe Geforce 6800NU, without the bridge chip) nVidia made a native 12-pipe card, rather than a 16-pipe card with one quad (4 pipes) turned off. So the only modding you might be able to do is up the clock speeds, and maybe up the voltage by hard-modding to try and increase stability. Volt-modding a card can be pretty risky, and initial reports are that the 6800GS overclocks great without it, so why bother?
 
LoneWolf said:
I don't believe so. The 6800 Ultra, as previously said, is not the NV42 core, it is the NV40. The die process for the NV40 is 130nm, and the process for the NV42 is 110nm. You can't unlock parts of a chip unless the parts are there and locked in the first place, and starting with the NV41 (the native PCIe Geforce 6800NU, without the bridge chip) nVidia made a native 12-pipe card, rather than a 16-pipe card with one quad (4 pipes) turned off. So the only modding you might be able to do is up the clock speeds, and maybe up the voltage by hard-modding to try and increase stability. Volt-modding a card can be pretty risky, and initial reports are that the 6800GS overclocks great without it, so why bother?
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No more hesitations Lonewolf Your right. The 6800U is the Nv40 which has 16PP natively. 6VP. The NV42 is a new breed. natively it has 12PP. ;)
 
Their results are quite different from Anandtech in that there is a clear performance difference between the GS and the GT...what the fuck, EVERY review of EVERY thing contradicts each other on EVERY site when it comes to video cards. AAARGH.
 
I think it's safe to all agree that a 6800GS is equivalent to a 6800GT. And can be made quicker than the 6800GT. Not bad for $200
 
Trepidati0n said:
He ordered early. Cancel it and go through clubit...$199 w/ free shipping.

-tReP
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Well, to him the 10 bucks is worth neweggs customer service, and he had it 2 dayed anyways, so the free shipping doesn't matter.
 
tytlyf said:
I think it's safe to all agree that a 6800GS is equivalent to a 6800GT. And can be made quicker than the 6800GT. Not bad for $200
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Im not sure if I would go as far as to say it can be quicker than a GT.. Its really too early to tell but if it takes 425Mhz (75Mhz higher) core to make to make up for the missing pipes that its going to take some serious overclcoking to be consider faster than a Overclcoked GT. They do overclock nicly too you know. 435 for me core and 1230Mhz memory.
 
m not sure if I would go as far as to say it can be quicker than a GT.. Its really too early to tell but if it takes 425Mhz (75Mhz higher) core to make to make up for the missing pipes that its going to take some serious overclcoking to be consider faster than a Overclcoked GT. They do overclock nicly too you know. 435 for me core and 1230Mhz memory.
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Indeed, they overclock nicely - and PNY and XFX are both offering factory overclocked versions. I wonder how either of them would hold up against a 6800 GT? PNY's 6800 GS has a 470 core and 1100 memory, and XFX's GS has a 480 core and 1100 memory. Maybe we'll get lucky and some review site out there will get their hands on one.
 
Looks like a solid card for the money. When the x1600 was released I thought that it was going to be a solid card and I loved the price tag. Now with the release of the 6800 GS, the x1600 just does not comprare. I was an ATI fan with the 9800 series, but the latest releases by ATI have been very disappointing. Nvidia just understands how to play the game right now . The 6800 GS is a great card, hopefully ATI can take back the lead in the next year or Nvidia is going to keep charing forward leaving ATI in the dark.
 
AGP AGP AGP
Looking at the previous posts, I'm not the only one yelling for this.
Look at my sig below, I built that machine just a little over a year ago.
I knew PCI-Express was coming, but didn't think they'd just abandon AGP users.
My FX53 is easily capable of running a 7800, but I'm stuck.
I wrote a letter to BFG telling them to make an AGP version of the next card (8800).

I want to upgrade the GPU one more time. As it stands now, I'd have to buy a new MB, GPU, and reformat. I don't want to start over. I want to plug an AGP version of the 8800 in and go.

Please BFG, there is a market for AGP in the high end. You cut everyone off who just built a system for D3 and HL2.
 
NoGodForMe said:
AGP AGP AGP
Looking at the previous posts, I'm not the only one yelling for this.
Look at my sig below, I built that machine just a little over a year ago.
I knew PCI-Express was coming, but didn't think they'd just abandon AGP users.
My FX53 is easily capable of running a 7800, but I'm stuck.
I wrote a letter to BFG telling them to make an AGP version of the next card (8800).

I want to upgrade the GPU one more time. As it stands now, I'd have to buy a new MB, GPU, and reformat. I don't want to start over. I want to plug an AGP version of the 8800 in and go.

Please BFG, there is a market for AGP in the high end. You cut everyone off who just built a system for D3 and HL2.
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BFG didn't cut you off. nVidia did.

As an example, The NV42 (6800GS) is a NATIVE PCIe part; so are the nVidia 78xx GPUs. To make either work on the AGP bus, you'd need a PCIe-to-AGP bridge chip. This would raise the cost of the card, and has the potential to lower performance. In the case of the 6800GS, you might as well buy a 6800GT AGP that is already available.

Wouldn't the additional money you spent on an AGP card (assuming people actually market cards with the bridge chips, which they'll have to charge extra for) be better spent on converting from an AGP to a PCIe mainboard? RAM will still be compatible, and your CPU too. And at this point there are still people willing to buy AGP mainboards and graphics cards used. If you're in the market for an upgrade, now is the time to sell the AGP mobo and graphics card while you'll still get reasonable money out of them.
 
lol he told BFg to make a 8800 agp.. haha if there's no 7800 Agp, there is no way in hell there's gonna be an 8800 in agp lol.

O yah and BTW I am assuming ur FX53 is a 939 .. a motherboard doesn't cost that much ya know :p
 
Thanks for the info. It's not the cost of the new motherboard, it's the reformat to start over and tearing the machine apart.
Yes, I've had to reformat and start over a few times. Eventually I get the system back where I want it, but gosh, I've got all kinds of little tweaks on there. I don't care if it needs an AGP bridge clip, and doesn't run as fast as the PCI-E version. I just want one more upgrade to keep me going another year.
 
NoGodForMe said:
Thanks for the info. It's not the cost of the new motherboard, it's the reformat to start over and tearing the machine apart.
Yes, I've had to reformat and start over a few times. Eventually I get the system back where I want it, but gosh, I've got all kinds of little tweaks on there. I don't care if it needs an AGP bridge clip, and doesn't run as fast as the PCI-E version. I just want one more upgrade to keep me going another year.
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If you choose the appropriate chipset, you may not have to format. I went from an nForce3 AGP board to an nForce4 Ultra PCIe board without having to reload.
 
Jason711 said:
the GS is hard locked to 12/5, correct?
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Yes. It cannot be unlocked to 16 pipes at all because it's physically impossible - 12/5 is all it's got.
 
Shorehn said:
Yes. It cannot be unlocked to 16 pipes at all because it's physically impossible - 12/5 is all it's got.
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thats what i thought, just wanted to double check in the forum. thnks :cool:
 
NoGodForMe said:
Thanks for the info. It's not the cost of the new motherboard, it's the reformat to start over and tearing the machine apart.
Yes, I've had to reformat and start over a few times. Eventually I get the system back where I want it, but gosh, I've got all kinds of little tweaks on there. I don't care if it needs an AGP bridge clip, and doesn't run as fast as the PCI-E version. I just want one more upgrade to keep me going another year.
Click to expand...


Get a 6800GT and be over with it.
 
NoGodForMe said:
Thanks for the info. It's not the cost of the new motherboard, it's the reformat to start over and tearing the machine apart.
Yes, I've had to reformat and start over a few times. Eventually I get the system back where I want it, but gosh, I've got all kinds of little tweaks on there. I don't care if it needs an AGP bridge clip, and doesn't run as fast as the PCI-E version. I just want one more upgrade to keep me going another year.
Click to expand...

the end all for agp right now is the x850xt pe.
 
I ordered the XFX 6800GS from NewEgg yesterday, so it should be here by Tuesday. It will be a nice upgrade from my 9800pro flashed with 9800XT bios. I'm definatly planning on OCing the card with watercooling, so I'll let ya folks know how far I can push it. :)
 
found this interesting, we may be seeing more $199 6800 GS's

http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/showthread.php?t=25452

Product-wise:
- 6800GS. This is the big news in this conference call IMO. First, they systematically presented it as a $199 product. When an analyst asked if that was intentional when it's currently priced at $249, Jen Hsun responded that it really was the same segment, implying thus they could easily cut the price. Furthermore, he said more partners will sell it soon, just they weren't ready at launch time.
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Ok, so I own a XFX 6800 GS (485 MHz core, 1.1 GHz RAM, factory default). It's strapped into a system with an Athlon 64 3500+ (Venice), an Asus A8N SLI Premium, 2 GB of plain old Crucial memory, an Audigy 2 ZS, and a nothing-special DVD drive and HD. The max resolution of my monitor is 1280 by 1024.

I just finished playing Far Cry for an hour (came bundled with the card; never really got around to playing it when it came bundled with my AGP 6800 GT last year), and I had all the settings maxed out. Everything.

Not a hiccup. The framerate never dropped. The graphics core temperature went up 2 degrees C.

Granted I probably need a larger monitor to really stress this card, or maybe F.E.A.R., but I'm happy with the fact that I can play a good, recent game with all the trimmings without wondering if it's going to choke my system. This is what I wanted out of a graphics card.

Buy it. I'm off to play Half-Life 2.
 
Update:

Half-Life 2 does well for itself at 1280x1024, high quality everything, 4xAF, and HDL enabled on the XFX 6800 GS.

Still waiting to see this card break the 40 degree C threshold...
 
Temperatures are measured by the nVidia graphics driver program (v. 81.94), and system temperatures are measured by the Asus AI Booster application and contrasted to SpeedFan for an average, though both seem to report the same thing. My system resides in an Antec P180. The only modifications to the case are the 38mm thick fan from the lower chamber was placed as the rear exhaust fan in the main chamber, the original exhaust fan is now an intake fan, and all Tri-Cool fans are set to their Medium settings.

The temperatures taken last night were in a room with an ambient temperature of 18.5 C/65 F (it's been cold here in Philly; outdoors it was 0 C/32 F overnight) and the ambient system temperature was 33 C/91 F. Today, the ambient room temperature is 21 C/70 F, the case is 35 C/95 F, but the graphics core is floating around 40 C/104 F at idle (then again, I haven't shut the system down in two days).

I'm definitely not complaining about the temperatures at all. This is a lot better than the P4 system I built last year where the system ran at 40 C idle and the EVGA 6800 GT (AGP) idled at 65 C/149 F. Considering that the XFX 6800 GS is a rough equivalent to the old 6800 GT in performance while running a heck of a lot cooler and being a heck of a lot cheaper, I'd say there's no better value.

My only real complaint about this card in particular is the fan is loud (unplugging the fan to the card makes my system nigh inaudible), but that's nothing an Arctic Cooling Silencer NV5 rev. 3 couldn't solve.

Anyways, just finished playing Tomb Raider: Angel of Darkness for a bit (I have all of these free games lying around that I haven't played...). It plays quite well with all the settings and AA/AF turned up. It may be worth mentioning here that all settings for games are controlled within the program and not the preset profiles from nVidia. Maybe I should try playing around with those to see whether there is a performance difference...
 
I finally did a little benchmarking. Yes, you read that correctly. FRAPS was downloaded, and I played Half-Life 2: Lost Coast. I didn't record actual numbers, but I occasionally looked at the corner of my screen to see what the numbers showed. With high-quality settings across the board and HDR enabled, the game stayed within the 40-60 FPS range, with the lower rates being when I encountered multiple enemies and when I entered the church with the giant cannon. I'm starting to think that my hard drive is a limiting factor and bringing down the game, since this frame-rate-drop seems to coincide when I see the HD activity LED blink feverishly and it's a phenomenon that I've only encountered with HL2 and no other.

Arctic Cooling NV Silencer rev. 3 is on the way; the stock fan is driving me nuts.
 
Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 rev. 3 was installed a few days ago. Dramatic noise reduction, minimal difference on card heat; it still idles at 37-38 C and hits the 40's under stress. This is probably entirely due to the fact that the factory -installed heatsink over the GPU is a solid block of copper. Finished playing Half Life 2 (I started fiddling with settings to see what would stress the GPU), and 1280 x 1024/4xAA/8xAF/HDL and High Settings across the board doesn't even make this card break a sweat.

Next up: F.E.A.R.
 
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