PowerColor X850 XT OEM or BFG 6800 Ultra

Even with the slower ram it still beats the 6800U nothing to worry about man.
 
Sedriss said:
Ive heard a lot of bad things about Sapphire. Thats why I wont go with them. Man, now you guys got me thinking again. I didnt know the XT has slower ram that the XT PE. I just thought it was overclocked a lil higher. Now the 6800 Ultra has wormed its way back into the picture. Im not sure what to do now :confused:
Click to expand...

I'm going thru exactly what your'e going thru...decisions...decisions!
 
I have an x800XT-PE and a 6800Ultra, and both are fast enough in every single game out today (not counting the many ones they are individually buggy in) that speed really should be considered a non-issue when comparing them. When you can run every game at 1600x1200+ it doesn't even matter that on one of the 2 cards you have to drop down one AA setting lower than on the other.

The deciding factor for me (as in deciding which one I would use and which my wife would be stuck with) was reliability and image quality. The 6800 was WAY buggier (though it gets a bit better with each new driver release), and it's image quality was a little worse, so I am using the x800XT-PE..

So based on my experience I generally suggest X800XT-PE's and X850XT-PE's over any other cards unless budget or other issues make other cards, or an SLI setup, the better choice for the person asking.

In this case though I would say go with the 6800ultra. Why? Because ATI is probably going to be first out the door with next-gen cards, and you will want one. The best way to finance the new card will be to sell your old one. ATI card resale values will probably drop more once the new ATI cards are out because ATI fans will by buying the new gen. Meanwhile Nvidia fans will still be paying good bucks for SLI capable 6800ultras. So you will probably get a better resale value off an Nvidia card.

 
arentol said:
..... ATI card resale values will probably drop more once the new ATI cards are out because ATI fans will by buying the new gen. Meanwhile Nvidia fans will still be paying good bucks for SLI capable 6800ultras. So you will probably get a better resale value off an Nvidia card.

Click to expand...

Actually you make a good point on the resale of Nvidia SLI cards...no one has put it that way before...makes sense.
 
aZn_plyR said:
lmao....dumb.....that is 3dmark01 and that is a fx-55 at 3.4ghz....woohoo sli can't compete :rolleyes: throw sli'ed 6800ultra's on that thing and the same fx-55....yeah..
Click to expand...
This is what I got without sli...playing ut04 with x850xtpe with every settings maxed. Forget about sli, I tried before and it sucks.
setting16xp.jpg

setting50hd.jpg
 
So you guys think I should go with a 6800 Ultra now? :confused: I like the idea of reselling the 6800 Ultra to would be people who want another for SLI, but.... man.... i dont kow now. I think im gonna cry.
 
BTW.. to all the people bashing sapphire, you DO know that sapphire makes most of the ATI boards right? Like.. the BBA cards.. are actually made by sapphire :p
 
X850XT all the way

Listen to Centalvany and James Earl Ray.

99% of people here haven't had both SLI and X8*0 series cards. They speak from experience while everyone else (myself included) do not.

Anyway, buy a 6800Ultra now and you'll be slower than an X850XT (at stock speeds). If you are into OCing at all, then the XT is the hands down winner. People are getting great OCs on that card, even without volt modding.
 
Entropy said:
BTW.. to all the people bashing sapphire, you DO know that sapphire makes most of the ATI boards right? Like.. the BBA cards.. are actually made by sapphire :p
Click to expand...

F*ck sapphire. Their RMA has to be the sh*ttiest EVAR. My X800XTPE took 3 f*cking months at RMA to come back.

Sapphire may make cards for ATI, but ATI's service is 2million times better.

Don't even get me started on trying to find someone that speaks/understands good english at Sapphire USA's service unit.

:mad: :mad: :mad:
 
First of all, i had BOTH high-end cards. I had a 6800GT that i flashed to 420/1150, then i got another one to play SLI and i was so disapointed with SLI that i sold off one of the 6800GT cards. Then i did some homework and realized that the best single card out there is in fact the X850 series. So i sold my 6800GT and got a Saphire X850 XT. To my Surprize i got a BBA ATI X850 XT and NOT a shaphire card. I had heard that ATI gave what it made to Sapphire but never thought that sapphire would leave it as is, i.e. no stickers or anything. In the bios it says built by ATI, the stickers all say ATI and in every type of software it says Built by ATI, so i was happy with that to say the least not that Sapphire isnt any good, i think there 2nd best but back to the point, after having it all, i would say that the single BBA X850 XT @ 550/1200 is the way to go. In most games it beats the SLI set-up and anything else. The only game that the 6800GT(6800GT @ Ultra speeds) was better at was........you guessed it, Doom3. People say OpenGL is better on Nvidia cards, but id have to dissagree, i think that COD and other OpenGL games play smoother on my ATI card, and the frame rates are usaully higher on my ATI X850 XT card. They are both great options, but if you want the best of the best, look no further than a X850 XT. You can get one for 480ish and overclock it easily to a PE. It will win in 90% of all the games you play VS. the 6800GT or Ultra. SLI was the worst thing i ever did and i was happy i was able to salvage the sistuation by getting most of my money back. Its a great idea but currently its the worst thing ever due to lack of support. In a year or 2, the tables could turn but right this very moment, the best card single or other wise is the ATI X850 XTPE, and thats coming from someone who had both(a single GT flashed to Ultra, then SLI, then back to single with the X850 XT)
 
bubblethumper said:
F*ck sapphire. Their RMA has to be the sh*ttiest EVAR. My X800XTPE took 3 f*cking months at RMA to come back.

Sapphire may make cards for ATI, but ATI's service is 2million times better.

Don't even get me started on trying to find someone that speaks/understands good english at Sapphire USA's service unit.

:mad: :mad: :mad:
Click to expand...

...that adds to the point I was trying to make. Why buy from a company that only stands by it's product for 1 year, when so many other companys are for 3 or more?
 
Tripp17 said:
Stuff...
Click to expand...

That seems to be a general concensus, People are getting SLI, not satisfied with the performance, and getting single cards again.

IMO, A single card is more then enough, Whats the diffrence with getting 100FPS and 150FPS? 24FPS is playable in terms of smoothness (Since thats what speed movies are played at) 60FPS is more then smooth enough, and 100FPS is pretty much overkill. Im not saying getting a high end card is pointless, of course you want all the cool effects and such, but frankly, getting 2 cards is way overkill.
 
bubblethumper said:
X850XT all the way

Anyway, buy a 6800Ultra now and you'll be slower than an X850XT (at stock speeds).
Click to expand...

It cannot simply be said the X850XT is faster, we have to agree that the 6800Ultra is faster in OpenGL, and the X850XT is faster in D3D.

For the games that he plays

HL2, Far Cry, Doom 3, WOW, CoD w/ max settings, BF2...

is cannot be said that the X850XT is the hands down winner, it wins 3/5 tests here(WoW debateable and BF2 unreleased)

If he can tell us more of what games he is waiting for, or even better, what ratio of the games he plays in terms of the API used, we can come up to a better conclusion on what card he should have.
 
I'd go with an X850XT simply because SLI as a technology isnt mature yet..

Asus is already readying their next SLI board and I'm sure DFI will follow suit.

I have two SLI systems one with the Gigabyte SLI board and one with the DFI Lan Party SLI board..

both are "ok" but neither is what I'd call exactly rock stable..both systems have issues with Widescreen LCD's under DVI (which may or may not concern you) in addition to various stability concerns.

If your ok having to deal with some bleeding edge issues then the SLI option may make sense.

If your simply concerned with getting a fast system I'd go with a single card solution.. you cant lose really either way with an X850XT or a 6800 Ultra.

**edit**

And make note...most of the more rabid fannishboy types here are stressing over 5-10% differences in speed between the 2 camps and the respective popular games/API's.
 
Prolly the game I play most is Call Of Duty. But I do have those times when I switch from games to games ya know? And when I have some extra needed time, I will get into some WOW. Every now and then I will pop in Far Cry and have a good run at it. Plus I attend a LAN Party every month in which we have a Far Cry tournys. I also play some HL2 here and there as well. Havent played Doom 3 in a while though. So i think we can knock that game out of the list. Im waiting for BF2 to come out though and by the looks of it, its going to be a sweet game. Thing is, ive seen some in game videos (least i believe they were actualy gameplay) and from the look of it, a decent card is going to be needed to play that game with all its eye candy. I want a card in which I can turn AA and AF almost if not to max settings and be able to play without to much of a problem.
 
Sedriss said:
Prolly the game I play most is Call Of Duty. But I do have those times when I switch from games to games ya know? And when I have some extra needed time, I will get into some WOW. Every now and then I will pop in Far Cry and have a good run at it. Plus I attend a LAN Party every month in which we have a Far Cry tournys. I also play some HL2 here and there as well. Havent played Doom 3 in a while though. So i think we can knock that game out of the list. Im waiting for BF2 to come out though and by the looks of it, its going to be a sweet game. Thing is, ive seen some in game videos (least i believe they were actualy gameplay) and from the look of it, a decent card is going to be needed to play that game with all its eye candy. I want a card in which I can turn AA and AF almost if not to max settings and be able to play without to much of a problem.
Click to expand...

X850XT no doubt. or (if you wanna spring for it) the -PE one

keep in minde, you can probably OC to XT-PE spees relitively Easily.

ATI always had the best performance when it came to AA or Af
 
If you upgrade every six months get the x8xx series if you upgrade once a year get the 6xxx series. It's not worth going ATI at the moment because in a few months they will release a PS 3.0 version of their card soon. But if you upgrade every six months that won't be an issue.
 
The only thing left out is which one would overclock better, some people are getting insane overclocks on 6800 Ultras, even on air, let alone H2O.

The current high-end cards are VERY close to each other. Depending on the CPU being tested, the specific bench settings, etc., you really can't declare a total winner. But the x850 XT-PE is pretty dang close.
 
Sedriss said:
Ive heard a lot of bad things about Sapphire. Thats why I wont go with them. Man, now you guys got me thinking again. I didnt know the XT has slower ram that the XT PE. I just thought it was overclocked a lil higher. Now the 6800 Ultra has wormed its way back into the picture. Im not sure what to do now :confused:
Click to expand...

Sapphire makes the BBA cards. BBA is good enough for me, and so is Sapphire.
 
Well, what video card would you guys suggest to pair with a AMD 64 4000+, MSI K8N-Neo4, 1 Gig Corsair PC 4000? Would that make any much of a differance?
 
at this point, whatever fits ur budget above the 6600 benchmarks.
 
Sedriss said:
Well, what video card would you guys suggest to pair with a AMD 64 4000+, MSI K8N-Neo4, 1 Gig Corsair PC 4000? Would that make any much of a differance?
Click to expand...

X850XT. Especially if you happen to find one for only slightly over MSRP.
 
if it was me building that system, i would go with the x850xt over the 6800u because the ATI has HDTV outputs and the nVidia doesn't, which means i could hook it up to my 51" HDTV for some HTPC & big-screen gaming goodness! :eek: :eek: :D

not sure if that is a concern for you or not, tho....
 
X850XT.

Either that, or SLI'd 6600GTs or SLI'd 6800nu's for about the same price as a single X850XT.
 
TheGameguru said:
And make note...most of the more rabid fannishboy types here are stressing over 5-10% differences in speed between the 2 camps and the respective popular games/API's.
Click to expand...

:confused: so u think i made a fan boy comment when i said this :

"If he can tell us more of what games he is waiting for, or even better, what ratio of the games he plays in terms of the API used, we can come up to a better conclusion on what card he should have."

i dont even see that as being biased, let alone "fannishboy". Clarify.

Again ill say this, get either one, the X850XT or 6800Ultra, one is faster in Direct3D and the other in OpenGL. Both would give u a great gaming experience.
 
Sc4freak said:
X850XT.

Either that, or SLI'd 6600GTs or SLI'd 6800nu's for about the same price as a single X850XT.
Click to expand...

nah...one x850xt would beat out sli 6600gt's or 6800nu's....

6800gt sli is the way to go
 
aZn_plyR said:
nah...one x850xt would beat out sli 6600gt's or 6800nu's....

6800gt sli is the way to go
Click to expand...

See I hear peeps getting 2 6600GTs an popping them in SLI. Thing is though, I hear they still dont compete to a X850Xt or 6800 Ultra. So why not take that $400 bucks, add $50-100 more and get one of those cards instead. Im thinking of going with the X850 XT though. Im glad you guys are here though to point out some differances between the cards and I thank you.
 
Sedriss said:
See I hear peeps getting 2 6600GTs an popping them in SLI. Thing is though, I hear they still dont compete to a X850Xt or 6800 Ultra. So why not take that $400 bucks, add $50-100 more and get one of those cards instead. Im thinking of going with the X850 XT though. Im glad you guys are here though to point out some differances between the cards and I thank you.
Click to expand...

Haha..
dude, stop stressing yourself out and just get the card already. I have the x850 and love it. Runs ALL GAMES perfectly. Trust me, once you get it and start playing, no matter which card you get, you won't look back. You'll be fine regardless of which you decide to go with.
Cheers! :p
 
lexcruiser said:
Haha..
dude, stop stressing yourself out and just get the card already. I have the x850 and love it. Runs ALL GAMES perfectly. Trust me, once you get it and start playing, no matter which card you get, you won't look back. You'll be fine regardless of which you decide to go with.
Cheers! :p
Click to expand...

~ Edit: I, lexcruiser, have accepted no bribes from ATi to ][D ][ ][V][ ][D my X850 :p

No in all seriousness, get the X850XT... It's a more man than some of the [H]ard|Gawd's typing on here these days... 6800U need not apply for girlymanesque performance @ 1280x1024 | xAA/xAF in virtually everything except any with the 6x00 specifically in mind (count the X8x0 to represnt for the ATi camp).

I'll be getting one soon. $400? Hell Yeah :)
 
Sedriss said:
See I hear peeps getting 2 6600GTs an popping them in SLI. Thing is though, I hear they still dont compete to a X850Xt or 6800 Ultra. So why not take that $400 bucks, add $50-100 more and get one of those cards instead. Im thinking of going with the X850 XT though. Im glad you guys are here though to point out some differances between the cards and I thank you.
Click to expand...

You'll thank yourself for listening to us when you see performance differences between 128mb (128mb + 128mb != 256mb in SLi :eek: ) cards and 256mb (or 512mb :rolleyes: ) cards in DX9++ titles :D

CofR:EFBB (Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay) makes my 256mb X800 Pro scream..
 
aZn_plyR said:
Farcry the 6800ultra has more features and loses by 2-5 fps and has hdr if u're interested
Click to expand...

Its WAY more than a 2-5fps loss when enabling HDR in Farcry. I dont know how you came up with those numbers, but they are way off.
 
fallguy said:
Its WAY more than a 2-5fps loss when enabling HDR in Farcry. I dont know how you came up with those numbers, but they are way off.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

"HDR: A Costly Thing, a Work for SLI" :rolleyes: HDR can take a hike.

Not sure why the pics aren't up, but the article's text is still golden. :p
 
fallguy said:
Its WAY more than a 2-5fps loss when enabling HDR in Farcry. I dont know how you came up with those numbers, but they are way off.
Click to expand...
Heres the bench...
Specs on screenshots with 850XTPE on stock AF16/AA6
bh51or.jpg
 
fallguy said:
Its WAY more than a 2-5fps loss when enabling HDR in Farcry. I dont know how you came up with those numbers, but they are way off.
Click to expand...

You have poor reading comprehension.

He was saying, in Far Cry, the Ultra only has a 2-5fps difference, and ALSO has HDR, which you can enable, if you are interested.

I swear, these video card discussion are so full of bias, speculation, and outright bullshit it's a wonder we even have this forum.
 
To the thread starter, I suggest you look at emperical data instead of useless banter. Remember that this is the sister site to an actual hardware review site..

1109715617Y7iZnpFjq1_9_1_l.gif


1109715617Y7iZnpFjq1_5_3.gif


Saphire x850 XT @ ZZF $459 shipped
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=320835

Cheapest 6800 Ultra (eVGA) for comparison $509 shipped at ZZF
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=322705

There are a other considerations you have to make however.

A. If your CPU is anything less than a 3500+, the cards are going to be tied (CPU bound)
B. If you game at no more than 1280x1024, even with AA/AF, the cards are going to be tied again (CPU bound)
C. The Ultra supports OpenEXR HDR, SM3.0, PureVideo, and SLI.
D. In the future, Doom 3 engine games will be in favor of the Ultra. Source engine games will be in favor of the XT.

If you want to see the difference SLI makes, here's a few quick shots..

5527.png


5642.png


Far Cry is a good reference because it is one of the most GPU-bound games that is out to date and is NOT in bed with either ATI or nVidia as with HL2 or D3.

Happy hunting and happy gaming.
~Eric
 
Steller nice work man I love your post! :cool:
If only more posts were like that one.
 
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