I'm hesitating between the GeForce 6600 GT and the GeForce 6800 NU. I know there's a price gap between the two, but is the GeForce 6800 NU worth it?
Thank you!
Thank you!
6600 GT or 6800 NU
- Thread starter sammyunltd
- Start date
Avalon
Diamond Member
- Jul 16, 2001
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AGP or PCI-e?
If you're going AGP, you can find a 6600GT for as low as $185, possibly.
An AGP 6800NU can be had for about $200.
I'd take the 6800NU for AGP if I were you. If you were up to it, you could also have an added bonus of being able to softmod your card with rivatuner to unlock additional pipelines. That gives a very nice little boost in performance if it works.
If you were talking PCI-e, I'd say go for the 6600GT. You can get them for $175. I haven't seen many PCI-e 6800NUs for under $250, plus they can't softmod, if you're into that sort of thing.
The actual difference between the cards at stock is probably the difference of a couple levels of AA/AF or maybe one resolution level, depending on your settings. A 6600GT is a decent 12x10 card, while the 6800NU swings it well with 12x10 and some AA/AF.
If you're going AGP, you can find a 6600GT for as low as $185, possibly.
An AGP 6800NU can be had for about $200.
I'd take the 6800NU for AGP if I were you. If you were up to it, you could also have an added bonus of being able to softmod your card with rivatuner to unlock additional pipelines. That gives a very nice little boost in performance if it works.
If you were talking PCI-e, I'd say go for the 6600GT. You can get them for $175. I haven't seen many PCI-e 6800NUs for under $250, plus they can't softmod, if you're into that sort of thing.
The actual difference between the cards at stock is probably the difference of a couple levels of AA/AF or maybe one resolution level, depending on your settings. A 6600GT is a decent 12x10 card, while the 6800NU swings it well with 12x10 and some AA/AF.
HeroOfPellinor
Lifer
- Dec 27, 2001
- 11,272
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Price is roughly $240 for 6800NU and $170 for 6600GT. That 40% more and you aren't getting 40% performance.
If you overclock, the 6800NU can get close to GT levels if it OCs well. But, even then, you'll only get 40% improvement at unplayably high res and AA/AF settings.
For me, I went 6600GT because I figured if I was going to spend $240 then why not spend $300 and get the X800XL and if $300 why not $369 and get the 6800GT? You have to draw the line somewhere. Also, the 6600GT has a working "video processor" for whatever that's worth to you. I've had a 6800GT and a 6600GT and, for today's games on my 17" LCD with no AA or AF (just don't care for them) I can't tell a difference. If both cards drop 20% in value by the end of the year, you're out less with the cheaper card too. I only think that's a factor because I, personally, expect something new from NVidia that will fall inbetween the 6600GT and 6800GT by Q3 and G70 is probably early Q4 and who knows what that will bring, but, the bottom line is, we may have better options in terms of price
erformance and/or features by the end of this year that will be compelling upgrades, so I wouldn't go investing more than I had to in a card right now.
---edit---
Wasn't sure if it was AGP or PCI-E. Knowing PCI-E....GET THE 6600GT. The 6800NU is $300 and the 6600GT is $170. You are unquestionably getting more for your money with the 6600GT. Unless you play at 16x12 with AA and AF and, at that point, even a 6800NU won't really cut it.
If you overclock, the 6800NU can get close to GT levels if it OCs well. But, even then, you'll only get 40% improvement at unplayably high res and AA/AF settings.
For me, I went 6600GT because I figured if I was going to spend $240 then why not spend $300 and get the X800XL and if $300 why not $369 and get the 6800GT? You have to draw the line somewhere. Also, the 6600GT has a working "video processor" for whatever that's worth to you. I've had a 6800GT and a 6600GT and, for today's games on my 17" LCD with no AA or AF (just don't care for them) I can't tell a difference. If both cards drop 20% in value by the end of the year, you're out less with the cheaper card too. I only think that's a factor because I, personally, expect something new from NVidia that will fall inbetween the 6600GT and 6800GT by Q3 and G70 is probably early Q4 and who knows what that will bring, but, the bottom line is, we may have better options in terms of price
erformance and/or features by the end of this year that will be compelling upgrades, so I wouldn't go investing more than I had to in a card right now. ---edit---
Wasn't sure if it was AGP or PCI-E. Knowing PCI-E....GET THE 6600GT. The 6800NU is $300 and the 6600GT is $170. You are unquestionably getting more for your money with the 6600GT. Unless you play at 16x12 with AA and AF and, at that point, even a 6800NU won't really cut it.
I'd say get the 6600gt... To me paying over $200 for a vid card is just way too much... With r520 and g70? coming around the corner, I wouldnt' invest in an expenisve (yes, 250 is expensive to me) card...
Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Now, should I go with the Leadtek 6600 GT? It had the Gold thing here on Anandtech, but the benchmarks are differents from sites to sites. I don't know which one: Leadtek? MSI? Gigabyte? XFX?...
Hero makes a good point. You'll have to determine if the extra performance is worth it to you. The 6800nu will easily outperform the 6600. The X800XL is another option and can be had for around $285 shipped, and will give you the performance of a 6800gt.
Avalon
Diamond Member
- Jul 16, 2001
- 7,571
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PCI-e then. The 6600GT gets my nod for sure.
Leadtek is an excellent brand to pick up, as is eVGA, BFG, and Gainward if they still have any video cards floating around. I would stay clear of XFX and PNY, as I've heard many horror stories from their brand in general.
Leadtek is an excellent brand to pick up, as is eVGA, BFG, and Gainward if they still have any video cards floating around. I would stay clear of XFX and PNY, as I've heard many horror stories from their brand in general.
6600GT will not run with AA/AF smoothly. It uses 128bit memory and 128 mb of ram.
6800nu can run with aa/af smoothly. It uses 256bit memory and 256 mb of ram.
I would get the NU over the 6600GT.
Of course 300 for a 6800NU is pointless because it will get beat by the x800xl which coasts $289 and gives you 16 pipes higher memory and core clocks which equals to 6800GT performance.
Note PCI-E 6800NU cannot unlock.
6800nu can run with aa/af smoothly. It uses 256bit memory and 256 mb of ram.
I would get the NU over the 6600GT.
Of course 300 for a 6800NU is pointless because it will get beat by the x800xl which coasts $289 and gives you 16 pipes higher memory and core clocks which equals to 6800GT performance.
Note PCI-E 6800NU cannot unlock.
HeroOfPellinor
Lifer
- Dec 27, 2001
- 11,272
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That, friend, is a whole other thread and has been argued numerous times. Personally, I like the MSI because it had the best software package and because the HSF was definitely one of the better ones out there. Mine didn't suffer from the problem the one in the AT review had either. It's $172 shipped at ChiefValue. The BFG is on sale AR at Best Buy with a gamer keyboard combo. But, really, anything you buy from any manufacturer will be fine. Just buy from a site with a good return policy just in case.
I mean, it's sure I want it, but my friends have 9800 PRO and 9500PRO/9700 (Dell computer) and they play well (1024X768 and more, no AA/AF and they got decent FPS). I'm not a huge fan of AA and AF. I just want something that can provide more than 30-40-50 fps (constant framerate) (Sorry, I'm used to the frame rates of my TNT 2 lol) in 1024X768 minimum.
Can the 6600 GT do that (with older (DX7-8) and also newer games)?
Can the 6600 GT do that (with older (DX7-8) and also newer games)?
HeroOfPellinor
Lifer
- Dec 27, 2001
- 11,272
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Just to clarify, the 6600GT has 128MB of DDR3 memory and the 6800NU has 256 of DDR1 memory. This very much makes a big difference and is the reason both cards are roughly equivolent below 16x12 with AA and AF. 128-bit and 256-bit is a big difference though when you're really cranking.
The 6600GT at 1024x768 probably into 1280 x 1024 can definitely swing some AA and AF on any game out there. HL2 1024x768 4AA 8AF 82 FPS. No slouch.
I'm not a huge fan of AA and AF. I just want something that can provide more than 30-40-50 fps (constant framerate) (Sorry, I'm used to the frame rates of my TNT 2 lol) in 1024X768 minimum.
Can the 6600 GT do that (with older (DX7-8) and also newer games)?
So.... it'll do it, eh?
Can the 6600 GT do that (with older (DX7-8) and also newer games)?
So.... it'll do it, eh?
HeroOfPellinor
Lifer
- Dec 27, 2001
- 11,272
- 1
- 0
Go check out some benchmarks. Average FPS at 1024x768: Far Cry is 60, Doom3 is 80, HL2 is 110, BF:V is 100.
Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Price is roughly $240 for 6800NU and $170 for 6600GT. That 40% more and you aren't getting 40% performance.
If you overclock, the 6800NU can get close to GT levels if it OCs well. But, even then, you'll only get 40% improvement at unplayably high res and AA/AF settings.
For me, I went 6600GT because I figured if I was going to spend $240 then why not spend $300 and get the X800XL and if $300 why not $369 and get the 6800GT? You have to draw the line somewhere. Also, the 6600GT has a working "video processor" for whatever that's worth to you. I've had a 6800GT and a 6600GT and, for today's games on my 17" LCD with no AA or AF (just don't care for them) I can't tell a difference. If both cards drop 20% in value by the end of the year, you're out less with the cheaper card too. I only think that's a factor because I, personally, expect something new from NVidia that will fall inbetween the 6600GT and 6800GT by Q3 and G70 is probably early Q4 and who knows what that will bring, but, the bottom line is, we may have better options in terms of price
---edit---
Wasn't sure if it was AGP or PCI-E. Knowing PCI-E....GET THE 6600GT. The 6800NU is $300 and the 6600GT is $170. You are unquestionably getting more for your money with the 6600GT. Unless you play at 16x12 with AA and AF and, at that point, even a 6800NU won't really cut it.
The NV41-based 6800NU has a working video processor as well. The 6600GT is the best value, but the 6800NU will perform better, especially if you can overclock it like I did. The 6800NU has a 256-bit memory interface with 256 MB of DDR, which will help it at high resolutions, and/or AA/AF. But, currently, the $290 X800XL is a slightly better deal than the $280 6800NU (at least at stock speeds). The PCI-E 6800NU uses the NV41, which natively only has 12 pixel pipelines and 5 vertex pipelines, hence why they're not unlockable. In these particular benchmarks, the single 6800NU beats the 6600GT by quite a bit.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-x800xl_11.html
The 6800NU soars at high AA/AF modes. I don't know why you wouldn't want AA/AF. :Q Yes, you do need 60 FPS at high AA/AF modes, you're just not used to them
.http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/radeon-x800xl_15.html
The rest of their benchmarks make me a little suspect, with the 6600GT outperforming the X800XL in some cases. Take any of those results with a grain of salt. What I do know is that the 6800NU is very helpful in AA/AF modes and sometimes in high resolutions, if you care. If not, the 6600GT will do fine and save you some money.
i know what the OP wanted. i'm not talking about pci-e. rather than start another 6600gt or 6800nu thread only with agp i personally wanted to know the improvements that the 6800nu made with unlocking.
Get 6600 GT, it is not that perfect, but play every to day game at high/ ultra setting, missed AA of course.
Save some $ for the next mid range VGA generation, will heat 6800GT at least, imo. See, 6600 GT heat 9800 Pro/ XT.
My Rig
Abit AV 8
AMD 64 3000 939
Corsair value 2 x 512
Leadtek 6600 GT AGP
3D Mark 2003 7700 - 7800
3D Mark 2005 3200 - 3300
All stock speed.
Save some $ for the next mid range VGA generation, will heat 6800GT at least, imo. See, 6600 GT heat 9800 Pro/ XT.
My Rig
Abit AV 8
AMD 64 3000 939
Corsair value 2 x 512
Leadtek 6600 GT AGP
3D Mark 2003 7700 - 7800
3D Mark 2005 3200 - 3300
All stock speed.
I have the Leadtek and it runs great for me. Runs all games great on High, BF2 demo, HL2, etc. Very quiet as well if that means anything to you.
This thread is dead a long time ago. With that said, I dunno what you guys are talking about, my 6600GT kicks ass in every game with full AA and AF in 1280, who needs 1600 anyway. It's perfect. The only card I would get above it is the 6800GT flashed to ultra.
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