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6600GT (256MB RAM) vs. Radeon 9800 Pro (128MB RAM)

W

wiggumdk

Junior Member
I'm looking to upgrade my graphics card. My current one is a GeForce 3 with 64MB RAM and with the low prices of the two above graphics cards I've decided to upgrade.

The 6600GT is about 30% more expensive than the 9800 Pro but it has twice the RAM and is one generation newer than the 9800 Pro.

According to a test I've read the 6600GT is only 5-15% faster than the 9800 Pro and so the 30% price increase dosen't warrent that I buy the 6600GT. But, the 6600GT has more ram and is a genereation newer with support of new technologies - so I'm leaning towards the 6600GT at the moment.

Can I haveyour opinions on the matter?

Thanks in advance.
 
6600gt will practically eat the 9800 at low res, but high res it will compete with the radeon. i'd suggest the safer way and get a 6600gt. it has more advanced feautres, higher clock freuency and superscalar gpu architecutre. also the 256 mb high speed ddr3 isn't bad...
 
Originally posted by: SuperTyphoon
6600gt will practically eat the 9800 at low res, but high res it will compete with the radeon. i'd suggest the safer way and get a 6600gt. it has more advanced feautres, higher clock freuency and superscalar gpu architecutre. also the 256 mb high speed ddr3 isn't bad...
Click to expand...

...unfortunately, it has a 128-bit memory interface, so the actual bandwidth (which is what matters) is about the same as a 9800Pro. 😛

You're probably looking at a 20-30% performance gain between the 9800Pro and 6600GT. Generally they've been right around the same gap in terms of pricing (so the two cards are very close in price/performance).

If you have the extra cash, the 6600GT is a nice card. If you don't, the 9800Pro is still very capable. You're missing SM3.0, but frankly there's not a whole lot using it right now, and any super-cool IQ-enhancing SM3.0 features in future games will probably bring the 6600GT to a crawl.
 
Originally posted by: Matthias99
You're probably looking at a 20-30% performance gain between the 9800Pro and 6600GT. Generally they've been right around the same gap in terms of pricing (so the two cards are very close in price/performance).

If you have the extra cash, the 6600GT is a nice card. If you don't, the 9800Pro is still very capable. You're missing SM3.0, but frankly there's not a whole lot using it right now, and any super-cool IQ-enhancing SM3.0 features in future games will probably bring the 6600GT to a crawl.
Click to expand...

So I guess it's the classical question. This or that. A 128-bit memory interface with 256MB Ram or a 256-bit memory interface with 128MB ram. And the only difference technology wise is that the 6600GT has the SM3.0 and nothing else?

These are the two cards I have my eye set on. The price difference is about $60, the 6600GT selling at $ 235 and the 9800 Pro at $ 175 here in Denmark.

Radeon 9800 Pro
http://www.sapphiretech.com/VGA/9800proatl.asp

6600GT
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/vga/vga/pro_vga_detail.php?UID=651

The above 6600GT is the only one I can find in Denmark with 256MB Ram.


 
Yes. I also was looking around and could not find many 6600GTs with 256 MB RAM. There are huge nos. of 6600s with 256 MB RAM however. So I was wondering - and asked in another post - to save $50-75 and buy a 6600 with 256 MB or go for 6600GT with 128MB RAM.
 
Hi all,
I am looking for a similar upgrade. I currently have a GeForce 3 64 MB AGP and I don't intend to change my CPU/motherboard right now. I'm looking for a ~150 USD card. I will list out my choices here (based on the graphics chip) -

GeForce 6600
GeForce 6800LE
Radeon 9700/9800 Pro

I was initially looking at only the GeForce 6200 (~100-120 USD) but then ~150 gives me more choices.

The rationale behind these choices is atleast a 128-bit memory bus and atleast 128 MB of onboard memory. The 256-bit wide bus on the 9800 Pro (or even the 6800 LE) looks really tempting though. My motherboard is an ASUS A7N8X-E Deluxe (nForce2 Ultra 400). Would that mean that I'd be better off with an nVidia-based card?

Basically I'm looking for maximum bang for the buck in the games I play, which are (mainly) RPGs, driving/flight simulations and sports games. For instance, Far Cry, FIFA,
NFS UG2, PES, CoD, MOHPA, CMR etc.

One other constraint is that I have a 300 W power supply. Would any of these choices require that I upgrade to a 350/400 W supply?

Suggestions?

Thanks and regards,
appu
 
Forgot to add the following points -

1.) I frequently use Linux, so driver support for whatever card I choose, is a big thing.
2.) I've got a 17" CRT which I don't at all plan to upgrade. It's a really sweet monitor. So 10x7 is the best I'm going to do. However it'll be nice to play at this res without turning down all the bells and whistles.

Thanks and regards,
appu
 
Originally posted by: appu
Forgot to add the following points -

1.) I frequently use Linux, so driver support for whatever card I choose, is a big thing.
2.) I've got a 17" CRT which I don't at all plan to upgrade. It's a really sweet monitor. So 10x7 is the best I'm going to do. However it'll be nice to play at this res without turning down all the bells and whistles.

Thanks and regards,
appu
Click to expand...

nVidia's Linux drivers are much better than ATi's.

Since you're going to be running at the lower resolution where you're more CPU limited, both of these cards will perform about the same. The 6600GT might be better and you actually might be able to take more advantage of its feature set if you game at that resolution though.

I'd probably say the 6600GT would fit your needs better, appu.
 
Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
Since you're going to be running at the lower resolution where you're more CPU limited, both of these cards will perform about the same. The 6600GT might be better and you actually might be able to take more advantage of its feature set if you game at that resolution though.

I'd probably say the 6600GT would fit your needs better, appu.
Click to expand...

Thanks darkswordsman!

Newegg lists a few 6600GTs between 150 and 160 USD. They are all 128 MB equipped which is fine by me. The core and memory clocks of the 6600 GT are way more than those of the average 6800/6800LE. So I guess that offsets the wider memory bus and higher number of pixel rendering pipelines. I'll discount the Radeons more or less because of potential driver issues.

And finally http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2277&p=13 🙂.

I'm off to get my 6600 GT then!

Thanks and regards,
appu
 
You guys do forget. Although the 6600GT has a 128bit memory bus, the memory clocks are incredibly high (1ghz) which make up for the 256bit bus.

The 6600GT is noticably faster until you get into 16x12 with AA and AF, in which case both cards are too slow to make a difference.

6600GT.

-Kevin
 
The Retail GeForce 6600GT Roundup article from November last year mentioned that a lot of these cards have HSF mounting problems due to various reasons, and that the LeadTek PX6600 GT TDH was one of the better ones when it came to the implementation of the cooling system.

Can the same be said of the AGP version of LeadTek's WinFast 6600 GT card (the A6600 GT TDH). This is the only card that is made by a well-known vendor and also just about fits into my budget, so I'll most probably buy this one.

Thanks and regards,
appu
 
If you can pick up a 6600 GT (which is of solid build quality per the anandtech article) which is NOT priced $40 (or more) over the price of a 9800 Pro, I'd get the 6600GT.
 
Originally posted by: sandeep108
Yes. I also was looking around and could not find many 6600GTs with 256 MB RAM. There are huge nos. of 6600s with 256 MB RAM however. So I was wondering - and asked in another post - to save $50-75 and buy a 6600 with 256 MB or go for 6600GT with 128MB RAM.
Click to expand...

There is very little use of 256MB RAM in cards of this performance level. There is some, but it is minimal. You will be MUCH better off with a 6600GT with 128MB than a 6600 with 256MB.
 
Originally posted by: Concillian
Originally posted by: sandeep108
Yes. I also was looking around and could not find many 6600GTs with 256 MB RAM. There are huge nos. of 6600s with 256 MB RAM however. So I was wondering - and asked in another post - to save $50-75 and buy a 6600 with 256 MB or go for 6600GT with 128MB RAM.
Click to expand...

There is very little use of 256MB RAM in cards of this performance level. There is some, but it is minimal. You will be MUCH better off with a 6600GT with 128MB than a 6600 with 256MB.
Click to expand...



QFT
 
Just my 2c. You can get a 9800 pro on the FS/FT forums on here. Probably for around $110.00. Not too many people selling 6600gt agp cards so the difference is around $50.00.

 
Originally posted by: wiggumdk
Originally posted by: Matthias99
You're probably looking at a 20-30% performance gain between the 9800Pro and 6600GT. Generally they've been right around the same gap in terms of pricing (so the two cards are very close in price/performance).

If you have the extra cash, the 6600GT is a nice card. If you don't, the 9800Pro is still very capable. You're missing SM3.0, but frankly there's not a whole lot using it right now, and any super-cool IQ-enhancing SM3.0 features in future games will probably bring the 6600GT to a crawl.
Click to expand...

So I guess it's the classical question. This or that. A 128-bit memory interface with 256MB Ram or a 256-bit memory interface with 128MB ram. And the only difference technology wise is that the 6600GT has the SM3.0 and nothing else?

These are the two cards I have my eye set on. The price difference is about $60, the 6600GT selling at $ 235 and the 9800 Pro at $ 175 here in Denmark.

Radeon 9800 Pro
http://www.sapphiretech.com/VGA/9800proatl.asp

6600GT
http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/vga/vga/pro_vga_detail.php?UID=651

The above 6600GT is the only one I can find in Denmark with 256MB Ram.
Click to expand...

FYI that is NOT a 6600GT. That is a normal 6600. You MAY be able to unlock it though. Heres the MSI 6600GT that I would reccomend:

http://www.msi.com.tw/program/products/vga/vga/pro_vga_detail.php?UID=672

I have it (in my sig) and I LOVE it!
 
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