6600GT or 6800oc???

platinumike

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2004
2,114
3
0
Im trying to find bench marks, havent found any yet. Anyways Im in the market for a new video card, and right now I can get the BFG 6800 that comes overclocked for $230(employee discount) or I can get a 6600 which everyone on here seems to rave about, for the same price or a tad bit cheaper. I thought the 6800 would be the obvious but this board his changed my mind. Im trying to find benchies, but word of mouth will do.
 

platinumike

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2004
2,114
3
0
wow, the 6800 doesnt really hold much of an andvantage to the the 6600gt. I think Im just gonna settle for a 6600gt over newegg.com since I'd haveta pay $15 in tax if I buy it at work.
 

carage

Senior member
Sep 20, 2004
349
0
0
Originally posted by: platinumike
wow, the 6800 doesnt really hold much of an andvantage to the the 6600gt. I think Im just gonna settle for a 6600gt over newegg.com since I'd haveta pay $15 in tax if I buy it at work.

But even 6600 GT SLI can't be a single 6800 GT in most scenarios.
 

platinumike

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2004
2,114
3
0
ya, I dont think theres much out now that can beat a 6800gt or ultra. But im just looking to spend $200-250. Since my sysytem is outdated:
athlon xp2100
768 mb ram
 

Kovie

Member
Sep 18, 2002
138
0
0
The benchmarks were based on one game. Much like it was foolish to base a video card on just D3, its also foolish to base it on just HL2.

Techreport included a 6800 in their review:
http://www.techreport.com/revi...6600gtagp/index.x?pg=1

PC Perspective had a nice 6800 vs 6600GT vs 9800 Pro HL2 review:
http://www.pcper.com/article.p...;type=expert&pid=5

You could also use the PCIe version as they perform nearly identically.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2196

The 6800 is easily better, but and was infinitely a better buy when outpost had their 6800OC's in. There are times when it loses to the 6600GT, but not all that often, and usually its quite a bit faster. It was a lot easier to reccommend it when it was only $5 more expensive, and its more up in the air when its $40-$50 difference.
 

platinumike

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2004
2,114
3
0
Thanks thoose were plenty of benchmarks. The 6800 did outperform it many time times, but in a few games 6600gt was way over the 6800 even with aa/af enabled. This is a tough choice, because I've also seen some peeps, from the link that df9 provided, that dont see a difference from there current low end card and their 6800. I did the math with tax, and I'd pay $12 more for the 6800 over the 6600gt thats at www.buy.com. A few mroe questions, if you guys can answer: whats a preffered brand by most gamers: xfx or bfg.(my fav is gainward) Also, Im also running 4x agp, theese cards say they'll run in 4x on the box, but just wana make sure. Thanks!
 

MDE

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
13,199
1
81
I'd rather take BFG for their warranty alone, and any of the cards will run at AGP 4x, the actual speed difference between AGP 8x and 4x is minimal at best.
 

imported_Bleh

Senior member
Sep 30, 2004
433
0
0
Ya just spend the extra $12 and get the 6800 overall it will be better than 6600gt. And yes it will run at 4x and I personally have a bfg 6800oc and I unlocked the vertex shader and extra 4 pipelines (this will give a nice performance increase) and its overclocked right out of the factory (also lifetime warranty and support :)), I heard people that bought a 6800gt by xfx that had lower clocked memory so just go with the BFG 6800oc.
 

platinumike

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2004
2,114
3
0
ya I forgot about the 24/7 lifetime tech support. Thats plenty of reason to take it over any other brand. Thanks guys! btw, anyone need the farcry that comes with my card?
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
10,460
0
0
Originally posted by: Thermalrock
id go 6600gt and have a working video processor :)

You must not be a gamer.

Beyond that, when Pure Video comes out the 6800s are supposed to have a working VP.
 

shabby

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,782
45
91
Originally posted by: Thermalrock
id go 6600gt and have a working video processor :)

Has it been confirmed that it even works on the 6600? Anand made a post here #34 basically saying theres no driver that enables the video processor even on the 6600 cards.
 

Thermalrock

Senior member
Oct 30, 2004
553
0
0
Originally posted by: Rollo
Originally posted by: Thermalrock
id go 6600gt and have a working video processor :)

You must not be a gamer.

Beyond that, when Pure Video comes out the 6800s are supposed to have a working VP.

theres no game that the 6600gt cant play at a reasonable resolution. crazy ppl running 1600x1200 on their crappy 19 and 17" crack me up. and yea i dont play a lot and back when i still used to only rts so even if i still played the video card wouldnt matter that much now a video processor that helps me encoding movies however would be a fine feature.

ps i do believe i read on several different sites that the 6600 series has the vp working perfectly. ill tell you if it does when i get a gt. whenever the asus sli board is available ill get one with it. if anyone knows if two cards in sli will have both vps working while encoding and confirms thats the way its gonna be i might even get a two gts. i like movies a lot.
 

platinumike

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2004
2,114
3
0
getting fiesty in here. I was thinking, what would be better for my outdated system? I thought the 6800 would since it has more bandwidth, when the 6600gt has faster clock speeds which I dont think matter as much?. Anyways, help me decide and here are my specs:
athlon xp 2100
768mb ddr ram
agp 4x mobo
400w psu.
 

platinumike

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2004
2,114
3
0
Im leaving for the Military in about a year, and i cant take a computer to bootcamp. So Im gonna update it now, so I can play recent games at a decent resolution
 

platinumike

Platinum Member
Nov 18, 2004
2,114
3
0
also how would a 6800gt run on my crap system?I think I mite be able to get a good deal on them(dunno) I know im askin alot of questions, and I appreciate the help!
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
10,460
0
0
Originally posted by: Thermalrock
Originally posted by: Rollo
Originally posted by: Thermalrock
id go 6600gt and have a working video processor :)

You must not be a gamer.

Beyond that, when Pure Video comes out the 6800s are supposed to have a working VP.

theres no game that the 6600gt cant play at a reasonable resolution. crazy ppl running 1600x1200 on their crappy 19 and 17" crack me up. and yea i dont play a lot and back when i still used to only rts so even if i still played the video card wouldnt matter that much now a video processor that helps me encoding movies however would be a fine feature.

ps i do believe i read on several different sites that the 6600 series has the vp working perfectly. ill tell you if it does when i get a gt. whenever the asus sli board is available ill get one with it. if anyone knows if two cards in sli will have both vps working while encoding and confirms thats the way its gonna be i might even get a two gts. i like movies a lot.

Hmmm. I have 22" NEC FE2111SB, do I get to play at 16X12?

As far as you "liking movies alot", why do you watch them on a teeny monitor then? The smallest tv in my house is 27", which is a good deal bigger than my monitor. I like movies too- enough not to squint at them on my monitor?

The OP asked about benchmarks, so he's obviously a gamer. Check them out here, especially the ones where AA/AF is enabled.
http://www.firingsquad.com/har...a_geforce_6600_gt_agp/

I'll tell you this as well:
I have a 6800NU that unlocks the additional 4 pipes and vertex processor, and will run games all day at 350/800. If Rivatuner 152 was out when I bought my 6800GT, I might have saved the $400..
If you get a NU that unlocks for $230, that is the deal of the century, and AFAIK, no 6600 unlocks at all.


 

Thermalrock

Senior member
Oct 30, 2004
553
0
0
cuz i watch em alone and i can watch way closer to my eizo than my tv without getting headache so it feels bigger. and i dont know about that res on your 22". i run my 21" eizo and my 22" iiyama at 1024x768 both. i didnt get the bigger screens to have a bigger desktop i got em so i dont have to read small letters. i think id need a 32" lcd screen to feel comfortable at 1600x1200.
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
10,460
0
0
Originally posted by: Thermalrock
cuz i watch em alone and i can watch way closer to my eizo than my tv without getting headache so it feels bigger. and i dont know about that res on your 22". i run my 21" eizo and my 22" iiyama at 1024x768 both. i didnt get the bigger screens to have a bigger desktop i got em so i dont have to read small letters. i think id need a 32" lcd screen to feel comfortable at 1600x1200.

Anyway you look at it, watching movies on a computer is a crappy way to do it.

In the Best Buy/Circuit City/Etc. ad in your town, is there 5 pages of computer monitors that say "The BEST way to watch movies! Stick your face a foot in front of a tiny little screen!"?

No.

Even on a 36" tv 8-10' away is an infinitely better movie experience, a teeny little PC monitor can't provide immersion for movie viewing. If there was a law in this country "only one person to a house", people would still all watch movies on their tvs.
 

BentValve

Diamond Member
Dec 26, 2001
4,190
0
0


If you get a NU that unlocks for $230, that is the deal of the century,


There is no question that an unlocked 6800 NU is THE best deal going for a great gaming card.


I wouldnt even look at a 6600 GT after having owned a 6800 NU.


Ive since sold and only expect minor improvments with the GT, mostly did it for the extra ram.


For a pure speed card though..nothing can beat the 6800 NU that unlocks for sheer bang for the buck.


 

BentValve

Diamond Member
Dec 26, 2001
4,190
0
0
Anyone who buys the 6600 GT because it has fixed video bought the perfect card for themselves, its a crappy gaming card* with fixed video. :D




(*compared to whats out there)