6x GS or 7x GS - worth the extra $$?

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g00n

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Mar 16, 2004
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Im one of the unfortunate many locked into an AGP only system. My specs are pretty avgerage. P4 3.0ghz 1gig DDR400. A full system upgrade it out of the question but I'm really wanting to extend the life of this for gaming. I currently have a ti4200 so anything I choose will be a HUGE improvement. Ive put this off long enough...

Is paying an extra $100-150 for the 7x GS Worth it? I just want to play my fav games (bf2, q4, splinter cell, cs:s) at decent frames. I would really like to be able to play Quake Wars at _playable_ frames when it comes out too. You can get a 6x GS for $~180 now and it seems to be a real sweet spot for performance/price. From all of the benches and reviews the performance gap (especially at lower res) its not that great. I never find myself playing at high resolutions (I play @ 10x7 most of the time on my LCD). The FPS advantage of the 7x over the 6x at this resolution is pretty small. It's hard to validate the extra $100+ for 5-6 FPS more.

How long until the 7x GS reaches about the $200 mark? No time soon? I would hate to get a 6x GS only to see the 7x GS hit about $200-250 in a a month or two.

It seems you can never win when uprading - you always feel like you got burned.
By the way: Accepting used 6800GT offers. :D
 
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jjdu4

Junior Member
Jan 29, 2006
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I just got the PCI-E version of the 6800GS (eVGA Superclocked) and I am very pleased with it. I went from 2 7800GT's (co versions) to the 6800GS and I am satisfied with the 6800's performance. I was really into benchmarking and stuff and once I found a game that I really liked I put the $400 difference in my pocket and got the 6800gs and enjoyed gaming!
 
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g00n

Member
Mar 16, 2004
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Does anyone think the 7x GS has a drastically longer life than the 6x GS? I really want to be able to play Quake Wars when it comes out. Do you think the 7x has a significant advantage here? Obviously anything much after Quake Wars would likely need a full system upgrade. I'm thinking within the next 1-2 years. I dont see any games down the pipeline that interest me that much besides Quake Wars. Maybe UT2k6....
 
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Piuc2020

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2005
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The 7800GS is a dissapointment, get the 6800GS, the price for the 7800GS (around 300$) is still not ideal, and for gaming at 1024x768, the 6800GS will be just as fast.
 
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imported_JamesDax

Member
Jan 3, 2005
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Originally posted by: Piuc2020
The 7800GS is a dissapointment, get the 6800GS, the price for the 7800GS (around 300$) is still not ideal, and for gaming at 1024x768, the 6800GS will be just as fast.
Click to expand...


even at 1024x768 the 7800GS still averages 11fps faster then the 6800GS in most games. Also at 1024x768 when overclocked to 460/1350 it averages 12fps faster then the 6800Ultra in most games. Weather the extra speed, cooler temps, lower power drain, new features and longer life span is worth the extra $90 is up to you.
 
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CKXP

Senior member
Nov 20, 2005
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Originally posted by: JamesDax
Originally posted by: Piuc2020
The 7800GS is a dissapointment, get the 6800GS, the price for the 7800GS (around 300$) is still not ideal, and for gaming at 1024x768, the 6800GS will be just as fast.
Click to expand...


even at 1024x768 the 7800GS still averages 11fps faster then the 6800GS in most games. Also at 1024x768 when overclocked to 460/1350 it averages 12fps faster then the 6800Ultra in most games. Weather the extra speed, cooler temps, lower power drain, new features and longer life span is worth the extra $90 is up to you.
Click to expand...



true, but the 6800gs is considerbaly cheaper, only marginally slower, and there's a possibility that the card can unlock basically making it a 6800GT, which in turn could be OC'd to 6800U (400/1100mhz) speeds, which in turn is just as fast in most benchmarks as the 7800gs..(but only if the card unlocks) BFG 6800GS free 3 day shipping
 
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v8envy

Platinum Member
Sep 7, 2002
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Be real careful looking at 6800GS benches. The 6800GS for AGP is clocked significantly lower than a 6800GS PCIe, and may or may not unlock into a 6800GT (which is the equivalent of the PCIe 6800GS).

The 6800GS from BFG has a good chance of matching a reference 7800GS, but it's still a huge YMMV.

If you do decide to fork over for a 7800GS, make sure it's one that's already seriously overclocked from the factory (e.g., Superclock with a 20% boost out of the gate). You'd be hard pressed to tell the difference between a reference clocked 375 mhz version an a 6800GT.
 
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g00n

Member
Mar 16, 2004
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Great feedback guys - I appreciate it.

The only thing I'm still wondering about is when (or if) the 7800 GS is coming down in price. If it falls to $250 or less than that extra $50 is well worth it IMO. Is it a pretty safe bet it will drop to about that? And if so, how long? I've already waited so long its almost stupid. Anything more than about 2 months? I figured when the new Nvidia card launched it would drop all the older models some. How long - taking your best guess?
 
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rmed64

Senior member
Feb 4, 2005
237
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It should drop eventually, dont know when, but I picked up a 6800GS a couple weeks ago and it flies at 1024 res in any game I play. You can find one for ~185 bux now (PCIE versions)

Personally, looking at the benchmarks, the 7800GS is just not that much faster than a 6800GS oced and to me definitely doesnt make up the difference in $100 worth of extra cost.
 
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imported_JamesDax

Member
Jan 3, 2005
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Originally posted by: rmed64
It should drop eventually, dont know when, but I picked up a 6800GS a couple weeks ago and it flies at 1024 res in any game I play. You can find one for ~185 bux now (PCIE versions)

Personally, looking at the benchmarks, the 7800GS is just not that much faster than a 6800GS oced and to me definitely doesnt make up the difference in $100 worth of extra cost.
Click to expand...

Despite all the benches to the contrary. Thats some serious denial.
 
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BobDaMenkey

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2005
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I've got a 6800GT AGP in my main system, and I'm quite very well pleased with it's performance still to day. This card is easily going to last me another 2 years at least, and probably longer. In all actuallity, I haven't even used that comptuer in about 3 months, I've been playing on my second computer which has a Barton 2500+ and a GeForce 4 Ti 4800SE(4400 8x agp).

From what I've read in reviews, the 6800GS is about par with the 6800GT in terms of performance.

But then again the most taxing things I play are HL2 and source based MP games, and The Sims 2 and Civ 4.
 
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rmed64

Senior member
Feb 4, 2005
237
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Originally posted by: JamesDax
Originally posted by: rmed64
It should drop eventually, dont know when, but I picked up a 6800GS a couple weeks ago and it flies at 1024 res in any game I play. You can find one for ~185 bux now (PCIE versions)

Personally, looking at the benchmarks, the 7800GS is just not that much faster than a 6800GS oced and to me definitely doesnt make up the difference in $100 worth of extra cost.
Click to expand...

Despite all the benches to the contrary. Thats some serious denial.
Click to expand...

Denial? You yourself said on average 11 fps more. At stock speeds it isnt any faster than a 6800GS oced to Ultra speeds.

Hell I score more on 3DMark 2k5 and 2k6 with my overclocked 6800GS than the reference 7800GS speeds. When also oced, the 7800GS is faster, no denying it. But $100+ faster?? Hell no.

Most reviews I've seen are either lukewarm or slightly disappointed by it, and for reason.

"If the 7800 GS AGP had 4 more pixel pipes, or cost about $100 less dollars, we might be able to look you in the eye and say, ?Go for it.? --HardOCP
 
RussianSensation

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
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7800GS is going to be much faster than 6800GS AGP version. 7800GS get 4 extra pipes right off the bat and their memory is 100mhz faster. Preoverclocked get as high at 460 and 1350 on memory. That is going to demolish the 12 pipeline 6800GS AGP version. However, for your purposes, I'd get the cheaper card and put $100 towards your next system overhaul. If you plan on keeping the system for longer than 1 year without overhauling, get the 7800GS card.
 
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g00n

Member
Mar 16, 2004
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I'm leaning towards the 7800 GS. I just wonder how long I will have to wait for it to hit ~$250.
 
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rmed64

Senior member
Feb 4, 2005
237
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I say either wait for the prices to go down to ~250 mark or just get an AGP 6800GS now, oc it and maybe unlock it. If you dont want to do that, then just do what you are doing now, wait a month and see how it goes. It all depends on how much you are willing to spend.
 
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g00n

Member
Mar 16, 2004
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When are the new Nvidia cards supposed to paper launch? Are we talking longer than 2 months here for the price to drop? I dont follow the graphics card industry close enough to make an informed guess/judgment. How long (best guess) until they drop to about $250?
 
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AzNPinkTuv

Senior member
Nov 29, 2005
659
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evga KO edition to be realeased at 490/1400 or so mem...


put that next to the evga 6800GSCO and the 7800 will win soooo badly
 
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SoundTheSurrender

Diamond Member
Mar 13, 2005
3,126
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Cpu has little impact compared to graphics. It has some effect, but a better video card will give games a lift since they are video card dependent.
 
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g00n

Member
Mar 16, 2004
52
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Thanks guys... the decision is becoming easier.

How long do you think it will be until 7800 GS starts coming down in price. $300 seems silly since you can get a GT for not much more. Im hoping for $250 or so but I dont want to wait months and months.
 
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imported_Sincity

Senior member
Dec 24, 2005
404
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I bought a plain AGP 6800 from Circuit City. It is on Clearance for $236 - $150 rebate. Supplies are very limited. Perhaps this could hold you over till the upgrade to AM2 or S939? On the XP 1700+ (OC'd 166 x 12) I get 61 FPS on BF2 with low settings on 1280 res. Both pixel and vertex shaders unlock. However, I had to leave the pixel shader locked and unlock the vertex shader to eliminate artifacting. Also this card does not overclock for beans. Maybe 5% if lucky.
 
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