A simple question with complicated answers

[ikickpigeons]

Ok peeps im very lost in this war between Nvidia and ATI. From what i have been reading from THG and the benchmarks the x800 xt card performs better than the 6800 ultra. Everyone here thinks that the 6800 ultra is a better card. Now i want to knwo which to buy. I am in the market for a computer and i dont want to screw myself over. My questions:
1) the diff between x800xt and x800xt pe?
2) theres a lot of different versions of these next generation cards so what are they all? (x800se and extreme editions so confused :\)
3) THE BIG QUESTION x800 xt or pe VS 6800 ultra (extreme???)
4) any great deals you have seen on the internet on any of the next gen cards.
-Please keep the flamming down and lets be civilized in this discussion
-Please excuse me for being so lazy i cant help it (its a habbit escpesialy in summer)

 

[Avalon]

1) The x800 XT PE is an AGP only version card that is clocked slightly higher. I think it runs at 520/560 as opposed to the x800 XT, which runs at 500/500. I may be wrong with the actual clockspeeds, but you get the idea. The x800 XT is the PCIe card, and I believe it also comes in an AGP variety as well. Both of these cards are 16 pipe cards.

2) Yeah, I do agree that the multiple little acronyms pegged on all these new cards can get a bit confusing at times. Already mentioned above is the x800 XT non PE and PE. The x800 pro is a 12 pipe card, and clocked slightly lower than an x800 XT. I think it runs at 450/450. The x800 se will be an 8 pipe card. For Nvidia's end, there is the vanilla 6800, which is a 12 pipe card. Then, the 6800 GT is the "entry level" 16 pipe card. The 6800 Ultra is a higher clocked GT. The Ultra Extreme is an even further clocked up Ultra. There are also the lower end radeon models, such as the x600 and x300, and those correspond with their current gen counterparts, the 9600 and 9200, respectively. There are a few different models of both of those, which are, for the most part, just different clock settings for the cards.

3) Not sure...the XT and the Ultra cut it pretty close. Your best bet may be to get a 6800 GT and overclock it to Ultra or UE speeds, if overclocking is something you're ok with. That would save you some good green. If you don't want to overclock, I'm sure both cards will suit you fine. If for some reason you want SM3.0/PS3.0 right now, go for the 6800 Ultra. Otherwise, get whichever of those two is cheapest.

4) None that are currently still going on. Gateway is selling x800 XT (PE?)cards for $435, if that sounds like a good deal to you, but I don't know when they will ship the cards. It appears they're delaying shipment dates for some people.

Sorry for any little technical mistakes I made in the post, it was bound to happen
Hope this helps a bit!

 

[ikickpigeons]

that helped greatly thanks avalon!