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About to buy Leadtek 6600GT over 6800 Series

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Pnoy02

Member
Please note that this argument is based off my situation and based off the PC I built. Also I normally don't play above 1024 x 740 although I might play higher resolutions from time to time, I just want a card that will deliver me for the next 4-5 years without any hint of struggle.

My pc:

A64 3000+
512mb OCZ platinum rev @ 2-3-2-5 1t
Soltek GNGR(the fastest 754 mobo)

So really this is just a high mid range PC, I'm thinking about the 6800 or asus' version it with a GT core. However, I realized that It would be severely bottlenecked by my other parts and the extra $ I would spend would be barely noticeable atleast to me it wont. I don't like Doom3 nor do I play farcry. I do love CS, CS:S, UT, Painkiller and possibly other games that probly would require higher end(ish) card to run smoothly, I play Online alot so I'll need above 80fps constants, > 100 prefered. Also I watch alot of videos and music, so the GDDR3 would help a whole lot.

So in short, the 60$-90$+ I would invest initially for the 6800 series IMHO right now isn't worth it. Has anyone thought the same path as I and regretted it? for what reasons? I did my research and various performance comparisons and the 6600GT seems to be the best bang for the buck. The logic mentality tells me to go for this and not look back while the hardware enthusiast is saying "Fvck that! go for the 6800s! it'll last you longer and better performance now!" then my logic counters "in 4-5 years, I'll do a full PC replacement anyway, fvck that $#it, better cards will be out by then"

So any pointers?

oh here are the cards I'm considering, each with their own special reasons:

Leadteck 6600GT

~well, other than its ugly PCB(although I wont see it inside my card along with my card keeper, I like this one. Cheaper and leadtek has always showed consistency in great products and good value. Also if anandtech's review of the GT cards will hold true for the AGP versions, then this would be a no brainer, although the HS design is kinda iffish cause the rams only get partial conduction.

Chaintech 6600gt

I like chaintech, good and reliable, this card even more so cause of its blue PCB, good HS design and come with painkiller!! slightly more expensive and currently out of stock, then again, probly wont order till jan(hopefully a sale will happen!)

Asus V9999 GT

A modified 6800, no need to unlock pipes and shaders, come with it. Asus' site says its equipped with GDDR, dunno who to trust and I heard conflicting reports. For the price, this is the sweetest, however it may be too much. I'm seriously considering this.



Jaton 6800

The cheapest of the bunch, I figured I'd take my chances to unlock, although if it doesn't I would think i'd be better off with the 6600gt.

EVGA 6800

The best ratings, reportedly highest success rate with unlocking and from a trusted company. Its a little higher in price VS jaton, essentially the same design, hmmm...although the feedbacks weigh alot.


So there you guys go, PLEASE PLEASE tell me something I don't know, or atleast try to convince me if I'm about to make a mistake with a logical argument. I don't have alot of money to spend and usually only upgrade once in a blue moon. Therefore I have to make this count, TY for the help, It will be well appreciated!
 
How high of IQ do you demand at this 80+ fps? If you need everything on, I suggest getting the highest card u can afford. Personally, I dont have the high fps req that u have and would be fine with a 6600gt. In today's top games and tomarrow's games, I dont know if you will be able to pull off 80fps with high IQ easily with a 6600GT. The 6800 isn't all that much better, but it is still better then a 6600GT and thus will provide you with a framerate and IQ combination higher then the 6600GT (especially with aa + af).

Either get the GT and plan to upgrade sooner (by the way, how long typically till u upgrade you video card?) or get the vga 6800 and try to unlock the pipes. If you can unlock the pipes and get a decent oc, compared to 6600gt it is worth the $60 extra.
 
I already said I'll upgrade at 4-5year intervals. I normally don't play AA & AF on unless I get "acceptable" framerate to go along with it. If I were to go with a 6800, I'd pick the asus due to it having a GT core. Also, its alot easier to say "unlock" even though its a 50/50 chance. Anyway, thanks for the reply, I see a point but I think the 6600gt will probly run a next gen game like UT2k5 or the new quake engine at high quality with fps > 60, I think I'll be happy with that, I'll go look into more benchmark comparisons now.
 
ur gunna have a hard time with any of these cards not giving you "a hint of struggle" in 4-5 years

If you want the best you'll get at that time, then the Asus would be the way to go just because it has 16 pipes and a higher clocked core. If you can though i really suggest you spring for the 6800GT being it will be playing on acceptable fps at decent quality for the next couple of years.
 
Im pretty sure he was comparing getting a 6600GT to a 6800NU figuring there is $100-$150 price difference between the 6800NU and GT...
 
Originally posted by: Pnoy02
Hmm, is it just me or is everybody preparing for the worst case scenario 😀
Click to expand...

The problem with not doing that is you often end up frustrated watching your games stutter even at low settings if you don't. If you think a A64 3000/6600GT will even run this year's games w/ hestitation with any AA/AF on, you're mistaken.
 
You've asked for brutal arguments and I'll give you brutal arguments.😀 Expecting a graphics card to be able to play a game in 4-5 years without "any hint of struggle" is like expecting the world to end in 2012. First of all, new featuresets like Direct3D 10 will come out and you'll be screwed. Secondly, even if it did have DirectX 10 support now you're lucky if you get more than 5 fps. Worst case scenario the card will die in 4-5 years along with your warranty after 3 with most manufacturers.

Let's look at an analogy.

5 years ago: GeForce2 Ultra
Now: GeForce 6800 Ultra
Future: ?

I don't know how well the GeForce2 Ultra performs in Counter Strike: Source (if it can even run it), but my best bet is not more than 15 fps at the lowest resolution. The same goes for any GeForce 3 card as well.
 
Man, more people should read post before replying 🙂 I said I don't really play with AA &AF, only if I get good FPS to go along with it, like the case with Regular CS. If I get the money, I'll probly get a new card along the way in about 3-4 years, although generally do tend to stay at 2-4. Reason is that I had the ti4200 for that amount of time, it survived quite a bit and recently got the 9500 pro free so I'm using that, now its time i buy my own card and I'm thinking of 6600gt. This card will serve my budget as this + 160gb sata + sound card = $350 budget. I did stronly consider the Asus but with its price, I'd have to save abit more, although keep in mind that I wont be ordering up until january, hopefully newegg will have a sale by then. I might be able to save up more, although the more I think about it, the more the 6600gt makes sense. I'm glad I posted here, seems people are aligned to what I originally schemed. Although Can someone link me to DX10 articles and how these "new games" will bring the card to its knees? I thought developers have come up with ways to have better graphics while keeping requirements from being too much. at 1024 - 740 res, I think most games will be fine, I'll go higher if the card allows me, reason I go with the 6600 is cause my other parts are mainly mid end, that way it prevents from too much bottle necking, if I were to upgrade(usually just build a whole new machine altogether) I'd be going PCI-E and better cards will be up by then, I get the satisfaction of saving little bit of money now for that card 😀 even though its way far ahead from now.

Although now that I think about it, it would be absurd to wait 4-5 years, so I'm thinking of getting the 6600gt now and with the new better tech of tomorrow, I'll upgrade then. Thanks for making me realize this fellas, now I'm planning ahead, atleast now my plan is clear.
 
As a Jaton 6800 owner I currently have mine clocked to 385/780 and ran an average 11250 on 3Dmark03
If it's a question about which you should get teh 6600GT or 6800 you should absolutely go with the 6800

I don't like the 6600, never did never will. Call me bias.

 
dude, if ur planning to play only cs:s for the next 4-5 years without any af and aa, then go for the 66gt. if u want to try new games which i hope will come out in the next 5 years and if u want to play them in higher resolutions with better quality settings...guess what? go for a better card. u spend more money now but u gonna have less moments of: "damn, why does it lagg again" in future.
 
Originally posted by: Pnoy02
Man, more people should read post before replying 🙂 I said I don't really play with AA &AF, only if I get good FPS to go along with it, like the case with Regular CS. If I get the money, I'll probly get a new card along the way in about 3-4 years, although generally do tend to stay at 2-4. Reason is that I had the ti4200 for that amount of time, it survived quite a bit and recently got the 9500 pro free so I'm using that, now its time i buy my own card and I'm thinking of 6600gt. This card will serve my budget as this + 160gb sata + sound card = $350 budget. I did stronly consider the Asus but with its price, I'd have to save abit more, although keep in mind that I wont be ordering up until january, hopefully newegg will have a sale by then. I might be able to save up more, although the more I think about it, the more the 6600gt makes sense. I'm glad I posted here, seems people are aligned to what I originally schemed. Although Can someone link me to DX10 articles and how these "new games" will bring the card to its knees? I thought developers have come up with ways to have better graphics while keeping requirements from being too much. at 1024 - 740 res, I think most games will be fine, I'll go higher if the card allows me, reason I go with the 6600 is cause my other parts are mainly mid end, that way it prevents from too much bottle necking, if I were to upgrade(usually just build a whole new machine altogether) I'd be going PCI-E and better cards will be up by then, I get the satisfaction of saving little bit of money now for that card 😀 even though its way far ahead from now.

Although now that I think about it, it would be absurd to wait 4-5 years, so I'm thinking of getting the 6600gt now and with the new better tech of tomorrow, I'll upgrade then. Thanks for making me realize this fellas, now I'm planning ahead, atleast now my plan is clear.
Click to expand...

DX10 has not come out yet.

Originally posted by: Pnoy02
Although Can someone link me to DX10 articles and how these "new games" will bring the card to its knees? I thought developers have come up with ways to have better graphics while keeping requirements from being too much. at 1024 - 740 res, I think most games will be fine...
Click to expand...

It's not the fact of the performance hit of DX10, it's DX10 itself. Your graphics card takes commands in the form only up to DirectX version 9. Come version 10, different commands will be introduced and you'll be left in the dark because your outdated video card can't process them. There are no DX10 cards at this moment, but I'm talking in terms of a couple years or so.

You'll have to be more specific. 2 years is a very reasonable time for upgrading. I have had my ATI Radeon 9500 PRO DirectX9 for 2 years and have survived until now. To my fortune, I got it just when DX9 came out and haven't seen a new DX since. 4 years however, is a little long. For you, I think you should hold off until the ATI X800 XL (16 pipes, but no SM3.0 (bad for future support)) comes out. This sounds like a very promising card about the same performance of the 6800 GT, and it's cheaper than the cheapest GeForce 6800 on the market now (MSI PCIe). The problem is this card may not come out for AGP. Otherwise, I would definitely get the GeForce 6800 as it has 12 pixel and 5 vertex pipes easily softmoddable to a GT if it works. If not softmoddable, still better specs than a 6600GT, more memory and memory bandwidth. The pixel pipelines will help you run future games if they have lots of special effects (likely).
 
Originally posted by: xtknight
Originally posted by: Pnoy02
Man, more people should read post before replying 🙂 I said I don't really play with AA &AF, only if I get good FPS to go along with it, like the case with Regular CS. If I get the money, I'll probly get a new card along the way in about 3-4 years, although generally do tend to stay at 2-4. Reason is that I had the ti4200 for that amount of time, it survived quite a bit and recently got the 9500 pro free so I'm using that, now its time i buy my own card and I'm thinking of 6600gt. This card will serve my budget as this + 160gb sata + sound card = $350 budget. I did stronly consider the Asus but with its price, I'd have to save abit more, although keep in mind that I wont be ordering up until january, hopefully newegg will have a sale by then. I might be able to save up more, although the more I think about it, the more the 6600gt makes sense. I'm glad I posted here, seems people are aligned to what I originally schemed. Although Can someone link me to DX10 articles and how these "new games" will bring the card to its knees? I thought developers have come up with ways to have better graphics while keeping requirements from being too much. at 1024 - 740 res, I think most games will be fine, I'll go higher if the card allows me, reason I go with the 6600 is cause my other parts are mainly mid end, that way it prevents from too much bottle necking, if I were to upgrade(usually just build a whole new machine altogether) I'd be going PCI-E and better cards will be up by then, I get the satisfaction of saving little bit of money now for that card 😀 even though its way far ahead from now.

Although now that I think about it, it would be absurd to wait 4-5 years, so I'm thinking of getting the 6600gt now and with the new better tech of tomorrow, I'll upgrade then. Thanks for making me realize this fellas, now I'm planning ahead, atleast now my plan is clear.
Click to expand...

DX10 has not come out yet.

Originally posted by: Pnoy02
Although Can someone link me to DX10 articles and how these "new games" will bring the card to its knees? I thought developers have come up with ways to have better graphics while keeping requirements from being too much. at 1024 - 740 res, I think most games will be fine...
Click to expand...

It's not the fact of the performance hit of DX10, it's DX10 itself. Your graphics card takes commands in the form only up to DirectX version 9. Come version 10, different commands will be introduced and you'll be left in the dark because your outdated video card can't process them. There are no DX10 cards at this moment, but I'm talking in terms of a couple years or so.

You'll have to be more specific. 2 years is a very reasonable time for upgrading. I have had my ATI Radeon 9500 PRO DirectX9 for 2 years and have survived until now. To my fortune, I got it just when DX9 came out and haven't seen a new DX since. 4 years however, is a little long. For you, I think you should hold off until the ATI X800 XL (16 pipes) comes out. This sounds like a very promising card about the same performance of the 6800 GT, and it's cheaper than the cheapest GeForce 6800 on the market now (MSI PCIe). The problem is this card may not come out for AGP. Otherwise, I would definitely get the GeForce 6800 as it has 12 pixel and 5 vertex pipes easily softmoddable to a GT if it works. If not softmoddable, still better specs than a 6600GT, more memory and memory bandwidth. The pixel pipelines will help you run future games if they have lots of special effects (likely).
Click to expand...

And, much like DX9, there wont be any DX10 games out at its launch, only cards that can barely run DX10, and the API itself. Then one game will show up, and everyone will proclaim the card that can run it (most likely a new3dmark completely artificial benchmark) the new king of 3d graphics forever. Then someone will notice that the drivers cull pixel 92465 on frame 2401 of the 3dmark scene and declare cheating.

Many threads will be created on this matter, and they will all be pissing contests in some company or others favor.

In closing, all of the cards you have chosen will have similar lifespans as they have identical featuresets and are within 30% of each other in performance. Its your own personal choice.

Id certainly get 1GB of memory in that rig and a 6600GT over keeping the 512MB you have and 6800...
 
Yeah, but I made a stupid mistake of getting a dual channel optimized memory(2sticks) and the mobo only has 2 Dimm slots(originally planning fo 939 set up but went with 754 as it seemed like a more appropriate for me), so no go, I will not be spending for more memory for ram, the ones I have will do, I have rambooster to free up unused memory.

Also I did not say anything about using DX10, merely I asked about articles of it to see what it is all about(to learn about what it is), no games will be using it as DX9 is just hitting mainstream. Also, 3dmark benchmarks are just ballpark estimates to strong the performance is, ofcourse you'd have to look into real game performance to make a decision, its just a nice thought to have that your card can crunch numbers.

Edward lee, how is that jaton for you? low temp and low noise? Did you unlock the 4 pipe and 1 vs?(able?) is that the maximum OC you got? I"m actually looking into this strongly now(jaton). Its basically the same design as eVGA down to the HS but 17$ cheaper, guess that added cost will show its face in performance but there are only 2 reviews at newegg.com about it, none were very informative. I think this might be the better deal, I was thinking about the asus v9999 but the added cost at that point simply aint worth it for me(+ no memory coolers).

Thank you for the replies, its been really helpful.
 
I'm running 385/780 Stable @ 65c-73c Full throttle and 45c-55c idle.
I'm getting good numbers on my 3DMark03 so I'm happy. (I'm not sure about unlocking pipes)

The only difference I would see in getting anything else would be the bundled software that came with the card. (I would have liked to get "Far Cry" instead of "Madden 2004" and "CC Generals"
 
I will try to see if Outpost has the BFG OC, I hope so cause that will be my card. If not, i'll weigh the Jaton and 6600gt and hopefully make a right decision by the new year, thanks again for your inputs.

Also I'm kinda skeptical about unlocking, the pipes were turned off for a reason, lotsa defective chances
 
Originally posted by: Pnoy02
I will try to see if Outpost has the BFG OC, I hope so cause that will be my card. If not, i'll weigh the Jaton and 6600gt and hopefully make a right decision by the new year, thanks again for your inputs.

Also I'm kinda skeptical about unlocking, the pipes were turned off for a reason, lotsa defective chances
Click to expand...

Well theres only 2 reasons.

1. the pipes are defective
2. to make a watered down card from a good chip

its luck which you get.
 
go for the bfg 6800oc 256bit
rigth from the box 350core, lifetime warranty and low price

I have unlocked 16 pipes, the 6th vertex shader is broken but it makes almost no difference, i run it at 385core 885 memory.

they oc great they come with 2.2 sumsung memory so most run 850 easy all the way to 900

lets put it this way, with athlon xp @ 2460 (182fsbx13.5), 512mb ocz @ 2-2-2-5 1t and old school mobo - asus a7v333 (single channel) I get 4300 in 3dmar05, 10700 in 3dmark03

basically I'm 5% behind then my buddys stock 6800gt when it was put in my system and in some games equal. Mine isnt even the best overclocer either since core only 385 ppl usually get 400 easy

Its stupid to get the 6600gt, its new technology with a huge botleneck 128bit!!!

 
well, instead of the card you should really think of selling your current 512mb and then add some more to get 1 gb worth of memory. Because as of right now your 512mb is already your bottleneck depending on what game you play. If you are planing to play World of Warcarft,, you'll need that 1gb, the difference is really noticeable. There has been deal going around making the 6800 around the same price as the 6600GT. So you should keep a eye out for them. You need more ram.
 
upgrade to the 1gig of RAM first, then wait till Feb to get a graphics card. personally i would say plump for a 6800GT, by Feb i reckon the prices will be around 30% lower at least.....
This year was just the first battle, this coming year begun the GPU wars have *in best yoda impression*
 
Yeah, I might do just that, problem is selling the damn things, I also have a 9500pro and Ti4200(along with WC3 ft & diablo 2 battle chest & and maybe even UT 2k3) for cheap that I might throw in(goes to paying for the ram). I don't know anybody to sell it too. I haven't tried online vendoring as I'm a nub at it. I do want 1gb, especially with 2-2-2-5 timing. I actually have no interest in WOW cause I don't play "pay for online" games, I prefer to play for free, so no go, I would love to but I don't see myself doing it. First things first though, I will order the BFG from outpost for 250$, then an HD & soundcard from newegg.com, maybe even a mic set also. Hopefully things are in order, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR MAKING ME REALIZE THIS, i was just about to order the Leadtek 6600gt and was actually about this close to hitting the order button 🙂 Then I remembered outpost's 6800 for $250 and reading this post, it made more sense, funny how time can change your viewpoints drastically. My only dilemma now is whether to get the hitachi, seagate or samsung brand of SATA drive 🙂 I think I'm better off with 120gig due to videos, also not having to uninstall games is a huge +.

In response to knyghtbyte:

I'm skeptical about that price drop, reason? Well, same argument can be made about the processors, although drop is considerable from first introduced, at one point, prices were at an all time low. after a month or 2, price went back up, theres no way of telling this might be the low point in prices(time). Although my experience is that prices go lower after I buy, this might not be the case, although I might go with what you're saying simply cause I'm not playing anything right now other than CS(regular). The hardware itch is just getting to me, Although the 1 gig ram is a great suggestion, although what to do with my old one(which is actually kinda new)... I'll try to online vendor, but who would want it?
 
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