Asus 6800GT 128mb - sell on or keep?

[imported_Maher]

Hey people,

I'm needing some help and advice here. About 3 months ago I bought the Asus 6800GT with the 128mb ddr1 memory. But the system hasn't been performing to it's full potential, I assume it's because I'm running a 300W psu. Anyway, thing is I've never seen my card actually in full swing (at current 3dmark03 is 5000 - tried it in pc of similar spec with 400W psu and got under 10000).

So getting to the point. I kind of rushed the purchase and didn't realise the memory wasn't GDDR3 and I'm a bit miffed about that really. Just wondering if it would be a wise choice to sell it on and pay the extra cash for a card with more longevity (pc has to last another two year or so) and raw processing ability.

 

[McArra]

I'd sell it and buy a real GT. But first buy a good PSU...

 

[Pete]

If you're going to have to buy a real PSU anyway, why not buy it now to see if the Asus makes you happy?

 

[imported_Maher]

Thanks for the advice! I've got a 430W antec psu on the way, I'll keep you posted on how that goes. One more thing though. About two years ago, I bought my geforce 4 ti 64mb and it managed to last two years even though there were cocnerns the 64mb memory wasnt enough. my main concern with the asus is does it have the memory capacity to last as long as my ti did for me?

 

[otispunkmeyer]

id still get rid of that card.....i dunno wtf happend down at asus the morning they decided to start making 6800 series cards....must of been a staff party and open bar the nigh before, all still too wasted to realise what was going on

was this a cock up? did ASUS ever say anything as to why they released a 6800NU with 256mb of GDDR3 (and also charged more than a GT for it) and also a 6800GT with 128mb DDR? it sure does just look like a mix up...did they ever admit to it though?

 

[imported_Maher]

I dont have clue. but could a company as big as Asus make that mistake? and even more admit to it, damaging quite a large reputation.

How much you think I should sell it on for? i was thinking £180 or something. Any advice on what to get instead then? budget of about $350usd.

 

[impemonk]

all asus was trying to do was balance out their line of 6800's performance wise, whether it'd be an NU, GT, or ULTRA. ASUS always does funky stuff like this so its no surprise to me. Maher, I would keep that 128MB 6800GT of yours and ignore those people telling you to sell it and buy another. As you have already experience with your 64MB card, that ASUS will last 2 or more years. By then, let's just hope you don't rush into buying a new graphics card like you did with the one you have now

 

[Tiamat]

The new psu will be welcome in your system
I doubt you can tell the difference between DDR1 and GDDR3 in gameplay at stock. If you overclock, then well thats different. If the stock clocks are the same as the stock clocks of other 6800GT then you should be fine.

 

[imported_Maher]

the stock speeds for the asus card are 350/700, i think im right in saying stock speeds for 6800gt cards with ddr3 are 350/1000. ive never really tried oc'n, especially not for long periods of time, still i very much doubt i can run my memory at those speeds.

once i receive the new psu ill post some benchmark results, and maybe someone with similar spec system to mine with 6800gt and ddr3 could also post results for a little comparison.

thanks for all the advice!

 

[Paratus]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
id still get rid of that card.....i dunno wtf happend down at asus the morning they decided to start making 6800 series cards....must of been a staff party and open bar the nigh before, all still too wasted to realise what was going on

was this a cock up? did ASUS ever say anything as to why they released a 6800NU with 256mb of GDDR3 (and also charged more than a GT for it) and also a 6800GT with 128mb DDR? it sure does just look like a mix up...did they ever admit to it though?

Yes Asus's line of NV cards is sure strange. There's another thread around here about the Apple 30 in display that links to another thread that shows the Asus V9999 Gamers Edition (6800 NU I think) can actually run the LCD at its native res - even though it doesn't have dual Link DVI. Something to do with the way they enabled the DVI connection gives more than the usual bandwith. Its the only card outside of a FireGL/Quadro/Mac Card that can run that panel at full res.

 

[selfbuilt]

Originally posted by: Maher
Hey people,

I'm needing some help and advice here. About 3 months ago I bought the Asus 6800GT with the 128mb ddr1 memory. But the system hasn't been performing to it's full potential, I assume it's because I'm running a 300W psu. Anyway, thing is I've never seen my card actually in full swing (at current 3dmark03 is 5000 - tried it in pc of similar spec with 400W psu and got under 10000).

Since "typical" 6800nu scores in 3dmark03 are in the ~11K region (GTs more like 12-13K), 10K is believable for your card, but 5K? I don't see how the PSU could be dropping your scores in half ... there's likely a video driver/chipset driver/AGP speed/directx problem somewhere. I'd try re-installing the chipset and video drivers, and confirming 8X agp in windows first.

Of course, I always recommend a larger PSU (for stability issues) ... I just don't see how that's affecting your scores.

 

[imported_Maher]

Yeh I thought the low benchmarks were strange. I ran it once got ~5k, ran it for a second time and got ~7k, the third got ~5k again. pretty strange happenings. It's possibly bios settings, but I think you could be closer with motherboard drivers. I'll try it out though, cheers for insight.

 

[Pete]

Asus' 128MB 6800"GT" is as strange as Gigabyte's 6600GT "SLI on a board," IMO, and I'm guessing both were dictated by supply constraints as much as untethered marketers.

But, if you can sell it and buy a real 6800GT for, say, about $100 more, I'd probably recommend doing so.

 

[selfbuilt]

Originally posted by: Maher
Yeh I thought the low benchmarks were strange. I ran it once got ~5k, ran it for a second time and got ~7k, the third got ~5k again. pretty strange happenings. It's possibly bios settings, but I think you could be closer with motherboard drivers. I'll try it out though, cheers for insight.

Since you mentioned the BIOS, another thought occurs to me - my Corsair TwinX 3200LL defaulted to 100Mhz on my Asus K8N (i.e. DDR200!). Might want to make sure your OCZ is running sync with your 400 HTT/FSB (i.e. mem set to DDR 400). Realistically, though, I still expect it's a driver config problem somewhere.

 

[adeathangel]

The same thing happened with my Asus A8V Delux mobo.. defaulted to DDR200. And I also bought a V9999GT, and I'm sooooo disappointed. I'm going to sell it ASAP and buy a real GT, any recommendations on which brand GT to get? Hopefully one I can OC to Ultra if I decide to? =P

 

[Wolfshanze]

That card was nothing more then a marketing gimmick by Asus. You have a "GT" in Asus name alone... what you got was a highly tweaked 6800 (non-GT). Asus slapped "GT" on the box, but it was NEVER a GT card, it was always the vanilla 6800 nvidia chipset.

I can't blame someone for buying the Asus "GT" and not realize what Asus had done... frankly, it lowered my opinion of Asus, who I have normally loved in the past, but that little naming trick on the box was downright deceitful. That is really just a tweaked 6800, and was NEVER a GT.

There was another company that liked to slap "GT" or "Ultra" on video card products that weren't either... I frankly have low regard for companies that do such misleading practices. NVidia should refuse to sell chips to companies that mislead by such marketing practices.

 

[Morphevz]

Sorry to interrupt you guys but... My question now is:

Is ASUS V9999GT (128 DDR1) better (in speed and reliability) than a GeForce 6600 GT (128 DDR3)?

I ask this because I just sold my Geforce 6600 GT (agp) and a deal to get a ASUS V9999GT that you all talk about popped up for a card with a month use and for the price of a new 6600 GT.

So what is worth it? A 6600 GT or a V9999GT for the same price?

(By the way, I'm portuguese - living in the god damned country - and such brand as all mighty BFG is out of the question since it's not in the portuguese market...)

Thanks in advance.

- Morph -

 

[Wolfshanze]

The 6800 is still a better overall card then the 6600GT (ergo the price)... the 6800 pulls ahead of the 6600GT in high-res AA situations.

Despite the clock and memory differances, the vanilla 6800 is still better then a 6600GT... especially considering it is possible to unlock the pipes and go from 12 pipes to 16 pipes on the 6800 (the 6600GT only has 8 pipes).

As for the Asus V9999GT, it is better then a vanilla 6800 (though definately less then a 6800GT). Folks are upset about the V9999GT because it is a somewhat misleading product considering it's marketing approach... however, compared to a 6600GT, it is still a good card to have, and I would trade my BFG 6600GT for a V999GT anyday of the week if it wouldn't cost me a dime.

Most folks are only upset about the card's marketing and price point. It's not a bad card (it's just not a "real" 6800GT).

 

[Morphevz]

Meaning, everyone's upset because it's named (and priced) has a 6800 GT, but it's lower than one, but when compared to a 6600 GT (for the same price as this one) it's a good choice.

If this is correct I better get that one before the guy sell it to someone else!

Thanks for the "enlightment".

 

[Wolfshanze]

Meaning, everyone's upset because it's named (and priced) has a 6800 GT, but it's lower than one, but when compared to a 6600 GT (for the same price as this one) it's a good choice.

EXACTLY.

 

[Morphevz]

And now a new doubt...

I was late for the deal of the V9999GT (with only one month) for the price of a new 6600GT. Now, i can get a V9999GE (from last November) for around 230 USD, is this a good deal? Is this board better than the V9999GT? ASUS sure is very tricky with their setups and model's names...

 

[impemonk]

Originally posted by: Wolfshanze
That card was nothing more then a marketing gimmick by Asus. You have a "GT" in Asus name alone... what you got was a highly tweaked 6800 (non-GT). Asus slapped "GT" on the box, but it was NEVER a GT card, it was always the vanilla 6800 nvidia chipset.

I can't blame someone for buying the Asus "GT" and not realize what Asus had done... frankly, it lowered my opinion of Asus, who I have normally loved in the past, but that little naming trick on the box was downright deceitful. That is really just a tweaked 6800, and was NEVER a GT.

There was another company that liked to slap "GT" or "Ultra" on video card products that weren't either... I frankly have low regard for companies that do such misleading practices. NVidia should refuse to sell chips to companies that mislead by such marketing practices.

I couldn't resist, but please do a little more research before bashing on ASUS's 6800GT 128MB version... The ASUS 6800GT 128MB version DOES NOT have the 6800NU chipset. It has the GT core, 16 pipelines, 6 vertex shaders, but has 2.8ns mem chips (hence, the low clock). The ASUS 6800GT 128 performs better than a regular 6800 and the 16 pipes/6 shaders is a given, not like what some people claim to have by "unlocking". My friend has the ASUS 6800GT you speak of and it is quite a nice card. It runs Half Life 2 like a charm, though while you can't turn up the details as you would with a 256MB DDR3 GT, its still decent.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Pete
Asus' 128MB 6800"GT" is as strange as Gigabyte's 6600GT "SLI on a board," IMO, and I'm guessing both were dictated by supply constraints as much as untethered marketers.

But, if you can sell it and buy a real 6800GT for, say, about $100 more, I'd probably recommend doing so.

I don't know Pete, as a guy who's run an unlocked and OCd 6800NU (basically what he has) and a 6800GT, I don't know if it's worth $100.. To each his own though, if the ability to play at 16X12 vs 12X10 is worth $100 to you, that is the way to go.

The Asus 6800GT was a decent value, my experience with the unlocked 6800NU was that it performed halway between a 6800NU and a 6800GT. The Asus card cost about $50 more than a normal NU in those days ($330 vs $280 or so) and a GT was $400.. So it would seem the Asus card was priced about right.