Can't Decide between two budget cards.

[opulent]

I am building a budget system that will be doing some gaming and want to spend about $750, here are the specs so far;

MotherBoard: EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 ($107)
CPU: Athlon 64 3000+ 64-bit Venice (Rev E) 90nm 939 ($138)
Ram: VS1GBKIT400 CORSAIR PC3200 (DDR400) 184 Pin 400mhz ($84)
HD: Seagate 300gb Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM 8mb Cache ($115 after $80 Rebates)
PSU: Thermaltake TR2 W0070 430W ($30)
Monitor: KDS XF-9i 19IN/18V CRT Flat ($130) shipped
Case: Antec SLK3000B Atx Super Mid Twr No Psu ($43)

So that is $647 without the video card.

The only thing I have already bought is the HD.

Anyways it is the Video Card I am having trouble deciding on. Here are the two choices I have come up with
1. XFX PVT43GND GeForce 6600 GT PCI Express 128MB ($128)
2. Sapphire Radeon X800GT 128MB DDR PCI-Express ($143)

It puts me a little over my target but I can live with $800.

Any suggestions, comments?

 

[Fardringle]

This is a review directly comparing the two video cards. I'm in the same situation as you so I'm actively reading the article myself right now but I haven't read all of it so I can't give you a conclusion yet. I'll post back when I'm done reading (it's a pretty long article) to give you my impression...

http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=ODA5

 

[Fardringle]

OK, from that review it looks like the 6600GT works better at stock speeds in Doom3 and Battlefield2, the X800GT works better in Splinter Cell:Chaos Theory and EverQuest II, and they both come out about the same in Half-Life 2 and Need for Speed Underground 2. As with most comparisons of this kind, the final decision probably depends on which games you 'need' the best performance in...

The article does mention that the X800GT (at least the one from PowerColor) overclocks VERY well, but it doesn't give any in-game results after overclocking.

 

[CalamitySymphony]

Obviously the X800!

 

[sisq0kidd]

Get what's cheaper.

 

[Fadey]

arent the 6600gt's good overclockers too?

 

[Fardringle]

Originally posted by: CalamitySymphony
Obviously the X800!

If it was a straight X800 for that price, there wouldn't be any question at all. But it's not, it's an X800GT which looks like a toss-up with the 6600GT in some games, worse in others, and better in others so the question comes down to which games are most important, particularly since the 66000GT is $15 cheaper than the X800GT.

 

[Matt2]

I would say 6600GT and use that $15 for lunch tomorrow.

If you're willing to spend $143 on the X800GT, I would seriously consider biting the bullet and getting a Connect3D X800GTO for ~$179 IIRC. Unlock the pipes, OC that thing to XT PE speeds and your system wont seem so budget anymore!

 

[CalamitySymphony]

X800GTs Can Unlock Pipes and Overclock... 6600GT is stuck with 8 pipes

 

[opulent]

Thanks a bunch everyone, that article helped alot Fardringle, in the end I went with the 6600GT, it was a hard decision, the deciding factor for me was I like more of the games that the 6600gt did better at.
As for the overclocking, that is tempting but I am such a rook at overclocking that buy the time I get around to being any good at it I will do what Matt2 sayed and buy a (Connect3d X800GTO or whatever card at that time) and overclock the heck out of it then.

Thanks again, you guys are great.

 

[crazyeddie]

Let us know what kind of pizza you bought with the money you saved!

 

[opulent]

Just thought you guys would want to know what I chose in the end.

$138.00 Athlon 64 3000+ Venice (Rev E) 90nm 939Pin - FSB 1GHz L2 Cache 512KB
$102.00 EPoX EP-9NPA+Ultra Socket 939 NVIDIA nForce4
$83.00 CORSAIR 1GB (512MB×2) PC3200 - Lat 2.5-3-3-8 Model VS1GBKIT400
$128.00 GeForce 6600 GT PCI Express 128MB DDR3 - XFX PVT43GND
$94.00 Seagate 160GB 7200.7 7200RPM SATA 150 NCQ, Model ST3160827AS
$57.00 450W FSP Group (Fortron Source) AX450-PN ATX12V Power Supply 115/230 V
$98.00 19" SAMSUNG SyncMaster 955DF FLAT Screen Monitor - Refurbished A
$47.00 Antec SLK3000B Atx Super Mid Twr No Psu
$0.00 Case fan cm 120mm Alum Fan AAF-B12-E1 $11.00 - Free After Rebate.
$0.00 Hp Keyboard Sitting around.
$0.00 Extra Compaq wheel mouse sitting around.
$3.00 Pacific Digital MACh52 Internal IDE CD-RW 52x24x52 (Sitting around)
$0.00 Win XP Home Upgrade Retail sitting around.

$750.00 :Total

Which put me smack dabb on my budget for once, so I did as you suggested and bought a cheese and pepperoni pizza from Papas for 8.99, putting me over budget just to make things feel right.

Thanks for all your help, you people are the best.