Did I waste $300?

[slackerinabox]

I still have 30 days to make a swap so any advice is appreciated. I went into best buy because I needed a graphics card asap on a saturday and couldn't order one online... They had the 6600 gt listed for $249 which sounded like a decent deal.. only i'm an idiot and didn't see the "WEB ONLY" tag on the site. So I walked out with a 6800 OC (slightly overclocked at stock) for $300... I spent $50 more than I wanted to but is it really warranted? The 9800 pro was $249 so I could have bought that - should I have saved $50 and just got that or is the price difference worthwhile?

 

[imported_Computer MAn]

You made a good choice gettting the 6800 over the 9800. THe 6800 can be around twice as fast as a 9800 in some becnhmarks.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
I still have 30 days to make a swap so any advice is appreciated. I went into best buy because I needed a graphics card asap on a saturday and couldn't order one online... They had the 6600 gt listed for $249 which sounded like a decent deal.. only i'm an idiot and didn't see the "WEB ONLY" tag on the site. So I walked out with a 6800 OC (slightly overclocked at stock) for $300... I spent $50 more than I wanted to but is it really warranted? The 9800 pro was $249 so I could have bought that - should I have saved $50 and just got that or is the price difference worthwhile?

You should have checked the hot deal forum and gone to CUSA.

The 6800 is DEFINITELY the better card than the 9800 Pro ESPECIALLY when the 9800 Pro is $250.

 

[Pete]

CompUSA is selling the PNY 6800 for $230 - $30 MIR. So you wasted $70.

I believe a 6800 is worth $50 more than a 6600GT for gaming, but there are other variables to consider between the two (that have been covered in previous 6800 vs. 6600GT threads). A 9800P is in no way worth $250 right now, and even the $200 it sells for online is pricey compared to a $225 6600GT.

 

[Pnoy02]

all compusa 6800s are out of stock now, you can only buy it in store too, so check online for availability b4 you go to the store, online is 24hrs late on update, so just keep the card you have.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
I still have 30 days to make a swap so any advice is appreciated. I went into best buy because I needed a graphics card asap on a saturday and couldn't order one online... They had the 6600 gt listed for $249 which sounded like a decent deal.. only i'm an idiot and didn't see the "WEB ONLY" tag on the site. So I walked out with a 6800 OC (slightly overclocked at stock) for $300... I spent $50 more than I wanted to but is it really warranted? The 9800 pro was $249 so I could have bought that - should I have saved $50 and just got that or is the price difference worthwhile?

Depends. Do you care about the "programmable video processor" feature, and/or plan to use your machine to watch WMV-HD / HD-DVD content? "Allegedly" (well, it's practically proven, it seems), the PVP on the 6800 AGP is b0rked, whereas the one on the 6600 is supposedly working. NV has been putting out the word that their may be some "magic drivers" to get the feature working on the 6800 AGP that are supposed to be released on Dec. 20, who knows if it will be true, they previously claimed that they would be released some time in Nov/Dec.

OTOH, if you only primarily play 3D games, some of the 6800 cards can be "unlocked" to enable more pipelines. Do so at your own risk, it likely voids your warranty.

 

[amheck]

Originally posted by: Pete
CompUSA is selling the PNY 6800 for $230 - $30 MIR. So you wasted $70.

Hmm.... $300 - $200 equals $100 wasted, doesn't it?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: amheck

Originally posted by: Pete
CompUSA is selling the PNY 6800 for $230 - $30 MIR. So you wasted $70.

Hmm.... $300 - $200 equals $100 wasted, doesn't it?

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: Rollo

Originally posted by: amheck

Originally posted by: Pete
CompUSA is selling the PNY 6800 for $230 - $30 MIR. So you wasted $70.

Hmm.... $300 - $200 equals $100 wasted, doesn't it?

Depends how you look at it. If he can get the PNY card for $200 AND he got no games with his card AND the PNY doesn't have the well known PNY IQ issue, yes, then he may have "wasted" $100..

That's not a good way to look at it though.
1. You can't know where every deal is all the time.
2. Your time to search out deals and wait for rebates is worth something too.
3. If you have to find a CompUSA with it in stock and go there, it might not be possible.
Etc.

 

[n7]

6800 > 6600GT > 9800 Pro.

So you got the best of the three anyway.

 

[CraigRT]

good choice my friend..... apparently all you wanted from this thread was moral support but yeah

 

[SneakyStuff]

Originally posted by: Pete
CompUSA is selling the PNY 6800 for $230 - $30 MIR. So you wasted $70.

I believe a 6800 is worth $50 more than a 6600GT for gaming, but there are other variables to consider between the two (that have been covered in previous 6800 vs. 6600GT threads). A 9800P is in no way worth $250 right now, and even the $200 it sells for online is pricey compared to a $225 6600GT.

And look how many people say that the image quality of the PNY is craptacular. I think you made a good descision, the BFG can be purchased for $250 on outpost.com, but I wouldn't sweat it, you didn't have to pay for shipping, you got to actually inspect the product, and you know it works and can return it. Enjoy the card, and make sure to try and use Riva Tuner to unlock the additional 4 pipelines.

 

[slackerinabox]

Originally posted by: CraigRT
good choice my friend..... apparently all you wanted from this thread was moral support but yeah

Actually, I was really anxious about the purchase because I'm an older dude (23) and wanted to make a "mature" decision. I have a job but I get spending $50 dollars that I didn't have to spend is hard. So, yeah, I read benchmark after benchmark and the difference didn't seem that drastic between the 6600 gt and the 6800.. Alas, unlocking these 4 extra pipelines sounds like fun - I tried it a bunch of times last night and it never stuck... Though trying to "crack" this puzzle's almost as fun as playing doom 3!

Thanks guys - I don't fear nearly as bad about my choice - BFG's bundle was pretty sweet and the card is probably better quality than the PNY card.. And instant gratification's pretty cool - I shouldn't feel bad about being impulsive every now and then!

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by: amheck
Hmm.... $300 - $200 equals $100 wasted, doesn't it?

I figured ~$30 for tax.

The PNY IQ issues make it a potential RMA hassle, so I concede that paying extra for the BFG's better IQ, speed, and warranty may be worth the money to some. I assume you can just return/RMA the PNY till you get one with good signal quality (as I'm a stickler for a sharp desktop), but that may be a bigger PITA than most are willing to accept.

And if the BFG included a good game or two, then it was most likely worth it over the potential aggravation involved in finding a PNY with good 2D.

 

[drpootums]

yes, u made a good choice with the BFG. Even just buying it locally at a BB is good, because if u got a problem u just drive it back (no RMA'ing or nothing) and can make it much less complicated (well, for a while at least)

 

[Creig]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
I'm an older dude (23)

Good God, man! You're still a pup! I'm up to 37 and don't consider myself an "older dude" yet.

 

[paladiin]

While there have been some good deals on the 6800's in the last few weeks, it certainly is a very good card even at $299. It sounds like you picked up the BFG 6800OC. I have the same card and really like it. As already mentioned, your card can potentially be "softmodded" using RivaTuner (available at Guru3d.com). Normally, the 6800nu has 12 vertex pipes enabled, and 5 pixel pipes enabled. Manufacturers disable the additional 4 vertex pipes and 1 pixel pipe using what's known as hardware masking. This is normally done due to these pipes not working 100% correctly. Since the GPU is the nv40 which is also the same chip in the higher 6800 models (although clocked slower), sometimes these chips have defects and therefore cannot use its full 16/6 potential for the high end card specs, so the defective pipes are disabled and put in the lower cards (in this case the 6800nu). However, in some cases the manufacturer must meet the demand for the lower cards, and use perfectly fine GPU's in the lower cards, and disable otherwise working pipelines. What RivaTuner allows you to do is bypass the manufacturer's disable of these pipes to see if they function correctly. This is called "softmodding" since it uses software to modify the card from its default specs. There is very little danger in doing this since you make no permanent changes in the card, and if the pipes are indeed defective, resetting the software to default settings relocks the defective pipes. However, if the pipes are functional and can be unlocked, you gain a performance boost, essentially turning a 6800nu into a mini-6800GT (hardware limitations such as memory speed rating on the 6800nu will keep you from hitting the 6800GT's actual specs, but performance will be close to the default 6800GT's performance).

If all this sounds too technical and you don't want to bother with it, there is another plus to this particular card. Many of the BFG6800OC cards actually were shipped with the 6th pixel pipe automatically enabled by default! My particular card was. So you may in fact already have a performance advantage over other 6800 cards right out of the box. And without softmodding, the 6800OC has a very good track record for overclocking, so if you are interested in that, you likely will get decent results. Personally my 12/6 6800OC hits over 10000 in 3DMark03 (good score for a 6800nu) after overclocking. Once the new version of RivaTuner is released, I'll try unlocking the 4 vertex pipes and see how the card performs.

So don't worry. You've made a good choice.

 

[Edward Lee]

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212

Originally posted by: CraigRT
good choice my friend..... apparently all you wanted from this thread was moral support but yeah

Actually, I was really anxious about the purchase because I'm an older dude (23) and wanted to make a "mature" decision. I have a job but I get spending $50 dollars that I didn't have to spend is hard. So, yeah, I read benchmark after benchmark and the difference didn't seem that drastic between the 6600 gt and the 6800.. Alas, unlocking these 4 extra pipelines sounds like fun - I tried it a bunch of times last night and it never stuck... Though trying to "crack" this puzzle's almost as fun as playing doom 3!

Thanks guys - I don't fear nearly as bad about my choice - BFG's bundle was pretty sweet and the card is probably better quality than the PNY card.. And instant gratification's pretty cool - I shouldn't feel bad about being impulsive every now and then!

Older? at 23... lol I'm 32 years old.. I guess that make me a granddad...

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: Creig

Originally posted by: freedomsbeat212
I'm an older dude (23)

Good God, man! You're still a pup! I'm up to 37 and don't consider myself an "older dude" yet.

Yeah i was about to say .. I am gonna be 22 soon and I feel like i am still 16 Maybe you should get out more and play less games hehe..

 

[batmanuel]

The $200-$250 9800 Pro is turning into a bad joke, especially in light of the announcement of the vanilla X800 price drop to $200. This is really starting to piss me off, because I want a 9800 but I don't want to pay $200 for one and I was hoping I'd be able to get a good deal by now. The video card market pricing is all screwed up right now.

 

[Avalon]

Originally posted by: paladiin
While there have been some good deals on the 6800's in the last few weeks, it certainly is a very good card even at $299. It sounds like you picked up the BFG 6800OC. I have the same card and really like it. As already mentioned, your card can potentially be "softmodded" using RivaTuner (available at Guru3d.com). Normally, the 6800nu has 12 vertex pipes enabled, and 5 pixel pipes enabled. Manufacturers disable the additional 4 vertex pipes and 1 pixel pipe using what's known as hardware masking. This is normally done due to these pipes not working 100% correctly. Since the GPU is the nv40 which is also the same chip in the higher 6800 models (although clocked slower), sometimes these chips have defects and therefore cannot use its full 16/6 potential for the high end card specs, so the defective pipes are disabled and put in the lower cards (in this case the 6800nu). However, in some cases the manufacturer must meet the demand for the lower cards, and use perfectly fine GPU's in the lower cards, and disable otherwise working pipelines. What RivaTuner allows you to do is bypass the manufacturer's disable of these pipes to see if they function correctly. This is called "softmodding" since it uses software to modify the card from its default specs. There is very little danger in doing this since you make no permanent changes in the card, and if the pipes are indeed defective, resetting the software to default settings relocks the defective pipes. However, if the pipes are functional and can be unlocked, you gain a performance boost, essentially turning a 6800nu into a mini-6800GT (hardware limitations such as memory speed rating on the 6800nu will keep you from hitting the 6800GT's actual specs, but performance will be close to the default 6800GT's performance).

If all this sounds too technical and you don't want to bother with it, there is another plus to this particular card. Many of the BFG6800OC cards actually were shipped with the 6th pixel pipe automatically enabled by default! My particular card was. So you may in fact already have a performance advantage over other 6800 cards right out of the box. And without softmodding, the 6800OC has a very good track record for overclocking, so if you are interested in that, you likely will get decent results. Personally my 12/6 6800OC hits over 10000 in 3DMark03 (good score for a 6800nu) after overclocking. Once the new version of RivaTuner is released, I'll try unlocking the 4 vertex pipes and see how the card performs.

So don't worry. You've made a good choice.

You've got "pixel" and "vertex" backwards, but that is otherwise right on the money