For my new build, a 7800GTX is in the budget, but should i just go with a 6800GT as I am limited to 1280x1024

[bcoupland]

As the above states, i'm not sure about whether to stretch for a 7800GTX in my new build. I realize that it will be bottlenecked badly at 1280x1024, but for future games doesn't it have much more pixel shading power than the 6800 series? I won't be upgrading the video card for two years if i get the 7800GTX, whereas i will likely upgrade the 6800GT in a year's time.

 

[Fern]

My .02

I'd prolly get 6800GT now. For one, I don't like paying a premium for the new stuff. Also, I don't like feeling "wed" to a gfx card for two years; I like upgrading every year if possible cuz of new features that come etc. Also, I'm not committed to either nVidia or ATI and will switch to whomever has the best product at the time.

I guess I could sum it up by saying I like getting the 6800GT and staying flexible to make another choice next year depending on new games and cards.

I don't think whichever way you go is a bad choice though.

Fern

 

[TTLKurtis]

i wouldn't say that you're "bottlenecked" with 1280x1024 necessarily

what are the rest of your system specs? with a 7800gtx what you ARE likely to have a bottleneck with is your CPU.

 

[otispunkmeyer]

hmm i dunno, looking at some early FEAR benches it seems the 6800 series of cards is gonna struggle to play 12x10 with aa and af.....i was actually quite shocked, my 6800gt is less than a year old and already best playable settings are ebbing closer and closer to 10x7 which is where i was before my 6800GT with my 9500pro

i really didnt think it would happen that quick, id put off till Aug 11th to see what else Nvidia is about to release

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
hmm i dunno, looking at some early FEAR benches it seems the 6800 series of cards is gonna struggle to play 12x10 with aa and af.....i was actually quite shocked, my 6800gt is less than a year old and already best playable settings are ebbing closer and closer to 10x7 which is where i was before my 6800GT with my 9500pro

i really didnt think it would happen that quick, id put off till Aug 11th to see what else Nvidia is about to release

:thumbsup: and in the same boat... even had the 9500 Pro still this time last year! Then Doom 3 came out and ruined my gaming experience on that card To think that I have gone through 6 vid cards in my main box since then...

 

[TTLKurtis]

Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
hmm i dunno, looking at some early FEAR benches it seems the 6800 series of cards is gonna struggle to play 12x10 with aa and af.....i was actually quite shocked, my 6800gt is less than a year old and already best playable settings are ebbing closer and closer to 10x7 which is where i was before my 6800GT with my 9500pro

i really didnt think it would happen that quick, id put off till Aug 11th to see what else Nvidia is about to release

The rumors are that the GT version is what's going to be released tomorrow, but I'm unsure of whether there will be any extra surprises (7600, 7200?).

what i can tell you is that i've played FEAR demo with a ATI X850 XT PE, and with a 7800GTX. the x850 xt pe does have some stuttering believe it or not when at 1280x960 and with aa/af. I ended up having to play it with many of the settings on medium so I could have some aa/af and i -think- i played with 2x/4x smoothly and had some pretty good iq.

with the 7800gtx i was able to play at 1280x960 with 4x/8x with a little higher in-game settings nice and smooth.

it is amazing that even the top-of-the-line "last-gen" stuff is choking in this game. i say last-gen because the x850xtpe is comparable to NV's 6800 ultra, so i just put it in the last-gen category since the 7 series is out.

 

[IeraseU]

The 7800gtx I view as just an overall better card. It uses less power, has a working purevideo processor, dual dvi, vivo and is a overall better performing card. If it's too pricey right now, I would definitely wait to take a look at the 7800gt. Personally I would not get a 6800series just on principle because of the whole h.264 acceleration that was supposed to happen and the broken purevideo processor fiasco. Then again, many people could care less about this, and if you're one of those people you should be able to snatch a good deal on a 6800gt now that Nvidia has recently slashed MSRP for the entire 6x00 lineup. My recomendation, get a 7800gtx if you need something immediately, otherwise wait a bit.

 

[hans030390]

get a 7800gtx now, and get a better monitor (if thats whats limiting your resolution) later

 

[OvErHeAtInG]

If I were you, I would wait for the 7800GT. Now is not necessarily the time to buy a top-end card. Although, if it's in the budget like you say, go for the GTX. 110nm gives you lower watt draw and less heat output. And, it sounds like you're worried about taking advantage of the 7800 at 12x10 - yeah I think you will get your money's worth; you may not fully stress the card while you're playing current games but like the above posters pointed out you will see more performance.

 

[TTLKurtis]

Originally posted by: OvErHeAtInG
If I were you, I would wait for the 7800GT. Now is not necessarily the time to buy a top-end card. Although, if it's in the budget like you say, go for the GTX. 110nm gives you lower watt draw and less heat output. And, it sounds like you're worried about taking advantage of the 7800 at 12x10 - yeah I think you will get your money's worth; you may not fully stress the card while you're playing current games but like the above posters pointed out you will see more performance.

obviously you never get a 'good deal' buying a top-end card, since playing the waiting game will always bring you a better deal. it just depends how much cash you have and what you want to do with it

 

[gac009]

get the 7800gtx if you are going to keep it for two years, if you are limited to 12-10 well you wont be playing much higher than that in a few years anyways. or just sell it in a year

 

[biostud]

Personally I'm going to get the 7800GTX (or maybe r520) (playing on a 19" CRT 1280x960 or 1600x1200). The price is ~50% more for the 7800GTX, but the performance of the 7800GTX is more than 50% better in new games, so that making the 7800GTX better value for money IMHO. (If you can afford the extra cost)

 

[Drayvn]

Originally posted by: hans030390
get a 7800gtx now, and get a better monitor (if thats whats limiting your resolution) later

Just like the man said, ive just got my 7800GTX and im staggering my upgrading.

Next few weeks will be another gig of ram.

Then after that a new monitor.

 

[imported_g33k]

With a 12x10 resolution, the 6800gt is sufficent. A 7800gtx is overkill at that res, but since you cant go any higher, you could always crank up AA.

As far as FEAR goes, the demo is still buggy. I do not believe that the FEAR demo is indicative of future games hardware requirments. The game's graphics were on par with DOOM 3. Since DOOM 3 is not nearly so demanding on hardware, I believe it is a programming issue. The finished product should improve performance.

 

[Fern]

Yeah, I was just going to say I wouldn't base a gfx card decision on a demo..

So, I 'm agreeing g33k about that.

 

[tbradsha]

To reiterate others' comments, the 7800GTX will make a noticeable difference on FEAR (and probably other upcoming games) even at lower resolutions. My x850xtpe did not play the FEAR demo all that smoothly, even at medium settings at 1024x768 (with AA/AF). It was OK, but not silky smooth. The 7800GTX would probably also make a noticeable difference in BF2 at 1280x1024. Your choice really depends on your specific sensitivity to price. In my opinion the 7800GTX definitely justifies a $100-150 premium over all of last year's cards. Whether it justifies a $151+ premium is debatable. The 7800GT might be a good compromise option, assuming you can find it for $400 or less when it is released.

Sounds like you plan to stick with nvidia this round, but there have been some recent deals on the ATI x800xt - x850xt pe class cards for around $230-280 (e.g., a refurb from the ATI store). These probably have the best price/performance of the higher-end cards right now (and also the X800XL to some extent). If you can find a similarly-priced 6800GT, then go with that, but I haven't seen any at those prices. If you can find one for ~$250, it's touch to justify paying double for the 7800GTX.

In any event, you should probably wait just a few days until the 7800GT is released and prices on all cards have a chance to drop a little. Or wait a little longer until the R520 is released, for the same reason.

 

[TTLKurtis]

Originally posted by: g33k
With a 12x10 resolution, the 6800gt is sufficent. A 7800gtx is overkill at that res, but since you cant go any higher, you could always crank up AA.

As far as FEAR goes, the demo is still buggy. I do not believe that the FEAR demo is indicative of future games hardware requirments. The game's graphics were on par with DOOM 3. Since DOOM 3 is not nearly so demanding on hardware, I believe it is a programming issue. The finished product should improve performance.

even if you don't base it off the fear demo, you can base it off of BF2 performance

 

[Gamingphreek]

EVGA 6800GT... 90 days step up to 7800GTX.

-Kevin

 

[fstime]

7800GTX

 

[bcoupland]

I ended up buying an eVGA 7800GT. Thanks for all the reccomendations guys.