Geforce budget cards, Which is faster?

[rogue1979]

I can't find any benchmarks on the 6800XT.

Anyhow, which of the following is fastest?



Geforce 6800 (plain) 12 pipes 350/600 256-bit 256MB

Geforce 7600GS (extreme edition) 12 pipes 500/900 128-bit 256MB

Geforce 6800XT (extreme edition) 8 pipes 350/1000 256-bit 256MB



I have to buy three, and my budget is $450 total, which all of these qualify for.

The 6800XT also has a $35 mail-in rebate which would make it significantly cheaper.

I already have one 6800 plain (410/800) and it gives me adequate performance for my gaming.

Thanks in advance!

 

[vois2]

Avoid the XT. It's stripped down majorly compared to the 6800 GS and the 6800 Ultra.

The 6800 GS and the 7600 GT perform at almost the same level of performance. Some will claim that the 7600 GT outperforms the 6800 GS by quite a bit, but the benchmarks I see repeatedly do not show this.

However, I like the 7600 GT because of its smaller die size and the accompanying lower power usage. It doesn't even require an extra power dongle!

I would go for 3 x 7600 GT if I had your budget and situation. For PCIe, this would be $525.

 

[rogue1979]

The cheapest I could find the 7600GT would be $552 shipped from newegg for three.

That's getting overbudget by more than $100.

 

[daveybrat]

The 6800XT Extreme edition will be faster than a 6600GT by a good amount, it should be fine for you purposes.

 

[rogue1979]

Originally posted by: daveybrat
The 6800XT Extreme edition will be faster than a 6600GT by a good amount, it should be fine for you purposes.

I was thinking along those lines, how do you think it compares to the 6800 plain?

 

[snowdogg187]

I was also looking at cards like this, I don't want to spend too much but I want something that will last as long as possible.

Also good overclockers?

something like a 6600 or 6800 maybe?
Any good sites that show the differences?

thanks

 

[snowdogg187]

anyone?

 

[Fardringle]

The few reviews I've seen say that the 6800XT 256MB falls roughly between the 6600GT and the 6800 NU, beating both in some benchmarks, losing to one or the other in some other benchmarks. If you don't plan to overlock or try to unlock the cards, and you can get one cheaper than a plain 6800 (make sure you can use that mail-in rebate for more than one card), the 256MB XT might be worth a try. Don't even bother with the 128MB version since this card has crippled pipes and relies VERY heavily on its memory and the 128MB card doesn't even challenge a stock 6600GT in any benchmarks that I can find.

Otherwise I'd go with the plain 6800 and try to unlock/overclock it since the various reviews I've seen on the 7600GS say that it is only slightly faster than the 6600GT and has very poor overclocking potential.

NewEgg has a 128MB 7600GS for $114 after a $15 rebate, a 128MB 6800nu for $129 after a $20 rebate, and a 256MB 6800XT for $84.99 after a $30 rebate.


Based on those prices and considering how close each of these cards are in performance (with the 6800XT roughly between the 7600GS and the 6800nu), if you can use the rebate on each of the three cards you buy, I would say that the 6800XT is the winner out of the three choices you listed unless you really want the unlock/overclock potential of the 6800nu...



edit: OR...if you can go just a little bit over your $450 budget, you can get a 7600GT (Significantly better than any of the listed choices - faster than a 6800 Ultra in some cases) for about $160-$165 after rebate. See this thread for details. The $485/$495 total price for three of these cards is a pretty hefty jump from the $255 total for three 6800XT cards, but the difference in performance is dramatic and if you have the money available, you'll be much happier with the 7600GT in the long run...

 

[LW07]

Does it absolutly have to be nvidia cards?

If not, I would get these 3 cards:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102698
X1800XT 256mb

and 2 of these:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814102691
X800GTO 128mb

Total:$482 after UPS 3-day shipping

BTW, why do you need 3 video cards?

 

[TanisHalfElven]

7600 gs is ytou muct get nvidia. is quiet, cool and slap on a good fan and a great OCer.

 

[rogue1979]

No, it didn't have to be Nvidia only. It is just that all the ATI cards in that price range didn't have Pixel Shader 3.0 and HDR. Yes, the X1600 series has them, but it seems the X800 256MB 256-bit cards are still faster even without the new features.

So right now it looks like Nvidia has the best bang for the buck in that price range.

I bought one 7600GS that already arrived.

Slapped a 7-volted 80mm fan on it and it went from stock 400/800 to 500/933 without complaints, running cool. I really don't have the time for detailed benches, but in 3DMark05 it is almost dead even with a 6800 plain 256MB 256-bit card at 400/800.

They both get a little over 5000 on a Sempron 2800+ @ 2400MHz. But in some games like F.E.A.R. and COD2 the 7600GS seems a little smoother at the same resolution and details.

 

[996GT2]

For $450 I say get a pair of eVGA N553AX 7600GTs (clocked at 580/1500) or a pair of XFX 7600GT XXX edition cards. Both will beat a X850XT in most games, and when run in SLi 2 of them perform better than 2 OC'd 6800 Ultras. The pair comes to $320-330 AR. Then with the leftover money I would get this Sapphire X800GTO2, which now comes unocked to 16 pipes, and when OC'd a bit equals an X850XT PE in performance. ($138AR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102646

 

[JPB]

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=359&card2=178

 

[openwheelformula1]

7600gs

 

[bigboi86]

7600GS are nice cards, the best out of those three.

A 6800XT extreme edition with 1000mhz RAM? Is that GDDR2 or GDDR3? That might be able to unlock to 16pipelines and overclock, which would equal the performance of at least a 6800GT.

 

[LW07]

Here's what I would recommend for your other 2 video cards:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130284
7600GT for $210 + shipping

and this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102691
X800GTO for $89 + shipping

I'm still wondering why you want 3 cards, though.

 

[Avalon]

I'd say get three 7600GS cards.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: Avalon
I'd say get three 7600GS cards.

:thumbsup: Best overall features, power usage, ect. IMO.

BTW, he probably needs three because he has 2 kids+his systems with X700 series in them. They may even LAN game together, so he is keeping specs fairly equal to help eliminate the kids fighting with the "no fair!" argument.

 

[rogue1979]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER

Originally posted by: Avalon
I'd say get three 7600GS cards.

:thumbsup: Best overall features, power usage, ect. IMO.

BTW, he probably needs three because he has 2 kids+his systems with X700 series in them. They may even LAN game together, so he is keeping specs fairly equal to help eliminate the kids fighting with the "no fair!" argument.

Hehe, you got that right! Though I should cheat and get a faster card then my 10 year old son, cuz he is kicking my butt bad in UT2003 and 2004!

2 more 7600GS cards on the way.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

I feel ya. They own me online