Need suggestions on GPU

[MobiusPizza]

As I have heard ATi's releasing R520 this summer, but I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway... I've been thinking whether I should buy GeForce 6600GT or 6800GT... Originally I intended to buy 6800GT... But it's too expensive for me ~430USD in HK. (Sad thing I don't live in USA nor I do have any relatives).

It doesn't seem cost efficient to buy 6800GT given the state of SLi support for 64 bit windows and new generation cards are coming out soon. Shall I just bare with a 6600GT and upgrade in a year from now as compared to stick with GeForce 6800 for 2+ years? And I heard 6800 is quite noisy??

I cannot use my current graphic card which is a GeForce 2 Ultra -_-
I plan to do quite a bit of gaming on 19" LCD which supports 1280 * 1024.

I don't know about the current ATi line. I don't know there compatibility with nForce 4. And as a tech geek I would love to have SM3.0... but I guess it wouldn't matter if I am upgrading again in a year.

P.S. I have a favour to ask. If anyone can order me a pair of OCZ VX PC4000 from newegg US$262 and ship it to me in UK I would be grateful. I can't grab a pair from HK, they don't have distributors there. Buying stuff from UK is just utterly expensive. Of course I would pay for the cost+shipping+extra. Thanks very much

 

[biostud]

Maybe the ATi X800XL

 

[MobiusPizza]

Shall I not buy a SLi motherboard then?

I originally intended to opt for DFi SLi-DR.
Solely because I might be setting up SLi AND the fact that it has extra SI SATA RAID controller.

Anyway how come X800XL is as expensive as GF6800GT on Anandtech price engine?
While the Sapphire one is stand alone at 260 USD...

 

[biostud]

it really depends on what other parts you're putting into your system and how much you're willing to spend, from the memory you've chosen it seems that you're going to overclock. If not you could save some $ and buy cheaper memory and spend it on the video card. If you're aiming for SLI I would get the 6800GT instead of two 6600GT, but if it would be too expensive I wouldn't go for SLI as I think it isn't really mature yet.

 

[MobiusPizza]

yeah I am willing to spend a bit more on motherboard and memory since I think they'd last longer. I plan not to upgrade the motherboard and memory and CPU for 2+ years. That's why.

The situation is I am not sure whether to go for 6600 or 6800. I don't kow how long can 6800 last before it can't run games anymore. I agree with you, I don't quite trust SLi setups.

 

[mwmorph]

SLI is only for those that upgrade frequently(every generation). if you wait 2 years or more, then you will be missing on a lot of stuff(like WGF and PS4). As a upgrade path, it's not very practical. the only reason you would need more power is to run more advanced features.
The breakdown goes somethinglike this:

SLI UPGRADE PATH(so you can play all newer games in all their glory)
1x6600gt(approx $200)-in 2005(slower than x800xl)
1x6600gt(approx $100)-in 2006(finally catches up)
Ditch both cards to get 1x 8600gt so you can run WGF and PS4(approx $200)-in 2007(slower than XII800xl, or 8800)
get 1x 8600gt(approx $100)-in 2008(probably finally catches up again)

Single Card Upgrade Path:
1x X800xl($300)-in 2005
1x 8800 or XII800xl($300)-in 2007

basically same price, just that with the sli upgrade path, you dont have the ability to run games as fast from the beginning.

also, the 6600gt struggles to provide acceptable fps at high settings 12x10resolution on amny modern games.(DOOMIII,FarCry,Etc.)

Sli is only for people in which 1 card isnt enough processing power.

 

[apoppin]

Wait until you are ready to upgrade. Prices are changing [dropping] . . . this Summer.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX
As I have heard ATi's releasing R520 this summer, but I wouldn't be able to afford it anyway... I've been thinking whether I should buy GeForce 6600GT or 6800GT... Originally I intended to buy 6800GT... But it's too expensive for me ~430USD in HK. (Sad thing I don't live in USA nor I do have any relatives).

I'll be your relitive, just order it from newegg.com and have it sent to my place and I will forward it to you. Provided that you pay for the shipping costs.

The x850 XT PE (platinum edition) supports SM3.0 and none of the ATI cards do not have incompatabilties with nFORCE 3 or 4
$499 x850xt pe- 16 pipe
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-519&depa=0

x850 pro- 12 pipe

 

[MobiusPizza]

Originally posted by: Googer

I'll be your relitive, just order it from newegg.com and have it sent to my place and I will forward it to you. Provided that you pay for the shipping costs.

The x850 XT PE (platinum edition) supports SM3.0 and none of the ATI cards do not have incompatabilties with nFORCE 3 or 4
$499 x850xt pe- 16 pipe
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-519&depa=0

x850 pro- 12 pipe

First of all Thank you for your kind attention. I would keep your contact e-mail then contact you later. It's still early to buy RAM for my non-existent PC. It would be helpful if you have paypal account.

Back to main topic, I never knew X850 series support PS 3.0, Are you sure? I thought only the new upcoming R520 supports PS3.0

I did a search on the net, it says ATi 850 supports PS 2.0b, which was what I thought...

From this site

Next up, we take a more specific look at the X850 XTs ability when it comes to Pixel Shaders, using ShaderMark 2.1. Unlike version 2.0 of the application, which only made use of 2.0 shaders, ShaderMark 2.1 is capable of supporting both Pixel Shader 2.0b and 3.0. Thus, we used a default benchmark run of this application to see how ATI's Pixel Shader 2.0b performance matched up against NVIDIA's offering running shaders with the same visual output using a 3.0 shader profile

 

[apoppin]

the current ATI cards do NOT support SM 3.0

r520 will be the first cards to do so

 

[mwmorph]

x850 is NOT[/b ps 3.0 compliant. it is till only dx9b and ps2

 

[fstime]

lets face it, sm 3 is just some feature nvidia fanboys like to point out as it will make a huge differance.

 

[MobiusPizza]

Just to post a more detailed planned config:

DFi nf4 SLi DR
OCZ 1GB Dual Channel VX PC4000
AMD Athlon Venice 3500+ / 3800+
GPU???
Creative Audigy 2 Soundcard

GPU is indeed toubling me :/
Actually I should just op for best performing ~US$300 GPU

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: BouZouki
lets face it, sm 3 is just some feature nvidia fanboys like to point out as it will make a huge differance.

just to point out . . . ati thinks so too as ALL their new cards will FEATURE it.
:roll:

and to the OP, even prices in your locale shoud DROP when the new cards are released . . . you will have [many] more options if you REconsider this Summer.

 

[fstime]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: BouZouki
lets face it, sm 3 is just some feature nvidia fanboys like to point out as it will make a huge differance.

just to point out . . . ati thinks so too as ALL their new cards will FEATURE it.

Thats great. :thumbsup:

Thanks for pointing out somthing I already knew.

And ATI using it in their new cards doesnt make it all of a sudden very importent does it? Dpes that change my original statement or what?

And why would I care what ATI does?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: BouZouki

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: BouZouki
lets face it, sm 3 is just some feature nvidia fanboys like to point out as it will make a huge differance.

just to point out . . . ati thinks so too as ALL their new cards will FEATURE it.

Thats great. :thumbsup:

Thanks for pointing out somthing I already knew.

And ATI using it in their new cards doesnt make it all of a sudden very importent does it? Dpes that change my original statement or what?

And why would I care what ATI does?

You're welcome . . . it adds to your statement.

i only pointed it out since nVidia fanboys tend not to know or care about ati cards.

And yes, SM 3.0 is quite important. . . . head over to video and a current extensive thread for an education.
:roll:

 

[MobiusPizza]

I agree. I am neither ATi nor nVidia Fanboy. Having a new feature supported is always better. Who knows whether or not in a year's time all games out would support PS3.0? We'll be missing some performance gain using the old PS or missing eye candies.

 

[fstime]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: BouZouki

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: BouZouki
lets face it, sm 3 is just some feature nvidia fanboys like to point out as it will make a huge differance.

just to point out . . . ati thinks so too as ALL their new cards will FEATURE it.

Thats great. :thumbsup:

Thanks for pointing out somthing I already knew.

And ATI using it in their new cards doesnt make it all of a sudden very importent does it? Dpes that change my original statement or what?

And why would I care what ATI does?

You're welcome . . . it adds to your statement.

i only pointed it out since nVidia fanboys tend not to know or care about ati cards.

And yes, SM 3.0 is quite important. . . . head over to video and a current extensive thread for an education.
:roll:

I have seen comparisions, I wasnt impressed.

SM 2 is just as good as SM 3 anyways. SM 3 just performs a bit better.

There isnt even much of a differance from 1.1 and 3 in the comparisions I saw.

and now lets do your trade mark

:disgust:

 

[StrangerGuy]

I don't give a damn to SM3.0 support in this generation, and I think SLI is just too impractical and expensive to set up.

X800XL all the way, can't beat the price/performance there.

 

[Googer]

Originally posted by: AnnihilatorX

Originally posted by: Googer

I'll be your relitive, just order it from newegg.com and have it sent to my place and I will forward it to you. Provided that you pay for the shipping costs.

The x850 XT PE (platinum edition) supports SM3.0 and none of the ATI cards do not have incompatabilties with nFORCE 3 or 4
$499 x850xt pe- 16 pipe
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-519&depa=0

x850 pro- 12 pipe

First of all Thank you for your kind attention. I would keep your contact e-mail then contact you later. It's still early to buy RAM for my non-existent PC. It would be helpful if you have paypal account.

Back to main topic, I never knew X850 series support PS 3.0, Are you sure? I thought only the new upcoming R520 supports PS3.0

I did a search on the net, it says ATi 850 supports PS 2.0b, which was what I thought...

From this site

Next up, we take a more specific look at the X850 XTs ability when it comes to Pixel Shaders, using ShaderMark 2.1. Unlike version 2.0 of the application, which only made use of 2.0 shaders, ShaderMark 2.1 is capable of supporting both Pixel Shader 2.0b and 3.0. Thus, we used a default benchmark run of this application to see how ATI's Pixel Shader 2.0b performance matched up against NVIDIA's offering running shaders with the same visual output using a 3.0 shader profile

You might be right, x850 maybe Shader Model 2.0. I have to agree with you that nVIDIA's version of SLI is too impractical; 3dfx's version was much easier and better than what nVIDIA thinks they have improved on. The 3dfx version did not require a "special" chipset and could be implemented on any motherboard that had 2 free PCI slots, SLI this time around is just pure marketing gimmik to sell two to three times the number of chips to the same number of customers (chipsets and gpu's). nVIDIA SLI does not always provide a performance boost to games and in some games it runs slower than a single card. nVIDIA SLI is a JOKE! 3dfx SLI ROCKS!

The only DIfferance in SM2 and SM3 is that SM3 produces the same exact graphical output but does it with less processing reasources, it's much more efficiant. It takes less code to produce the same result using SM3.0.