New Video Card Advice

[xenons3]

I'm in the midst of doing a complete overhaul on my computer...

(I get intel at a good price)
Processor: Intel Pentium D 920 (2x2 MB Cache, 2.8 GHz Duel Core)
Motherboard: GenuineIntel 945 Motherboard
RAM: OCZ EL 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 533MHz Gold Memory

Here's my question: What graphics card has the best bang for the buck? I'm looking at spending about $300 CDN (approx $260 USD) on it.

I was thinking of the Asus N6800GT (Nvidia 6800GT).

My criteria for the card is: Must be PCI-Express, prefer Nvidia since the 945 boards have a slight bias towards Nvidia.

What do you people think? Any other recommendations?

 

[Yreka]

If you could squeeze a little more cash, you could get a 7800GT *going by your US dollars estimate* I would pinch and get that before I dropped $250+ on an old 6000 series.

 

[SniperWulf]

Originally posted by: Yreka
If you could squeeze a little more cash, you could get a 7800GT *going by your US dollars estimate* I would pinch and get that before I dropped $250+ on an old 6000 series.

agreed

 

[v8envy]

A 7800 will be way held back by that CPU. A 6800 is a much better match for that CPU. The only reason to step up to a 7800 is when a CPU upgrade is planned in the very near future.

edit: the 6800GS has performance identical to a GT, and has been selling for < $180 recently. That would be your ideal choice.

 

[xenons3]

Originally posted by: Yreka
If you could squeeze a little more cash, you could get a 7800GT *going by your US dollars estimate* I would pinch and get that before I dropped $250+ on an old 6000 series.

The cheapest I could find a 7800 GT for is 417.00 CDN. That is 117.00 over budget. which is a little too far off.

Any other recommendations?

 

[Cooler]

Yes 7800GT at that price canot be beat .(This comes form an ATI user)

 

[Cookie Monster]

6800GT, and agreed with v8envy.

 

[Astonm]

Acually, Anitec computers(yes, i am also canadian), has the 7800GT(evga) for 350 right now and the 6800GS for about 240. (CAD$)

Link : http://www.anitec.ca/?mode=category&catid=118&mcid=24

 

[Munky]

Either the 7800gt or the 6800gs. The 6800gt will cost you as much as a 7800gt, but will only be as fast as a 6800gs in games.

 

[Piuc2020]

And whoever said the 7800GT will be held back by the CPU. That is a big lie, plain and simple, no beating around it, in fact, I'm 100% sure that proccesor won't hold the 7800GT back, at all.

I would either get a 7800GT or a 6800GS.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
And whoever said the 7800GT will be held back by the CPU. That is a big lie, plain and simple, no beating around it, in fact, I'm 100% sure that proccesor won't hold the 7800GT back, at all.

I would either get a 7800GT or a 6800GS.

Sure, P4 2.8 won't give you the highest minimum framerates around but 7800GT will show significant gains over 6800GS to more than offest any disadvantages the P4 has compared to A64. These games will not be bottlenecked by P4 2.8ghz when you enable AA/AF, and will surely suffer from a slower gpu before cpu limitation comes into effect.

COD2
Far Cry
Battlefield 2
FEAR
Quake 4
Doom 3

Also the presler 920 should overclock nicely (Do Intel mobos allow overclocking now? < I keep forgetting)

If you are on a budget, I would go with 6800GS. If you can spend about $350 cdn, I'd get the 7800GT.

 

[Hadsus]

ATI x850 xt....check Microcenter at around $250 usd minus $50 rebate.....if they have it in stock. It's been flying off the shelves.

 

[v8envy]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation

Sure, P4 2.8 won't give you the highest minimum framerates around but 7800GT will show significant gains over 6800GS to more than offest any disadvantages the P4 has compared to A64. These games will not be bottlenecked by P4 2.8ghz when you enable AA/AF, and will surely suffer from a slower gpu before cpu limitation comes into effect.

COD2
Far Cry
Battlefield 2
FEAR
Quake 4
Doom 3

Also the presler 920 should overclock nicely (Do Intel mobos allow overclocking now? < I keep forgetting)

If you are on a budget, I would go with 6800GS. If you can spend about $350 cdn, I'd get the 7800GT.

Far Cry and Battlefield 2 are known CPU pigs. The 7800 would let him play 1 resolution higher with the same settings, but minimum frame rates will be just as grim with both cards. Going from ludicrously high frame rates to even highery frame rates when it doesn't matter is not a win. The 6800GS will provide just as smooth of a playing experience, with $100 left in the wallet.

Here's a thought. Get the Intel CPU/motherboard at discount, ebay it, and use the proceeds for a cheaper socket939 + opteron setup.

Use the price difference to get a 7800GT. Best of all possible worlds!

edit: on second thought, dumb idea. having to buy more expensive DDR vs DDR2 sdram would probably wreck the deal.

Oh, and the microcenter X850XT is AGP. Probably not what a computer overhaul calls for. The PCIe versions are still $240. It's worth pitching in another $35 to get a 7800 at that point.

 

[xenons3]

I have decided to expand my budget and I have decided on the following:

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ @ 2.2 GHz
ASUS A8N-SLi Socket 939 Nvidia nForce4 SLi Motherboard
OCZ PC-3200 DDR400 Performance Series 2 GB (2x1024)
BFG GeForce 7800 GT OC 256MB GDDR3

The total upgrade should cost about $1500.00 CDN after taxes. Thank you all for all your opinions. If you have any additional comments, I'm still open to opinion, since I won't be building the system until Middle of February.