nVidia-based mid-range card for gameing?

[onesNzeros]

Hey guys. I'm in the process of finalizing my choices for my first system build but one of the hangups right now is the video card.

I'm looking at the DFI Lanparty 250GB nForce3 motherboard with an Athlon64 3400+ processor and 1GB memory. This is in a Super Lanboy case so I'm hoping for pretty decent circulation.

For the video card I'm thinking either this Chaintech SA6600G GeForce 6600 GT AGP card or the vanilla 6800 of which there were several I was thinking of:

Apollo nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB DDR
eVGA nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB GDDR Much of a difference from the GDDR?
GIGA-BYTE nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB DDR $295
Jaton nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB DDR only $268
XFX nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB DDR Needs adapter for VGA - I really don't need DVI
Leadtek nVIDIA GeForce 6800 Video Card, 128MB DDR Unusual heatsink/fan design

All are available now from newegg or elsewhere.

The Giga-Byte (quiet), Leadtek (good cooling and reasonably quiet?), and eVGA (GDDR) were the ones that stuck out for me but what do you guys think?

PS: I'd consider replaceing teh hsf but would prefer a solution where I didn't have to do so and void my warranty.
Which would be best for quiet operation without heat problems? Is the fanless Giga-Byte a safe bet?

 

[Edward Lee]

I think COMPUSA has a BFG Gforece 6800 OC for $200 after rebate. Hands down the best deal around.

 

[gpgofast]

Originally posted by: Edward Lee
I think COMPUSA has a BFG Gforece 6800 OC for $200 after rebate. Hands down the best deal around.

It's the "PNY" not "BFG"

 

[snerdini]

I've got the Gigabyte - very decent performer, a little more expensive, but nice because it's quiet

 

[Pete]

The $230 - $30MIR + tax PNY 6800 @ CompUSA is a raging deal compared to those other prices, and should be better than any other new video card at that price.

The $250 BFG 6800OC @ Outpost may be an equally good deal if it includes Far Cry, but I'm not sure about that, and it doesn't appear to be in stock. BFG does have a better warranty, but you have to wonder how long you'll be keeping your video card in the first place.

 

[onesNzeros]

I checked out the deal at CompUSA. Naturally they had been out of stock for about two weeks and aren't expecting more until who knows when after Christmas and the rein check only covers the $70 instant savings, not the full $100. I'd rather pay a little extra to get the thing with the rest of my computer parts and move on with life, you know?

The BFG has been recommended to me before, but when I checked it out, I found some people saying its dual-fan design was pretty quiet while others complained that it was very loud. Not sure I want to chance it. (And I'll be getting FarCry on DVD from Monarch with my combo. )

Anyone know anything about the Leadtek or the eVGA (with the GDDR memory)? I've been trying to keep my system as quiet as possible so the Giga-Byte is probably the most appealing due to its fanless design, but I'm wonder how effective the cooling is, especially if I decided to OC it at all.

I haven't had much luck finding comparisons of the various cards like this site has for the 6600GT line. If anyone knows of any I'd be curious to see what they found...

 

[Spike]

Originally posted by: onesNzeros
I checked out the deal at CompUSA. Naturally they had been out of stock for about two weeks and aren't expecting more until who knows when after Christmas and the rein check only covers the $70 instant savings, not the full $100. I'd rather pay a little extra to get the thing with the rest of my computer parts and move on with life, you know?

The BFG has been recommended to me before, but when I checked it out, I found some people saying its dual-fan design was pretty quiet while others complained that it was very loud. Not sure I want to chance it. (And I'll be getting FarCry on DVD from Monarch with my combo. )

Anyone know anything about the Leadtek or the eVGA (with the GDDR memory)? I've been trying to keep my system as quiet as possible so the Giga-Byte is probably the most appealing due to its fanless design, but I'm wonder how effective the cooling is, especially if I decided to OC it at all.

I haven't had much luck finding comparisons of the various cards like this site has for the 6600GT line. If anyone knows of any I'd be curious to see what they found...

the BFG is loud on startup and quiet during use unless you have minimal cooling for your case, then it will spin up to keep itself cool. Mine never spins up after start-up, not even after 5+ hours of UT2K4 or HL 2

-spike

 

[Staz]

What about the Chaintech AA6800? It goes for $283 on Gameve.com and is a 10% overclocked 6800.

 

[IAteYourMother]

BFG from outpost

 

[FearoftheNight]

Originally posted by: IAteYourMother
BFG from outpost

i just picked one up from fs/ft for 230 shipped w/o farcry

 

[onesNzeros]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Well, spoke with someone at Outpost.com who said they had just received and almost immediately sold out of the BFG. Sounds like it will be tail end of the month or first few days of January before more of those appear. Ouch.

Given that it's available from a couple different places currently and I've found several positive reviews on it tonight, I'm leaning toward the Chaintech but anyone think differently?

Also, would heatsink/fan unit be replaceable with one of the arctic coolers that exhausts out the back of the case if I'm not happy with the noise or cooling with the stock HSF?

 

[nitromullet]

For $40 more, I'd go with the eVGA 6800. Solid card, and eVGA service/support was quite good when I needed them. They allow you to register your card online as well. I've heard some bad stories about Chaintech's service/support. Hopefully, you will never need any of these, but you might kick yourself for saving $40 if you do.

Just so you know, the "GDDR" is a misprint by newegg. These cards are nVidia spec with DDR.

http://www.evga.com/products/m...-N343-AX&tab=specs

Oh yeah, eVGA also has a step-up program that lets you upgrade to a better card within 90 days of your purchase should you decide that you want a better card.

 

[onesNzeros]

Are you referring to the eVGA 6800 NU or GT for $40? At least at NewEgg I'm seeing the GT for $400 incl. Doom3. If that's what you're referring to, I could disregard about $40 worth of the price due to the bundle since I was planning to get that game anyway, but it's still about $70 more than I'm looking at for a NU model which is kind of rough when you're already about 150 bucks over budget.

It kind of leaves me in an awkward position. I would go for a 6600GT for now and upgrade later but the AGP versions of those cards are so close in price to the 6800 NU that it makes more sense to step up to that. Of course I've seen lots of people say the GT is well worth the extra dough, but while I don't want to shoot low and spend more later to upgrade, I have to draw the line somewhere. I think that's why I'm having so much trouble nailing down the final specs on this thing.

 

[onesNzeros]

Well, I did some figuring and since no sales tax was charged on my mbd/cpu combo, the eVGA 6800GT comes with Doom III which is worth about $45 bucks anyway, and I can do without a second DVD drive for a while, I guess I will go for the 6800GT after all. It'll cost less in the long run than upgrading in a year or two anyway.

Thanks for the input guys, and Nitromullet, thanks for twisting my arm!

 

[zerocool84]

i love my BFG 6800OC