OK help me make a QUICK decision on what vid card to order... NO FANBOYS NEED REPLY!

[Richdog]

OK i've already ordered an X800XT that is due in stock tommorrow in the UK for £320.

Only problem is that now i've just seen a 6800GT in stock for £280

Now I know the 6800GT is going to OC to an Ultra and because of this is going to provide better bang for the buck, but i'm still not sure whether it will be better than the X800XT in terms of raw performance.

What do you think I should do? This is not an ATI vs Nvidia competition, I know image quality is now pretty much equal, and all-in-all they aren't too dissimilar performance-wise. The question is... is it worth paying the extra £40 to possibly have the edge in performance? Or do you think that with further driver updates the 6800Ultra will catch up with the X800XT?

Sensible answers only please, any flaming or stupid fanboyism and i'll get mad, lol. If im going to order the 6800GT and cancel the X800XT I need to do it tonight, i'm just torn between the two...

EDIT - Please bear in mind i'll only likely keep it for a year or so max, it ain't going to be an uber long-term upgrade, i'll upgrade and sell the card in a year or so while it still retains some value, as opposed to keep it for ages until it's worth diddly-squat.

It's not often i'm at a loss for making an executive decision... but this is one of those times.

 

[Illissius]

Well, no idea. As it is the X800XT PE significantly outperforms the 6800 Ultra, with it's 30% clock speed advantage. nVidia will likely release a driver with 10-20% across the board performance boosts somewhere down the road, as they have pretty much every generation. Whether that'll be enough to catch the XT PE, I don't know, but I rather doubt it'll surpass it by much even if it is. Especially if you're only keeping this for a year, the new drivers won't be out for a significant portion of that time.
So, the XT PE will be faster. The question is whether you want to pay for it.

 

[413xram]

The best thing for you to do is go research these cards yourself. There is no way that you are not going to get fanboy replies in a forum. Get the card the best fits your needs. Both cards are nice. I personally have a BFG 6800 ultra 470MHz water cooled VC. That was my choice, but I will not tell you to buy one. Nvidia and ATI both are excellent cards.

 

[Mik3y]

Originally posted by: Illissius
Well, no idea. As it is the X800XT PE significantly outperforms the 6800 Ultra, with it's 30% clock speed advantage. nVidia will likely release a driver with 10-20% across the board performance boosts somewhere down the road, as they have pretty much every generation. Whether that'll be enough to catch the XT PE, I don't know, but I rather doubt it'll surpass it by much even if it is. Especially if you're only keeping this for a year, the new drivers won't be out for a significant portion of that time.
So, the XT PE will be faster. The question is whether you want to pay for it.

well, you cant really compare the x800xt pe with a 6800 ultra when it comes to buying a video card. u'd have to compare it with a 6800 ultra extreme. still, the x800xt pe manages it beat it by a very very small margin, the 6800's are loaded with more features then the ati, which practically makes it a better buy between the two.

 

[Richdog]

I have researched the cards myself, to no end, i've been in the hardware game a long time and as I say it's not often I have to ask an opinion on something like this. I was just hoping i'd get some intelligent discussion on the PRO's and CON's of each card, there are some adults still left here or so I heard, lol.

Illisius and Milkey I lean towards what both of you are thinking, the X800 is a raw performance GPU, but does it have the staying power needed, especially seeing as the R420 is getting a refresh around christmas. What I was wondering was if it is worth paying a bit less for a card now and then getting the new uber-ones in 6 months/1 year, or getting the X800XT and sticking with it a while longer.

 

[Regs]

Its a tuff decision. Between the 6800GT and x800 pro. The 6800GT is somewhat more available right now so prices will be somewhat lower. Even though the x800 pro only has 12 pipes, it doesnt seem to make a difference in performance since it overclocks like a dream. You can also get the 6800GT up to 6800 Ultra speeds, but lets face it, the x800 pro seems to over clock better.


You really can't go wrong with either choice. I picked the 6800GT (former 9800 ATI user), because it features SM 3.0 which may or may not be a big deal in this years games. To early to tell. But I'd say it's better to have than not to have.

Since it was cheaper and more available, I picked the eVGA 6800GT. Without exageration it doubled my performance in 3D games.

 

[413xram]

I just do not think you could go wrong with what ever choice you make.....Hell, flip a coin)))

 

[CrazyHelloDeli]

Well, I am not a fanboy of any sort. I hold no loyalty to any company whatsoever. My last system was Intel and ATI based. The system im building now is AMD and nVidia based. I just try and make the most educated decisions when purchasing equipment.

I, personally, dont feel the price premium is worth it for a 6800 Ultra or an X800XT. So, my choice came down to a the 6800 GT and an X800Pro. After reading countless reviews for both cards, I felt the 6800GT was the best choice because of its ability to easily overclock to Ultra speeds, its 16 Pipelines, and its support for Pixel Shader 3.0. Theoretically, this should give nVidia a performance edge in Doom3 and HL2. Could I bee wrong? Sure. I just made an educated guess.

I would, and did, go with a 6800 GT.

 

[Lonyo]

Go for the one which performs best in the games you are playing.

Also, in terms of features, who cares about SM3.0 if you are only keeping the card for a year or so?
I have a personal preference for ATi, so I would say get the X800XT PE, but that's my thoughts, and it's easier since you won't have to cancel then re-order.

If you are not tight for money, get the ATi, if you are spending £320, but only at a big push then get the nVidia and save the money (little that it is at that level).And look at which is best for the games you have/play.

 

[Delorian]

I agree with saving some money for a card whose performance is still very close. Like you said, you won't be keeping the card long anyhow so I'd close that gap in price difference between when you get a new card and then when you sell it. Really I don't think you can go wrong with NVIDIA or ATI at this point, just pick which you like more and is more reasonable for the money.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Originally posted by: 413xram
I just do not think you could go wrong with what ever choice you make.....Hell, flip a coin)))

 

[Richdog]

Yeah i've finally decided on keeping the X800XT. At £320, it's cheaper than the other UK X800XT's by £50 so that gives me some leeway in re-sale value.

Also, I got the card for the same price that the X800PRO VIVO's are selling, so it was basically the better choice in that respect. £40 isn't too much to pay out when i'm going to be gaming at 1600*1200 natively, and that's where the X800XT rocks, especialyl with AA/AF enabled.

Also, have people seen the 3dc tech? Looks fricken awesome, in fact I have to say it looks like it will make a FAR bigger improvement in visual quality over PS3.0, check it out here http://www.bjorn3d.com/read.php?cID=457&pageID=723 HL2 is also apparently going to use it.

From what I hear the 6800GT's have probs OCing the mem to ultra speeds as it's lower rated, so in the long run i'll most likely not be as satisfied with it as I will the X800.

It was a tough choice, but paying ammere £40 extra at this level, as someone pointed out, is pretty small potatoes. Who knows, I may keep it longer than I expect seeing as with a 2.5Ghz A64 brhind it, it will fly like sh|t off the proverbial shovel.

Cheers for the input though people, appreciate it.

 

[413xram]

Cool! Good for you! Enjoy)))))))))))

 

[Illissius]

What I was wondering was if it is worth paying a bit less for a card now and then getting the new uber-ones in 6 months/1 year, or getting the X800XT and sticking with it a while longer.

In that case I'd lean towards option #1. The X800XT PE is what I'd get if it were only until the next big thing came out, as it'll almost certainly be the fastest thing out there until that happens. The 6800GT will save you some money (which you can spend another time when it'll make more of a difference), and it'll get a lot of incremental performance improvements over time, via SM 3.0, driver and game optimizations, and so on (while R420 is basically just a doubled R300 architechture with a better memory controller, so with the exception of 3Dc it's already about as optimized as it's going to get).

EDIT - Geh. Didn't notice the only [insertpoundsign]40 part. X800XT then, yes.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Illissius
Well, no idea. As it is the X800XT PE significantly outperforms the 6800 Ultra, with it's 30% clock speed advantage. nVidia will likely release a driver with 10-20% across the board performance boosts somewhere down the road, as they have pretty much every generation. Whether that'll be enough to catch the XT PE, I don't know, but I rather doubt it'll surpass it by much even if it is. Especially if you're only keeping this for a year, the new drivers won't be out for a significant portion of that time.
So, the XT PE will be faster. The question is whether you want to pay for it.

Does it now.. Significant? Fanboy statement deserves fanboy comeback

For the OP: Its true, you cant go wrong with either card.

 

[GeneralGrievous]

Yeah i've finally decided on keeping the X800XT. At £320, it's cheaper than the other UK X800XT's by £50 so that gives me some leeway in re-sale value.

I think you made the right choice. The XT is significantly faster than the GT is, at least in the games I've been playing (splinter cell, farcry, painkiller, UT2k4) I own both cards. For $100 more, its a tossup, but at $60 (40 pounds = 60 dollars IIRC), its a no brainer. AA/AF performance suffers more when you use a GT.

From what I hear the 6800GT's have probs OCing the mem to ultra speeds as it's lower rated, so in the long run i'll most likely not be as satisfied with it as I will the X800.

Around half of them do. Mine didn't. The cores are doing nicely though. (~420 mhz average).

 

[Regs]

What surprised me is that you found a x800 XT for cheap. A lot better in what we can do in the states. You made a good choice.

 

[Illissius]

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Illissius
Well, no idea. As it is the X800XT PE significantly outperforms the 6800 Ultra, with it's 30% clock speed advantage. nVidia will likely release a driver with 10-20% across the board performance boosts somewhere down the road, as they have pretty much every generation. Whether that'll be enough to catch the XT PE, I don't know, but I rather doubt it'll surpass it by much even if it is. Especially if you're only keeping this for a year, the new drivers won't be out for a significant portion of that time.
So, the XT PE will be faster. The question is whether you want to pay for it.

Does it now.. Significant? Fanboy statement deserves fanboy comeback

For the OP: Its true, you cant go wrong with either card.

Yes, significant.

And thanks for calling me a fanboy. I used to have a bit of respect for you. I prefer nVidia cards myself, and will buy them for myself when I can, but that doesn't mean ATi can't be faster or that my personal sense of security somehow depends on nVidia's superiority.

I apologize for going off topic.

 

[PhoenixOrion]

As many have already mentioned, you can't go wrong with any high-end video card from both companies in terms of raw processing power. You should be able to handle all games for the next 2+ years (as games take that long for development anyways using current hardware). Heck, most system setups aren't even optimally balanced to fully scale with the performance of these cards.

I was also in the same boat and didn't really have a bias for a brand. What finally persuaded me to go with the x800pro was 1) lower power requirements 2) length of the board (i need space between the card and my hard drives) and 3) higher quality image from the better AA/AF NOW! and not "it will be better with future drivers" rationale.

With no budget cap, I'd go with x800XT myself.

 

[gururu]

40 pounds doesn't seem like a whole lot of money between the two cards. I'd keep the X800xt. It will probably have a better resale value too although that is pure speculation on my part

 

[ChkSix]

Originally posted by: Illissius

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Illissius
Well, no idea. As it is the X800XT PE significantly outperforms the 6800 Ultra, with it's 30% clock speed advantage. nVidia will likely release a driver with 10-20% across the board performance boosts somewhere down the road, as they have pretty much every generation. Whether that'll be enough to catch the XT PE, I don't know, but I rather doubt it'll surpass it by much even if it is. Especially if you're only keeping this for a year, the new drivers won't be out for a significant portion of that time.
So, the XT PE will be faster. The question is whether you want to pay for it.

Does it now.. Significant? Fanboy statement deserves fanboy comeback

For the OP: Its true, you cant go wrong with either card.

Yes, significant.

And thanks for calling me a fanboy. I used to have a bit of respect for you. I prefer nVidia cards myself, and will buy them for myself when I can, but that doesn't mean ATi can't be faster or that my personal sense of security somehow depends on nVidia's superiority.

I apologize for going off topic.

2fps or less on that link that you listed is hardly significant any way you slice it.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: Illissius

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Illissius
Well, no idea. As it is the X800XT PE significantly outperforms the 6800 Ultra, with it's 30% clock speed advantage. nVidia will likely release a driver with 10-20% across the board performance boosts somewhere down the road, as they have pretty much every generation. Whether that'll be enough to catch the XT PE, I don't know, but I rather doubt it'll surpass it by much even if it is. Especially if you're only keeping this for a year, the new drivers won't be out for a significant portion of that time.
So, the XT PE will be faster. The question is whether you want to pay for it.

Does it now.. Significant? Fanboy statement deserves fanboy comeback

For the OP: Its true, you cant go wrong with either card.

Yes, significant.

And thanks for calling me a fanboy. I used to have a bit of respect for you. I prefer nVidia cards myself, and will buy them for myself when I can, but that doesn't mean ATi can't be faster or that my personal sense of security somehow depends on nVidia's superiority.

I apologize for going off topic.

I said fanboy statement. I never called you a fanboy. Respect or not, you made a blanket statement and I posted a link to disprove it. These cards trade blows all over the place and you just cant make a wrong move when purchasing either one. I prefer nvidia also, however I am not a fanatic. Never said you were either. Still, I didn't mean to insult you there. Just commenting on your statement.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: ChkSix

Originally posted by: Illissius

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Illissius
Well, no idea. As it is the X800XT PE significantly outperforms the 6800 Ultra, with it's 30% clock speed advantage. nVidia will likely release a driver with 10-20% across the board performance boosts somewhere down the road, as they have pretty much every generation. Whether that'll be enough to catch the XT PE, I don't know, but I rather doubt it'll surpass it by much even if it is. Especially if you're only keeping this for a year, the new drivers won't be out for a significant portion of that time.
So, the XT PE will be faster. The question is whether you want to pay for it.

Does it now.. Significant? Fanboy statement deserves fanboy comeback

For the OP: Its true, you cant go wrong with either card.

Yes, significant.

And thanks for calling me a fanboy. I used to have a bit of respect for you. I prefer nVidia cards myself, and will buy them for myself when I can, but that doesn't mean ATi can't be faster or that my personal sense of security somehow depends on nVidia's superiority.

I apologize for going off topic.

2fps or less on that link that you listed is hardly significant any way you slice it.

that's cause you're trying to compare the costlier and even rarer ultra ext (is there even enough of them to consider them a valid product?

the thread is deciding between the gt and the xt pe, and in that chart the xt has a >30% advantage (80.5 vs 62.7 in favor of the xt pe), which by most accepted definitions would be considered 'significant'.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: CaiNaM

Originally posted by: ChkSix

Originally posted by: Illissius

Originally posted by: keysplayr2003

Originally posted by: Illissius
Well, no idea. As it is the X800XT PE significantly outperforms the 6800 Ultra, with it's 30% clock speed advantage. nVidia will likely release a driver with 10-20% across the board performance boosts somewhere down the road, as they have pretty much every generation. Whether that'll be enough to catch the XT PE, I don't know, but I rather doubt it'll surpass it by much even if it is. Especially if you're only keeping this for a year, the new drivers won't be out for a significant portion of that time.
So, the XT PE will be faster. The question is whether you want to pay for it.

Does it now.. Significant? Fanboy statement deserves fanboy comeback

For the OP: Its true, you cant go wrong with either card.

Yes, significant.

And thanks for calling me a fanboy. I used to have a bit of respect for you. I prefer nVidia cards myself, and will buy them for myself when I can, but that doesn't mean ATi can't be faster or that my personal sense of security somehow depends on nVidia's superiority.

I apologize for going off topic.

2fps or less on that link that you listed is hardly significant any way you slice it.

that's cause you're trying to compare the costlier and even rarer ultra ext (is there even enough of them to consider them a valid product?

the thread is deciding between the gt and the xt pe, and in that chart the xt has a >30% advantage (80.5 vs 62.7 in favor of the xt pe), which by most accepted definitions would be considered 'significant'.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: Illissius
Well, no idea. As it is the X800XT PE significantly outperforms the 6800 Ultra, with it's 30% clock speed advantage. nVidia will likely release a driver with 10-20% across the board performance boosts somewhere down the road, as they have pretty much every generation. Whether that'll be enough to catch the XT PE, I don't know, but I rather doubt it'll surpass it by much even if it is. Especially if you're only keeping this for a year, the new drivers won't be out for a significant portion of that time.
So, the XT PE will be faster. The question is whether you want to pay for it.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Illissius]

I said fanboy statement. I never called you a fanboy. Respect or not, you made a blanket statement and I posted a link to disprove it. These cards trade blows all over the place and you just cant make a wrong move when purchasing either one. I prefer nvidia also, however I am not a fanatic. Never said you were either. Still, I didn't mean to insult you there. Just commenting on your statement.

Oh. Sorry for misunderstanding you, then (though it was pretty easy to misunderstand, or hard not to). I probably should have said the XT PE is faster *most of the time*, and in the games that matter (which, currently, means Far Cry). But it's fairly logical. The 6800GT and X800 Pro are very similar in performance, with the GT edging it out most, if not all of the time. The 6800 Ultra is 14% faster theoretically than the GT, while the X800XT PE is 46% faster than the X800 Pro.
And I don't know about this XT vs. XT PE thing. For the longest time the XT PE was supposed to be the only one, at $500 MSRP. Now, according to FiringSquad, the XT fits in between the Pro and PE at around $450, while according to AT, the XT is $500 and the PE is somewhere above that. And I haven't seen the XT non-PE even mentioned anywhere where you could actually buy it, only the PE. Isn't the XT a PCI-E only part, or something? It's a big mess, is what it is.

(Oh, and I was comparing it to the 6800U because the OP specifically mentioned overclocking the GT to Ultra speeds. There's no "XT PE overclocked" on those graphs, but that just goes to show.)