Quick question: AGP 6800GS or 850XT?

[The Raven]

I know there are A LOT of threads about these 2 cards but I have a very specific question and not enough time to sort through all the threads, so please bear with me.
I would appreciate any links, info, etc. but at the very least please let me know what you think on my poll.

I can get either of these cards for $200 and I know you can unlock the GS to 16 pipes. Don't know if I want to OC to more than a 400mhz core though (if necessary). If you think I should get the GS please let me know what manufacturer you think I should go with too (eVGA, BFG, etc.) I also see there are newer cards coming out Feb. 1st and that also could be an option in my price range but I doubt those will be ~$200. So...

What would you guys do?

 

[DidlySquat]

X850XT > 6800U > X800XL > 6800GT > 6800GS
small differences in performance between each card above, but when you add it up the X850XT completely own the 6800GS

new high end video cards will be released soon, but this could mean price reduction in the mid range card, although I don't think X850XT will go much lower than $200.

 

[Mloot]

Don't assume that if you get the 6800GS that it will completely unlock. It's still a crapshoot, and there have already been posts of those whose cards did not successfully unlock.

 

[tuteja1986]

x850xt :!

 

[Malladine]

SM3.0 vs faster performance - which is more important to you?

 

[Cooler]

x850XT at that price is a steal.

 

[beggerking]

850XT won't get you to run more games than 6800 GS does. Yes, 850XT is faster, but it doesn't support vivo.

I'd rather get 6800 GS for that its more complete (SM3.0 capable) and supports purevideo H.263 and runs cooler.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: beggerking
850XT won't get you to run more games than 6800 GS does. Yes, 850XT is faster, but it doesn't support vivo.

I'd rather get 6800 GS for that its more complete (SM3.0 capable) and supports purevideo H.263 and runs cooler.

my x850xt is VIVO

and runs COOL . . . O/C'd to past PE speeds [647/614] it never got out of the 50s[C]

DOES the GS support PureVidio? i hear 'yes' then 'no' . . .

and SM3.0 is still a novelty in games so far

OP: LOOK the the games you like to play . . . and compare the benchs . . . most of the time the x850xt is faster and there is NO guarantee your GS wil even unlock.

 

[Cooler]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: beggerking
850XT won't get you to run more games than 6800 GS does. Yes, 850XT is faster, but it doesn't support vivo.

I'd rather get 6800 GS for that its more complete (SM3.0 capable) and supports purevideo H.263 and runs cooler.

my x850xt is VIVO

and runs COOL . . . O/C'd to past PE speeds [647/614] it never got out of the 50s[C]

DOES the GS support PureVidio? i hear 'yes' then 'no' . . .

and SM3.0 is still a novelty in games so far

OP: LOOK the the games you like to play . . . and compare the benchs . . . most of the time the x850xt is faster and there is NO guarantee your GS wil even unlock.

same my x850xt pe has VIVO and yes x850xt great oc cards.

 

[v8envy]

At the same price, X850XT, no contest.

You can't upgrade for future games, so longevity of the two cards will be about the same. SM3.0 is a nice novelty, but even a 6800GS is borderline on whether you'll be able to use it in a game and not be viewing a slideshow of 'This is what HDR looks like on Top End Hardware.'

Go for the faster, cooler running card. There's little point in taking the risk of flashing/unlocking/overclocking just to see what HDR looks like in a game.

Now, for $170 for the GS as seen this weekend AR, it's a much tougher call. At $170 vs $200, I'd probably opt for the GS.

 

[beggerking]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: beggerking
850XT won't get you to run more games than 6800 GS does. Yes, 850XT is faster, but it doesn't support vivo.

I'd rather get 6800 GS for that its more complete (SM3.0 capable) and supports purevideo H.263 and runs cooler.

my x850xt is VIVO

and runs COOL . . . O/C'd to past PE speeds [647/614] it never got out of the 50s[C]

DOES the GS support PureVidio? i hear 'yes' then 'no' . . .

and SM3.0 is still a novelty in games so far

OP: LOOK the the games you like to play . . . and compare the benchs . . . most of the time the x850xt is faster and there is NO guarantee your GS wil even unlock.

I meant Avivo.

850 will NOT be supported by Avivo decoder/software, hence no hardware H.263
SM3.0 is a novelty, but I'd rather have it than not having it.
x850xt is faster but there is "nothing that x850xt would run that a GS would not"

They are in the same class, only GS gives you SM3.0 and H.263 thru purevideo.

purevideo supports to 6600gt, so GS is supported.

 

[The Raven]

Thanks everyone. AT rules. v8envy, thanks you bring up a valid point about how ~$20 might sway some people (including me) The 850XT is on sale and has a $50 rebate. So the $200 GS could drop to ~$150 any day for all I know since it's reg. price now.

That aside and back to the original topic:

I'm kind of a newb when it comes to the different GPU features but, am I to understand that PixelShader 3 is not a feature of the 850XT? And should I be concerned about that?
Tom's has an article on the newer features and I like what I see but I don't know if the trade off in features and speed would be worth it.
I guess I should've given you guys the links to the cards too.
850XT 520/1080Mhz
6800GS 370/1050MHz
Tom's article

Thanks again everyone

 

[Bucksnort]

Do not expect the 6800gs to be anywhere near 150.00 not for a very long time anyways. Hell look at 9800 pro prices even today! 6800gs is shader model 3.0 capable and 850xt is shader model 2.0 . Newer games will begin to use model 3 as age of empires 3 already does. What i have learned and i believe i am correct on this, 850xt runs faster, runs hotter and requires slightly more power. 6800gs does model 3.0 and in some benchmarks is just as fast as the 850xt.

 

[CKXP]

Originally posted by: beggerking

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: beggerking
850XT won't get you to run more games than 6800 GS does. Yes, 850XT is faster, but it doesn't support vivo.

I'd rather get 6800 GS for that its more complete (SM3.0 capable) and supports purevideo H.263 and runs cooler.

my x850xt is VIVO

and runs COOL . . . O/C'd to past PE speeds [647/614] it never got out of the 50s[C]

DOES the GS support PureVidio? i hear 'yes' then 'no' . . .

and SM3.0 is still a novelty in games so far

OP: LOOK the the games you like to play . . . and compare the benchs . . . most of the time the x850xt is faster and there is NO guarantee your GS wil even unlock.

I meant Avivo.

850 will NOT be supported by Avivo decoder/software, hence no hardware H.263
SM3.0 is a novelty, but I'd rather have it than not having it.
x850xt is faster but there is "nothing that x850xt would run that a GS would not"

They are in the same class, only GS gives you SM3.0 and H.263 thru purevideo.

purevideo supports to 6600gt, so GS is supported.

good points beggerking, if this where the PCIe 6800gs i would second your notion, but since it's AGP, the x850xt will be the better choice. as others have pointed out there's no guaruntee that the pipes will unlock without being corrupted, and if they did the 6800gs will still be outperformed. and from what i've seen the prices on the 6800gs AGP hasn't gone down that much, even the BFG was at $184.99, is now back up to $229. OP if your the type that likes to upgrade say every 6-9 months then go with x850xt, you can get a SM3.0 card later for a lower price(7800gt/x1800xl), cause you won't missing out on much expect a better score on 3Dmark06 and AFAIK only AOE3 supports this feature.

 

[The Raven]

Originally posted by: CKXP
good points beggerking, if this where the PCIe 6800gs i would second your notion, but since it's AGP, the x850xt will be the better choice. as others have pointed out there's no guaruntee that the pipes will unlock without being corrupted, and if they did the 6800gs will still be outperformed. and from what i've seen the prices on the 6800gs AGP hasn't gone down that much, even the BFG was at $184.99, is now back up to $229. OP if your the type that likes to upgrade say every 6-9 months then go with x850xt, you can get a SM3.0 card later for a lower price(7800gt/x1800xl), cause you won't missing out on much expect a better score on 3Dmark06 and AFAIK only AOE3 supports this feature.

I'll say I upgrade (my card) every 2+ years so I'm assuming you think I should get the GS. And I wouldn't doubt that the price will drop again especially with the newer cards coming out. If you see on my link the BFG is $200 shipped right now.

 

[Bucksnort]

Better go over zip zoom pow's return policy closely.

 

[CKXP]

Originally posted by: The Raven

Originally posted by: CKXP
good points beggerking, if this where the PCIe 6800gs i would second your notion, but since it's AGP, the x850xt will be the better choice. as others have pointed out there's no guaruntee that the pipes will unlock without being corrupted, and if they did the 6800gs will still be outperformed. and from what i've seen the prices on the 6800gs AGP hasn't gone down that much, even the BFG was at $184.99, is now back up to $229. OP if your the type that likes to upgrade say every 6-9 months then go with x850xt, you can get a SM3.0 card later for a lower price(7800gt/x1800xl), cause you won't missing out on much expect a better score on 3Dmark06 and AFAIK only AOE3 supports this feature.

I'll say I upgrade (my card) every 2+ years so I'm assuming you think I should get the GS. And I wouldn't doubt that the price will drop again especially with the newer cards coming out. If you see on my link the BFG is $200 shipped right now.

sorry, i don't know how i missed that link...man $200 is very tempting, even though ZZF has that non-refunable policy, you still get BFG's "lifetime" warranty.