Radeon x700 Pro vs. Geforce 6600Gt

[Mojo3982]

I am building my first computer and wondering which of these two cards I should purchase. They are around the same price so that doesn't matter. Should I go with the PCI express or AGP? I am confused about this, any help is appreciated.

 

[Killrose]

The X700 series are not available in AGP as of yet. So if you have a preference for PCI-e with your new build, then the 6600GT is your only choice.

The 6600GT is also the faster card.

 

[mwmorph]

6600gt is around 10% faster. although the x700pro is around 15% cheaper... pci-e is the wave of the future no doubtr about it. in fact, next gen ,the top of the line ati card wont come in AGP so agp is getting phased out already.

 

[Mojo3982]

But there is no detriment right now with going with the AGP, right? From everything that I've read so far it seems that it is more popular right now. Plus I can also upgrade to a PCI-e card later on down the road.

 

[mwmorph]

you would need to buy a new mobo to upgrade to pci-e later. upgrading mobos is a pain in th arse

 

[Mojo3982]

So which would be the better choice, going with the PCI-e so I don't have to worry later or getting the AGP? Does the 6600GT come in PCI-e and if so is it faster then the x700 pro?

 

[mwmorph]

6600gt comes in pcie and is faster than the x700pro.

 

[Phlargo]

I definitely think the 6600GT is the better choice, unless you are only going to be playing Halflife 2 Also, the availability of Shader Model 3.0 is probably a good addition for a middle of the road card that someone will likely keep a few years - with new games including it, it's a smart addition. Definitely more future-proof.

 

[hans030390]

6600gt...faster, more future proof (shader model 3.0 as opposed to the x700 that only has 2.0). yeah...for about the same price the 6600gt is far better.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: Mojo3982
So which would be the better choice, going with the PCI-e so I don't have to worry later or getting the AGP? Does the 6600GT come in PCI-e and if so is it faster then the x700 pro?

Depends how often you upgrade. If you'll have another motherboard within the next year, then stick with AGP for now.

 

[Leon]

6600GT. Read the Anandtech review.

 

[tallman45]

Get the MSI 6600GT it has a lot of CD's included and it is a fast card

 

[RussianSensation]

6600GT is better. PCIe is the future. 6600GT PCIe it is.

 

[CptFarlow]

I have the X700, and it is an awesome card. Granted, yes the 6600 GT is going to be faster, but I get a discount on these things at work (Best Buy) for $140, the X700 was hard to beat price-wise. If you are looking for a top-of-the-line card, then go with the X800 or even the X850 if you have the money.

PCI-e does have its benefits, but it is slow taking off. Kinda like DDR2 memory. It is there, but slowly getting more popular. My motherboard has two PCI-e x1 slots in it for TV Tuners Cards, Gigabit ethernet, etc. Anyways, going with the X700 is going to be like using a 6800 GT AGP, for a good bit less. The 6600 GT PCI-e will be awesome. (But I still love my X700, oh how Farcry looks so amazing...)

Let me know what you decide.

 

[andy nowotny]

of course 6600GT PCI-E

 

[ScrewFace]

I'd go with the 6600GT PCI-e using a nForce4 SLI chipset because if you want faster frame rates in the future you can buy another 6600GT for SLI mode. I'm an ATI fan but, in your case, I'll make an acception.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: CptFarlow1
I have the X700, and it is an awesome card. Granted, yes the 6600 GT is going to be faster, but I get a discount on these things at work (Best Buy) for $140, the X700 was hard to beat price-wise. If you are looking for a top-of-the-line card, then go with the X800 or even the X850 if you have the money.

PCI-e does have its benefits, but it is slow taking off. Kinda like DDR2 memory. It is there, but slowly getting more popular. My motherboard has two PCI-e x1 slots in it for TV Tuners Cards, Gigabit ethernet, etc. Anyways, going with the X700 is going to be like using a 6800 GT AGP, for a good bit less. The 6600 GT PCI-e will be awesome. (But I still love my X700, oh how Farcry looks so amazing...)

Let me know what you decide.

The X800XT(PE) and the X850XTPE, and the 6800U are the worst value you can possibly get. Both have a card (X800XL, 6800GT respectively) which can clock almost as high if not higher in some cases for almost half the price.

Anyways, going with the X700 is going to be like using a 6800 GT AGP

Umm what in the world are you saying??

oh how Farcry looks so amazing

Shouldn't look any better than on a 9800pro, the X700Pro doesn't support really newer features over it

I would take the 6600GT hands down, SM3, FP Buffers, and SLI all help in this decision. The X700Pro is by no means a bad card. Lots of resailers usually have deals on them. At like 140 or something it is a steal as it outruns most of last generation.

-Kevin

 

[crazyeddie]

No doubt Geforce 6600GT is the better, faster card. The only circumstance where the X700 should be a consideration is if you decide to go PCI-E instead of AGP and you just can't spend the extra $35 or so to move up to the 6600GT from a Radeon X700.

 

[Mojo3982]

Ok so I am going to go with the 6600gt, but now there are so many different companies that make this card, how can I tell which one to get? some come bundled with a bunch of cd's but that doesn't really matter to me. Does one company make a better card then the other, does anyone really like a certain company? just wondering

 

[fstime]

MSI or Leadtek have the best HS/F design.

BFG's 6600gt's ramsinks fall off a lot. I have seen at least 3 posts.

 

[ssvegeta1010]

Leadtek won Anand's review, and it is generally regarded as the best 6600GT.

 

[who dey]

I also have been trying to decide between the Geforce 6600GT PCI-e and the x700 Pro PCI-e.

Everybody seems to lean towards the 6600GT, but what if your are looking at the 256MB of GDDR3-Ram version of the x700 PCI-e, which is what you see more commonly in stores now. Where as the 6600GT only has 128MB of GDDR3.

So I guess my question is... is the 6600GT honestly better then the x700, when the x700 has twice the memory? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by: Mojo3982
Ok so I am going to go with the 6600gt, but now there are so many different companies that make this card, how can I tell which one to get? some come bundled with a bunch of cd's but that doesn't really matter to me. Does one company make a better card then the other, does anyone really like a certain company? just wondering

1) Read 6600GT roundups, like Anandtech's and BeHardware's (and probably other sites').
2) Compare noise levels, warranty length, and bundle.
3) Browse forums like this one to gauge satisfaction with each company.

Edit: 4) Now that you know the card(s) you're interested in, hit up PriceGrabber or PriceWatch or PriceInsertVerbHere to find the best prices, and confirm with the price search, ResellerRatings, and BizRate that the stores you find are reputable.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: who dey
I also have been trying to decide between the Geforce 6600GT PCI-e and the x700 Pro PCI-e.

Everybody seems to lean towards the 6600GT, but what if your are looking at the 256MB of GDDR3-Ram version of the x700 PCI-e, which is what you see more commonly in stores now. Where as the 6600GT only has 128MB of GDDR3.

So I guess my question is... is the 6600GT honestly better then the x700, when the x700 has twice the memory? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Yes. http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/20050203/index.html

The "more ram is always better" myth was smashed years ago with the TI4200 64MB.

 

[who dey]

Thanks for your response. I went to the link you left in your message, but it only describes the x700 made by TUL (PowerColor). Did you mean to leave a different link that shows how more memory doesn't matter?
Thanks.