Simple Question

GhandiInstinct

Senior member
Mar 1, 2004
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Which one is better, and I don't care much for the 3.0 argument, I don't play Far Cry.

I need one of these cards till next summer, which one will it be?
 

Todd33

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 2003
7,842
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81
Depends on the price, they are almost the same in DX9. I think the X800Pro is like $209 at ATI (refurb w/ 3yr war). But if the same price the 6800GT is probably better.
 

hans030390

Diamond Member
Feb 3, 2005
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6800gt is better for more $ considering it has shader model 3 and x800 doesnt. If you're considering keeping this card for a couple years or more, you'll want SM3.
 

Medellon

Senior member
Feb 13, 2000
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I was able to get an X800XL for $177 at Best Buy recently which I think was an awesome deal. You may want to check to see if that deal is still on.
 

govtcheez75

Platinum Member
Aug 13, 2002
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6800gt has 16 pipelines and x800pro has only 12. Of course if you get a VIVO model, you can unlock the 4 pipelines and get similar performance to the 6800gt. I think they both overclock similarly.
 

Munky

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2005
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Originally posted by: hans030390
6800gt is better for more $ considering it has shader model 3 and x800 doesnt. If you're considering keeping this card for a couple years or more and would like to see a slideshow of future games in all their glory, you'll want SM3.

fixed
 

mwmorph

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2004
8,877
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Originally posted by: munky
Originally posted by: hans030390
6800gt is better for more $ considering it has shader model 3 and x800 doesnt. If you're considering keeping this card for a couple years or more and would like to see a slideshow of future games in all their glory, you'll want SM3.

fixed

not all gmaes will run like crap with SM3 but a lot will. AOEIII will run fine, but look at the FEAR beta. 6800gt runs unacceptable at 12x10.

of course, the x800pro will run a lot less $. You can also hardmod it to a x800xtpe fairly easily, get a screwdriver, a xacto knife and a conductive pen(the vivo softmod no longer works)

The percentage of success is around 90% and of course is reversible. If you are planning to take a risk and do some work, the x800pro is better, but for a sure deal, the 6800gt is better.
6800gt is still around $300-$350 though, while the x800pro (sapphire retail package) from newegg is only $219.
 

GhandiInstinct

Senior member
Mar 1, 2004
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Munky, lmao, exactly why I stated in my original post "Don't care for 3.0"

We got a 6800GT for $264 on New Egg, comparing their specs do you guys think the GT is worth $70 or so more than the PRO?

Thanks gentlemen.

Yikes! We should be comparing the XL and the GT right? Since the clocks are nearly identicle and both carry 16 pipes.

So change that to, XL VS GT
 

mwmorph

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2004
8,877
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Originally posted by: GhandiInstinct
Munky, lmao, exactly why I stated in my original post "Don't care for 3.0"

We got a 6800GT for $264 on New Egg, comparing their specs do you guys think the GT is worth $70 or so more than the PRO?

Thanks gentlemen.

Yikes! We should be comparing the XL and the GT right? Since the clocks are nearly identicle and both carry 16 pipes.

So change that to, XL VS GT

Go GT then. The X800xl is only $20 cheaper and a horrible overclocker to boot. The 6800gt will easily reach 6800ultra speeds most of the time while the x800xl will be hard presses to get above 440 or 450 on the core.
 

Creig

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,170
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hans030390, do you even bother reading what people post before spouting your 3.0 sales pitch?

Originally posted by: GhandiInstinct
I don't care much for the 3.0 argument

Originally posted by: hans030390
6800gt is better for more $ considering it has shader model 3 and x800 doesnt.



Originally posted by: GhandiInstinct
I need one of these cards till next summer

Originally posted by: hans030390
If you're considering keeping this card for a couple years or more, you'll want SM3.
 

sbuckler

Senior member
Aug 11, 2004
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Originally posted by: GhandiInstinct
Can't say it better than that, haha.

So overclocking and future proof aside, what's the final verdict?

You don't want the additional features of the 6800GT (SM3, hdr, etc).
You don't want the o/c benefits of the 6800GT.
Sounds very much like you don't want a 6800GT so other then to start another mostly pointless flame war why are you even considering one?
Just buy an ati card and be done with it.
 

GhandiInstinct

Senior member
Mar 1, 2004
573
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Just buy an ati card and be done with it.

It's not that simple, I need to decide what is more valuable, HDR or 3Dc?

So I'm curious what owners of both cards would have to say, but not many on this thread :(
 

blckgrffn

Diamond Member
May 1, 2003
9,676
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www.teamjuchems.com
Why not consider the Pro? 475*12 ~ 350*16 for fill rate... granted the 6800GT is more powerful at shaders and such, but if spending only about ~210-220, either get a new pro a used GT, or try to find a BB with an XL for damn cheap, those are your best bets regardless of how they perform with particular features.

Nat
 

VIAN

Diamond Member
Aug 22, 2003
6,575
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The X800Pro is a powerful card, but normally lags behind the 6800GT. The 6800GT is better because that and it's killer performance boosts versus the X800Pro in some games. Nvidia is also capable of offering better texture filtering than ATI.

The inclusion of SM3 is just an added bonus.

I haven't heard of many games boast 3Dc compression, not like it'll do ATI much good with it's crappy texture filtering.
 

sbuckler

Senior member
Aug 11, 2004
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Originally posted by: GhandiInstinct
Just buy an ati card and be done with it.

It's not that simple, I need to decide what is more valuable, HDR or 3Dc?

So I'm curious what owners of both cards would have to say, but not many on this thread :(

HDR is a better feature then 3Dc - dynamic lighting is something that's becoming raved about in most future games, where as most developers don't seem so bothered about 3Dc (essentially slightly better texture compression). That's not to say 3Dc won't be used or become standard, it just won't have that big an impact. For some but not all games the hdr performance hit will be too high for you to use it with a 6800gt, particuarly if you game at a very high res. The other big feature game developers are raving about is parallax mapping (also known as virtual displacement mapping), despite what some have said all cards support that (even FX's and 9800's) but only the newer cards have the grunt to use it. There's also true displacement mapping which only a 6800GT supports (part of SM3 I think) but it doesn't have the grunt to use it, even a 7800 would be too slow for that.

SM3 is more likely to be supported in future games an it's quite probable that at some point developers will stop bothering to support SM2b because it's not worth the effort to write a specific render for it (they'll just write an SM2 path because that supports a lot more cards). Hence 6800GT is likely to get a performance boost over X800 cards in the future.

Bottom line is cost - if you can find a great deal on any of the cards mentioned then get it, if prices are similar 6800GT is the best bet. It will probably have the highest resale value as well (because when you sell it prospective buyers are going to care about SM3 and hdr support).
 

GhandiInstinct

Senior member
Mar 1, 2004
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sbuckler,

I whole heartedly concur. It seems price is the determinator! X800 Pro for $225 seems like the best deal graphic wise. Some would say the 6800GT is worth the extra $50, but I'd disagree.