The "best" card

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crsgardner

Senior member
Apr 23, 2004
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If money was no object, what card would you get? What's the fastest card on the market today, period (fanboyism aside)? I have a 9800 Pro, which is awesome, but I like to play UT2004 in 1600x1200 (no AA) and even OC'ing it's questionable (occassionally dips down to 45 fps).

Would it be worth (getting in line for) a X800 XT PE? Or should I go nVidia? Are they in stock anywhere? Which model?
 
apoppin

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
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alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: crsgardner
If money was no object, what card would you get? What's the fastest card on the market today, period (fanboyism aside)? I have a 9800 Pro, which is awesome, but I like to play UT2004 in 1600x1200 (no AA) and even OC'ing it's questionable (occassionally dips down to 45 fps).

Would it be worth (getting in line for) a X800 XT PE? Or should I go nVidia? Are they in stock anywhere? Which model?
Click to expand...

2 GF 6800 Ultra Overclocks in SLI mode . . .

if $$ were NO object. :p

Just ONE 6800U O/C is the single fastest GPU with the Radeon x800XT extremely close . . . and you're gonna pay a premium. . . . "which model"? Whichever you can find . . that or WAIT a few weeks/months.
;)

:roll:
 
I

Illissius

Senior member
May 8, 2004
246
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One of those watercooled 470MHz+ 6800UEs (Gainward, BFG, XFX, and possibly others have them), or two of them in SLI. If money is no object...
 
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ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
Money aside, I would probably take the X800 XT PE. Temporal Antialiasing is now officially supported in the drivers (checkbox under antialiasing in 3D options) and 3Dc is fairly impressive.
 
Keysplayr

Keysplayr

Elite Member
Jan 16, 2003
21,219
55
91
Originally posted by: ShawnD1
Money aside, I would probably take the X800 XT PE. Temporal Antialiasing is now officially supported in the drivers (checkbox under antialiasing in 3D options) and 3Dc is fairly impressive.
Click to expand...

Nice card, but doesn't Temporal AA work only at 60fps and over?

Oh yeah, if money were no object: SLI 6800U's o/c watercooled.
 
C

crsgardner

Senior member
Apr 23, 2004
305
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Is the 6800 in stock anywhere? Also, I have a 500w power supply, but also other devices (RAID, DVD-writer, etc). Will the 6800 kill my power?
 
D

Delorian

Senior member
Mar 10, 2004
590
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Originally posted by: crsgardner
What about this (mentioned in another board) Link
Click to expand...

Nope, it's slower than the 6800 Ultra, which is slower than the 6800 Ultra OC, which is slower than any pair in SLI, and all of those may be slower than the X800 XT PE! Good card for the money, but nowhere near highest price/tech.
 
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CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
I'd probably take the X800XT PE, just for a few simple reasons

despite the fact I realize the 6800U is probably faster,
the X800 is quieter, takes only 1 PCI slot, and draws less power.

they can both run any modern game, so with that aside, the X800 is more attractive.
 
G

GeneralGrievous

Banned
Apr 14, 2004
1,599
0
0
The X800XTPE is the fastest card you can buy unless you can get a 6800 UE, in which case its a tossup. Though the 6800 UE is extremely hard to find; you actually need to sign up for a lottery on evga's website to buy one from them.
 
nitromullet

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
9,031
36
91
Originally posted by: TheSnowman
Originally posted by: apoppin

2 GF 6800 Ultra Overclocks in SLI mode . . .
Click to expand...


Originally posted by: Illissius
or two of them in SLI.
Click to expand...

why do people act like nvidia's sli is even close to coming out?
Click to expand...

I'm not acting like it's close to coming out nor am I actually ever going to get this, but if money was no object. that would be my choice. Besides, it's not as if the 6800 UE or the X800 XT PE are really "out" yet either.
 
S

ShawnD1

Lifer
May 24, 2003
15,987
2
81
Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Originally posted by: ShawnD1
Money aside, I would probably take the X800 XT PE. Temporal Antialiasing is now officially supported in the drivers (checkbox under antialiasing in 3D options) and 3Dc is fairly impressive.
Click to expand...

Nice card, but doesn't Temporal AA work only at 60fps and over?
Click to expand...

Nope. It works at any frame rate. If the game slows down to 10-20 fps, you can actually see the AA sampling pattern changing. It looks like everything is slightly vibrating :D.
 
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blazerazor

Golden Member
Aug 28, 2003
1,480
0
0
Doesn't the ati still get better visuals than the nvidia. Seems I remember seeing a comparison of game floors and textures and the ati card handle them smoother., where as the nvidia card showed patterns in the tile/texture that the ati did not.

tough call. But the Red Pcb just goes so good with my black pcb dfi motherboard. :) :p Although I plan on buying a nvidia soon, but if money were no object ?.. huummmmm... i'd buy a ddr arcade machine and have a party ;)
 
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Brian48

Diamond Member
Oct 15, 1999
3,410
0
0
I wrestled with choosing between a x800xt PE or 6800U for the longest time. I ultimately went with the x800xt because:

1. DVD playback has always been better with the ATI based cards and I use my PC for movies more than games these days.

2. The ATI cooler doesn't generate as much noise.

3. The power source issue. I know nVidia has lowered the requirements, but I'm still not comfortable with it and because it requires two molex connections.

4. I'm not entirely convinced that I'll see the benefits of SM 3.0 to any appreciable degree within the next year or so. OpenGL is still better with the nVidia, but the ATI is good enough for my tastes. Supposedly ATI is doing a rewrite of the OpenGL driver from the ground up anyway, so I might see some advances in this area in upcoming driver releases.

5. Availability. The above four reasons are relatively minor. I still could have gone either way. Whether or not I could find either card was the biggest issue. Ultimately, it came down to which ever card I could find first. As it turns out, I was able to pick up my retail x800xt PE last month via special order from CompUSA. I've still yet to see any place other than eBay where I can get a 6800U.

And no, I'm not interested in either the 6800GT or x800Pro.
 
4

413xram

Member
May 5, 2004
197
0
0
A BFG 470MHz water cooled. Very little noise, dedicated cooling system to VC, and runs nice and cool.
 
kylebisme

kylebisme

Diamond Member
Mar 25, 2000
9,396
0
0
Originally posted by: ShawnD1
Originally posted by: keysplayr2003
Originally posted by: ShawnD1
Money aside, I would probably take the X800 XT PE. Temporal Antialiasing is now officially supported in the drivers (checkbox under antialiasing in 3D options) and 3Dc is fairly impressive.
Click to expand...

Nice card, but doesn't Temporal AA work only at 60fps and over?
Click to expand...

Nope. It works at any frame rate. If the game slows down to 10-20 fps, you can actually see the AA sampling pattern changing. It looks like everything is slightly vibrating :D.
Click to expand...

thats just if the threshold is set low or off, with offical drivers taa reverts to normal aa at anything under 60fps. so at worst you get ati's normal aa which is nothing to complain about, and when you can keep your framerate above 60 it looks twice as good.
 
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