Upgrading a 9500Pro, looking at the 6600GT

[Sickpuppy]

NEEDS:
I am running an A64 3200+
ATI vs Nvidia: I dont care*
I would like a card that would make all the new games look the way they are intended to look. I can't tell what my 9500pro cant do in DX9 so please chime in if you can give some info.

MY IDEAS:
I see that the following two cards are approximately what i should be looking into.
little bit cheaper: 9800Pro 256-bit 128mb
little bit faster: 6600GT 128mb

WHY I AM UPGRADING:
I DON'T want to do this upgrade, but my bro is suffering. He uses a Geforce2 MX440 which is no longer a valid option for any gamer.


*I dont care ATI vs NVIDIA, provided NVIDIA has good multi monitor/tv out support like ATI does. I know ati has more incentive to work on the software for the tvout for their all in wonder products, and have been quite pleased with them thus far.

 

[mwmorph]

6600gt beats 9800pro by a wide margin at higher res/settings. also the x800(350/700) 12pipe card is coming out by the end of this month(according to CEMA) and will be faster than the 6600gt.(12v8pp, 5v3vs,)

 

[WT]

Damn, its really hard to get a $200 card that will really hold you over and make you feel like you got your moneys worth as well. If you would have tried before Xmas, CompUSA had a PNY 6800 for $230-$30 MIR which would be your $200 total sum. The 9800, as good as it was (emphasis), it now finds itself falling behind in the technology curve in a hurry. The 6600GT, albeit a newer card with advanced features, will not easily be found for that low of a price. You picked a bad time to go card shopping, but I hope you find a hot deal. Also, you'll pay more for an AGP 6600 since it adds some additional circuitry to the card (sort of a PCIx-AGP bridge). Good luck !

 

[razor2025]

why not get your bro a ti4200? It'll last a few more month, which will let you save up more and give you time for newer cards to drop in price. It's about $50 for a ti4200 on the forums.

 

[Sickpuppy]

Ah lots of responses. Everyone at HardOCP's forums seems to say go with the 6600 also. I was leaning towards that because im not cheap ^^

"why not get your bro a ti4200?"
If i spent 50$ on a vid card for him, i could just spend $250 for me instead. I am not saving up, I just dont think its worth it for a 300$ video card.

"also the x800(350/700) 12pipe card is coming out by the end of this month"
I can wait a month. But how would it place compared to other cards?
If it is to fill the market gap that the 9800 leaves because of the 6600, then it should be better price/performance than the 6600.

"Damn, its really hard to get a $200 card that will really hold you over and make you feel like you got your moneys worth as well."
I know... But I still feel good about buying my 9500pro. ^^

Bottom Line: Saving 5$ due to decaying prices is not worth it for me. If I can get something Better or noticeably cheaper next month I can wait.

 

[mwmorph]

crap. repost. delete.(DAMN you Firefox!)

 

[mwmorph]

crap. repost. delete.

 

[mwmorph]

the x800 has promise. the x800xl, the big brother of the x800 which are both based on the same core, beats out the 6800GT with 16pipes, 400/1000 (256GDDR3 ram instead of DDR1[299.99,xl]) so clock for clock, it is faster than the 6800cards. the x800 would probably be as fast as a 6800oc.

 

[Sickpuppy]

I use firefox... don't blame your cute little browser!

 

[WT]

It'd be nice if the X800 came out ON TIME, but the current debacle that ATI has with the X700 (reported to be out by years end in November, then delayed until February, then the AGP card appears to be canceled !!) would have me worried. I told a friend to wait for the X700 up until just before Xmas, then I heard all the rumors about its delay, and recommended he buy a BFG 6800OC. Honestly, ATI's card release dates have been all over the place .... don't chalk it up to fanboi-ism ... its just a fact.

 

[Sickpuppy]

Since people seem to say that waiting for the x800 isnt the best of ideas, I have my eye on the following:

XFX 6600GT I heard some of the other top brands dont have very secure HSF mounts, and this one has dual dvi out =)

Someone did advise as follows:
"Personaly, I would save up and get the 6800 (not ultra or GT, just 6800 vinalla) because looking at the NVIDIA forum, many people are having all sorts of crashing, overheating, artifacting problems. see: http://forums.nvidia.com/index.php?showforum=26 "

Anyone else have problems with their 6600GT's overheating etc?

 

[Sickpuppy]

Hmmm what could i expect if i were to wait 2 months for that ATI card to be released?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Sickpuppy
Hmmm what could i expect if i were to wait 2 months for that ATI card to be released?

When the new cores come out this Spring, you can expect current prices to drop.

What games do you play and at what resolution? IF it's 10x7, the 9800p will do. The 6600Gt will be a bit faster and have Shader 3.0 (in a couple of new games - FC and Chronicles of Riddick - use it).

Anyway, look in Hot Deals . . . the 6800(Standard) - a step over the 6600 sereies - is $230 at Microcenter (ends in a couple of days).

 

[imported_alex007]

the x800 will onyl for PCI-e not AGP!!!

 

[Sickpuppy]

I just play 3Dmark2005 for houseguests. Otherwise I just watch movies.

 

[Sickpuppy]

I want games like: DeusEx2, Doom3, HL2, VampireTMR, Farcry etc. to run nicely at high detail at ~1280. I basically want the games to look like they were meant to look and still be smooth. I can barely play these games at 1024 on my 9500Pro, with no AA.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: Sickpuppy
I want games like: DeusEx2, Doom3, HL2, VampireTMR, Farcry etc. to run nicely at high detail at ~1280. I basically want the games to look like they were meant to look and still be smooth. I can barely play these games at 1024 on my 9500Pro, with no AA.

at least a 6600GT then.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: CraigRT

Originally posted by: Sickpuppy
I want games like: DeusEx2, Doom3, HL2, VampireTMR, Farcry etc. to run nicely at high detail at ~1280. I basically want the games to look like they were meant to look and still be smooth. I can barely play these games at 1024 on my 9500Pro, with no AA.

at least a 6600GT then.

at the very least . . . . get the 6800Standard for $230 . . . .

the 6600isn't much faster than a 9800p . . . . certainly not at 12x10.

 

[iversonyin]

my friend 9800PRO run on his P4 2.4gig smoothly

he avg 58fps on DOOM 3 with no OC to the card and at ultra setting 12x10 or 8x6

9800PRO is good buy if you r on budget

if money not a problem, you should land a hand on 6800 vanilla

 

[Sickpuppy]

Is the BFG 6800OC a regular 6800? its cheaper than the others. And more importantly lifetime warrantee. If its the same as a plain ole 6800 that looks like the best bang for my buck.

 

[dguy6789]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
the x800 has promise. the x800xl, the big brother of the x800 which are both based on the same core, beats out the 6800GT with 16pipes, 400/1000 (256GDDR3 ram instead of DDR1[299.99,xl]) so clock for clock, it is faster than the 6800cards. the x800 would probably be as fast as a 6800oc.

The 6800GT is faster than the X800XL.

 

[LTC8K6]

Yes, the BFG6800 OC is a plain 6800 overclocked by default.

BTW, your 9500pro is fully DX9 compliant.

 

[Trizzay]

Do not get the XFX 6600GT. If you search around these forums you'll see plenty of posts with people having all kinds of problems. Anandtech did a roundup recently, and the Leadtek was chosen as the overall best buy. Some of the other cards like the MSI did have heatsink issues, but the Leadtek did not.

If you're going to be playing a lot of HL2, do not waste the extra money on the plain vanilla 6800. In that game at least, it does not offer any performance advantages over the 6600GT. This is what made me decide on the Leadtek 6600GT.

"If you?re spending $200 - $300 you?ve got three choices for PCI Express graphics cards, and one for AGP. The NVIDIA GeForce 6800 is 12-pipe underclocked version of the 6800GT/Ultra and currently sells for close to $300, however in Half Life 2 the performance of the regular 6800 is not any better than the cheaper 6600GT, thus making our NVIDIA recommendation clear. "

http://www.anandtech.com/video...c.aspx?i=2278&p=14

 

[Sickpuppy]

I don't base purchasing decisions on any single game or engine. So the HL2 benchmarks won't affect me as they seem to be an abberation amongst many tests. Overall the 6800 does seem like better bang for the buck. If I can unlock pipelines that would make me even happier.

I can swing the $250 for the BFG6800 OC... The sad part is that now if i am spending 250.. 300 isnt too far away... I wonder if i can find it any cheaper than 250. Now its time to find the hot deals.

 

[Sickpuppy]

I just got some good news at work and a lot of vodka.

Result:
BFG FX6800 OC 128MB $249.99 From outpost.com