Video Card Confusion

[skingtdt]

Well, I've been considering the purchase of a new video card and I'm in the $130-$150 range.

Right now Contenteders are:

$138
vanilla
Geforce 6600
300 MHz core
550 MHz effective
128-bit

or

$158
Radeon 9800pro
380MHz core
680MHz effective
256-bit

Other than those features they seem to be the same. Also I've read that a 6600 can be overclocked to perform on par with a 6600GT, which I've also read will outperform the 9800 pro. Since the 6600 is cheaper and comes with an overclocking utility, I'm leaning that direction. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Tony

 

[shinzwei]

If you can get a 9800 Pro for $158 I would suggest getting that. Awesome price for that card btw.

 

[imported_Hi]

the 6600 will not clock to 6600gt speeds unless you put ham heatsinks on
the 6600 uses regular ddr which runs hotter then ddr3 ram

i recomend the 9800pro because if its right it can be modded in 9800xt
and im a ATI guy

 

[ohnnyj]

Coming from a nVidia guy, the Radeon 9800Pro out of those two choices.

 

[skingtdt]

Thanks guys, Here are the links to the Geforce 6600 http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-121-197&depa=1
and 9800 pro http://www.newegg.com/app/viewProductDe...-102-477&catalog=23&manufactory=BROWSE

I think I'll pick one of those Radeons up

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Hi
the 6600 will not clock to 6600gt speeds unless you put ham heatsinks on
the 6600 uses regular ddr which runs hotter then ddr3 ram

i recomend the 9800pro because if its right it can be modded in 9800xt
and im a ATI guy

geforce 6600 will NEVER clock to 6600gt speeds. the ram is just incapable of 1ghz no matter what.
9800 pro if you can.

 

[imported_Hi]

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: Hi
the 6600 will not clock to 6600gt speeds unless you put ham heatsinks on
the 6600 uses regular ddr which runs hotter then ddr3 ram

i recomend the 9800pro because if its right it can be modded in 9800xt
and im a ATI guy

geforce 6600 will NEVER clock to 6600gt speeds. the ram is just incapable of 1ghz no matter what.
9800 pro if you can.

you only need to overclock the ram 275mhz

 

[andy nowotny]

of coursr the 6600 when it can oc to 6600gt level

 

[Promit]

My 6600's RAM fails the test changes when I push it higher than 600 MHz, which is a minimal gain. I haven't screwed with voltages, but if you're to the point of mucing with voltages, you may as well stick out for a GT.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: Hi

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: Hi
the 6600 will not clock to 6600gt speeds unless you put ham heatsinks on
the 6600 uses regular ddr which runs hotter then ddr3 ram

i recomend the 9800pro because if its right it can be modded in 9800xt
and im a ATI guy

geforce 6600 will NEVER clock to 6600gt speeds. the ram is just incapable of 1ghz no matter what.
9800 pro if you can.

you only need to overclock the ram 275mhz

hmm. only 275mhz huh? isnt it more of a 500mhz or in other words double overclock?

 

[BFG10K]

The 9800 Pro will tool the vanilla 6600, no contest.

 

[dornick]

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: Hi

you only need to overclock the ram 275mhz

hmm. only 275mhz huh? isnt it more of a 500mhz or in other words double overclock?

actually, he had it backwards. The card runs at 275 and a 225 OC would be needed. Since it's DDR, its real speed is half that of its effective speed.

 

[sirholio]

i would expect the 9800 pro to be ahead of the 6600 in just about every category

 

[knyghtbyte]

if u wanna run new games shiny options (albeit at lower ressie) then go for the 6600...

if u wanna run older-reasonably recent titles at good fps on higher ressie then go for 9800 Pro and wiggle it about till it magically turns into a 9800XT....the XT itself is a very nice card.....

however, ur better off saving up more money, then phone Dell and ask if you can buy a 6800GTO of them, o/c it to between a GT and Ultra, and if your lucky unlock the pipes/vs as well
(oh, its PCI-E only tho)

 

[skingtdt]

Ya, I'm running a 400sc so my options have to stay in the AGP market. I decided to go for the 9800 pro since I've heard nothing but good things about them, and I'm not much of a sucker for the pretty new features.

It seems like the consensus in this thread that a 6600 can be overclocked pretty high with the addition of a new heatsink, but not to the point of a GT? Interesting stuff.

Thanks everybody for the input!

 

[imported_Kensai]

9800 Pro.

 

[PrayForDeath]

Originally posted by: BFG10K
The 9800 Pro will tool the vanilla 6600, no contest.