What Do I Do?

[NomisST]

Okay well here is the deal, I just realized I waisted my money on my ATI Radeon 9800 AIW video card because I don't use 90% of the items that the card is for. So what I want to do is sell it for hopefully at least $250.00. With that money I am looking to get a new card. I am not happy with ATI's drivers and my last NVIDIA card was a Geforce 3, I haven't experienced any FX series from Geforce and I don't know if they are good or not. I just looked at the new 6800 cards and I found one for 300 bucks.

http://www.gameve.com/gve/store/productdetails.aspx?sku=VC-EVGA-046

Is this a good trade for my 9800 AIW card? Or should I just sell the AIW and get a regular 9800 Pro and pocket the extra cash? Also I am looking at the FX5900, what should I get? And what is the FX5900 ULTRA and XT editions? Which ones are the best? Money is no issue really but I'm trying to stay in a range of $300-$400 dollar range. I don't need a SUPER CARD I just need a card that will let me watch my anime and not bother me when upgrading drivers as well as being able to play Half Life 2 whenever it comes out. But anyway I just need something Stronger then average. So far I'm leaning toward the 6800, but I really don't know what is good. Should I get the 6800 or go to an ati 9800 pro regular non AIW. Keeping the AIW is not an option, I really hate myself for buying this card...I don't use ANYTHING from it except for just being able to view my files. I want to get rid of this card bad and trade it for a card specifically for gaming and viewing movies, I don't need a freakin remote controller, I don't even watch tv, or vivo, or any of those video editing things. I just need a simple card that is strong and plays the games that will be coming out soon as well as let me view my video files. Any suggestions on vid cards I should get? Thanks.

Forgot to add I also see this new X800, how does this compare to nvidia's 6800?

 

[McArra]

I would wait a month, but if you really want to buy now I'd go with a 6800GT, I think it's about $400.

 

[NomisST]

Wait A Month Then Get What? Also I don't know how the X800 Compares With The 6800. Which ones stronger? Or are they really matched up close and it comes down to whether you like ATI or Nvidia better? What I'm thinking now is, is it really worth it selling my 9800 AIW card for a 6800 128bit? How do those cards compare a 9800 Pro and a 6800 128bit card? The card I'm leaning Toward Most Now After reading for about 4 hours on anandtech's comments and tomshardware reviews, I am leaning towards the 6800 Series I just am confused about wtf an ULTRA, GT, & XT models are and what' are the differeces. Also I hear that the NVIDIA 6800 Needs a certain power supply? I see that the ultra needs at least 480watt, I have a zalman 400watt psu. What are my options now? I am leaning towards the Nvidia now, I am kind of being steered away from ATI. What would you do?

 

[Keysplayr]

Current Pecking order from fast to very fast:

6800 = 299.00
X800pro = 350.00
6800GT = 400.00
X800XT = 450.00
6800U = 500.00

Just so people wont get pissy, the X800XT and 6800U are just about the same in performance.

Don't quote me on these prices as they are always deals and price changes.

 

[PrayForDeath]

You can get a 6800 for 300$, that's a good buy, and a good upgrade from your current AIW, and as McArra said, you can buy the GT which is 100$ more expensive for more performance. Your PSU is enough for these two cards, but it's not for the 500$ Ultra.
If you wanna buy an ATI card, you should go for the 330-400$ X800 Pro.
The 6800 series have three kinds of cards:
6800 Ultra with 16 Pipes, 256 MB GDDR3 256bit memory, core clock: 400Mhz, memory clock 560Mhz (the fastest)
6800 GT with 16 Pipes, same memory but slower GPU and memory clock speeds.
6800 with 12 Pipes, 128MB DDR1 256bit (I guess) memory, and slower GPU and memory clock speeds.

As for ATI:
X800 XT Platinum Edition with 16 pipes, 256 MB GDDR3 256bit memory, core clock 560Mhz, memory clock 560Mhz
X800 Pro with 12 Pipes, 256MB GDDR3 256bit memory, slower GPU and memory clock speeds
I am not sure about the clock speeds.
I hope that was helpfull

 

[McArra]

Wait A Month Then Get What?

Drivers are not mature and we still don't know how they will perform finally, we don't know what benefits SM 3.0 has. Too early to be sure you're buying the best for your money. It seems like 6800GT will be the way to go, but nothing sure yet (and price war is to start).

 

[NomisST]

Well I don't want another ATI card cause of previous driver problems and also I am hearing a lot of people having trouble with games with there X800 cards so I will go for the 6800. Now it depends all on the Regular or the GT. 300 Bucks For The Regular Is good plus everyone said it's a good upgrade from the 9800 and the 9800 is a pretty good card for what it's worth. The GT on the other hand is only 100 bucks more, but how much more powerful is it? Is it worth the extra 100 bucks? Also what company should I get the card from? Also I heared of a 6800 EXTREME ULTRA or something like that coming out soon, what is that gonna be like? And lastly is NVIDIA only having a 6800 series now or will it later on be 6900, 6500, ect. Because I don't want to find out like next week there opening another chain of graphics cards to put on the market. I want to make sure that what I buy is a good upgrade from what I currently have. So out of all concerns the biggest is the 100 dollars extra, is it worth it getting a GT or not? and the other concerns please answer them that would be a big help. Thanks to all who replied especially PrayForDeath, thanks for the quick specs. Helped a hell of a lot.

 

[lowenbotten]

Originally posted by: NomisST
Well I don't want another ATI card cause of previous driver problems and also I am hearing a lot of people having trouble with games with there X800 cards so I will go for the 6800. Now it depends all on the Regular or the GT. 300 Bucks For The Regular Is good plus everyone said it's a good upgrade from the 9800 and the 9800 is a pretty good card for what it's worth. The GT on the other hand is only 100 bucks more, but how much more powerful is it? Is it worth the extra 100 bucks? Also what company should I get the card from? Also I heared of a 6800 EXTREME ULTRA or something like that coming out soon, what is that gonna be like? And lastly is NVIDIA only having a 6800 series now or will it later on be 6900, 6500, ect. Because I don't want to find out like next week there opening another chain of graphics cards to put on the market. I want to make sure that what I buy is a good upgrade from what I currently have. So out of all concerns the biggest is the 100 dollars extra, is it worth it getting a GT or not? and the other concerns please answer them that would be a big help. Thanks to all who replied especially PrayForDeath, thanks for the quick specs. Helped a hell of a lot.

NomisST, you worry way too much. There is always going to be something better coming out no matter what you buy and when you buy it.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: NomisST
The GT on the other hand is only 100 bucks more, but how much more powerful is it? Is it worth the extra 100 bucks?

Its worth the extra hundred. But you can find it cheaper if you look for deals.

 

[nRollo]

Any 6800 will be a huge upgrade from a 9800Pro.
You just need to decide how much you want to spend, the regular 6800 will probably be $100 less, but the Pro will be significantly more powerful and may last longer.

 

[NomisST]

I think I'm going to get a 6800GT then. Please tell me if this is a good choice. Okay I can't show it to you because Newegg is down. But anyways what's the best company I should get it from. I see one from leadtek and chaintec. On another site there is a EVGA or something like that one. And then there is a MSI one. So which one should I get? Thanks For the replies.

 

[Keysplayr]

If you cant get a BFG, get a Leadtek. Next choice MSI. I have found eVGA to use poor quality filters on their cards resulting in blurry or piss poor 2D. Dont know if this has changed with the new cards, but I certainly wont be taking that chance.

 

[Rage187]

BFG 6800GT = pure sex

 

[NomisST]

Hmm I haven't had sex in awhile since me and my gf broke up so Imma have to hook up with this. BFG 6800GT it is. Anyone have any problems with this card? I have a friend that works at Bestbuy so I get the 30% wholesale discount off this thing. So most likely I will be getting this. If not and my wallet becomes 100 dollars short I'll get the non GT or ultra and just get the regular 6800. If I do there are a few that I see. The leadtek, Chieftec, gainward, evga, and the aopen cards, which one out of those for the regular 6800 is good? Thanks.

 

[Acanthus]

Originally posted by: NomisST
Hmm I haven't had sex in awhile since me and my gf broke up so Imma have to hook up with this. BFG 6800GT it is. Anyone have any problems with this card? I have a friend that works at Bestbuy so I get the 30% wholesale discount off this thing. So most likely I will be getting this. If not and my wallet becomes 100 dollars short I'll get the non GT or ultra and just get the regular 6800. If I do there are a few that I see. The leadtek, Chieftec, gainward, evga, and the aopen cards, which one out of those for the regular 6800 is good? Thanks.

leadtek.

 

[GeneralGrievous]

Hmm I haven't had sex in awhile since me and my gf broke up so Imma have to hook up with this. BFG 6800GT it is. Anyone have any problems with this card? I have a friend that works at Bestbuy so I get the 30% wholesale discount off this thing. So most likely I will be getting this. If not and my wallet becomes 100 dollars short I'll get the non GT or ultra and just get the regular 6800. If I do there are a few that I see. The leadtek, Chieftec, gainward, evga, and the aopen cards, which one out of those for the regular 6800 is good? Thanks.

Regular 6800 = ripoff. Try getting in on the compusa deal for 6800 GT or Ultra cards. Or the x800 Pro for $330 deal.

 

[Zebo]

This wait is killing me. But I think you should get 9800 pro now for $185 from gainwards. Then buy nVidia stock with the remainder. Wait four-six months and sell 9800pro for $150 and pick up a GT for $250..

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: GeneralGrievous

Hmm I haven't had sex in awhile since me and my gf broke up so Imma have to hook up with this. BFG 6800GT it is. Anyone have any problems with this card? I have a friend that works at Bestbuy so I get the 30% wholesale discount off this thing. So most likely I will be getting this. If not and my wallet becomes 100 dollars short I'll get the non GT or ultra and just get the regular 6800. If I do there are a few that I see. The leadtek, Chieftec, gainward, evga, and the aopen cards, which one out of those for the regular 6800 is good? Thanks.

Regular 6800 = ripoff. Try getting in on the compusa deal for 6800 cards.

Yeah it would suxorz to have one of those and only have a better gaming card than 99% of the people in the world and not 99.5%, eh General?

 

[GeneralGrievous]

Yeah it would suxorz to have one of those and only have a better gaming card than 99% of the people in the world and not 99.5%, eh General?

Just played the first level of Painkiller, all on "High" in nVidia and game settings, 10X7 4X8X works perfect,
looks awesome. 12X10 4X8X has slowdowns, not allowed in FPS game for me.

It would suxorz to pay $300 only to be unable to even play with eye candy on at a medium resolution.

 

[nRollo]

Originally posted by: GeneralGrievous

Yeah it would suxorz to have one of those and only have a better gaming card than 99% of the people in the world and not 99.5%, eh General?

Just played the first level of Painkiller, all on "High" in nVidia and game settings, 10X7 4X8X works perfect,
looks awesome. 12X10 4X8X has slowdowns, not allowed in FPS game for me.

It would suxorz to pay $300 only to be unable to even play with eye candy on at a medium resolution.

I guess it depends on what you define as a "medium resolution" and "eye candy" General. The 6800 is faster than the 9800XT, much faster at some games, I don't remember you complaining about the "hardship" of the IQ of those?

The 6800 is what it is: A third tier card bringing people a level of performance above last gen's best at a significantly lower MSRP than the X800Pro/GT or X800XT/Ultra.

The little General apparently can't accept that not everyone will make the same choices he does and spend $450 on a video card? LOL