Which card has the best price:performance for 1280 x 1024?

[Josh7289]

For more recent games, which card has the best priceerformance for 1280 x 1024, the resolution at which I am monitor limited? I know a card good at this resolution right now will probably have to drop to 1024 x 768 in the near future, and if I keep it long enough, down to 800 x 600, but, really, I'm fine with that. I'm just trying to spend as little money as possible right now. Thank you very much.

 

[BigfootKevin]

what's your money range?

 

[Josh7289]

I don't really have one. Right now, I have ~$100, but I can save up a little more if I need to. Oh yeah, A64 3000+ (939), MSI RS480M2-IL, 1 GB Corsair VS Dual Channel, etcetera, so it has to be PCI Express.

Thanks again!

 

[Josh7289]

Anyone want to reply?

 

[mwmorph]

6800gt/x800xl will serve yuo well, but best bang for the buck at 12x10 right now is the x800xt deal for around $220. much cheaper than a 6800gt while being a little faster.

 

[whatho45]

I agree with that. If you want to go save a little extra money, you can get a 6600gt for around $150, and still be gamin for a while. But, the x800xt is definitely a great buy at $220

 

[Josh7289]

OK, I can't spend $200+, but there is an eVGA 6600 GT at Monarch right now after rebates for $130 with free shipping and no tax where I live, so that seems like a good deal. If I have to, I'll game at 1024 x 768 right now. As I said, I don't really care about the resolution too much. When will the X800 GT be released? Do you think it will push the 6600 GT's price down even further? Thanks again.

 

[mwmorph]

6600gt are really only good up to 10x7 in most games. It's really behind the pack now.

 

[Josh7289]

But for <$150, is it the best right now? And again, about the X800 GT...

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
6600gt are really only good up to 10x7 in most games. It's really behind the pack now.

Um, which game can't it run at 1280x1024? I played HL2, BF2, and D3 all with high settings at that resolution.

"Most games"...:roll:

 

[mwmorph]

well thne it depends of your love of fps. a lot of people consider 60fps or higher average to be the perfect res so that there is a buffer so frames rarely if ever fall under 30. sure yuo can play at 45fps or even 20 but DOOM3 runs best ultra 10x7, AOE3 is supposed to run smooth at max at 10x7 as confirmed by MS and Farcry All high 10x7 will run arounfd 60fsp average also. Chronicles of riddick will run around 50fps at at maxed 10x7(at 12x10, it falls to a measley 35fps).

Sure i ran HL2 at around 45-50fps average for the most part it was smooth, but sometimes it would not look too good and would slow down.

btw, all the above numbers are with no aa or af.

there is little info about the x800gt and for $230, its a good deal.

 

[Josh7289]

Originally posted by: mwmorphthere is little info about the x800gt and for $230, its a good deal.

You mean $130 for the 6600 GT.

 

[JBT]

uhh the x800GT for $230 would be a HORRIBLE deal....

 

[mwmorph]

yeah.($230 wouldnt be a bad price if you shop at worst buy though. It's $250 at best buy last time i checked.)

 

[afoygel]

I would go with the 6600gt, I don't see anything dropping into your price range that's better. The best deal that I saw on a x800 was around 160, but all those rebates are gone.

 

[Powermoloch]

for 100? 6600 will do fine for now..

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

http://www.mwave.com/mwave/skusearch.hmx?SCriteria=AA37270

$165 X800 GT at MWave. I'd still take a $130 6600GT over it though. It's not going to be 25% faster to justify the cost difference. And, like I said, SM3 might prolong your card's life.

 

[Rage187]

800XL

 

[Josh7289]

Rage187, the cheapest X800XL is $230, and that's a Connect3D Way out of my price range.

Now, the X800GT is generally better than the 6600GT, but the price difference isn't justified, as you said, HeroOfPellinor.

Also, I found an X800 vanilla for $145 after rebate at ZipZoomFly (128 MB). I've gathered that this card smashes the 6600GT, right? But how does it compare to the X800GT? Is it stronger or weaker?

Thanks again everybody!

 

[coomar]

the x700 vanilla is better than the 6600 (look at anandtechs review), there is an x700 pro on newegg for 105 or something, you can use that for a couple months until you have saved enough for something more or get the 6600 gt at 130ish

 

[Josh7289]

Even better than the X700 vanilla is a Connect3D X700PRO available at TigerDirect for $100, and if the X700 vanilla is better than the 6600, then this is much better. However, I do have a problem with ATI cards: 1:1 pixel ratio scaling on LCD monitors. You see, I cannot stand looking at an interpolated screen, no matter what. I've heard that ATI's 1:1 pixel ratio scaling on LCD montiors to remove interpolation only works for a few resolutions, excluding important ones for gaming like 800 x 600, 1024 x 768, et cetera. On the other hand, Nvidia's 1:1 pixel ratio scaling on LCD montiors works perfectly for all resolutions, including custom ones, which is making me lean towards Nvidia cards, since I won't always be playing at 1280 x 1024 and I will most likely be playing on lower resolutions quite often. Also, I need this feature for games that are limited to lower resolutions by design and not hardware limitations. I know Dell's monitors can do this without any help from the video card, but I don't have or plan to buy a Dell monitor any time soon, as I recently purchased a Samsung SyncMaster 730B 17" LCD monitor (which I love).

Anyway, about those questions I asked in my last post...

 

[coomar]

that might be true, i had problems interpolated text in rome:total war 1184x (whatever that res is) on my 19inch lcd, the x800gt is essentially a neutered x800xl, its too early to tell what kind of overclocking can be done on it, the x800 does smash the 6600gt, i think there is a 6800 vanilla in the 150 range as well

 

[coomar]

the x800 is faster than the x800gt, it has 12 pipes vs the 8 pipes though the gt has significantly higher speeds (475 vs 400 core, 493 gddr3 vs 350 ddr memory) though at stock it will probably end up being neck and neck

 

[happy medium]

6600gt for $135

 

[Josh7289]

The cheapest 6800 vanilla I can find is for $185. Remember, I'm only talking about PCI Express. Anyway, so the X800 will probably perform the same as the X800GT, but it (at least so far) is cheaper. I'll probably go for the $130 6600GT, but if I have to I can get the $100 6600. Are there any X800GT benchmarks around that compare it to the 6600GT, X800, or 6800? Thanks.