Which nVidia's 3D card should I pick?

[dbguy]

Hello,

I'm buying a "new" budget graphics card in a few weeks and I thought about asking your opinions about them.
My criteria:
[*] It _MUST_ use nVidia's chip, because ATI's drivers suck ass and nVidia rules
[*] It should cost less than 150 euros (~180 USD)
[*] It must have at least two VGA/DVI outputs since I have dual monitors
[*] It must be AGP, I don't have PCI-E/X on my motherboard

I looked around some shopping sites and googled and found these cards:
[*] Club3D nVidia GeForce 6600 256 MB AGP 8x
[*] Gainward nVidia GeForce 6600 256 MB AGP 8x
[*] PNY nVidia GeForce 6600 256 MB AGP 8x
[*] Palit nVidia GeForce 6600 256 MB AGP 8x

So here's some info:
(btw, this board needs better support for (ASCII) tables!)
________| RAMDAC | Memory | Core __| Price:
Club3D __| 400 MHz | 500 MHz | 300 MHz | ~124 e
Gainward | 2x400 MHz | 500 MHz | 300 MHz | ~119 e
PNY ____| 2x400 MHz | 500 MHz | 300 MHz | ~135 e
Palit ____| 2x400 MHz | 550 MHz | 300 MHz | ~112 e

I have no idea how RAMDAC is different from memory clock etc.

so.. my question: which one of those four cards is:
[*] most "reliable"
[*] fastest
[*] has the best reputation
[*] ...

So which one? Or can you suggest some other card that fills my criteria?

Oh, and my main use for this is 3D gaming (Doom 3, America's Army, UT2004, etc), but
the card should also do decent 2D graphics.

Thanks!

-- dbg / Juha Varkki

 

[LiquidAnimosity]

Um I bought into the hype of nvidia too but I miss my ATI 9800 PRO. Maybe its because the ATI was just better with Call of Duty or something but my MSI 6600 GT sux compared to my ATI Radeon 9800PRO that I had. I am considering however going with an eVGA 6800GT and giving nvidia another shot!

 

[dbguy]

Oh yeah, maybe I should've mentioned, I run Linux.
I've tried to install Linux and get 3D acceleration working on X11 with an ATI card on my friends house a few times and never got it to work. I know some people who have managed to do that but the performance is really REALLY bad.
So, ATI has VERY bad drivers and nVidia has VERY good drivers
I've never had any problems with nVidia drivers, everything Just Works(tm)

-- dbg / Juha Varkki

 

[dbguy]

Oh and one more thing.
I really don't want to pay 50 euros more for 6600GT to get 10 fps more.
If the card can play Doom 3 >30 fps on 1024x768 it's good enough

-- dbg / Juha Varkki

 

[Insomniak]

50 Euros more?

Dude, 6600GTs are around ~$170 these days. I don't know where you got the idea that they're so expensive but...6600GT seems to be right up your alley and price range.

Grab a LeadTek or eVGA 6600GT.

 

[gac009]

get a 6600gt 128mb
personally Id go for the leadtek.

 

[intogamer]

I wouldn't get those brands... gainwood=yes
try eVGA... BFG... they have lifetime warrenty
Leadtek is also good

 

[dbguy]

hm, I cant find Leadtek 6600 GT under 200 euros (~240 USD) anywhere (I live in Europe btw.. Finland) =/
I'll go for the 6600 GT if I can find it for 130 euros, otherwise I'll buy Palit or Gainward 6600.
I'm currently using Palit nVidia GeForce 5600 XT w/ 128 MB

-- dbg / Juha Varkki

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

do yourself a favor and get a 6800gt whiel you can, maybe 270 on newegg

 

[dbguy]

yeah well, the problem is I dont have 270 $ to spend on this ...
and newegg is in US so I'd need to pay 30 $ shipping + customs if I ordered there.

-- dbg / Juha Varkki

 

[Munky]

I'm not sure about which brand is the best, because I use Ati cards and I'm not buying into the nvidia hype, but all those 6600's with 256mb mem are a waste of money. The card is not powerful enough to put 256mb to good use, so save some money and get a 128mb version. Also, all cards have the same 400mhz ramdac's, so it doesnt matter about that.

 

[KeepItRed]

Radeon 9800 Pro / XT
Radeon AIW X800 XL

 

[CraigRT]

ATI does not have bad drivers.

 

[dbguy]

CraigRT, have you ever tried ATI Linux drivers?
No? I thought so. Just try them, they _seriously_ suck.
I agree Windows drivers are okay, but ATI Linux drivers
definitely suck (nVidia's are GREAT!)

-- dbg / Juha Varkki

 

[Kalessian]

nVidia linux drivers are why I chose the 6600gt over a 12pipe x800.

 

[2Xtreme21]

You're going to be upset with the 6600 vanilla if you want a fast card. :\ It's not a bad card, but better performance can be had from the 9800pro for a lot less. If you can, stretch for the 6600gt.

 

[dbguy]

listen, ZXtreme21, CraiqRT, KeepItRed, munky and everyone else:

I am not buying an ATI card!

I would, but the drivers are really bad. If I bought 9800 Pro and ran it under Linux, the performance would be like I was using some GeForce 4 MX (that is if I could get them work first). ATI Linux drivers are not good at all!

I have nothing against ATI, but their drivers suck.
I've said it like 5 times in this thread!

Anyway, I'm buying a 6600 with 128 MB.
And no, 50 bucks more just to get 10 fps increase ain't gonna cut it (6600GT).
As long as I can play Doom3 over 30 fps at 1024x768 the card is fine.

Thank you for your help.

-- dbg / Juha Varkki

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: KeepItRed
Radeon 9800 Pro / XT
Radeon AIW X800 XL

He already said Nvidia only. If he were using Windows the subject would be debatable. However, because he is using Linux, it isn't. So stop crapping his thread.

I would try for a 6600GT. MSI also makes some good cards.

6800NU's shouldn't be too much more. Additionally, if you CAN wait for another month or two i would be willing to bet that the next gen Nvidia mid range cards will be out.

-Kevin

 

[dbguy]

Thanks Gamingphreek!
I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet but we'll see
I just might wait for the new nVidias

Thanks again

-- dbg / Juha Varkki

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: dbguy
CraigRT, have you ever tried ATI Linux drivers?
No? I thought so. Just try them, they _seriously_ suck.
I agree Windows drivers are okay, but ATI Linux drivers
definitely suck (nVidia's are GREAT!)

-- dbg / Juha Varkki

No, I haven't tried them.
maybe next time explain your situation in your first post to make things easier.. (I didn't bother reading the entire thread before posting)