Which of these GeForce cards is the best for the money??

[ThE B MaN]

I dont know a whole lot about GeForce cards, but these 3 seem pretty good for the price, all have 256 of ram, and are AGP 8x, which is the fastest my motherboard offers, cant go pci-e cus my motherboard doesnt support it. All basically the same card, just different brands. I dont know anything about these brands so im hoping someone can help me decide if one of these is somehow better than the others. Heres the link...

http://search.ebay.com/NVIDIA-GeForce-6...bcatQ3d405Q2dGraphicsQ20CardsQQsascsZ2

 

[Eureka]

None of them. For that price, spend $10 more and get the XFX 6600GT AGP from Newegg.com

Norm

 

[Cdubneeddeal]

I'd go with either the MSI or the Gigabyte. Gigabyte if you're looking for quiet. But for those prices why not opt for a 6600GT?

 

[RussianSensation]

Why buy on Ebay unless you can get it for cheaper? You can buy Aopen 6600 256mb brand new for $119 with shipping included on Newegg.com.

Like others have said, go with 6600GT. 6600 is way too slow.

 

[Eureka]

Hmm... the XFX rebate is gone, but here's another one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130220R

Norm

 

[ThE B MaN]

hmm, whats wrong with the actual nvidia brand version of this card? Sorry just trying to learn as I dont know whats better about certain brands...

Also, thats interesting about the 6600GT, whats better about it versus the cards shown?

 

[Eureka]

The 6600GT is just plain faster, and not a lot more expensive.

The actual nVidia brand is not meant for retail... I'm not sure how you can even get them. nVidia doesn't make the actual cards themselves, they make the core, and then other brands assemble the parts to their specifications.

Norm

 

[ThE B MaN]

ok its faster, do those initials GT stand for something, like what exactly about it makes the card faster? From what you guys are saying ill probbaly most definitely go GT if its that much better.

So far XFX and Aopen brands have been recommended, why those brands versus others? Is there something about their cards that are even faster than other brands of the same card, or is it just bundled software or something? Thanks for all the help so far!

 

[ThE B MaN]

really?? How come the actual nvidia brand cards are sold on that link of mine? They have their own distinctive look, those are made by nvidia arent they?

 

[Eureka]

GT is just a suffix that determines the card's performance among others in the same line. Like how cars have different makings.

Actually, I don't recommend XFX too much, they run a bit hot, but they overclock well, and they used to be the cheapest for 6600GT. eVGA is a better brand.

And like I said, I'm not sure how they're selling the nVidia cards.

Norm

 

[ThE B MaN]

ew... cevilgenius that card u gave me a link to only has 128 mb, and is refurbished. A card having a whole 128 mb more memory would have to be faster, or am i off base?

 

[Eureka]

Also remember that the eVGA card I linked to is a refurbished card. It means that you're only going to get the card itself; and the card was returned for some reason and is now being sold at a cheaper price (usually it means someone opened it, didn't want it, was returned, and then tested and repackaged).

You won't get the accessories, but generally you shouldn't need them.

EDIT/ In theory, the 128mb more ram should help, but at those speeds not really... last time I checked an overclocked 6600256 can only do as well as a stock 6600GT.

Norm

 

[ThE B MaN]

hm, ok gotcha. What abbreviations exist exactly and which are the fastest? Also, it seems to me that the 6600 model is the highest model I could find that was even close to around 100 bucks, is there a higher model number available than the 6600 without a huge price jump or have I basically found the top model for my price range? Also, any other brands I should be looking at? Sorry for all the questions, im just now learning all the card lingo.

 

[Eureka]

6600GT is the best for under 150. Above 150, there's the 6800NU (plain), 6800GS (don't know what it means, but it runs like a 6800GT), 6800GT, 6800Ultra. Then there's the 7800GT and 7800GTX.

There's also ATi cards... which are better deals for cards above $200.

Norm

 

[RussianSensation]

6600GT (usually) = 500mhz gpu x 8 pipelines + 900mhz 128bit memory (sometimes 1000)
6600 (what u linked) = 300mhz gpu x 8 pipelines + 550mhz 128bit memory

So gpu is 67% faster in 6600GT and memory is 63% faster for just a bit more $.

Look on Newegg. A lot of them come with mail in rebates.

 

[Eureka]

Yeah, the eVGA refurb is the cheapest one right now. Usually the XFX 6600GT retail has a 30 rebate that made it like 130, but it's not there anymore.

Norm

 

[ThE B MaN]

awesome, thanks so much for your help man, seems like im on the right track at picking which card to get. Last thing I need to know then is what are some of the best brands for the 6600GT that I should be looking at, and which ones should I stay far away from?

 

[Eureka]

Most of them are fine... the big ones are BFG, eVGA, Leadtek, PNY, and XFX. The eVGA one should do fine.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130220

That would be good if it wasn't out of stock.

Norm

 

[ThE B MaN]

dayum! Yea that seems quite a bit quicker than the regular 6600. But are you saying for me to get it under 150 im gonna have to either get a refurb or a rebate?

 

[ThE B MaN]

well, im going to try to go with a 256 mb card if at all possible, I really dont want to go 128 if I dont have to. Looks like I may have to spend a bit more than I had planned, but as long as I get a quality product, then I dont mind.

 

[Eureka]

Yeah, rebates are usually common though. But I guess they're being sold out quickly now..

Norm

 

[Eureka]

Don't bother with the 6600GT 256mb. Just stay with the 128mb, or if you must, go for a 6800GS AGP when it comes out for 200.

Norm

 

[ThE B MaN]

oh! n one last thing, I have an asus motherboard with a 3.2ghz p4, 2 gigs of samsung ddr ram, 2 160mb maxtor harddrives, 1 dvdrw dual layer burner, a soundblaster audigy z2 or something liek that sound card, a GeForce 4000 with 64mb, and a video capture card. I think that sums up the goodies, but my question is that it only has a 400 watt power supply in it, and I plan on putting in a dialup modem, an extra cdrw burner, and the upgraded video card. Will I need a bigger power supply?

 

[ThE B MaN]

why do u say not to bother with 256mb? Big price hike or something?

 

[Eureka]

Not really. I ran my 6600GT on a 300w PSU.

Yeah... it costs like 180-200 for a 256mb one, when you can get a 6800GS (soon) for that same price, which also has 256mb.

Norm