Wnat to buy a new vid card in the 100-150 range..need help

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D

Duvie

Elite Member
Feb 5, 2001
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I want to place it in my sons ciomputer along with my old 3000+ oc'd to around 2.4ghz default vcore....

He has an 8500 AIW but that is old and a bottle-neck...back when the AIW cards were severly neutered...runs 195/225 instead of the stock 275/275....


PLease refer a vid card in the price range I suggested and then give me an idea I wil see in performance over the 8500AIW with new cpu not figured in...

Thanks...

I am thinking AGP 6600 128-256mb range...
 
2Xtreme21

2Xtreme21

Diamond Member
Jun 13, 2004
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9800pro or 6600gt if you can find one for around $150 (may have to stretch a few dollars.
 
RussianSensation

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
19,458
765
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$144 6600GT

EVGA also has a 90-day step-up program. Perhaps by the time 7800GT hits the scene and ATI releases their cards in 3 months, prices on 6800/6800GT/Ultra series will fall and you will be able to upgrade to those for less money if you need it. (since 6800 is already at $190 now).

256mb won't give you any benefit for a 6600GT card (or 9800Pro for that matter).

9700Pro is 2x faster than 8500 @ 275/275 So whatever 6600GT gets on top of 9700Pro.

Or Here 9800Pro is about 15% faster than 9700Pro. So compare 6600GT to that.
 
gw186

gw186

Golden Member
Sep 7, 2004
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Originally posted by: 2Xtreme21
9800pro or 6600gt if you can find one for around $150 (may have to stretch a few dollars.
Click to expand...

This sounds about right. The 6600 with it's slow clock speeds doesnt perform very well.
 
J

JBT

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
12,094
1
81
Get a 6600GT or a 6800Nu if you can find a good deal on the 6800nu. Newegg had em for like $154 the other day. Somepeople were even able to pipe mod them to almost reach 6800GT levels.
 
A

Alto101

Member
Jul 8, 2005
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Originally posted by: JBT
Get a 6600GT or a 6800Nu if you can find a good deal on them. Newegg had em for like $154 the other day. Somepeople were even able to pipe mod them to almost reach 6800GT levels.
Click to expand...

I just bought a 6600GT that will be arriving this Friday. What do you mean when you said that people were able to pipe mod them? I am familiar with overclocking but have never heard this term before.

Thanks!
 
G

gac009

Senior member
Jun 10, 2005
403
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there are 16 pipes on the card in groups of four. the 6800 only uses 12. When they just make the different cards the GPUs that dont perform quite as well (either they cant reach the clock speeds or they have faulty pipes) get put into lower performing models. It is the same GPU for the entire 6800 series, so some people just use riva tuner to unlock the extra quad and have all 16 pipes functioning. You will hear alot of success stories and it may seem like a sure bet but in actuallity its more like a 50/50 chance of unlocking the pipes without problems from what I understand.
 
Jaxidian

Jaxidian

Platinum Member
Oct 22, 2001
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Originally posted by: Alto101
Originally posted by: JBT
Get a 6600GT or a 6800Nu if you can find a good deal on them. Newegg had em for like $154 the other day. Somepeople were even able to pipe mod them to almost reach 6800GT levels.
Click to expand...

I just bought a 6600GT that will be arriving this Friday. What do you mean when you said that people were able to pipe mod them? I am familiar with overclocking but have never heard this term before.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

With the AGP version of the 6800nu, the difference between this card and a 6800GT are the following:
Locked pipes
Lower clock
Slower RAM

RAM and Clock you can obviously OC. But with the 6800nu you have a chance of unlocking the locked pipelines. This provides a very significant improvement in performance but is a YMMV. The reason the pipes get locked can range from them being broken to a surplus of good chips and demand for the cheaper card. If you're in the second category you can probably unlock the pipes. If you're in the first, probably not.

At any rate, 6600gt vs 6800nu is close. The final determination should be made by the answer to this question: Do you run things at high resolution and/or do you use AA? If so, go with the 6800nu if you can. If you don't run at high resolutions and don't use AA, then go with the 6600gt unless you can get the two for the same price. The 6800 is a better card but only significantly better at higher resolutions or when using AA.
 
J

JBT

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
12,094
1
81
Originally posted by: Alto101
Originally posted by: JBT
Get a 6600GT or a 6800Nu if you can find a good deal on them. Newegg had em for like $154 the other day. Somepeople were even able to pipe mod them to almost reach 6800GT levels.
Click to expand...

I just bought a 6600GT that will be arriving this Friday. What do you mean when you said that people were able to pipe mod them? I am familiar with overclocking but have never heard this term before.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Sorry when I said "them" I meant just 6800Nu's not 6600GT's.
 
M

Munky

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2005
9,372
0
76
If you can make the stretch for a 6800, get it, as it will be faster than a 6600gt even if you can't unlock it. However, if the budget is tight, either a 9800p or a 6600gt are good for <$150.
 
K

krackato

Golden Member
Aug 10, 2000
1,058
0
0
Just to clarify, what does the nU in 6600nU stand for? Non-Ultra? That doesn't make sense since I don't think there is a 6600 Ultra. At least I didn't see one for sale on Newegg.
 
M

mwmorph

Diamond Member
Dec 27, 2004
8,877
1
81
Originally posted by: krackato
Just to clarify, what does the nU in 6600nU stand for? Non-Ultra? That doesn't make sense since I don't think there is a 6600 Ultra. At least I didn't see one for sale on Newegg.
Click to expand...

i dont think anyone calls a 6600 a 6600nu. We all call a 6800 a 6800nu to signify vanilla, but no body calls a 6600 a 6600nu.
 
apoppin

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
1
0
alienbabeltech.com
how do you feel about refurb?

From the 'Egg

REFURBISHED: PNY VCG6800APB-BLK Geforce 6800 128MB 256-bit DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - OEM

REFURBISHED: PNY VCG6800APB-BLK Geforce 6800 128MB 256-bit DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card - OEM
(limit 2 per customer)

* Model #: VCG6800APB-BLK
* Item #: N82E16814133148R
* In Stock
* $1.00 FedEx Saver Shipping

$142.10

that's a 6800Standard . . . at least 3x 'faster' than your 8500 . . . possible unlocking of pipes, full DX9c features [lighting & shadows the 8500 does not support] . . .

. . . . in stock and i bet not for long. ;)

Edit: if you don't want refurb, check out Hot Deals forums daily . . . the 9800p has been ~$100 and there have been some good deals on other cards. I would especially look for a 6800std on sale or a 6600GT. Even a 9800p will be 2x faster than your son's current card and will display all the 'eyecandy' it cannot.
 
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