Worth the upgrade?

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Staz

Senior member
Jan 27, 2000
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I play WoW on a Dell 20" LCD at 1600x1200 and have all the eye candy turned on. While the 2 cards are pretty equal in terms of performance at higher resolutions without the eye candy, the ATI card pulls away when you turn that eye candy on. Plus I also like having 256MB of video memory and perfer ATI's in general. The X800XL wasn't available or was too expensive when I bought my card, which is why I went with the 6800nu.

Basically, if I can get a ATI X800XL AGP with 256MB video ram, is that much of an upgrade over a 6800nu with 128MB ram? Or am I just wasting my money on a card that I wont notice a difference with?
 
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McArra

Diamond Member
May 21, 2003
3,295
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I would wait for next gen ATi and Nvidia in that price range. IMO is not worth the upgrade from 6800nu to X800XL.
 
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HDTVMan

Banned
Apr 28, 2005
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Originally posted by: Staz
I play WoW on a Dell 20" LCD at 1600x1200 and have all the eye candy turned on. While the 2 cards are pretty equal in terms of performance at higher resolutions without the eye candy, the ATI card pulls away when you turn that eye candy on. Plus I also like having 256MB of video memory and perfer ATI's in general. The X800XL wasn't available or was too expensive when I bought my card, which is why I went with the 6800nu.

Basically, if I can get a ATI X800XL AGP with 256MB video ram, is that much of an upgrade over a 6800nu with 128MB ram? Or am I just wasting my money on a card that I wont notice a difference with?
Click to expand...

I would think you would be wasting money. If you sell it go for a next gen card like the ATI r520 or one of NVIDIA 7800. Thats an increase.
 
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Mattd46612

Senior member
Jan 23, 2005
670
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Its definetly a upgrade but really not worth it. Save a few more for the 7800gtx or the r520.
 
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Unkno

Golden Member
Jun 16, 2005
1,659
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the 6800 is capable of handling most games for now....no need to upgrade, you should save up for the next gen
 
rbV5

rbV5

Lifer
Dec 10, 2000
12,632
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I didn't think my 6800 did so well at 16x12 in most newer games, however my X800XL handles higher resolutions in most games pretty well. I didn't have an LCD with native 16x12 resolution, so it was a pretty good performer (I just lowered the resolution when I needed to), but it also fetched a pretty good price after several months of use, so I felt the small amount extra I had to pony up for the X800XL was worth the cost.

I'd say it all depends on how much you get for the 6800nu, and how much you pay for the X800XL before you can determine if its a deal or not.
 
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CraigRT

Lifer
Jun 16, 2000
31,440
5
0
unless you can sell your 6800 for a good profit and only spend a few bones more to get the X800XL, it's prob. not worth it... but that's something I'd do anyways so I can't talk much. :p
 
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hans030390

Diamond Member
Feb 3, 2005
7,326
2
76
it'd be more of a downgrade considering that sm3 is going to be pretty big in next gen games.
i'd get a 7800 or r520, when released, when prices drop.

that be my opinion.
 
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Staz

Senior member
Jan 27, 2000
447
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Dumb question, what is SM3? Not looking for a detailed explination, just a quick summary.
 
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Ramsez

Member
Jul 11, 2005
81
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SM3.0 is a bad argument.

By the time it's used, the 6800's wont be fast enough to make full use of it, anyway.
 
blckgrffn

blckgrffn

Diamond Member
May 1, 2003
9,686
4,345
136
www.teamjuchems.com
They aren't right now, not at 1600*1050 or whatever that 2005fpw runs at. The x800xl will be fine if that is what you want, the extra memory alone will make AA run much better in games like source where the 128 just hamstrings the 6800NU.

Go for it if you want :)

Nat
 
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zendari

Banned
May 27, 2005
6,558
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Originally posted by: hans030390
it'd be more of a downgrade considering that sm3 is going to be pretty big in next gen games.
i'd get a 7800 or r520, when released, when prices drop.

that be my opinion.
Click to expand...

WTF are you smoking? x800 xl a downgrade from 12 pipe 128 mb 6800 nu?
 
BFG10K

BFG10K

Lifer
Aug 14, 2000
22,709
3,003
126
I wouldn't bother - save your money and get something from this generation.
 
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Suspicious-Teach8788

Lifer
Feb 19, 2001
20,155
23
81
Uh X800XL is an UPGRADE.

But why can't you guys WAIT for once. Wow. Look at my friggn sig. And I'm willing to wait for a 7800GT instead of a X800XL.... gee
 
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Pete

Diamond Member
Oct 10, 1999
4,953
0
0
Taxes bring that up to $275. I'd consider a $255AR 6800GT, though. Yeah, it's XFX, so the ATI board will be covered by a longer and perhaps better warranty, but I can't imagine the XFX will be a piece of poop right off the bat. Plus, the AGP XL is a looong card. The GT gives you dual DVI

But look into people's experience with the XFX GT before buying, as I've seen one or two threads saying it ain't all roses. But it's a tempting price. I'd probably take a chance on a NewEgg refurb first, though. If it works, you save a good amount. If it doesn't, you're just out the $5-10 it takes to ship it back, and a few days waiting.

Edit: Dunno if nV or ATI are better in WoW. Check Anandtech, Firingsquad, and Gamespot for WoW GPU comparos.
 
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richardrds

Senior member
Dec 7, 2004
303
0
0
Did you try to softmod your 6800NU yet. With the latest RivaTuner you have better then a 50% chance of sucess, the upgrade from 12p/5vs to 16p/6vs and a moddest GPU overclock may give you the performance boost you are craving without the need to spend any more money.
 
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Suspicious-Teach8788

Lifer
Feb 19, 2001
20,155
23
81
Originally posted by: blckgrffn
But are you going to get a 7800GT? With your Athlon? Not trying to talk down, but some of us get the itch a lot more often than others :p

Nat
Click to expand...

Obviously not... PCI-e, meaning I finally get to go for an Athlon 64 3700+ =)
 
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