Geforce 6800 GT or 6600 GT?

[Valirus]

Well, since my Geforce 4 seems to have toasted itself into oblivion, I'm in the market for a new video card. The Geforce 4 performed admirably with Doom 3 and Half-Life 2, so I suppose I'll stick with NVIDIA, though the fan did crap out after 2 years.

Anyhow, my question is about the performance benefits of the 6800 GT over the 6600 GT. The pricing for a 6800 GT is generally $350-$400, though I've seen some makes, like the Chaintech, go for $230. The 6600 GT, however, is usually about $200-$250, though I've seen some makes, like the MSI or eVGA go for $180. I've read that the performance difference between the 6600 GT and 6800 GT are not nearly enough to warrant the price difference, though I'd like to be sure and ask anyone with experience before making a purchase. I'd especially like to know about durability and heatsinks on either of the cards, as that proved to be an issue with my last one.

Lastly, if there are any recommendations or warnings about specific makes or manufacturers for these two cards, I'd appreciate it.

 

[ripken204]

http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article/0,aid,118701,00.asp

look there, has both agp and pci-e, but i know that u are getting an agp b/c of the prices, i know that bfg and evga are pretty good, the msi 6600gt has a crappy heatsink so dont get that one

 

[fishhookz]

IMO, most video card HSFs are garbage. I'd just get an Artic VGA cooler.

As for which card to get, get the 6600GT. Save the money for other upgrades like a better case.

 

[olefarte]

As I don't have a 6600 GT, I can't say anything about it. But I've got a BFG 6800 GT OC, and I have nothing but praise for it. It's overclocked from the factory and has a lifetime warranty, you can't beat that. I haven't had any issues as far as overheating at all, except with some of the newer beta drivers, and almost everybody is having that, it's not card specific issue. It has the custom dual fan design from the factory, which may or may not be better than the reference design, but it does the job, and is relatively quiet. I had a stock Gateway 250 watt power supply and upgraded to a Antec True Power 430, and this power supply and card are so much quieter than my old setup it's amazing. The cards cooling solution seems more than adequate for normal operation, if you are not goiing to overclock.

If you want every last bit of performance you can get, and can afford it, I'd get the 6800 GT. Look at the BFG I linked above, or for that matter, the BFG 6600 GT also.

 

[ripken204]

i alredy have a very good case
check the comp i wna get here
http://frontiernet.net/~unholyknights/comp/mycomputer1.html

and also i am looing for a pci-e

 

[escarvajal]

If you're going to get a 6600 GT get Leadtek

The Leadtek 6600GT is a solid card for under $200. A solid card with a solid heatsink fan. Overclocks fairly well, and remains cool.

The 6800 GT has twice the memory 256MB and twice the bandwith 256bit versus 128bit like the 6600GT, but you're paying around $400.

See for yourself:
http://www.gamers-depot.com/hardware/video_cards/leadtek/6600gt/001.htm

 

[Valirus]

I wouldn't be seriously considering that BFG model if it weren't for that lifetime warranty. That alone is worth the price - unless, of course, it costs extra?

Ah, there seems to also be a 6800 GT model with 128 MB of RAM. Do you think it would be a better bet to go for the 6600 GT or the kicked-down 6800?

 

[escarvajal]

6800 or 6800GT?

the 6600GT has a 500Mhz core clock speed and 1000Mhz effective memory clock speed, I believe the 6800 is much slower. The 6800GT has comparable clock speeds, but costs more.

I personally have the Leadtek 6600GT, and I run Far Cry Ultra High setting no lag!

 

[2ndasscheek]

go for the 6800gt

the 6800gt will dominate the 6600gt and for that matter so would a plain 6800. Not only do they have 256-bit but each has more pipes and double the vertex shaders. If cost is a problem go for the 6800 and softmod it to 16-pipes and overclock it. You wont be disapointed i did it my self.