X800 PRO or 6800 GT

[Boogle]

I think the 6800GT is better value in the 'lower end' (heh lower end), and it generally wins in the benchmarks. But the Ultra vs. the XT is a lot harder to call imo because they trade places constantly in benchmarks, and not many ppl have XTs so we don't know how well they OC. I've seen a few ultras hitting the 450-480mhz core clocks, but not seen any XT OCs

[Byatt]

I'd say it depends what you want from it - if you're looking to make current games look a helluva lot better with AA/AF, I'd say ATi...but the 6800GT looks a better bet for newer stuff at the mo, there's more raw power to it...

If you can though, get an x800pro vivo, and make it into an xt pe...

[myth]

in the us the pro costs 50 less then the extreame! So I'll go for the extreame! I'd love to have the Nvidia but it costs way too much!! 150 dollars US! As for ocing... well I see no need!

Xt costs 450 us vs nvidias 600!

[Platinum]

6800GT defo if you want to play Doom III, mine isnt quiet though, its loud as hell and runs at around 57 degrees under load

[drunkenmaster]

some things to point out, I can almost everywhere see x800pro's for cheaper than GT's although if you want far cry and splinter cell that PNY version is a very good deal. Many VIVO x800pro's will flash to a XT straight off with no hassel, they also overclock very well as a plain x800 pro, mine hits 560/530 and that isn't nearly the best i've seen, thats on stock cooling too. From what i've seen, can guess, there will be more headroom with better cooling/more voltage on the x800 series than the GT series. Also if i check around for stock on cards the X800pro vivo or non vivo i can find you one somewhere straight away, and have been able to for a month. the GT however is still extremely scarce.

IMHO they are very equal and i'd get whatever you can find cheapest on the day you finally decide to order.


ANother VERY IMPORTANT thing to remember is, the main area Nvidia gives ati a whooping is OpenGL, however nvidia update their opengl much more thoroughly than ati have done recently. Teh ati drivers are slightly updated and essentially very old drivers. CAn't remember which interview i read, bout a month ago where ati boss man said in one of the upcoming cat's there will be a fully reworked opengl driver and to expect MAJOR boost in speed. SO we've yet to see what will happen once that is out.

[drunkenmaster]

another way to put it is, I've seen one x800 xt pe available on pre order for £315, and 6800 ultra's are around the £400 mark, infact most GT's are around the £315 mark.

[Platinum]

End of the day both cards will be stupidly fast and will be more than enough for your needs , I had to have one now so got the 6800GT when it was avaliable and im more than happy with it, and surprised it works fine in my overclocked shuttle.
Basicly whichever you pick you will be very happy with

[Nomadd]

Drukenmaster: The PNY 6800GT is now listing on PCW (where I got mine) for only £265 inc. VAT. That's waay under £315, and it easy overclocks to Ultra, hence the reason I bought one.

Platinum: Couldn't agree more. I think any 6800 (even the NU) and any X800 will play all this years (and next years) games without problems. Unless you are chasing 16x12 with 4xAA and 8xAF, then any of this gen. will do. For those who want more, well there's always SLI and/or NV45.

Nomadd

[redbird]

i would have gone with the 6800gt if i had not got my x800 pro for £240 inc vat

[madwelshboy]

ATM I would go with the 6800gt, but there are many things to consider (as pointed out previously), ATI are due to rework their OGL driver set and many are stating success with flashing pro to xt's. But 6800gt's oc to ultra's very easy and they has PS3 capability. So what I am trying to say is that there isn't much in it atm, go for either.
I personally will be waiting another 2 months so that Doom 3 has time to settle in and then decide (in time for x mas :-) )

[Ravens Nest]

I agree with the Madwelshman, i'd wait a couple of months for the new OpenGL drivers from ATI, and also for the release of Doom 3 & half life 2 and when the dust settles decide.

[Firebar]

Absolutely. Benchmarks of HL2 may be the turning point, if Nvidia come out on top there, ATI are gutted. Have to wait a month or so to see I guess.

[Stewart]

Apparently, the latest ATi drivers were 'leaked' not so long back, and do improve OpenGL performance.

Perfect timing for a 'leak'? How dare anyone suggest such a thing?

[Ravens Nest]

Vaul is that the 4.8 beta that have a newer opengl driver in them??

And a perfect time for a leak, hmm no it was just a terrible accident

[Richdog]

Nvidia 6800GT. Without question.

Solid drivers.
Great OpenGL performance (think Doom3 and ALL the games in the future using id's engine).
Full 16 pipe card.
Single Slot/Molex
Quiet
Easy overclocks to Ultra, which puts you in the same ballpark as the X800XT-PE.
SM3 (which might mean something one day! :-))

Have one myself. Very happy with it after one solid weeks worth of testing on 10 games. It's the PNY, which PCW now list for only 226+VAT, which includes FarCry and Splinter Cell. Damn good deal, imho.

Reviews? Jeez, do a bit of searching. The web is full of them (Tom's, Anands, HardOCP, TechReport, and every other hardware site you can think of - try googling).

Nomadd

Quoted for truth, I would have said more-or-less exactly the same thing. I would not buy an X800PRO over a 6800GT for the reasons listed above. It is simply far better performance out of the box. The only card I would buy over a 6800GT is an X800XT PE, simply because although you can flash the PRO VIVO's to an XT, their overall clock won't be as high, and neither will their re-sale value. No matter what they are flashed to thay're still a PRO, and the VIVO's cost £315 on average atm, in a short time they will have lost a LOT of value. However, if you can get an XT PE cheap enough (I have an Evesham X800XT PE on pre-order for £320) then it will keep a higher proportion of its value when you come to sell and upgrade in 6-12 months. Not to mention the X800XT PE is the king of 1600*1200 AA+AF is DX9 games at the moment.

But anyway ignore my blathering, the 6800GT is the best price/performance card ever released IMO, £265 for a true beast that will run any game without breaking a sweat and OC's to Ultra without thinking about it. What is there to think about?