Geforce confusion...

[Mutley]

I'm getting really confused about the number of different Geforce cards there are around.

Can anyone explain to me the difference between the 6800, 6800GT, 6800XT (and even the 6800NU)?

And where do they sit in relation to the 6600s? Some of the 6800s are cheaper than the 6600s - are they worth getting?

Thanks!

Mut.

[sawyen]

Geforce are by far the easiest to understand.. compared to the likes of ATI..

If its the 6 series.. the horsepower goes down like

6800Ultra > 6800GT > 6800 vanilla > 6800XT > 6600GT > 6600 > 6200 TC ~ 6200

Simple.. cant get any clearer than that..

[Mutley]

Yes, I'd agree, ATI is very confusing.

Can you explain the pricing to me then?
Why can you buy a 6800XT or 6800 for less than the price of a 6600GT? Is it worth getting the 6800 over the 6600GT?

[kevpuk]

The key advantage of the 68xx is the wider memory bandwidth.......and in many cases 'unlocking' potential......

[Mutley]

Still doesn't answer the question though:
If the basic 6800 is better than any 6600, why is it cheaper?

And, if it is better, would i be better off getting a vanilla 6800 rather than a 6600GT?

[zulander]

some versions of the 6800 are AGP or only have 128mg or RAM. Are u looking at getting a PCIE card? Some of the newer 6600gts have more memory and such but probably cant use it because of lower clocks or pipelines. You can get a Leadtek 6600gt wich were one of the better models for around 100 - 120 and i doubt u would find a 6800 for that kind of money, where are u looking at for your prices?

[sawyen]

There are instances where a 6600GT runs faster than a vanilla 6800.. 6600GT also scales better than a vanilla 6800.. (at least thats what I've been made to believe)

Also, with GDDR3, 6600GT by the spec itself already worth more than a more conventional DDR in a basic 6800. The theoretical bandwidth are also leaning towards the 6600GT side.

The unlocking potential WAS there, when the 6800 was made because it was needed as a product and not because they were 6800GT/Ultra that has several faulty pix pipes.

The 6800XT is yet another iteration ot 6800 with even more faulty pipes, but carries the grandeous 68XX name tag.

Whether is it worth getting a 6800 to a 6600GT, that really depends on what you need to do. 6800 by itself, tho slower, has much better architechture while the 6600GT has all the memory and core speed brute. Even listening to the fact that the 6600GT are capable or running 1100MHz memory is enuf to make a vanilla 6800 have brown underpants.

[Mutley]

Sorry I should have been clearer:

I'm looking at AGP cards only.

[Mutley]

I'm looking for a replacement for my Radeon 9600XT.

Looks like being the 6600GT so far. Purpose? Games!! Especially FPS, some flight sim.

I've been looking on Scan's site, and you can buy a 6800 or even 6800XT (AGP) for less than the XFX 6600GT (120 quid).

You can buy the Leadtek 660GT for £106, which looks like a good deal.

BTW, is the XFX worth the extra 15 quid (for the 6600GT)? I know its clocked a little higher, but thats about it I think.

[zulander]

U can overclock the xfxs as well. The Leadtek is a good card tho so ure in a no loose situation

[sawyen]

Never used Leadteks 6600Gts before.. but their 6800GT with those 900g copper block overclocks like weeeee...

Both my cards runs 430MHz and 1200MHz no problem using Leadtek optimised 77.77..

Since their 6800 range are sooo sooo overclockable, I'm guessing their 6600GT shouldnt be any slouch in the oc dept.

[Blackmage]

Geforce are by far the easiest to understand.. compared to the likes of ATI..

If its the 6 series.. the horsepower goes down like

6800Ultra > 6800GT > 6800 vanilla > 6800XT > 6600GT > 6600 > 6200 TC ~ 6200

Simple.. cant get any clearer than that..

sorry to spoil the party but you put the 6200 turbo crap before the 6200 wouldnt want the thread starter getting confused would we

[Mutley]

Oh damn-it, too late! I'm even more confused! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

[zulander]

Mutley its simple - buy a Leadtek 6600gt. Play (add FPS shooter here) be happy

Honestly mate u cant go wrong with the Leadtek. You get not much less performence than a 6800gt for half the price. Any of the cut down variations of a 6800 probably arent worth bothering with thats y they cost simelar prices to the 6600gts.

So do wanna spend £200 then its 6800gt -
spend £110 6600gt

[mike_w]

If you want to play recent games, then a 6600GT is really the minimum you want to be buying. Don't worry about the 6200s - they're too slow to be a worthwhile purchase if you want to able to play modern games.

A 6800XT or 6800LE is probably of similar performance to a 6600GT. I would expect a 6800 to be faster in general, while the 6800GT is definately faster, but more expensive.

If the 6600GT is going to be paired with a 2.5 P4, then I don't think there is much point in getting anything faster than a 6600GT - anything faster would probably be bottlenecked by the CPU.

Hope that helps

Mike.

[Mutley]

Ah, so now we get to the interesting bit, Mike_W. Thats what I thought.

Sorry to appear stoopid, I do understand what the nVidia numbering scheme is supposed to show, but the pricing for these cards makes little sense in comparison.

The issue is this: You can buy (from Scan) an XFX 6800XT Extreme Edition for 117 quid (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...ductID=274560).
Also from Scan you can buy an XFX 6800LE for only 107 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...ductID=217404).
Why, if the 6800 card is better, faster, hoopier, froodier than a 6600 (any flavour), does it cost less than the XFX 6600GT, which is 120? (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...ductID=150992).

Nobody has yet been able to answer that question.

I will probably buy a Leadtek 6600GT, looks like good value. I just want to make sure that I won't be missing a trick if I don't buy a 6800LE or XT for the same price, is all...