new agp based card..

[ifander]

Hi folks, my first post!
Ok, so my friend asked me to find him a good agp-based graphics card, and initially I recommended him the X800GTO lineup, it's basically all he can afford. (Specifically it was a Sapphire Radeon X800GTO 256MB GDDR3 Lite-retail). They overclock fairly well, provided you 're lucky enough to get one with the r480 core . Personally, I'd recommend him an X800XL or GTO2, due to the extra 4 pipelines, (I know the X800XL's have 16 pipelines, but I'm not sure about the GTO2's), but they are rare here in Sweden, and I don't think they make GTO2's with the AGP bridge. But I did find one X800XL, suspiciously cheap one at that: Palit Radeon X800 XL 256MB. It costs roughly the same as the Sapphire X800GTO, and the specs seem good enough (256MB, 256 Bit, 16 pipelines, 400 Mhz core, 980 Mhz memory), but I can't get over that price tag... should I tell him to get it, or not?

[sawyen]

Well, for starters the R420 core isnt the nicest core to run.. 16pp or not, you will hazve near 0 overclocking headroom..

The core is aging pretty badly as well, where unlike the 6800GT, that can easily clock to an Ultra, an X800XL could not. I'm also seeing alot of UK e-sellers dumping off their x800xl stocks.. Its quickly running out its worth..

for the X800GTO, you have a humble chance to gamble.. 2 cores, R420, R480.. its a 50:50 gamble. Get a R480 that unlocks, and you'll be as right as rain.. Get an R420, even it unlocks you're stuck with a bog silly and accelerated aging X800XL..

[ifander]

What about the Palit card?
As for 6800GT, it's kind of outside my friends budget. Also, he doesn't overclock his rig, sorry if I made that impression, so overclockability won't matter.
If not the X800GTO, what about a 6800 GS? Are they any good? I hadn't really considered the 6800 series as an option, I presumed it would be too expensive. But I did find a couple of 6800 GS cards he could afford:
Palit GeForce 6800 GS 256MB GDDR3 / AGP
Palit GeForce 6800 GS 512MB GDDR3 / AGP
They cost almost the same, which is kinda wierd, but they're at different stores.
I just don't understand why Palit cards are so cheap compared to other brands. Are their cards any good?

[sawyen]

Palit brands are probably shipping OEM cards.. with stickers and all..

and possibly no games, no nothing bundle..

I would go for the 6 series just for the feature set alone. SM3.0 and all.. If he plays Oblivion, he'll thank you.

If the 512MB has around the same price, then go for it.. nothing stellarly different, probably wont even have the grunt to chew up those bandwidth anyways.

I have also heard that the AGP 6800GS are probably built from fully working NV40 cores.. that means a little trip into RivaTuner will get you a fully functional 16pp.. and chances to hit 6800Ultra speeds.. But then again, thats all gamble..

Overclocking 6800s doesnt even need skill, just download coolbits, run it.. go to the control panel.. enable manual overclocking.. then detect optimal settings.. and voila..

[ifander]

Well, it seems the 6800gs I found was mislabled on their site, I emailed them to ask when they'd have it in stock and they said it was for PCI-Express, not AGP. Getting it from an other source would cost too much. Considering that the cheapest one here in Sweden goes for roughly $330, whereas in the US it retails for around $230, it's a little difficult to afford. Basically, all he can get is either an X800XL (and to be honest, the difference between an X800XL and a 6800GS is not that big performance wise. I'd still recommend the 6800 GS though, because you're right, the SM3.0 support is worth it. But he can't afford it), an X800 GTO, or a vanilla 6800, which ain't that great. Then there are the X1600 cards, but they suck pretty badly, can't even keep up with GTO's. So, I guess I'll tell him to get the X800XL, there's not much left to choose between.

[sawyen]

You could probably get it sent from the UK, 6800GS cards are pretty cheap here.

But then again, thats if he doesnt mind the week long delivery and the RMA being located in the UK..

[ifander]

nah, I've looked at komplett.co.uk and scan, and they may be cheaper, but with shipping it won't be much of a difference I'm afraid. And there's the RMA bit..