Comparison On 2 Different Graphics Cards

[crazylegs]

I'm looking at upgrading my graphics card from my trusty 6600 to something like the 6800 or X800gto..

I have to stick to a budget of between £90-£110 I know thats not a massive amount to spend on a card but the 2 cards i was looking at are I hear on the forums both very overclockable and both can have there pipelines opened from 12 to the full 16 and vertex shaders enabled, so I would like some Opinions on which card i should go for and why...

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X3Jldmlld3M=&product_uid=97827

http://www.ebuyer.co.uk/customer/pr...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=98265

 

[tomsega]

Seeing as you have a gig of RAM, that will make getting an 128mb card okay - so long as you set the AGP aperture to 256mb in your BIOS. Certainly, the 6800 is a more capable card - mainly in the simple fact that it supports SM3. Games that use that, and also SuperShader 2 (nVidia only) games, really benefit from it. Doom3, splinter cell chaos theory, Far Cry (patch), Quake 4, and FEAR, will lose alot of their atmosphere without an SM3 card. Now the next gen consoles are all supporting it, we'll see SM3 used alot more in the future.

I used to have a 6800le, and later upgraded to a 6800gt. The performance of an 128mb 6800le with a 256mb agp aperture, is mostly just as good as the 256mb 6800gt is with a 128mb aperture - If that makes any sense. The LE won't like VERY demanding new games like COD2 and FEAR that much, though.

However, if I were you I would just spend an extra £30-50 and get a 6800gt off ebay (You'd get that for the 6600 I'm sure). There are at least a couple going every night, and generally they're all as good as new.
I'm selling my one, and I doubt it'll go above £150:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/nVidia-GeForc...747576587QQcategoryZ67864QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem