Geforce 6600GT or Geforce 6800?

[knightofnee]

'ey I'm buildin' a middle of the line pc, looking to play all that's out there now (including Doom 3, Half Life 2, Far Cry at good qualities) and anything coming out for the next few years. I've got everything set except what graphics card to go with. Price point is about $200, but that's flexible up to about $250. I'd prefer to keep it lower though. Now I realize that at that price, I'd probably be able to only afford the 6800 in the 128mb version, so I've got a few main questions:

1. 128mb-will that be enough for now and the future? If not, is it really worth the extra cash to up to say a 6800 256mb or 6800GT?

2. The 6600GT has a faster core clock, but the 6800's got more pipelines and seems more advanced. Which one will actually run faster?

3. What brand would you recommend? I'm quite partial to BFG Tech, but I'd like to hear oppinions.

I like nvidia, so i'm definately leaning toward one of these cards, but i'm also open to any ATI's in the pricerange if you think they are a better deal and a bit faster or something. Let me know what ya think!


Edit: Here are the system specs. Hopefully this'll help out a bit

1 gig ram
200 gig hard drive
pentium 4 3.0 ghz processor
300W power supply
PCI-E or AGP 8x slot. I'm in the process of buliding so either one works.

[[Neo770]]

If you are really looking to be able to keep the card for the next 2 years then I say it would be worth it to save up and get a 256Mb 6800GT.

A normal 6800 is a tiny bit faster then a 6600GT.

I like ASUS cards but pretty much all brands will work good, just some use better cooling and can overclock better.

[mateo leet-o]

x800's are about $200 right
that or the 6800gt
but if you really can't get the money, 6600gt

[SpaceSquad]

I would go for the 6600GT...better performance for money. 6800s have been pinned as pricy...and they are. Their performance is a bit better than the 6600GT...but not worth it. I would recommend it if you can't live without aa and af...the 6600GT can deliver this...but performance will go down. However, the 6800 will handle aa and af alot better.

[knightofnee]

Also, I'm looking to run this card on a 300W power supply, so take that into account

[[Neo770]]

My advise is dont.

I run my overclocked athlon XP and 6600GT on an Antec 350w but a 6800 on a 300w is probably not going to make it.

[nwo75200]

Quote:

Originally Posted by knightofnee

Also, I'm looking to run this card on a 300W power supply, so take that into account

then a vanilla 6800 would be your best bet since it uses less power than a 5700U which is really impressive



Speed wise, a 6800 is slightly faster than a 6600GT at stock speeds. Once the pipes are unlocked, it smokes a 6600GT (not that much, but yeah, it's significantly faster). As far as 6800 brands go I would only go with one of these 3:
Gainward
Leadtek
Gigabyte

Just my personal preference

[SpaceSquad]

Quote:

Originally Posted by knightofnee

Also, I'm looking to run this card on a 300W power supply, so take that into account

you know your system better than me

wattage calculator: http://www.jscustompcs.com/power_supply/

[skeltonjoe]

go with the 6800gt so you dont have to upgrade later cause it will just be a hassel cause the 7800 is already out so the 6600gt is getting outdated

[GiPilot12]

I would go with the vanilla 6800. It seems to fit your system well... besides it has a cool name...