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I'm building a gaming AMD 64 3500+ (socket 939) based PC for a friend and we are trying to decide of the Video card. We have decided to go for PCI express. But I can't see the difference between a GeForce FX Series board and the equivalent Geforce 6 Series. Same goes for ATI 9800 vs. x800. Which series be more of a gaming card and why ?

SA wrote:I'm building a gaming AMD 64 3500+ (socket 939) based PC for a friend and we are trying to decide of the Video card. We have decided to go for PCI express. But I can't see the difference between a GeForce FX Series board and the equivalent Geforce 6 Series. Same goes for ATI 9800 vs. x800. Which series be more of a gaming card and why ?

First and formost, the x800 and Geforce 6800 are aprox. 100% faster then their slower bretheren (9800 and FX 5950).

The Geforce FX series has weak Directx 9 rendering capabilities (which is evident enough to make Valve drop DX9 support for FX cards in Half-Life 2). The ATI 9800XT is faster than the Geforce FX 5950.

The latest ATI card (I think it is like the x850PE or something rediculas) is a smige faster than the Geforce 6800 Ultra BUT the 6800 Ultra (and every other 6xxx card) supports DirectX 9.0c (which no ATI card does at the moment, quite a big advantage for nVidia there). On top of that, there are those new SLI motherboards that let you combine the power of TWO nVidia SLI-enabled cards, which makes for some insane graphical prowess. Best of the best? Geforce 6800 Ultra. If you don't want to spend that much, the Radeon 9800 PRO (or XT) ain't too bad either...

AHEM!! Look at the specs for the 6600 GT. This card can be had for under $200 in PCI-E form and is faster than any of the last generation cards for the same price plus it will also be supported in SLI. Not cutting edge, but probably the best bang-for-buck card out on the market right now and no dual slots necessary like the big brother 6800 Ultra.

Thanks for the tips. I went with the Asus 6600GT from Newegg. I think it'll do just dandy.

BoGMan1a wrote:AHEM!! Look at the specs for the 6600 GT. This card can be had for under $200 in PCI-E form and is faster than any of the last generation cards for the same price plus it will also be supported in SLI. Not cutting edge, but probably the best bang-for-buck card out on the market right now and no dual slots necessary like the big brother 6800 Ultra.

You're right... for some reason I was thinking the 6600 was above $200. Thanks for the correction!

As for the best bang for the buck, I'd have to say the Geforce 6800GT 256MB (single slot) is the card to get. It is around $175 cheaper than the Ultra, can easily OC up to Ultra, and it is a GREAT future proof card. If you have a SLI-enabled mobo though, you might as well get the 6600s...

Boba_Fett wrote:You're right... for some reason I was thinking the 6600 was above $200. Thanks for the correction!

As for the best bang for the buck, I'd have to say the Geforce 6800GT 256MB (single slot) is the card to get. It is around $175 cheaper than the Ultra, can easily OC up to Ultra, and it is a GREAT future proof card. If you have a SLI-enabled mobo though, you might as well get the 6600s...

Yeah, the AGP version of the 6600GT is over $200 (usually sitting somewhere between $220-250) for some reason. That is probably why you were thinking that. And yes, the 6800GT is a thing of beauty but I haven't found it for very much under $350 and that is just a smidge out of my budget so I guess I just projected that onto my recomendation. Oh well, I am gonna head out and get the 6600GT AGP today if I can find it in stock at local Best Buy (both versions on sale for $187.xx). Heck, I went in yesterday and came out with a new laptop (Gateway 7422-It rocks!) and Best Buy card instead, but no 6600GT to be found. It says that it is in stock now though .

One problem with SLI...your game has to be on the "supported list" coded into nVidia's drivers, or you get no benefit in performance. Check out the Tech Report's latest tests for more information on that.

I don't see SLI with any current model of card as being a good choice right now for that reason (there's quite a few unsupported games including World of Warcraft for example), plus the added expense of an SLI mainboard and a beefier power supply. If I was buying a card today it'd be a 6600GT or 6800 vanilla...if I could afford to wait a month, I'd look at ATI's Radeon X800XL (assuming you're willing to go PCIe).