Which video card should I buy?

[mbaker74]

I'm getting ready to just flip a coin between the X800 XT Platinum and a GeForce 6800 Ultra. I'm spending some big bucks and wanted to see what opinions everybody had on these two cards.

Thanks,
Matt

[Vampiel]

Its really hard to say either way. But I would put my money on the 6800.

Either way you should get a good card.

I think the Platinum Edition is the equivalent of the Ultra Extreme though not the Ultra.

Good luck finding either one.

[Yoshi]

All XTs are the same, the Platiunum doesn't make a difference. The 6800ULTRA is better as it is faster, and supports PS3.0. But the X800 XT has better AA and AF and smaller one slot and less power. I have the 6800 ULTRA and love it, but ATi has a very good card with the x800 XT. I would buy a 6800 GT as it is one slot and less power then the Ultra and it can easly be overclocked past Ultra speeds.

[Midknyte]

Originally posted by Yoshi
I would buy a 6800 GT as it is one slot and less power then the Ultra and it can easly be overclocked past Ultra speeds.

I can attest to that. :D

[Bigjakkstaffa]

If your gonna buy the top end card, then between the Ultra and the XT it really is a draw. They both have their strenghts and their weaker areas, and theres really not much to pick between them. It all boils down to personal choice and preferred manufacturer.

That said, you can save money and still end up with a top end card, either by buying an Nvidia 6800GT and overclockign it up to Ultra levels, or picking up an X800 Pro VIVO, unlocking four pixel pipelines with a BIOS flash and then overclocking up to give you a full X800XT.

Again, it all lies down to personal preference, availiability, price and similar factors rather than either company having a notably faster or better product than the other.

--Jakk:t

EDIT: Nifty edit of mistake - cheers SS

[Someone Stupid]

Jakk meant an X800 Pro VIVO to unlock to get an XT 100% of the time I think. Or the GT. Personally I'd wait as right now you really can't tell if one card or another is a winner or will downright stink as in OGL ATi is dying but it's mainly a driver issue (practically entirely a driver issue other than nvidia's inherent OGL favoritism in design while ATi focused more on D9. Just nvidia never forgot D9, ATi forgot OGL. Now they need to rewrite the drivers. Then according to Gabe (which isn't saying much IMO) HL2 runs 30% faster on ATi cards.

Too soon for me to say which to buy, so I'd say wait if you can.

[Cyan]

Wait for Doom 3 to settle down a bit and see how it runs on various configurations.

If you're upgrading for HL2, wait for the game to come out.