Best card for the price?

[Ace of Eden]

hello, first time post here.

my system specs are

Compaq Persario
110 GB Hard Drive
768 Ram
2.0 GHZ Processor

i am planning on spending as much as $300 on a new video card
I am considering the 6800GT but is that card good enough for the new games coming out?

So if someone could recommend a card applicable to my system specs that would be great.

any help would be appreciated.

[Midknyte]

if you only have a 2G, then a 6800GT is more than enough. you won't be using a 6800GT to its full potential unless you have at least a 3Ghz cpu or so.

A 6600GT or 6800NU might suit your system better.

Look at the comparisons thread in this forum for more info.

[Ace of Eden]

But arn't there also cards with built in processors?

[Midknyte]

what do you mean built in processors? They all have GPUs, but that is no replacement for your CPU.

[MadPistol]

I think Ace may be talking about the new PPU's that are coming out. Those things aren't video cards. In fact, in my book, they aren't anything right now. I'll stick with the Processing power of my CPU for now.

Anyway, I would go with a 6600 GT or a 6800 myself if you've got those specs. You would get far better performance from the 6800 than the 6600 GT. I do think that a 6800 GT would be overkill myself.

To prove it, I have a 6800 GT on a 2.8ghz P4 and 1 GB of PC 3200 on an Intel 875P motherboard, and only 2 or 3 games take full advantage of the card and aren't bogged down by the CPU. To put this in perspective, I have about 10 or 11 current gen games. The processor is just not enough to push the card, and if you have a 2 Ghz processor, the 6800 may be overkill as well now that I think about it. your choice though.

[Ace of Eden]

as a generallity how does a 6600 GT compare to a 6800 in performance?

would i really see an improvment between a 128 bit card and a 256 bit card?

ok, i think i've narrowed it down between these two cards

6600GT
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122206

and the 6800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150068

are these good prices for these cards? I was also wondering if they were made by reliable manufaturers (Leadtek and XFX)

[Midknyte]

what do you mean 128 versus 256bit? do you mean the memory?

The 6800NU should outperform the 6600GT in most cases.

I don't like XFX or Leadtek. BFG, Gainward, MSI, PNY, and eVGA have been pretty reliable for me.

[Ace of Eden]

ok im definatly going to get this card.

XFX Geforce 6800
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150068

So does anyone know if this particular model may require an additional power supply?

And is installation easy? With my motherboard it seems as though the RAM cards may get in the way but im not sure whether or not that may be the case.

any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
thanks

[Midknyte]

that card requires 1 molex power connection.

installation ease is relative to your knowledge. it's not any different from any other video card.

[widget2003]

Originally posted by Midknyte
what do you mean 128 versus 256bit? do you mean the memory?

lol oh come on you know what he means especailly after the cards involved are 6600GT and 6800NU haha

and yeah good choice on the 6800NU would beat a 6600GT overall

[Midknyte]

I'm pretty sure he means memory, but it was never specified. I don't like to assume, 'cause you know how the saying goes.

it's not a 128bit or 256bit card; it's the memory interface to the GPU. I didn't want to be a wiseguy, but I guess that couldn't be helped. hehe

[Ace of Eden]

could someone please refer to me where i can buy and install a molex connectior and how to install one. thanks

[Midknyte]

a molex connector is the standard 4 pin connection on your power supply. it's the same one you use to plug in your cdrom or IDE hard drive.

[widget2003]

Originally posted by Midknyte
I didn't want to be a wiseguy, but I guess that couldn't be helped. hehe

lol :p

[Comage]

If somebody says it's a NU card, does it mean Non-Ultra (for nvidia cards)?

And if it's NP, does it mean Non-Pro (for ATI cards)?

[fishybawb]

Originally posted by Comage
If somebody says it's a NU card, does it mean Non-Ultra (for nvidia cards)?

And if it's NP, does it mean Non-Pro (for ATI cards)?

Yep. Non-Ultra as in the plain version for nVidias, including the others ie. not Ultra and not GT, LE, GTO etc. either.