Need AGP video card upgrade recommendations, 6800 Ultra vs X850XT (or x800xt)

T

The Alpha Male

n00b
Joined
Jul 6, 2006
Messages
8
I've been out of the loop for the past year so I need some help with this one. Current system specs are as follows:

Abit IC7-Max3
P4 3.2C (3.2GHz w/ hyperthreading)
2GB Corsair XMS (3200XL Pro)
23" Viewsonic LCD
19" Viewsonic CRT
WinXP Pro


Alright, so it's time to upgrade my agp video card and I need some info. I'm trying to decide between the nVidia 6800Ultra and ATI X850XT. I'm also considering the All-in-Wonder X800XT depending on how it stacks up (performance-wise) to the other 2. Let's hear your opinions.
 
First of all, welcome to the forums. You might not want to bump your own posts so much though, at least a day (except For Sale or Trade) is a good wait...
Both of those cards are good, but I'd recommend the 7600GT AGP from Ledtek if you can find one, it would be cheaper than the Ultra I think. AGP cards are starting to command a siginifant premium because the industry is shifting to PCI-E, IMO you should buy a new system when you can't squeeze more out of the one you have after this upgrade.

Don't be afraid of the 128-bit memory bus or the 12 pixel pipes, it performs on the level of the 6800 Ultra and consumes FAR less power. Also, it generates less heat. However, overclocking is somewhat mixed because of the PCI-E to AGP bridge chip. My friend got 590MHz core and I think 1500MHz effective memory overclock before he ran into artifacts.
 
Do you know where you are going to buy either one of those cards? (6800ultra/x850xt)

They don't make them anymore and probably won't have them in stock in the stores.
 
Yashu said:
Do you know where you are going to buy either one of those cards? (6800ultra/x850xt)

They don't make them anymore and probably won't have them in stock in the stores.
Click to expand...


Yeah, luckily I have that part covered so it's not going to be a problem.
 
Sovereign said:
First of all, welcome to the forums. You might not want to bump your own posts so much though, at least a day (except For Sale or Trade) is a good wait...
Both of those cards are good, but I'd recommend the 7600GT AGP from Ledtek if you can find one, it would be cheaper than the Ultra I think. AGP cards are starting to command a siginifant premium because the industry is shifting to PCI-E, IMO you should buy a new system when you can't squeeze more out of the one you have after this upgrade. Don't be afraid of the 128-bit memory bus or the 12 pixel pipes, it performs on the level of the 6800 Ultra and consumes FAR less power. Also, it generates less heat. However, overclocking is somewhat mixed because of the PCI-E to AGP bridge chip. My friend got 590MHz core and I think 1500MHz effective memory overclock before he ran into artifacts.
Click to expand...
I didn't even know about the 7600GT in AGP so I'll have to take a look at that one; thanks for the info. I doubt I will do much OC'ing of the card so that's shouldn't be a problem.
 
7600 GT over 6800 Ultra any day of the week. Cheaper, smaller, quieter, less power hungry, and faster. When you pit it against the X850 XT it gets murkier. X850 XT is slightly faster in today's games, and the lack of Shader Model 3.0 support hasn't hurt it much yet, but the 7600 GT is almost as fast, a lot smaller, quieiter, and less power hungry, and has the SM 3.0 support for the future. Price tends to be about the same, so it comes down to this:

If you upgrade often, get the X850 XT, since it's faster and its weaknesses won't really hurt you before you've replaced it. If you don't upgrade very often, the 7600 GT is the way to go, since tomorrow's games will start to require SM 3.0 to look good and perhaps to even run.
 
arthur_tuxedo said:
7600 GT over 6800 Ultra any day of the week. Cheaper, smaller, quieter, less power hungry, and faster. When you pit it against the X850 XT it gets murkier. X850 XT is slightly faster in today's games, and the lack of Shader Model 3.0 support hasn't hurt it much yet, but the 7600 GT is almost as fast, a lot smaller, quieiter, and less power hungry, and has the SM 3.0 support for the future. Price tends to be about the same, so it comes down to this:

If you upgrade often, get the X850 XT, since it's faster and its weaknesses won't really hurt you before you've replaced it. If you don't upgrade very often, the 7600 GT is the way to go, since tomorrow's games will start to require SM 3.0 to look good and perhaps to even run.
Click to expand...

You make some good points here arthur and even though I do tend to upgrade fairly often, I may be leaning towards the 7600GT at this point.

Also, while looking into the 7600GT (and thanks to jon67's link), I have noticed the Gainward 7800GS+. Understandably it will be more expensive than the others, but not really enough to be of any concern to me. So does anyone know where to get one of these right now?
 
Overclockers.co.uk has them. 215 pounds with shipping to the US, which is almost exactly $400.

Link.

Scroll down until you see "Gainward BLISS GeForce 7800 GS+ SILENT 512MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (AGP) - Retail (GX-032-GW)"
 
i just got the leadtek 7600gt agp and put a vf700 on it. 20 deg lower than stock on max load and now oc to 618/760, might push it more later.

great card, highly recommended even at stock.
 
yeah if the 7600gt AGP had been out when my 6800gt died, I would have got it instead of the 7800gs.

But alas! Can't do anything about that now. I only wish the 7800gs used standard HSF mounting.
 
Yashu said:
yeah if the 7600gt AGP had been out when my 6800gt died, I would have got it instead of the 7800gs.

But alas! Can't do anything about that now. I only wish the 7800gs used standard HSF mounting.
Click to expand...
Says the man wishing he had a vf-900 ;)
 
Yashu said:
yeah if the 7600gt AGP had been out when my 6800gt died, I would have got it instead of the 7800gs.

But alas! Can't do anything about that now. I only wish the 7800gs used standard HSF mounting.
Click to expand...
Why would you want a 7600GT instead of a 7800GS?
 
Just as fast under most settings, smaller, cheaper, less power consumption, runs cooler. Don't think it overclocks nearly as well as the 7800 GS, though, both in terms of the actual overclockability and the tangible gains from increasing the clock speed, but otherwise it's a good bit cheaper for almost identical performance.
 
The Alpha Male said:
Why would you want a 7600GT instead of a 7800GS?
Click to expand...
Roughly the same performance if not better at 30-40% savings on price. Seriously, the benchies attest to the fact as arthur_tuxedo pointed out.
 
the 7600gt is the dream of the poor midrange gamers like myself who can now afford 6800ultra level performance of yesteryear!

it's a great card. i got the agp version and it's as cool as a cucumber with a vf700 at only 60 odd degrees at load and mild oc.

just hope it doesn't die unexpectedly.
 
GonzoP said:
Roughly the same performance if not better at 30-40% savings on price. Seriously, the benchies attest to the fact as arthur_tuxedo pointed out.
Click to expand...


Ok, hold on a sec... We are talking about the same cards, aren't we? As in these two here:

7600GT vs. 7800GS+

Because to me it looks like the 7800GS+ stomps the hell out of a 7600GT (I could be mistaken). Everything that I've read so far says the 7800GS+ is the fastest AGP card period. Am I missing something?
 
The Gainward 7800 GS+ is a special case. Yes, that absolutely destroys both the 7600 GT and the plain jane 7800 GS that you can buy in the States, but you have to get it from the UK and it will cost roughly $400. I believe I posted a link for it.

If you're not ready to upgrade your whole system and get PCI-E, the Gainward 7800 GS+ is the only high-end AGP on the market.

But when talking about the regular ol' 16 pipe 7800 GS vs. the 7600 GT, the latter is by far a better deal for the money.
 
if it really is true, I want to know how much they are going to cripple the card (a la 7800gs).

If it is not crippled then it would be really awsome.
 
Alpha: If you can afford one, the Gainward Bliss is basically pretty close to being an AGP 7900GTX, especially with a little overclocking to get the bandwidth up where it belongs. Same core, same amount of memory. Get the clocks up there at the same levels and you've got it. If that doesn't make one drool, I don't know what would...

Now if that X1950 sees the light of day, it will be the best buy. Unless the price is outrageous.
 
arthur_tuxedo said:
Is that confirmed? I thought it was based off of a typo that Diamond later corrected.
Click to expand...
Probably, I got email from diamond saying oct 22
 
Well if the x1950pro ever does make it to the agp market I'm pretty sure someone out in [H] land would be willing to buy my 76GT. Although if it actually drops at $199 then I'll probably have to sell my 76gt for like $120
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top