Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Bulsajo]

A-HA! I've finally come across 2 pages that answer just about all my questions on video cards. I think most of us will find this of use:

ATI chips comparison table (as of May 09)

NVIDIA chips comparison table (as of March 10)

[Wrench]

I got myself x1900xtx 512mb. Happy with it.

[Bulsajo]

[Antrugha]

get a 7600GT
can't go wrong with that card

[Bulsajo]

7600GT's architecture is 128-bit while the 6800 is 256-bit.
They both have the same transfer rate: 22.4 GB/s.
They both have the same number of pixel pipelines= 12.
The 7600 has fast core and memory speeds though:
580Mhz compared to 325Mhz for the core, and 1.4Ghz compared to 700Mhz for the memory.

So, while it's a moot question for me (because there is no 7600GT in AGP format),
is there any reason not to get a 6800 instead of a 7600GT, given that on average the price is about $60-$75 USD cheaper for the 6800 (with the same 256 GDDR3 VRAM)?

In other words, does gpu and memory speed trump architecture?

My (uninformed) thinking is that if they both have the same throughput (transfer rate), you might as well save yourself $70 and get the 6800.

Anyway, I'm just learning as I go and posting findings and questions here, I'm not out to challenge anyone's choice of purchase.

Lord knows I didn't do so hot on my last choice of upgrade.

[cubanlord]

[Antrugha]

yeah, you'll be happy with the 6800 for a while... at least for the next year to year and a half

when dx 10 hits the market, an upgrade may be in order... but first we need vista to come out, and who knows when that will be. Let alone, market saturation.

[Bulsajo]

As I said in the OP, I am only looking for AGP cards in this thread- I'll have to worry about a whole new computer well before I have to worry about Vista and DX 10 video cards.

What do you think of my question, though?
Even if the prices were the same, is 7600GT any better than a 6800?
All other things being equal (transfer rate, amount of RAM) does speed beat architecture?

[cubanlord]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1929944&CatId=0&SRCCODE=WEBFC086

go for it.

[Bulsajo]

Yeah, in a perfect world I'd be trying to decide whether to buy it or return to the ATI fold with the x1900...
I wonder how those two shape up head to head?
Somebody, somewhere must have done the benchmarks already...

[Demophobe]

[Bulsajo]

Yeah... we just sorted that out in PMs. Am curious to see how the best nVidia and the ATI shape up- has ATI taken back the crown, or no?

[cubanlord]

[Bulsajo]

I ordered a 6800 AGP- best balance between price and performance for me.

[eamo]