Graphics Cards : Model or Manufacturer

[ScousePete]

Someone please help me throught the Graphics Cards nightmare.

First of all I get confused whether a 5950 Ultra is better than a 6800 (and half the time i don't know whhat XT, GT, Ultra etc mean - combined with 128 or 256MB).

Then I don't know if a Leadtek 5950 is better than a the Gainward or Asus.

For around £200 inc vat, what should I be looking at and why? I currently run a GeForce FX 5600 256MB DDR

Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe MOBO
AMD XP 3000 CPU
512MB RAM
Audigy 2 Platinum Sound
450 W PSU

Thanks in advance

 

[ChristopherP]

Ok first of all, calm down, deep breaths

Ok lets start with XT. This is the most confusing, due to the brains of nVidia.

XT on ATI cards mean SUPER DOOPER ULTRA good cards ON ACID, better than standard and pro.

XT (and LE) on nVidia cards means REALLLLLLLLLLLLLY cut down, like the MX's of the GeForce series

GT and Ultra are pretty much confined to nVidia cards. Im pretty sure GT is like a "Pro" version and the Ultra ones are like the ATI XT cards - top of the line.

The amount of memory a card has can be a confusing topic to explain. Generally, confined to one type of card, the 256mb version should be faster, unless it uses slower memory modules. The game must have to use more than 128mb of the cards memory for it to be significantly faster.

Ok, so a 256Mb X800XT will be faster than a 256Mb GeForceFX 5200. A 128Mb 9800pro will be faster than a 128Mb 9700pro. A 128Mb 9700pro will, however, be faster than a 256Mb Radeon 9550.

And to reiterate the different versions of the cards, lets study the 9600 series:

Radeon 9600SE - basic version of the card - will cost you about £48 inc VAT
Radeon 9600 - The bog standard no thrills version
Radeon 9600 Pro - Tweaked version of the above, much faster than both
Radeon 9600 XT - a 9600 on acid! VERY fast, VERY expensive (compared to the SE) costs £110 inc VAT

And with your question about manufacturers?

If you are not overclocking, go for the cheapest, they are all essentially the same cards. If the advertised speeds are different, then take the fastest one, but i doubt there will be much in it. They should all perform nearly identically.

If you want to overclock, take the one with the beefyest cooling, OR take the cheapest and fit your own cooler.

Generally, before you buy a product, go to www.hexus.net or any other site google finds and look for reviews of what you have in mind, so yoiu are aware of any issues it may have.

For the £200 you mentioned, if you can add a fiver to that, you can get yourself a Vanilla (plain) 6800 (nVidia), but theres usually a debate over what card would be best for the money...

If you are confused, this picture is a pretty good guide as to what goes where in the performance/benchmarking field:

Hope you find this of SOME use,

Regards
Chris

 

[floppybootstomp]

Pucka answer there.

For two hundred smackers, I'd definitely go for the Nvidia 6800 Vanilla flavour meself.

 

[ChristopherP]

Cheers Mate

 

[ScousePete]

Hey thanks very much, it's all a lot clearer now.

When I've narrowed things down a bit I'll post my shortlist for your opinions if you don't mind.

Once again thanks a lot.

Pete

 

[Reefsmoka]

At the moment i would definatly go for the Geforce 6800GT OC made by BFG, its a snap at £260. Though its not as good as the X800XT or the 6800 Ultra, it craps all over anything else in that price range, leaving the X800pro for dead .

http://www.pcwcomponentcentre.co.uk/invt/bfgr68256gtocuk

 

[ScousePete]

Well i started lookin' at 5900's and gradually convinced myself it had to be a 6800.

Narrowed it down to 2. The Asus GeForce 6800 GT128MB @ £258 and the BFG GeForce 6800 GT 256MB. @ £226.

Read a bunch of customer reviews of the Asus card sayin it wasn't really a GT (something to do with the spec) so that's put me off that. And the BFG come's OC'd under warranty pushin' it close to the Ultra, so I think I'm gonna get the BFG.

Only available from PC Components in UK strangely.

Thanks to all for your help.

Pete

 

[floppybootstomp]

Good choice Pete

I want one of those myself, but can't afford it right now

Soon though, soon.....

 

[Reefsmoka]

You got a link to that BFG 6800 GT OC @ £226? got me intrested, think i might have to treat meself to one .I looked for a pc shop called pc components on google, but it didnt find anything .

 

[floppybootstomp]

reef, I think he probably means PC World Component Centre, that's the only place I've seen BFG products for sale in UK.

Here's a link to the card, but as far as I can see, it's £259.00, not £226.00

Still a good price though. El Linko

I also notice it won't be in stock for 1 to 2 weeks, wonder if the price will stay the same? It was in stock just a few days ago.

 

[Reefsmoka]

That was the link i recommended , i thought there was some Uber bargain going around. But £260 for a GT is still tremendous .

 

[floppybootstomp]

That was the link i recommended

I know. After you posted, I bookmarked it. I want one of these things

 

[Alf]

I wish i could afford a GT,i would got for the BFG model

 

[ScousePete]

Sorry to cause so much excitement, got the prices reversed . Still the reviews i've read really rate this card and the price seems good (obviously PCW components don't use the mark ups that the shops do).

Only problem now is gonna be gettin hold of one! Nobody else sells these cards and PCW don't have stock!!
Pete