Which 6800 or nVidia Card?

daphatgrant

daphatgrant

Fi-yah!
Staff member
Joined
Jun 15, 2003
Messages
18,564
Hello, (I am sure that this has been posted already, but I cant find it). I am new on the nVidia scene, I have always had ATI but I am looking at getting a 6800 for playing Doom III :D . I have a PIV 2.8C and am not sure which nVidia card to get. I have heard that BFG and eVGA are the best two, is this true? Since my CPU isn’t top notch I probably wont need the ultra. I am asking which card I should get the 6800, 6800GT, or the 6800Ultra, and which brand. I don’t need a $600 card, but I guess I can spend around $400 give or take $50 what card would you recommend? I trust your guys desicision :) .
 
i too have a similar system to yours and want to know which card to get...i am keen on getting a 6800 Ultra...but are there any GT's that convert to Ultra?
 
All right I think I have narrowed it down, I am looking at The BFG 6800GT and The eVGA 6800GT. The only thing that I am not quite getting is that there is a $90 difference. The BFG’s clock is set 20mhz higher but everything else appears to be the same, not sure if 20mhz is worth $90. Which one do you guys think? Or do you even like either one of em?
 
apparently both are good cards but the thing is I am in the UK and I cant find either of those brands anywhere!!

I was looking at a Club3d 6800 GT or an Aopen 6800GT...
 
daphatgrant said:
All right I think I have narrowed it down, I am looking at The BFG 6800GT and The eVGA 6800GT. The only thing that I am not quite getting is that there is a $90 difference. The BFG’s clock is set 20mhz higher but everything else appears to be the same, not sure if 20mhz is worth $90. Which one do you guys think? Or do you even like either one of em?
Click to expand...

You can't go wrong with either of the cards. I have the BFG 6800 GT OC, and I love it. The eVGA is also a great card from what I've read and seen. I was going to originally hold out for an Ultra, but this card is awesome. It easily overclocks to Ultra speeds (runs there 24/7). The card is amazing right out of the box at stock speeds. I know you probably know this, but [H] has a good review of the BFG 6800GT OC. However, when I bought my card, they weren't the easiest to come across. I'm guessing they are easier to find now, and if there was the price difference you mentioned, I would probably go with the eVGA. Others might disagree, but that is what I would do. Hope this info. helps.
 
I would not buy something that's $90 more for only 20mhz difference.

Get the eVGA and overclock it to 6800ultra speed.
 
evga = free far cry
good luck finding a bfg, after the [H] review everyone creamed themselves over the 20mhz clock bumpy....
looks like the only things going are evgas and pnys, the warranty isnt as good on the pny, thats what swung me over to evga...the cards are all made at the same place, the retail vendors just slap a sticker on it and throw in some goodies (unless youre pny...)
*edit* to op: buy the evga GT, best bang for your buck + teh free far cry! at this point the hype has taken over, bfgs, or at least the premiums they command, are for those truly dedicated to brand loyalty and suckers....
 
mastercheeze said:
the cards are all made at the same place, the retail vendors just slap a sticker on it and throw in some goodies (unless youre pny...)
Click to expand...

Is that true? That all the cards are the same except for th branding?
 
what i mean is are they all manufactured at the same place and subject to the same quality controls etc...

i thought the vendors bough the chips from nvidia and then manufactured the cards themselves?
 
what i mean is are they all manufactured at the same place and subject to the same quality controls etc...
Click to expand...

yeah, thats what i meant to say...sorry, its been a long night
 
I love how easily people can be herded into believing the 20mhz bump is God's gift to man. BFG is a good company, but jeez, lay off the stampede to buy their shit people

0_o
 
FYI Newegg is price gouging on the BFG 6800 GT, the MSRP on all the GT's is $399, which is what I paid for my BFG GT.

Jackasses. (newegg)

They do have a better warranty, albeit not worth the $90 extra, not to mention that the eVGA card comes with a free copy of Far Cry.
 
mastercheeze said:
yeah, thats what i meant to say...sorry, its been a long night
Click to expand...

hehe...thats cool...i didnt know that...i thought that the vendors got the raw chips and built the cards themselves....based on the nvidia ref designs...
 
Syphon Filter said:
what i mean is are they all manufactured at the same place and subject to the same quality controls etc...

i thought the vendors bough the chips from nvidia and then manufactured the cards themselves?
Click to expand...

The initial runs of cards that are in store right now are all referance designs straight from Nvidia, they sub contracted out those cards, probably to eVGA.

Eventually you will see other vendors come out with there own PCB's such as the Gainward card that is starting to show up. Leadtek also is using there own cooling solution at least on the 6800 nu.

BFG does do one thing that most don't know about and that is the fact that they pop the heatsink off and put Acrtic Silver 5 on the core, which is basiclly the main reason they can ship the GT overclocked by default.
 
Here is a picture of my BFG 6800GT OC when it was still sealed in the box:

6800gt2.jpg


You will notice that it has the same sticker as the eVGA.:eek: The card IS overclocked the extra 20mhz, but I think this goes to show that all the cards (at least right now) are the same except for what comes with them and warranties.
 
Both the BFG and eVGA are the same retail $399, some stores are charging more than retail for the BFG cause its more in demand.
 
Unit-0 said:
I love how easily people can be herded into believing the 20mhz bump is God's gift to man. BFG is a good company, but jeez, lay off the stampede to buy their shit people

0_o
Click to expand...
It's a marketing trick that worked out well for them...they know that most sites do their reviews at "stock" speeds and most people look at the graphs without reading the text that mentions the BFG is overclocked by 20mhz. Nevertheless..none of the other companies will put a lifetime warranty on a overclocked card so if you can find one for MSRP (good luck) it's a nice deal.
 
Nevertheless..none of the other companies will put a lifetime warranty on a overclocked card so if you can find one for MSRP (good luck) it's a nice deal.
Click to expand...

This is a great point, and correct me if I'm wrong (I don't have one - yet) but from looking around the site, it seems the GTs (yes, all manufacturers, since they are all made in the same place) overclock EASILY to Ultra speeds (400core/1.1mem - correct if wrong please)...most can't approach anything past 425 with standard cooling,....keep in mind these cards are seperated by $100 in MSRP...

ALSO of note, as mentioned BFG uses Arctic silver 5 instead of the 'shin etsu' compound preferred by the oem...of course, i'm far from expert (this is just what i've picked up on the boards), but the shin etsu appears to be superior....
 
mastercheeze said:
This is a great point, and correct me if I'm wrong (I don't have one - yet) but from looking around the site, it seems the GTs (yes, all manufacturers, since they are all made in the same place) overclock EASILY to Ultra speeds (400core/1.1mem - correct if wrong please)...most can't approach anything past 425 with standard cooling,....keep in mind these cards are seperated by $100 in MSRP...

ALSO of note, as mentioned BFG uses Arctic silver 5 instead of the 'shin etsu' compound preferred by the oem...of course, i'm far from expert (this is just what i've picked up on the boards), but the shin etsu appears to be superior....
Click to expand...
Yes, that's true...when it comes to manually overclocking people are finding the BFG's won't push any further than the others. That's why in my mind I wouldn't get a BFG based on the 20mhz overclock but on the warranty instead...I wouldn't pay more than the other cards however. I prefer eVGA's program which allows you to trade in your card for the next highest model just for the difference in price. (and they sell @MSRP)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top