The Holiday Stop Gap: GeForce 6800 GS
by Derek Wilson on November 7, 2005 9:00 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
SLI and Antialiasing
SLI can end up nearly doubling performance in some cases. In those cases we will see two 6800 GS cards deliver performance on par with a single 7800 GTX. But much more of the time we will see only a modest performance gain from SLI. Since one 7800 GTX costs about the same as two 6800 GS cards, we have to strongly recommend against going with 6800 GS SLI. If performance is desired and the money is there, the 7800 GTX is the better buy by a long shot.
The memory bandwidth of the 6800 GS makes antialiasing possible on most games at 1280x1024 and below. At higher resolutions, AA performance might not be where we would like. Games like Half-Life 2 will certainly run fine on a 6800 GS with AA enabled at 1600x1200. But the SC:CT and BF2 tests we ran show that the 6800 GS just doesn't have what it takes to make 1600x1200 with 4xAA a reality.
SLI can end up nearly doubling performance in some cases. In those cases we will see two 6800 GS cards deliver performance on par with a single 7800 GTX. But much more of the time we will see only a modest performance gain from SLI. Since one 7800 GTX costs about the same as two 6800 GS cards, we have to strongly recommend against going with 6800 GS SLI. If performance is desired and the money is there, the 7800 GTX is the better buy by a long shot.
The memory bandwidth of the 6800 GS makes antialiasing possible on most games at 1280x1024 and below. At higher resolutions, AA performance might not be where we would like. Games like Half-Life 2 will certainly run fine on a 6800 GS with AA enabled at 1600x1200. But the SC:CT and BF2 tests we ran show that the 6800 GS just doesn't have what it takes to make 1600x1200 with 4xAA a reality.
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Slaimus - Tuesday, November 8, 2005 - link
I have had mine for a year. It is called 6800 AGP + softmodDonegrim - Wednesday, November 9, 2005 - link
Without the GDDR3 memory though. You can't unlock upgraded memory.Missing Ghost - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
Can I get this in AGP?bob661 - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
The one on Monarch is PCIe.JarredWalton - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
NV42 = PCIe only, unless they bridge back to AGP. I seriously doubt that will happen, but 6800GT AGP cards are slightly cheaper than PCIe versions already.yacoub - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
"today sees the introduction of a part that performs just as well as the 6800 GT but costs about $100 less."Uhm, 6800GTs cost around $280, maybe less as I haven't checked in a few days, so you must be implying that I can get a 6800GS for $180. If that's true, then that's more reasonable.
LoneWolf15 - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
And in the same vein:To go back to the beginning of the article:
The X800XL's lowest retail price on pricewatch is $245. Where would one be saving money at this point buying a 6800GS, assuming you could actually purchase one today?
P.S. I find it likely that the price of the X800XL will be lowered even further to compete.
yacoub - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
Still waiting to see a reply to this or a correction in the article's conclusion regarding the X800XL and supposed $100 price gap b/w GS and GT. =PDrZoidberg - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
I think when u say $280 for 6800GT this is not the recommended price set by nvidia (MSRP) but the cheapest online price, im sure the MSRP for 6800GT is around $320, just like u can get 6800GS for less than the MSRP price of $250, $209 at newegg.bob661 - Monday, November 7, 2005 - link
Some of you guys are some non-reading bitches. Scroll up and you'll see Derek's link to where you can buy this card TODAY for $229.