PCTech Forums

Is it worth the upgrade for me to get a geforce6800? Or is there a better card?

BTW
When will we be able to get our hands on those 512mb cards?

I am getting a Nvidia GeForce 6800GT 256MB DDR3 Video Card for my new Machine.

128MB Video Cards are already old and slow, time for 256, WISH on 512.

Ok thanks. But considering I have an ATI Radeon 9800pro 256mb should i upgrade to a better card? If so what is a good card and where can I get it for the best price?

my simple question is what is your need for the upgrade?

going by this review on performance in HL2, the 6800 is definately a faster card. This despite the fact that HL2 generally runs better on ATI hardware, so it is absolutely a faster card. Margins only get further away if you would go with a GT or a Ultra version of the 6800. If you click around the rest of the review, the GT is listed under High end card, the ultra under Ultra high end cards.

now as to if it's worth a 300 dollar (or more) upgrade. The 9800 is a fast card. You won't be able to turn on every image quality optimization and still have a decent framerate, so you'd have to play NEW games at lower resolutions, or turn off AA and AF, possibly choose medium for image quality. HL2 will still look amazing on medium... I know, i'm running on a ati 9600 128 meg card, and I have it set to low, and it's still amazing, I get a great framerate, and i'm having a lot of fun.

If you have money to kill, and your a hardcore gamer that has to have every option turned all the way up, then you'll probably need to upgrade.. but I'd go with a GT or Ultra 6800... the plain/vanella 6800 wasn't that much of an upgrade for me to justify the money.