Building A New Computer - 128mb Vs 256 Mb

Yep, I wouldn't mind getting my hands on one of those boards actually. Reviews have been very good.

And I didn't realize Intel was working on that project. Could explain why I haven't seen a big change lately. (I'm guilty of not keeping up to date with my computer book purchaces in the last few months, damn bills. )

Choosing between a plain 6600 and a X700 Pro, I would choose the X700 Pro ... see http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=NzA4LDE= for facts.

IMO 6600 GT is better than X700 Pro is better than 6600. And the newegg.com prices were in the same order

My suggestion is always:

Cut costs by choosing slower components except for RAM and VGA if you plan to game. 80GB HDD is enough an can be easily doubled, but graphics card performance can not.

P.S.: I am perfectly able to play GW on full detail 1024x768 (4xAA) with every option turned on with an AXP 2400+/ATI Radeon 9700 Pro and everything is smooth as a baby's arse! So for GW only even a plain X600 would be an overkill IMO, but there's more games than just GW.

I am pretty sure they meant the 6600 GT, that is the only graphic card they talk about! You so much as mention "6600 GT" and you get 10 people coming in and saying "its the best bang for your buck". I am not flaming, I am just saying it is kinda funny.

I didn't even mention the X700 Pro or 6600GT, I said X700 and 6600, I was refering to the whole series in general.

You're saying that the X700 Pro > the 6600, well duh where did I say otherwise? You're doing what most people do when they get defensive over their pet company/card being beaten by the competition, you're comparing completely different classes of card.

Comparing a vanilla 6600 to an X700 Pro is like comparing a 6800 Ultra to a Radeon 9200. If you were using logical comparisons between cards that actually relate, you would see the following...

The 6600 > the X700.
The 6600GT > the X700 Pro.

As I've said before, and I'll say it again if I have to... Nvidia cards outperform ATI cards until you hit the X800 XT PE. As both an Nvidia and ATI lover, I am stating a fact. The X800 XT PE is a holy grail for me, alas, I am restricted to the second tier pricerange which I consider to be sub X800/6800 cards like the X700/6600 series, and I've made my choice, 6600GT blows that entire class into smitherines.

Please, don't take it personally Principa Discordia!

I just mentioned the three cards because of their listing (default sorting is by stock price, ascending) at newegg.com. If you would see a:

$138 ABIT Radeon X700PRO 128MB GDDR3 PCI-Express x16
and a
$142 JATON Geforce 6600 256MB DDR PCI-Express x16

both in retail packaging, wouldn't you mention that "equation" too?

A better graphics card did not make it into that suggested configuration, because I chose the 3000+ instead of the 2800+ (which is ~$20 pricier) and the cheapest 6600GTs are ~$160 at newegg.com ($20 more than X700 Pro).

P.S.: I have never been a fanboy of any company.

Erm... The 6600 there is a 256mB model, can't you read?

You're making silly comparisons again, dear. Try this "pricewar" crusade of yours with cards that actually match and you might get somewhere.

Never mind, I did the work for you: -

Sapphire Radeon X700 128mB PCI-E 16x (oem) = $104
Chaintech Geforce 6600 128mB PCI-E 16x (oem) = $76

Sapphire Radeon X700 256mB PCI-E 16x (oem) = $124
Chaintech Geforce 6600 256mB PCI-E 16x (oem) = $85

Sapphire Radeon X700 Pro 128mB PCI-E 16x (oem) = $133
Chaintech Geforce 6600GT 128mB PCI-E 16x (retail) = $133

I couldn't find an OEM version of the Chaintech 6600GT on NewEgg so I used the RETAIL version in my comparison. I was shocked to find that not only is the X700 Pro an inferior card to the 6600GT, its OEM version costs the same as a RETAIL 6600GT. A rip-off if I ever saw one.

So by your own logic, which was initially flawed and is now corrected, not only are 6600's and 6600GT's better than X700's and X700 Pro's (respectively) in terms of performance, they also cost significantly less. Your concession is accepted.

I can, but try to explain that to this guy

The point of this post is, that when I followed the last link of yours (the Chaintech 6600GT), I still see a price of $169.00

See for yourself:



If you could get the prices you show, then the 6600GT is the better choice obviously.

P.S.: I want to meet the man who is able to tell the difference between any card better than a 9600 in a blind test playing Guild Wars

You've defeated your own point with that quote. Your were comparing a Radeon X700 Pro 128mB against a Geforce 6600 256mB based on their prices. We know that memory doesn't make much difference to gameplay with these cards (as you kindly pointed out with your quote), but when your entire comparison is based on price, you're best off not trying to pass off a 256mB card as a 128mB one just to make it seem more "costly".

My bad on that price, I was alt-tabbed to the Sapphire X700 Pro OEM page while quoting the price.

However, thanks for making me double check because the point I was making still stands. Here is the only 128mB Sapphire X700 Pro Retail that I could find on NewEgg, the equivalent to the Chaintech 6600GT Retail which I used in my comparison. It costs less, but if you look at the spec, it's still a noticeably inferior graphics card.

The Chaintech 6600GT Retail is still a hell of a lot more value for money when you take performance into account, feel free to try and deny that. If you ask me, considering their non-pro cards are stupidly overpriced, it's a good job their Pro variant's lower price reflects crappier performance. Though, in my opinion, that price is not low enough.

Please point out where I said Guild Wars, and please point out where I said anything about visuals? I have said "performance" and "bang for the buck."

So far you've helped me prove that both versions of the 6600 (non-gt) are cheaper than their X700 (non-pro) counterparts. You also corrected my price about the 6600GT by confirming for me that it's practically the same price as the X700 Pro.

In proving that the 6600 series is lesser/equal in price than/to the X700 series you've made my point for me, which was that as the 6600 series are better hardware than the X700 series and perform better, they are better value for money.

That's it. No more of this. I'm gonna make a video card support thread, and see if we can't get it stickied.

Principia, awesome work on the X700/6600GT deal.

No problem Serafita Kayin, I just hate when dishonest fanboys use tactics such as "but the X700 Pro owns the 6600 vanilla" or "but it's better value for money, look, the 128mB ATI is cheaper than the 256mB Nvidia."

I love both ATI and Nvidia, but I can't tolerate this kind of infantile rubbish.

I did post that thread, run a check over my work, would you? EnDinG and Pharoke need to throw their two bits in as well, and I think we'll cut off a third of the questions we have to answer.l

Been over and added my 2c. Great work, I hope it gets stickied.