6800 standard to GT/Ultra

[replicant]

I personally wouldn't go for an Ultra as I think the GT would be enough.

The Ultra is a fantastic card. If you have AGP and want a very fast card now then pick one up. The next best thing in PC gaming is always around the next corner, so its always easy to say but card X will be out in 6 months time. It will be, but it will be PCI X, and so it will require you to opt for a full upgrade at that point.

The 6800U will not be obsolute in 6 months time performance wise and will do you proud. Then there is always two 6800 Ultra in SLI configuration

Mgear is right about asking for your full system specs. A card such as the 6800 Ultra is very cpu limited, so if you don't have a strong CPU and subsystem feeding it the performance gain will be negligable.

[Digfox]

I'd still wouldn't go for an Ultra. Fantastic card, but coming in at ?380-411 the performance gain over a GT (?300) just isn't enough.

Also the X800 and 6800 were first annouced April/May last year, and we are now close to the new generation cards. I'd hate to spend ?400 without knowing that.

[replicant]

You are right that the r500 and NV50 are on their way. However remember that stock lvls of these cards when physically launched are extremely low. It was a nightmare trying to get my Ultra when they started to trickle into the UK last June.

You are looking at a good six months to readily available cards after they paper launch the new tech.

[charlaph]

Plus the wait for games to actually make use of the extra power they'll be offering. What's the next biggie? Quake?

[VR46]

yeah Quake 4 has got to come out this year surely, suppose pre Xmas, although earlier would be better if your reading this Mr Carmack

Not only that, what price are these new cards gonna be ? ?400+ initially surely.

[Ciaran]

F.E.A.R and S.T.A.L.K.E.R are the next big FPS coming out.

http://files.filefront.com/FEAR_E3_D.../fileinfo.html - F.E.A.R trailer. 100mb but well worth it.

[Digfox]

Conjecture over the new cards I know, but they're not far away, and we know they will be (in some form) in the new Xbox and Playstation. I think its worth knowing this if you're buying a new PC Graphics card now, and indeed I'd hold off an upgrade if my performance was satisfactory. Obviously this is different for everyone.

Sure they could be ?400 for the top end variant, but remember we are likely to see different versions; for example the 6800LE - 6800 - 6800GTO - 6800GT - 6800Ultra. These models range from ?150 to the ?400 (approx) Ultra.

And I'd still stand by my original quote: 'Whilst it certainly never good to keep holding off, we know ATI and Nvidia's new cards are only just around the corner (assumption here of late spring/early summer release).'

The other benefit of course? As with any new hardware launch, prices for the old generation are going to fall. I once took advantage of this to get a Nvidia 4600Ti for ?180, after the new ATI 9700 Pro were launched at ?300.

Also whilst it can be difficult getting hold of any new hardware, remember ATI and Nvidia both suffered from horrendus supply issues which we haven't seen the like of before, and therefore did make the AGP Ultra's and X800XT/PE's incredibly difficult to source.

Link:

http://www.tomshardware.com/business/20041018/index.html