PCI Express advice

July 21, 2005 5:11 AM

I'm in the market for a new home built PC, and need some advice on some of the components.

I'd like to go for an Athlon 64 system, and break the chains of my legacy components. I've got a handle on SATA, but I need to know what PCI Express card to go for. I currently have a Radeon 9800 Pro, and would like to match or better that card, trying to keep costs down. I can always upgrade later.

posted by viama to computers & internet (12 comments total)

Best price/performance card at this point seems to be the Geforce 6600GT.

Prices may come down even more when Nvidia releases the mainstream version of the 7800.
posted by selfnoise at 5:44 AM on July 21, 2005

I've had good luck with nVidia - there's not much to choose from between that and ATI any more in terms of performance, but nVidia's software and drivers seem to have a much better interface and settings control.
posted by caution live frogs at 7:04 AM on July 21, 2005

Second the 6600GT recommendation, just make sure you get a PCI-E version as it comes in both PCI-E and AGP. The 6600GT is best bang for the buck right now. There's a PNY card at Best Buy for like $136, which is pretty incredible. I got mine for $150 after rebate a month ago.
posted by knave at 8:51 AM on July 21, 2005

if you want to stick with ATi, your best bet is an X700-series card. other than that, the 6600GT is a pretty solid card, and a bit faster than the X700XT. the direct replacement for your current card would be something like an X800 or X850 card, which isn't going to help you with the keeping-costs-down thing. go with the 6600.
posted by mrg at 9:59 AM on July 21, 2005

Also, look at picking up an SLI-capable motherboard, that way, you can upgrade your video capabilities by teaming it with a second 6600GT a couple of years down the road, when the price for the card has dropped.
posted by bl1nk at 10:00 AM on July 21, 2005

I got an X800XL with my new Athlon64 system and its been very, very nice. Stay away from MSI mobos - mine has given me nothing but trouble.

If I was building the system again, I'd probably got with a 6800GT. ATI's drivers suck, and are only available for Win & Lin (& not FreeBSD like nVidia's). The couple BSODs I've had in XP with my new system have been a direct result of the ATI drivers.
posted by devilsbrigade at 10:25 AM on July 21, 2005

(oh, and think about an SATA 10k RPM hd. When I was building my sytem, I was torn between getting an 80GB and a 35GB 10K. I can see a noticable difference between the 10K and a 7200 drive that I already had (part of this is likely SATA though))

Also, if you're getting Athlon64, look at what core you're getting before you buy. Some are newer & use smaller (faster, more heat-efficient) 90nm core - try to get one of those, even if it means taking a hit mhz wise.

Good luck on building a system - it can be a pain in the ass, but its good to know your hardware rather than depend on a manufacturer for it.
posted by devilsbrigade at 10:29 AM on July 21, 2005

I bought a 6800GT shortly after the release for my new system. I strongly advise getting this if you plan on doing any modern gaming. I even experience slowdowns running on highest resolutions. I can't imagine the 6600GT lasting much longer.
posted by geoff. at 11:05 AM on July 21, 2005

Geoff- Sounds like you have a non-video card problem.

Devisbrigade - Dunno if you've tried ATI's linux drivers, but in my experience they might as well have not even made them. They're junk.

Definitely go with Nvidia if you're going to run Linux.

I agree with you on the HD... I built a machine with a 7200rpm sata drive recently and wish I'd gone faster.

PS. If you are going to buy a 6600GT, Leadtek makes a pretty good one with a fan that's not too loud.
posted by selfnoise at 11:46 AM on July 21, 2005

I'll second the endorsement of the X800 XL. As far as I can tell, this is the best price-to-performance ratio available right now ($250 for something that matches up with $300-$350 nVIDIA models).

Take a look at the Connect3D X800 XL product. Off-the-shelf, it has better performance than the ATI and Saphire models (and has good OC performance if you want that)
posted by rxrfrx at 11:48 AM on July 21, 2005

Check out the ars technica system guide (I just came across the site from a link somewhere recently; not sure where...) - it's pretty useful and covers the different components in a decent level of (understandable) detail...
posted by Chunder at 6:53 AM on July 22, 2005

I bought a 6800GT shortly after the release for my new system. I strongly advise getting this if you plan on doing any modern gaming. I even experience slowdowns running on highest resolutions. I can't imagine the 6600GT lasting much longer.

The 6800GT is only marginally faster than a 6600GT. I would get the 6600GT because it's so damn cheap, then when a game demands more, get whatever the mid-range 7xxx card is, which will likely be much faster because it's next generation.
posted by knave at 10:26 AM on July 22, 2005