BFG 6800GT OC 256 vs. BFG GeoForce 7300GT

[Salbando]

I was wondering which graphics card would be best for somebody
restricted to an AGP slot. Which one is better quality?, which is
faster? etc...

Here are the two both made by BFG:

BFG GeForce 7300 GT 512MB AGP
(uses DDR2 but is now for sale for a good price of $50
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...=B52-7880&srkey=BFG GeForce 7300 GT 512MB AGP)

OR

BFG NVIDIA GeForce 6800 GT OC 256MB AGP
(uses GDDR3---is this different from DDR3?)
I am talking about the newer version of this card

You would think the card with 512 would be better and faster
but from some of my research this is not the case?
and not the one with the two small fans, but the
one that has the larger fan and heat pipe.

 

[KingPing]

The 6800GT is the faster one

6800GT is more or less as fast as a 7600GT

7300GT is more or less as fast as a 6600GT

I might be wrong, but usually new memory technologies are used in VGAs so when a new type is used in VGAs they add a G (graphics) to the DDR, now you can see that happening with GDDR5 in new VGAs, but essentially DDR and GDDR are pretty much the same

 

[KainXS]

no your right

 

[[Ion]]

The 6800GT OC will be a good bit faster, I had one of those (the model with the two smaller fans), and it was faster even than my friend's EVGA 7600GT

 

[Ripper3]

KingPing is right about the performance equivalencies, wrong about the RAM.
6800GT is a pretty fast AGP card. The 7600GT was close in performance, but I think the 6800 still beat it in many tests. If you can find yourself a 6800 Ultra, it'll perform even better.
For the absolute best performing AGP card, I think the fastest you could find is the HD3850 in AGP form. I don't remember reading about any newer cards that beat it on AGP.

About the RAM: GDDR3 is actually closer to desktop DDR2, rather than being DDR3 branded with a G, with exceptions being that power requirements and heat dispersal requirements are different, allowing manufacturers to achieve higher performance with them, and being more creative for cooling them.

 

[Salbando]

Faster---Interesting

The 6800GT OC will be a good bit faster, I had one of those (the model with the two smaller fans), and it was faster even than my friend's EVGA 7600GT

Thank you all for you info. I am confused as to how it is faster? I don't know much about graphic cards but it would seem that 512DDR2 would always be faster than 256GDDR3?

It seems from everybody's respond that this is not the case here and therefore I would like to know why that is the case and why the 6800GT OC would be faster with less RAM on board?

Oh, I forgot to mention that I will not be using the card much for gaming as the intent is mainly to output streaming video to an external TV. I really need very good resolution without chopping quality or freezing frames. Which card would be better in this regard?

 

[hat]

It's not about the amount of ram. I would rather have one of those 256mb 8800gt's than an 8400gs with 1gb on it...

 

[DriedFrogPills]

agp version of the 3850 will be quicker than either of those

 

[[Ion]]

It's not about the amount of ram. I would rather have one of those 256mb 8800gt's than an 8400gs with 1gb on it...

Yep, my friend has a 9600GT with 2GB of GDDR2, but the HD5670 I have is still a decent bit faster

 

[Salbando]

If it is not about the RAM then what is it that makes it faster. Is it just a little bit faster or a lot faster? Also, which card the 6800GT or the 7300GT would look better with streaming video?

 

[[Ion]]

If it is not about the RAM then what is it that makes it faster. Is it just a little bit faster or a lot faster? Also, which card the 6800GT or the 7300GT would look better with streaming video?

So, the "core" of the GPU is what is the most important part, to an extent. The 7300GT has a slow "core", so by the point that you reach resolutions where the extra memory would help (1440x900 or greater), the core is so bogged down that the extra memory doesn't help. The 6800GT by comparison has a much faster "core", so it is able to fully utilize all of it's memory, and perform better at higher resolutions.

And to answer your question, the 6800GT OC would be better for sure

 

[HalfAHertz]

Try looking for an AGP 4650 uses less power and provides stellar performance, usually in the 3850/9600gto range

 

[Salbando]

So, the "core" of the GPU is what is the most important part, to an extent. The 7300GT has a slow "core", so by the point that you reach resolutions where the extra memory would help (1440x900 or greater), the core is so bogged down that the extra memory doesn't help. The 6800GT by comparison has a much faster "core", so it is able to fully utilize all of it's memory, and perform better at higher resolutions.

And to answer your question, the 6800GT OC would be better for sure

Thanks for the explanation and clarification---it helps a lot!

I wonder why they would make a card and put 512 on it in the first place if the card cannot utilize it? Does not seem right---is this a marketing ploy and they get people to buy into it by listing it as 512?

In terms of being a better card is that also the case for streaming video as well?

 

[boomstik360]

Yes it is a marketing ploy to people who don't know any better.

 

[[Ion]]

Thanks for the explanation and clarification---it helps a lot!

I wonder why they would make a card and put 512 on it in the first place if the card cannot utilize it? Does not seem right---is this a marketing ploy and they get people to buy into it by listing it as 512?

In terms of being a better card is that also the case for streaming video as well?

Yep, the reason many companies add more memory is to fool people who think that more memory always = better performance.

And the 6800GT definitely should be better for streaming video to a TV, although the 7300GT may work as well

 

[Salbando]

The 6800GT is the faster one

6800GT is more or less as fast as a 7600GT

7300GT is more or less as fast as a 6600GT

I might be wrong, but usually new memory technologies are used in VGAs so when a new type is used in VGAs they add a G (graphics) to the DDR, now you can see that happening with GDDR5 in new VGAs, but essentially DDR and GDDR are pretty much the same

I went the the BFG website and they have the specs on the 6600Gt card as a 128MB card--is that to say in reality that the 7300GT card with 512MB is actually like a 128MB card. If GPU is the main factor then where does the difference in the RAM have an impact?

Also, the 7600GT card has 600 million vertices, 1250MHz clock and 40MB/sec bandwidth
while the 6800GT has 555 million vertices, 1000MHz clock time and 32 GB/sec bandwidth---you say that these are pretty comparable to each other---is that still your conclusion when you look at the specs I just listed?---Don't know much about it---just asking--thanks.

 

[brandonwh64]

yes its sorta the a rule of thumb to get a video card with DDR3 over DDR2 for gamine wise. i had a 7300gs AGP at one point but it was horrible playing games, even HL1 games! i changed it for a 6600GT with 256mb DDR3 and it would play even source games at a moderate setting

 

[DriedFrogPills]

the 7300gt is $50? as half a hertz said get an 4650 AGP instead only $19 more at the egg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125281

 

[Salbando]

I have an older motherboard (MSI K2M2 Combo-L and I think a 300w PSU)---would the 6800GT OC card work with this combination?

 

[KainXS]

the 7300gt is $50? as half a hertz said get an 4650 AGP instead only $19 more at the egg

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125281

that sounds like the better deal, I would go with that

Edit,

Ewww DDR2, i take it back, still not a bad card tho

 

[Salbando]

How does the 4650 AGP compare to the BFG 6800GT OC 256?

 

[DriedFrogPills]

should be quicker but if you can afford it there is a 4670 AGP as well. though its a lot dearer. Major difference between 4650 and 4670 is RAM 4650 is GDDR2 and 4670 is GDDR3

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125281

 

[Salbando]

I think the 4670 is PCIe--remember I only have a 4x/8x AGP slot. How much quicker would the 4650 AGP be over the BFG 6800GT OC 256? How would you compare the manufacture quality and tech support from the company for each?

 

[DriedFrogPills]

the link in my last post is to an AGP 4670.

 

[boomstik360]

No love for my 6800GT?