The NVIDIA 6800 GS Closer Look: EVGA, Leadtek, PNY, and Evertop
by Josh Venning on January 27, 2006 8:53 AM EST- Posted in
- GPUs
Final Words
The introduction of NVIDIA's 6800 GS marks a shift for NVIDIA (and ATI) parts. With the 6800 GT starting to fade away, we are seeing more emphasis on value, with a card just as good as the GT, yet significantly cheaper. ATI scored points with the X800 GTO, and we saw in the performance tests that game choice makes a big difference on whether ATI or NVIDIA come out on top near the $200 price point. The 6800 GS definitely hits the earlier mentioned "sweet-spot" in terms of performance per price and is a persuasive answer to those looking for a smart purchase of an all-around good card, especially since the 6800 GS has the advantage over the X800 GTO in features. When the 6600 GT first came around, the high value that it offered at this price earned it excellent acclaim, and we've now essentially seen the shift of a 6800 GT class part down to the original 6600 GT price point.
We here at AnandTech have available to us a wide variety of graphics solutions that we use for work and recreation, and the types of games that we test and play are varied. This reviewer's game of choice is currently Battlefield 2, a graphically intensive game that offers fast and intense gameplay, and the 6800 GS happens to be the card that he's been using in the system. The game runs beautifully and is very enjoyable at 1600X1200 with all the settings on high (no AA). Those who have to have AA enabled or have a monitor that can display higher resolutions might find this card lacking, but for most Battlefield 2 players, the 6800 GS is more than powerful enough to get in lots of kills. This reviewer doesn't claim to be an expert at this particular game, but rest assured, it's his skill and not the hardware that's lacking. Benchmark tests give a very accurate picture of how well a game performs on any given system, but for the casual gamer, the real test is how enjoyable the game play is.
We've established that the 6800 GS performs well, but let's talk a bit about the other aspect of these cards - the price. Because the EverTop 6800 GS is only sold in Korea and Hong Kong at this time, we aren't able to provide a price for this card right now. (We will try to update this information when we can.) At the time of this writing, EVGA's e-GeForce 6800 GS is listed at $190, the lowest price of the three. The PNY GeForce 6800 GS Overclocked is a close second at $200, and it's a bit of a toss-up between these two cards, considering that the PNY is clocked slightly higher, but EVGA still has the exceptional lifetime warranty policy (EVGA will replace your card for any reason except physical damage; this includes damage due to overclocking. Check the EVGA website for details). The Leadtek WinFast PX6800 GS Extreme is a little more expensive than these two, but the high factory/user overclock and game bundle make it a pretty good deal. But if you don't want the games, it might be wiser to buy one of the other cards (especially if you plan on overclocking), as they offer nearly the same performance for a little less cash.
Here, again, is a listing of the cards as well as their clock speeds and price:
NVIDIA's 6800 GS does in fact seem like the card that most gamers will be looking to aim for a solid mid-range upgrade, especially if unlocking the pipelines of the X800 GTO isn't something that sounds like fun to you. As the rest of the 6800 series is phased out, we're now looking ahead in anticipation as to what NVIDIA has in store for us next, and in the meantime, we're sure that many gamers (us included) will be putting their 6800 GSs to good use. We're also looking forward to seeing how things play out in the mid-range category on ATI's side, particularly with their X1600 series, which looks to provide some competition for the 6800 GS as a solid mid-range part (depending on the flavor and where prices stabilize). As always, we will keep you posted.
The introduction of NVIDIA's 6800 GS marks a shift for NVIDIA (and ATI) parts. With the 6800 GT starting to fade away, we are seeing more emphasis on value, with a card just as good as the GT, yet significantly cheaper. ATI scored points with the X800 GTO, and we saw in the performance tests that game choice makes a big difference on whether ATI or NVIDIA come out on top near the $200 price point. The 6800 GS definitely hits the earlier mentioned "sweet-spot" in terms of performance per price and is a persuasive answer to those looking for a smart purchase of an all-around good card, especially since the 6800 GS has the advantage over the X800 GTO in features. When the 6600 GT first came around, the high value that it offered at this price earned it excellent acclaim, and we've now essentially seen the shift of a 6800 GT class part down to the original 6600 GT price point.
We here at AnandTech have available to us a wide variety of graphics solutions that we use for work and recreation, and the types of games that we test and play are varied. This reviewer's game of choice is currently Battlefield 2, a graphically intensive game that offers fast and intense gameplay, and the 6800 GS happens to be the card that he's been using in the system. The game runs beautifully and is very enjoyable at 1600X1200 with all the settings on high (no AA). Those who have to have AA enabled or have a monitor that can display higher resolutions might find this card lacking, but for most Battlefield 2 players, the 6800 GS is more than powerful enough to get in lots of kills. This reviewer doesn't claim to be an expert at this particular game, but rest assured, it's his skill and not the hardware that's lacking. Benchmark tests give a very accurate picture of how well a game performs on any given system, but for the casual gamer, the real test is how enjoyable the game play is.
We've established that the 6800 GS performs well, but let's talk a bit about the other aspect of these cards - the price. Because the EverTop 6800 GS is only sold in Korea and Hong Kong at this time, we aren't able to provide a price for this card right now. (We will try to update this information when we can.) At the time of this writing, EVGA's e-GeForce 6800 GS is listed at $190, the lowest price of the three. The PNY GeForce 6800 GS Overclocked is a close second at $200, and it's a bit of a toss-up between these two cards, considering that the PNY is clocked slightly higher, but EVGA still has the exceptional lifetime warranty policy (EVGA will replace your card for any reason except physical damage; this includes damage due to overclocking. Check the EVGA website for details). The Leadtek WinFast PX6800 GS Extreme is a little more expensive than these two, but the high factory/user overclock and game bundle make it a pretty good deal. But if you don't want the games, it might be wiser to buy one of the other cards (especially if you plan on overclocking), as they offer nearly the same performance for a little less cash.
Here, again, is a listing of the cards as well as their clock speeds and price:
| Graphics Card | Factory Speed | Price |
| Leadtek WinFast PX6800 GS Extreme | 485/1.1 | $213 |
| PNY GeForce 6800 GS Overclocked | 470/1.1 | $200 |
| EverTop GeForce 6800 GS | 425/1.0 | N/A |
| EVGA e-GeForce 6800 GS | 450/1.05 | $190 |
NVIDIA's 6800 GS does in fact seem like the card that most gamers will be looking to aim for a solid mid-range upgrade, especially if unlocking the pipelines of the X800 GTO isn't something that sounds like fun to you. As the rest of the 6800 series is phased out, we're now looking ahead in anticipation as to what NVIDIA has in store for us next, and in the meantime, we're sure that many gamers (us included) will be putting their 6800 GSs to good use. We're also looking forward to seeing how things play out in the mid-range category on ATI's side, particularly with their X1600 series, which looks to provide some competition for the 6800 GS as a solid mid-range part (depending on the flavor and where prices stabilize). As always, we will keep you posted.
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Wellsoul2 - Friday, January 27, 2006 - link
Ditto..it would be more of a comparison to includethe 800XL, 800GTO2 , even the 850XT which is selling
for $215 some places.
No need to do the article over, maybe just include
the old graphs for comparison.
I'm kind of unhappy that you pay over $200 for a new
video board and can't even run it with AA/AF/HDR
at a decent framerate in new games.
bob661 - Friday, January 27, 2006 - link
Some of you guys are just rocks. The article was a 6800GS comparison NOT a comparison of video cards in the $200 price range. As a matter of fact, the title of the article says ... The NVIDIA 6800 GS Closer Look: EVGA, Leadtek, PNY, and Evertop!!! Go figure!!!BenJeremy - Friday, January 27, 2006 - link
The latest RivaTuner allows you to unlock pipelines (I think it's 3 more, one vertex and 2 pixel) on the GS. I would love to see the benchmarks on that, particularly combined with the overclocking.I did have a small problem with thew GPU overclock in Half Life 2, with "flashing" textures. Not sure what was going on, but defaulting the GPU cleared it up, and I haven't messed around with it to see what sort of overclocking I can get without seeing the problem. Otherwise, I'm happy with the GS, particularly with the ability to unlock pipelines.
LoneWolf15 - Friday, January 27, 2006 - link
that no website seems to ever put the Radeon X800XL up against the 6800GS as a baseline competitor. I just checked Pricewatch, and Radeon X800XL cards can currently be had for $199-250, the exact same price point as the 6800GS (at least according to your price-links for the PNY model on the page I was looking at). If I was looking to purchase the 6800GS or an equivalent, why would I look at a Radeon X800GTO when the X800XL with four more pipelines is available at a similar price to the 6800GS? Makes no sense to me.WooDaddy - Friday, January 27, 2006 - link
Ok...Reading the article was fine until I started to see the trend of Evertop. The second I saw the picture of the HSF, I knew something was up. Who in their right mind would deviate from the reference design that Nvidia hast dictated!?! Evertop, that's who.
It was like a nightmare reading this article. Evertop at stock clock at the bottom. Evertop at overclock at the top. Same on BF2. Same on Farcry. Splinter Cell... Lowest power draw at load. Lowest temp at load (UNDER 60 C). WHY WON'T IT JUST STOP!!?!! Who do they think they are?! What's up with this punk Korean company?!? And to make matters worse, I bet that they sell for less than $190!
Well, that's all fine and dandy. At least they're not in the US. If we can do anything about it, they won't be.
Signed,
eVGA - First to release the 6800GS.
Seriously though. Thanks a lot Josh... You just made us Americans pissed off that we can't get the Evertop card. I just picked up a 6600 GT Leadtek (based on the AT review) and now I find out there's a card that's probably 50% better and only $50 more (possibly)... Geez. Let us know when a retailer starts selling that here. Or... I can take that card off your hands. Meet me in the FS forums ;)
Good job on the article :)
WooDaddy - Friday, January 27, 2006 - link
(eVGA speaking)Oh damn.. 5dB lower on the noise too...
That's it. Time to either sabotage Evertop or raid the AT labs. There's gotta be an NDA they're breaking somewhere.
Maybe? No? Doggonit...
Evertop is the winnar, I guess...
Josh Venning - Friday, January 27, 2006 - link
Yes we were very impressed with EverTop, especially since the HSF on their card threw us off a bit at first. (we thought it looked a bit silly) It's a great 6800 GS and hopefully if there is enough demand here in the states we might be seeing some for sale here eventually. We'll just have to wait and see.Zoomer - Friday, February 3, 2006 - link
Why are you so surprised? One look and I can tell hat's the zalman VF700Cu. It's a aftermarket cooler selling for $30. Of course its good.The evertop card is a bargain, considering that you'll need at least the VF700AlCu or similar to keep your sanity. Throwing away a perfectly good (but noisy and underperforming) nvidia stock heatsink that you paid for isn't efficient.
nullpointerus - Friday, January 27, 2006 - link
I don't think it's that the Zalman HSF is so good but rather that the stock HSFs are so incredibly bad. I put in my eVGA 6800 GS with the stock cooler for a few days - HUGE problem. The noise was absolutely terrible! It was simply too much to take, so I installed an Artic Cooling HSF and was immediately impressed by the quietness.Anyway, kudos to EverTop for choosing a Zalman HSF! I hope more companies follow suit.
gman003 - Friday, January 27, 2006 - link
Alright now is it me or are all of the AnandTech posters here 12 years old and crying about what is specifically meant to be a 6800GS roundup?First of all, if you guys want a varied video card comparison, go look at one. This isn't one of them. It's a "6800GS CLOSER LOOK"!
Secondly, the ATI card was merely used as a reference so you could see the differences in games with Anti-Aliasing turned on and off between the two companies. It isn't necessarily meant to be compared to the "Red Team", just merely used as a reference point.
The point of the article is to show you bo-zos out there that the 6800GS is a great price/performance card and which card will perform the best when overclocked. Everyone that buys one of these cards buys it because of the price/performance ratio, not how it compares to a 7800GT(which is getting closer to a good price/performace ratio but that is besides the point) or a X800 GTO.
The writer picked out great cards and gives a great overview of how these cards will overclock and what you will expect of them.
So please, no more cry-baby posts on here. If you keep posting, I will have to come OWN you on Quake 4 on my eVGA 6800GS card. Thanks.