Is the 6600GT *really* 4x as fast as the ATI 9600pro? (tech guy said this..)

Just found this group, so I apologize if this has been asked already.

I want to upgrade from my Radeon 9600 pro and the tech guy at the PC store
said that the Nvidia 6600GT is four times as fast as my aging 9600pro. How
accurate is that statement? Basically I want to run Fary Cry at 1600x1200. Not
all settings maxxed necessarily, maybe shadows off, since that tends to bog
down the cpu no matter what game I play.

I have an AGP board and financially speaking, going to PCIExpress (and by
default, another CPU) is not really doable. With my 9600pro I cant really run
far cry at 1600x1200. It chugs along, even with shadows off.

 

Oh yeah..I have a 2ghz Athlon with 768 ram. FEAR is almost unplayble..seems
like sloppy programming (like Halo PC). Just my two cents.

 

The 6600gt is faster than alot of cards in the midrange for the money, but
for that resolution I would get the 6800 because its about 40 bucks more and
uses a whole lot less power . What monitor are you using.

 

I'm using a 19' Viewsonic flat screen monitor. When I play Far Cry on 1600
(shadows off) its like a slideshow with my 9600pro. But its soooooooo
beautiful. Just slowwwwww!

 

You have to keep turning stuff down until it runs at a good frame rate. ie
higher res lower frame rate. the 6600 is probably 4x faster . bye gl

 

A tad optimistic. More like double.

Have a look at the benchmarks here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/07/05/vga_charts_vii/

 

Wow..NICE side by side comparison! Youre right..he was just a bit optimistic,
but not that far off. Its a shame that, to get a 7800GT, I'd have to not only
upgrade the motherboard, but the power supply, ram, get better cooling, etc
which would rocket the upgrade price to over 500. Such is life.

 

I think I will go with the 6800Gt rather than the 6600 and sell my 9600pro for
about 100. The jump in performance for Doom 3 at high settings at 1600(based
on the comparison chart) between the 9600pro and the 6800GT is just
staggering..I had no idea it was THAT much of a jump. Now, the tech guy also
said that I shouldnt upgrade my 2ghz athlon since most video cards run the
same. Not sure how accurate THAT statement is, but at any rate (no pun) it
really puts things in perspective.

And to think I paid 200 bucks for my ati radeon 9600 pro just a couple of
years ago, and and now going for the 6800GT for just a few dollars more is in
some instances more than (unless my eyes decieve me) FIVE times the
horsepower? Just damn..

Only thing missing from the 6800GT is a Ferrari logo (course if I win the
lottery its 7800 SLI all the way)

 

Good luck with that. They sell new for around $65.
http://tinyurl.com/afcbd

Such is technology. I'll guaruntee that within weeks or a few months of
slapping down your money, there will be something better you "might have
waited for"

 

I sold my used 9600 Pro a year and a half ago fro $85. Don't think
you'll get 100 for it in USD.

 

I've just gone from 6600GT to 7800GT. It IS worth it. Got an Asrock
939Dual SATA2 motherboard that has both an AGP and a PCI-e socket
whilst I saved up for the 7800GT.

 

Did the AGP port on the Asrock board run the 6600GT at it's
fullist potential? I opted for the BioStar NF4UL-A9. It has an AGP
slot, but BioStar calls it an XGP slot. I heard that GF4 Ti, and
Radeon 9800 era cards work in it, but I have yet to hear if the 6xxx
AGP cards work. Heard an ATI 850XT AGP didn't though, so I may be
outta luck with my 6600GT. Still getting parts for the system to put
together, so I'm gona do the videocard last.

 

Worked absolutely fine. Got a score slightly above the same card on an
Abit AN7 board running an XP3200 which is inline with what I'd expect
changing up to a Athlon64 3500+ but running 3 DIMMS, hence only in
single channel mode for memory. Certainly didn't slow the board down
and I ran Doom3 at 1280x1024 High Detail returning mid 40's in the
Timedemo test.

 

Wow, it's a guy at a tech store, what do you expect? Personally, I think
that the 6600 is probably not *four* times faster than the 9600 but the
6600 is much faster. 'Four times' literally speaking means when the 9600
would be getting 60fps on a game, you'd clock a nice 240 on the 6600.
Take it all into prospective.

I'd also not buy from a retail store but go online to a store like
NewEgg or OutPost or ZipZoomFly, they have a broader selection, and you
can consult with the comments that people leave there.