9800XT or 6600Pro for DVI->HDMI 1920x1080P (50/60Hz)??? (2 Viewers)

[NLS]

The topic says it all.

I already have an Asus ATI 9800XT/256MB and an Asus nVidia 6600Pro/256MB.

My HEPC already has the first installed, but pending full reinstall (since it has on its back 3 years of "install remove" stuff), I am debating on which of the two cards I should use.

ATI always had a good reputation for its TV-out, but here we talk about DVI -> HDMI, 1920x1080 progressive at 50/60Hz and the ability to playback HD (720 and 1080) material...

The contestants as I see it:

- ATI 9800XT. Once a TOP end card, super expensive, very fast for 3D at its time, but much older than 6600. Bonus is that I already use it to display 1080P fine. Disadvantage (but can be from other PC factors) is that HD reproduction is not smooth.

- nVidia 6600Pro (well in fact I am not 100% sure it is a Pro but the 256MB make me believe it is). Never a hi-end card, but much newer (so I presume better DX9c support), a usual "proposal" for HTPC setups (most probably because it also comes as fanless - mine is not).

Since we talk about HD and MediaPortal, I see we talk about good DX9c support, quality and fast 2D and if possible, hardware decoding (any luck with any of those two cards?).

The cards are AGP and will be used on a Chaintech Zenith (i925) mobo with a 2.6GHz P4 and 512MB of HyperThreading (256x2) RAM.

Opinions? Which of the two?

 

[Callifo]

Since they both have hardware DX9 support, they both have the same amount of ram presumably and will be using a digital output, I dont think there is going to be a great distinction between them. Itll probably be up to which drivers you prefer.

 

[NLS]

and which drivers should I prefer?

 

[Tech Geek]

First of all, shouldn't this be in the hardware selection help section?
I made a post related to HDTV and MediaPortal that should kinda help but here is the bottom line:

Memory Bandwidth
9800XT = 23.4GB/sec
6600 = 8.8GB/sec to 16GB/sec


Only the higher end 6600s have enough memory bandwidth for HDTV.
However, if all other things were equal, the newer card would probably be the better choice since newer generations add more video support features.
For example Avivo was a huge improvement in video support for ATi.

 

[NLS]

so you tell me two opposite things

which would you use if you had those two?

 

[Tech Geek]

so you tell me two opposite things

which would you use if you had those two?

Clear as mud huh? I guess I should have read my post again before submitting it.

First of all there was no 6600 PRO listed on the site I looked up bandwidth on so it may or may not have the required 10GB/sec required bandwidth.
If the 6600 isn't fast enough you have to use the 9800XT anyway. A 6600GT will be fast enough though and several people here use it for HDTV.

Also, on further review, the 6600 is not significantly newer than the 9800XT so it may not offer feature improvements as far as video playback goes. I think it could be classified as pretty much the same generation as the 9800 series feature wise but with DX9 shader model 3 support.
If you were talking 7xxx or X1xxx series cards then the built in video playback accelleration would be better than with the previous generations from either manufacturer.

Unless the 6600 card offers a better picture than the 9800XT I'd go with the 9800XT. The only way to decide that is to test the 6600.

 

[NLS]

better :lol:

thanks

I am not so sure WHICH 6600 it is. Blame it on Asus and the weird naming they give to their cards (plus they kill the pages of the older cards I could reference).

nvidia panel shows 6600 (should GT be mentioned there?) while pc wizard 2005 claims it is a GT - I have yet to check the clock rates...

anyway...

9800XT: 3296Mpixel/s, 3296Mtexel/s, 6592M Samples/s (AA), 412M Triangles/s, 23.4GB/s, DX9
6600: 1200Mpixels/s, 2400Mtexel/s, 2400M Samples/s (AA), 225M Vertices/s, 8.8GB/s, DX9
6600GT: 2000Mpixel/s, 4000Mtexel/s, 4000M Samples/s (AA), 375M Vertices/s, 14.4GB/s, DX9

 

[Tech Geek]

I have no idea if PC Wizard or nvidia panel are accurate so look at the memory buss size and memory clock.

If the memory buss is 128 bits or more and the clock speed is something like 325 or greater with 128 it should be HDTV ok.
After you get over 10GB/sec you gain some margin for error as the bandwidth goes up but since the source data rate isn't going up it may be no better to use a higher bandwidth card at some point.

So, it goes back to testing. If the 6600 does work... which looks better?
Which is quieter?

 

[NLS]

I am not sure yet. (it is hard to take the 37" TV from above the PC case and test)

nvflash says 6600...

but we shouldn't forget purevideo... there 6600 has something more than 9800XT (?)

http://www.nvidia.com/page/purevideo.html

http://www.nvidia.com/page/purevideo_support.html

 

[Tech Geek]

I am not sure yet. (it is hard to take the 37" TV from above the PC case and test)

nvflash says 6600...

If that's true then the decision has been made for you. However, it may just identify the GPU series.

but we shouldn't forget purevideo... there 6600 has something more than 9800XT (?)

http://www.nvidia.com/page/purevideo.html

http://www.nvidia.com/page/purevideo_support.html

Well... video accelleration didn't exactly start with pure video.
If it has a video quality advantage you will see it in testing.

You may see some difference in CPU utilization but I have no idea which card it will favor.