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XFX GeForce 6800 XT 256MB GDDR3 Video Graphics Card

Sunday, February 5th, 2006 | Reviews, Video Card Reviews

At a midrange price, this video card delivers superior performance and is a good buy for game addicts.

The video card comes in the characteristic X-shaped box which also includes the drivers, cables and adaptors, and a game CD to demonstrate the performance. A CD-ROM is required for software installation, and a minimum 450W power supply is needed to power the board. The power has to be taken from the hard drive, as the floppy drive connectors are not sufficient, however, all necessary parts are included.

This XFX NVIDIA 6800 XT video card includes the standard TV output, and has dual DVI output ports (a DVI to VGA adaptor is included). This means it can be configured to drive two monitors.

The GeForce 6800 graphics processor unit (GPU) has been around since mid 2004. It was hailed at its introduction as the best graphics processor available, and it can still give its competitors a run for their money, although a 7800 version is now available at a greater cost.

The features include state-of-the-art technologies which work together to provide unparalleled realism to the latest games, giving movie like realism – in fact, one of the features is called CineFX 3.0 Engine. Other features include simulating multiple light sources four times faster than previously.

Antialiasing and 64 bit texture filtering and blending are, of course, also provided at lightning speed. The unit uses the PCI Express bus architecture to deliver graphics at double the speed of the lesser AGP 8x, and it shows.

The XFX 6800 chipset also allows you to record and play videos from your hard drive, and minimizes the storage space used. The card includes an integrated TV encoder, to send output to your television, and it and can form the basis of a home theater system on your PC.

The only downside reported by some users is that the card can run quite hot, and you may need to install another cooling fan for reliability. There have been concerns with system freezes, and the computer locking up, and generally it seems these can be traced to inadequate cooling.

All in all, though, this card represents very good value. It could be beaten technically by a card with the newer 7800 chipset, but then you would be paying about another $100, and it’s unlikely that you would notice much difference. The XFX NVIDIA 6800 XT is a video card requiring serious consideration for the avid gamer.

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