Introduction

After entering the DX9 era with a less than spectacular launch with GeForce FX, NVIDIA has been on quite a roll since then with their follow-up products based on the NV4x architecture. Spanning multiple price points and multiple graphics segments, NVIDIA’s got all their bases well covered with the GeForce 6 family, with multiple SKUs available for each GPU, allowing NVIDIA and their board partners to custom tailor their products to practically every need (and in both AGP and PCI Express).

In comparison, ATI has only recently been able to deliver top-to-bottom solutions based on their R4xx architecture in significant quantities.

EVGA e-GeForce 6800 (bottom) and GeForce 6800 GT reference board

The EVGA card poses with GeForce 6600 GT reference board

The GeForce 6600 series is a perfect example of this. Its NV43 graphics core runs at a blazing 500MHz core clock on the 6600 GT model providing it with a 4 Gigatexels/second fill rate, that’s just over 700Mtexels/second greater than RADEON 9800 XT; while the base GeForce 6600 runs at 300MHz, giving it a fill-rate similar to the 9700 PRO. Although neither card features a 256-bit memory interface, each delivers performance that was previously unheard of in the mainstream segment. As a result, the GeForce 6600 line has enjoyed tremendous popularity and is a common upgrade choice for consumers on a budget.

For gamers seeking high resolutions with anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering however, the GeForce 6600’s memory subsystem falls short. This is where NVIDIA’s GeForce 6800 line comes in.

GeForce 6600 GT reference (bottom) EVGA GeForce 6800 (middle) and MSI NX6800 (GeForce 6800, top)

The GeForce 6 family

All of NVIDIA’s GeForce 6800 GPUs feature a wider, 256-bit memory interface, providing the graphics core with twice the memory bandwidth of GeForce 6600 (assuming equal clock speed). With more bandwidth on tap, the GPU is better fed with data, allowing 6800 cards to run at high resolutions and graphics detail settings that would choke up a 6600, resulting in poor performance. The GeForce 6800 Ultra and 6800 GT also boast twice the number of pixel pipelines as the 6600, at 16, while the GeForce 6800 features 12 pixel pipes. The extra pipelines not only provide the 6800 line with high fill-rates, but also greater pixel processing. This is important for the shader-intensive games that are becoming increasingly common.

GeForce 6800 series cards together

The EVGA GeForce 6800 and GeForce 6800 GT reference

The one key drawback of these cards however has always been one thing: price. With an MSRP of $300 and up, the 6800 line isn’t exactly an inexpensive upgrade. Thanks to rapidly falling board prices however, the entire line GeForce 6800 series AGP cards can be found at street prices that were previously unheard of. For instance, the EVGA e-GeForce 6800 card we’re reviewing today can be found for under $250 online quite easily.