New build graphics card

[southsayer]

New to posting but have been reading these forums for a while and would value your opinions/advice on which route to go down .I have a budget of around £150 for a graphics card .Options as i see them so far :-

1.Sli or Crossfire ?...havent yet decided on a motherboard was holding back till i decided on graphics card will be pci express though.
2. PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 GTO16
Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 GTO² 256MB
HIS Excalibur ATI Radeon X800 GTO ICEQII TURBO 256MB
OcUK GeForce 6800 GS 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI
3.Any other cards worth taking a look at ?

I know not all these cards are crossfire but am i right in saying i can add another card in at a later date and use these as the slave?I just want to future proof the build a little The pc will be used for gaming, video encoding and browsing mostly

Any opinions greatly appreciated .

 

[Zephyrus]

For a £150 i'd go for
PowerColor ATI Radeon X850 XT 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-037-PC) £152.69

It is crossfire compatable, and to be honest i'm not sure that any of the x800 cards you listed would do crossfire.

Zeph.

 

[LoadsaMoney]

All the x800 range do Crossfire when paired with a master card, but don't go Crossfire on the x800's as they are limited to 1600x1200, and 60hz, so if you want to pair 2x cards up, go SLI instead.

Only go Crossfire on the x1900's, as they do not have any limitations, i would have said the x1800's to, but they aint made anymore so you can't.

Out of those id go for the 6800 GS an SLi it, as they don't have the limitations of the X800 series either, so it would be the better out of those.

Oh and welcome to the forums.

 

[ACESHIGH]

I would advise if yo can stretch to it go for the PowerColor ATI Radeon X850 XT 256MB
(probably fastest card in your budget) or if you want to save a bit, go for the PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 GTO16.

 

[southsayer]

Thanks for the replies.
I read on these boards that the Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 GTO² 256MB is overclockable to the x850 xt level of card and would presume the PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 GTO16 would also so that would make it the same card for less money or am i missing something?

 

[ACESHIGH]

Thanks for the replies.
I read on these boards that the Sapphire ATI Radeon X800 GTO2 256MB is overclockable to the x850 xt level of card and would presume the PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 GTO16 would also so that would make it the same card for less money or am i missing something?

Yes that is true.

I would go for the PowerColor ATI Radeon X800 GTO16 as it has the 16 pipes allready unlocked (its essentially an X800XL). Then just overclock about 100Mhz to get X850XT speeds.

 

[p0rks0da]

You can get a 7800GT for £184 inc vat. in UK. £35 over your budget but imo its worth getting the extra together for one.