Pixel Pipes Vs Clock speeds

[Ham]

Not quite sure if this belongs here but im using the 6800 as examples so...

So im looking at the hordes of 6800s out there. GTs, GSs Ultras, LEs Etc. I know the differences in them all and the paper values are great. But im looking at 3 in particular.

Firstly the Leadtek 6800GS. Basic 6800GS on Pci-E. 425mhz core and 12 pipes.

Next the XFX 6800GS Extreme XXX Edition. 485mhz pre overclocked, 12 pipes.

Finaly the Asustech V9999, An AGP 6800. 350mhz, 12 pipes.

From looking at this you would normaly go straight for the XFX. but due to wonderous unlocking and overclocking we all know they can be altered. The V9999 unlocks to 16 pipes and clocks to 400mhz with no problems. Ive heard leadteks overclock well although i cant find any articals on it. And finaly ive heard the XFX clocks upto 500-525mhz! But what would be better? extra four piplines or fast clock speeds?

 

[Joe]

Personally id go for Pipes @ those speed differences ... thing is u cant be sure the unlocking will be a success if not then it may b pointless

 

[Ham]

Cheers for the quick reply.

Im thinking of jumping back to nvidia. The V9999 nearly asways unlocks apparently. Its AGP but honestly I dont see that making too much of a difference atm. Also its about £60 less than the others.

Dare i ask exactly why pipes are better?

 

[Joe]

ok they are processing pathways basically if u had 2 identical core @ the identical speeds and on had 4 pipes + the other has 8 the one with 8 should be inthe region of 65+ % faster

[info]

 

[Tec]

Well pipelines are where pixels gets processed and gets their colours if i am not mistaken.

Just a small example;

Imagine a busy motorway with 12 lanes and 16 lanes and imagine at 100mhz each lane serves 100 cars. Each car has to pass through a checkpoint. So you would end up with 12 lanes = 1200 cars 16 lanes = 1600 cars passing the checkpoint at 100mhz.

Now your products.

Leadtek 6800GS 425 * 12 = 5100 pixels

XFX 6800GS Extreme XXX Edition 485 * 12 = 5820 pixels

Asustech V9999 350 * 12 = 4200 pixels

XFX 6800GS Extreme XXX Edition O/C 500 * 12 = 6000 pixels

Asustech V9999 unlocked to 16 O/C 400 * 16 = 6400 pixels

Keep in mind i believe GS versions have better memory if i am not mistaken which will change the outcome.

 

[Joe]

Well pipelines are where pixels gets processed and gets their colours if i am not mistaken.

Just a small example;

Imagine a busy motorway with 12 lanes and 16 lanes and imagine at 100mhz each lane serves 100 cars. Each car has to pass through a checkpoint. So you would end up with 12 lanes = 1200 cars 16 lanes = 1600 cars passing the checkpoint at 100mhz.

Now your products.

Leadtek 6800GS 425 * 12 = 5100 pixels

XFX 6800GS Extreme XXX Edition 485 * 12 = 5820 pixels

Asustech V9999 350 * 12 = 4200 pixels

XFX 6800GS Extreme XXX Edition O/C 500 * 12 = 6000 pixels

Asustech V9999 unlocked to 16 O/C 400 * 16 = 6400 pixels

Keep in mind i believe GS versions have better memory if i am not mistaken which will change the outcome.

(this doesnt apply to the current situation as the chips are essentially the same-- but i really wish it were that simple .. there are other factors to take into consideration vertex pipes and ROPS etc )

but also the GS is newer and should have better mem and should be more ocable (if u can get the V to the chip)

 

[Ham]

Cheers guys. And, wow reps tec.

Down grade from PCI-E to AGP with a better gpu i think its gonna be.

Edit: crap just read Joes post after, un-decided again.

 

[Joe]

GeForce 6800 GS

* Cooling: 1-slot, unless customized by manufacturer

* Core Clock: 425 MHz (PCIe version), 350 MHz (AGP version)

* Core Name: NV42 (PCIe version), NV40 (AGP version)

* Memory: 256 MB GDDR-3 memory on a 256-bit interface

* Memory Clock: 1000 MHz

* MSRP, (RRP): $249 USD

* Native Motherboard Interface: PCIe (NV42), AGP (NV40)

* Number of ROPs: 8

* Z-Samples Per Clock: 16

* Pixel Pipelines: 12

* Power connectors: 1

* Vertex Processors: 5

Notes: This card is intended to replace the GeForce 6800 GT. The GeForce 6800 GS is cheaper to manufacture and has a lower MSRP than the GeForce 6800 GT because it has fewer pipelines and a smaller process (110 vs 130 nm), but performance is similar because it has a faster core clock. The AGP version, however, uses the original NV40 chip and 6800 GT circuit board and may be capable of re-activating the inactive pixel and vertex pipes. Unfortunately, the PCI Express version lacks them entirely, precluding such modifications.

* PCIe Release Date: 11/07/05

* AGP Release Date: 12/07/05

GeForce 6800

* Cooling: 1-slot, unless customized by manufacturer

* Core Clock: 325 MHz

* Core Name: NV40, NV41, or NV42.

* Memory: 128 or 256 MB GDDR1 memory on a 256-bit interface

* Memory Clock: 700 MHz

* MSRP, (RRP): $299 USD, Currently: $199 USD

* Native Motherboard Interface: AGP (NV40) or PCIe (NV41, NV42)

* Number of ROPs: 16

* Pixel Pipelines: 12

* Power connectors: 1

* Vertex Processors: 5

Notes: The GeForce 6800 is often unofficially called the "GeForce 6800 Vanilla" or the "GeForce 6800 NU" (for Non-Ultra) to distinguish it from the other other models. Recent PCIe variants have the NV41 (IBM 0.13nm) or NV42 (TSMC 0.11nm) cores, which are native PCIe implementations and do not have an integrated AGP bridge chip. The AGP version of the video card actually contains sixteen pixel pipelines and six vertex processors, but four of the pixel pipes and one of the vertex processors are inactive. Users may be able to reactivate them for added performance, but they may not function properly, requiring them to be deactivated again. PCI-Express 6800 cards are incapable of such modifications, because the extra pixel pipelines and vertex buffers are nonexistent.

Theres all the info u need ,, note ROPS also affect performance quite a bit

 

[Tec]

ok they are processing pathways basically if u had 2 identical core @ the identical speeds and on had 4 pipes + the other has 8 the one with 8 should be inthe region of 65+ % faster

[info]

On this page you can find comparison between 6800 ultra / GT and 6800 unlocked to 16 pipelines and overclocked to 490 mhz on core. You should know 6800 GS is similar to GT and ultra and looking at the charts GS is clearly a winner.

Article : Click Here

 

[Ham]

Looking at those marks the ultra kills everything. And even unlocked the plain 6800 isnt close.

I think ill save up for two months and get a Leadtek 7800GT. Theres no way im going to be dissapointed with one of them.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[JN]

The biggest thing i noticed when i moved from the GT to the GS was the MUCH lower temperatures.

My GT used to be around 55oc idle, whereas my GS is around 40 idle (using the same coolers).