BFG Geforce 6800 OC Videocard Review

The 6800GT is known to be a “wiser” choice over the 6800 Ultra and is $100 cheaper, but the performance on the 6800 OC does not justify the savings of another $100. The 6800 OC’s 12 pipelines and slower clocks really took a performance hit when comparing it against the 6800GT. Without a doubt, the 6800GT is far superior. The point of this review is to discover whether the $100 difference matters.

In the case of the GT vs Ultra, although I do not have the scores to prove it, the GT is a considered to be a better buy. In the case of the 6800 vs 6800GT, it would be better to splurge on the $100 and go with the GT. If you’re a hardcore gamer on a tight budget, I’d recommend that you save a little more and go with the GT. If you’re a casual gamer, then the 6800 can be suitable. Although not many places carry the 6800, it can be had on ebay for as little as $250. I saw an auction on the 6800 OC end at $240 shipped just the other day. If a 6800 can be had for about $250, then by all means go for it. It would be a steal if the card comes priced at $250.

Considering that a Radeon 9800XT is going for about $250-$299, I would suggest picking the 6800 over the 9800XT if you’re a gamer. Very casual gamers should consider otherwise, due to the bad 2D image quality the 6800 produces. Thus, the BFG 6800 OC would be a personal recommendation if you can get it for around $250. If you’re going to pay more than that, might as well save the money for the GT.

Pros:
Decent price
Good performance
Blue PCB
Custom cooling heatsink
Blue LEDs
Backed by excellent tech support and customer service
Lifetime warranty
Use of 2.2ns memory
Better overclocking potential over other 6800
Comes pre-overclocked to 350MHZ
Faster than other 6800 out of the box
Bundled with retail copy of Far Cry
Cons:
Custom cooling heatsink does not cool well
Not worth it for $299, but well worth it for $250
Bad use of pink thermal pad for thermal interface material

BFG Geforce 6800 OC Review @ InsaneTek