What info to look at when selecting a card?

[whosnext]

I went to ard compare page and did a comparison on the
Geforce 6800 ultra AGP and the
Geforce 6600GT AGP
my question is what do I need to look at to know which card is better.
I do want that question asked but I am looking for an AGP card for around $200 if anyone has any suggestions.

[Crash]

the higher the numbers the better(99% of the time)
:D

[Mike]

Since there are architectural and driver differences between manufacturers and different generations of cards, the specifications don't always correspond exactly to performance. Cards from the same family however, like the 6600GT and the 6800Ultra, can be directly compared.

Currently the best numbers to look at are shader operations/sec and texture fill rate...that will give you an idea of raw performance...and then cards with higher memory bandwidth will perform better at higher resolutions with anti-aliasing and anisotropic filtering applied...

[phranq]

A 6800GS AGP might be a good choice, I hear most of them are unlocking to 6800GTs. If you can't decipher the raw numbers, there are always those review links at the bottom with game benchmarks etc. If you're really interested in knowing google around and you can probably find some information... it's amazing that the word "google" is a verb now :D

[brightblack]

It's always worth looking at that card comparison as has been suggested, and then checking out some review sites, and pay attention to the results on games *you* play. Most games now use one of a few core development engines, and below that either OpenGL or DirectX variants, so that's something to factor in.

Also, recently I've become a bit obsessed with how quiet and cool you can make a graphics card...

[bucdan]

i rather say... mostly depends on wat u wan tout of it...gaming lol