6800Gs Vs. 7600Gt

On-Board Memory

• On-board memory is a key component of the GPU as it determines how much data the processor can store and work with at any given moment. The NVIDIA 6800 GS, as a high-end unit, came standard with 256 megabytes (Mb), and the 7600 GT, also a high-end model, came in a 256-Mb configuration. The 6800 and 7600 are both upgradeable to 512 Mb, but the 7600 can also be upgraded further to 768 Mb through special kits.
  
  

Hardware Slot

• NVIDIA helped develop the advanced graphics port, which is technologically superior to the PCI Express configuration available on modern computers. AGP was never widely adopted, as most manufacturers wanted the flexibility of using both NVIDIA products as well as their competitors. The 6800 was one of the last NVIDIA cards to support both PCI Express and AGP. This gives it an advantage over the 7600 in terms of raw processing speed, although this is offset by the numerous other technological advancements in the 7th generation of NVIDIA product.
  
  

Clock Speed

• If your computer is analogous to a highway, the clock speed represents how fast data transfers along that highway. The NVIDIA 6800 GS runs at a clock speed of 350 megahertz (MHz), with the second production release of the 6800 running at 425 MHz. It is important to note that the second production release represents almost all units available in the U.S. The NVIDIA 7600 GT runs at a whopping 560 MHz, one of the fastest for the seventh generation of video cards.
  
  

Memory Bandwidth

• Using our highway analogy, the memory bandwidth represents the number of lanes of traffic available for our information to travel upon, with the more lanes the better. The NVIDIA 6800 GS has a full 32 gigabytes per second (GB/s) available while the 7600 GT has only 12.8 GB/s. This is a huge advantage for 6800 units.
  
  

Library Support

• The GeForce 7 series is primarily an upgrade to the 6 series, with faster processors and better support for floating numbers. They share the same video drivers, meaning that both the 6800 and the 7600 fully support directX 9.0c and 10 as well as directdraw 3.0 and PureVideo technology.
  
  

Conclusion

• If your computer still has a AGP port, the faster clock speed and 32 GB/s bandwidth of the 6800 really can't be beat, especially since the price is approximately $50 dollars cheaper than its newer cousin. However, if you have a PCI Express, the additional features and faster clock speed make up for the comparable bandwidth, making the 7600 the better deal for you.