Yeah, for a difference of only $100, I'd say it's worth it, definitely. For one thing, figure that this is probably the last AGP video card that you're ever going to buy, as AGP is being phased out for PCI-Express. You're going to want to get as much life out of it as you can.
I moved my 6800 GT-Athlon64 3700-1 GB RAM over to be my utility PC when I put together my current gaming rig. I still have CoX installed on it (with a fresh Win XP install), and you can tell the difference between the two. It's not close, especially in the system-intensive areas like Mercy Island and Grandville. I have to bring down the graphics settings significantly in those zones to keep the framerate playable on the 6800. When the server is yellow, Mercy can still be almost a slideshow on the 6800. (My god, that's gotta be frustrating for new players, now that I think of it)
I'm not getting much, if any, benefit from running SLI in CoX. CoX isn't optimized for SLI, so whether I have it on or off, I'm not seeing much of a framerate difference. Of course, I haven't tested that in a full-team battle on Invincible either, so I don't know if that would help when the effects are REALLY flying. Just that I attribute the performance difference to the card being a 7800 vs a 6800.
The level of detail difference was a big thing, too. After I upgraded, I noticed that FF's Dispersion Bubble basically looked like a giant swirling soap bubble in its effects. Lots of little things like that look cooler now. I had to turn down the World Detail on the 6800. Keeping it at default 100% on the 7800, I see lots of cool stuff. For example, when I'm swimming to the submarine in Port Oakes for the Atlas mayhem mission, I can plainly see the distinctive mountain peaks of Cap Au Diable far, far in the distance. (I know that's basically just eye candy, but I still enjoy it.) Didn't see that on the 6800 with its turned-down settings.
"Broad-minded is just another way of saying a fellow's too lazy to form an opinion." -- Will RogersGlobal: @Jimmy Amp
"Broad-minded is just another way of saying a fellow's too lazy to form an opinion." -- Will Rogers
I moved my 6800 GT-Athlon64 3700-1 GB RAM over to be my utility PC when I put together my current gaming rig. I still have CoX installed on it (with a fresh Win XP install), and you can tell the difference between the two. It's not close, especially in the system-intensive areas like Mercy Island and Grandville. I have to bring down the graphics settings significantly in those zones to keep the framerate playable on the 6800. When the server is yellow, Mercy can still be almost a slideshow on the 6800. (My god, that's gotta be frustrating for new players, now that I think of it)
I'm not getting much, if any, benefit from running SLI in CoX. CoX isn't optimized for SLI, so whether I have it on or off, I'm not seeing much of a framerate difference. Of course, I haven't tested that in a full-team battle on Invincible either, so I don't know if that would help when the effects are REALLY flying. Just that I attribute the performance difference to the card being a 7800 vs a 6800.
The level of detail difference was a big thing, too. After I upgraded, I noticed that FF's Dispersion Bubble basically looked like a giant swirling soap bubble in its effects. Lots of little things like that look cooler now. I had to turn down the World Detail on the 6800. Keeping it at default 100% on the 7800, I see lots of cool stuff. For example, when I'm swimming to the submarine in Port Oakes for the Atlas mayhem mission, I can plainly see the distinctive mountain peaks of Cap Au Diable far, far in the distance. (I know that's basically just eye candy, but I still enjoy it.) Didn't see that on the 6800 with its turned-down settings.
"Broad-minded is just another way of saying a fellow's too lazy to form an opinion." -- Will RogersGlobal: @Jimmy Amp
"Broad-minded is just another way of saying a fellow's too lazy to form an opinion." -- Will Rogers