Doom 3 Buyer's Guide

VALUE Doom 3: Video and Audio

Video

Recommendation: PNY Verto GeForce 6800 128MB DDR 256-bit
Price: $278 shipped

The Doom 3 Graphics benchmarking showed the basic GeForce 6800 performing about the level of an X800 XT Platinum in Doom 3. At about half the price, this is quite an achievement for the 6800. The latest ATI Catalyst 4.9 drivers improve the ATI performance a bit, but no matter how you cast it, there is no doubt that the 6800 is an outstanding value for playing Doom 3.

Before you scream that we call a $278 video card a bargain, consider the alternatives. There frankly are none at this point ,if you want comparable performance for the dollar. ATI does not have a top-line variant at the $300 price point and the 6800 certainly blows away the older Video cards that can cost even more. For example , at plain old 1024X768 the 6800 is 75% faster in Doom 3 than either the ATI 9800 XT or the nVidia 5950, both of which cost about $50-$100 more than the 6800.

We are building a Value Doom 3 system, but the goal is still to be able to play Doom 3 at really acceptable levels. The nVidia GeForce 6800 fits that definition very well.

The 6800 is 12 pipes clocked at 325MHz with memory at 700Mhz. The 6800 also has 128MB of memory instead of the 256MB seen on the 6800 GT and 6800 Ultra. The 6800 core chip, however, is the same 6 series that represents a new generation for nVidia.

Sound Card

Recommendation: On-Board CMedia CM19761A
Price: $0

As we discussed in the Mainstream Doom 3 sound options, AnandTech found that the on-board sound was very satisfying for Doom 3 play with the typical powered 5.1 speakers. The recommended Value board, the Chaintech VNF3-250, features the well-regarded CMedia CM19761A chipset providing 5.1 sound capabilities to match the surround sound supported by Doom 3.

The CMedia codec supports up to 6-channel audio. More information on the features and specifications of the CM19761A is available at the CMedia website.

Listed below is part of our RealTime pricing engine, which lists the lowest prices available on nVidia video cards from many different reputable vendors:



If you cannot find the lowest prices on the products that we've recommended on this page, it's because we don't list some of them in our RealTime pricing engine. Until we do, we suggest that you do an independent search online at the various vendors' web sites. Just pick and choose where you want to buy your products by looking for a vendor located under the "Vendor" heading.