Hmm, I would acutally go for the 6800 seeing it is more recent and has (i think) the lastest shader model 3.0 or something and just a better chip from what i have heard. Seeing they compare the X800GT with the 6600GT you would think the 6800 would be better.
If you get a 6800, get the Apollo, its a 90% chance it will be unlocked stock! Mine wasent, but unlocking it was easy, and caused no problems. I also overclocked it from 325/600 to 400/750, with no temp change!
My X800 is amazing, I recommend it, I have no experience wiht the 6800, I do have to say that I like nvidia drivers better, and they just released teh new drivers that increase performance of their cards 20%
You can't. The NV43 core only has 8 pixel pipelines and 4 vertex shaders maximum. Only the NV43-V (also known as the 6600 LE) has 4 pixel pipelines and 4 vertex shaders. I'm not sure if you can unlock them though...
If you're gonna get a 6800 NU, get the 6800 GS instead. The PCI-E is the NV42 core manufactured with the 110nm process instead of the NV40 and NV43's 130nm process. 12 pixel pipelines and 5 vertex shaders, although this is exact to the 6800 NU's specifications, the 6800 GS has 256mb GDDR3 on a 256-bit interface instead of the 6800 NU's 128mb DDR on a 128-bit interface. Also, the 6800 GS has a faster clock, allowing it to be cheaper and faster then the 6800 GT.
Hmm, I would acutally go for the 6800 seeing it is more recent and has (i think) the lastest shader model 3.0 or something and just a better chip from what i have heard. Seeing they compare the X800GT with the 6600GT you would think the 6800 would be better.