7900GTX to 8800GTX. Wait or upgrade?

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Coldkilla

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2004
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I got this 7900GTX recently bought. I said to myself I wont be upgrading in the next 2 years.

I am wondering, before I set out to "not upgrade" would purchasing the 8800GTX be a good buy in order to last the two years I wont be upgrading? I ask because I'm noticing already my 7900GTX's preformance is starting to die down. (Newer games).

I am going be purchasing an entirely new system in 2 years without keeping a single component inside of my current pc. I was wondering, is it just better to keep the 7900GTX or go up to the 8800GTX and then wait the 2+ years?

Current Set-up: 4200x2, 2gb ram, 2ms monitor, 300gb hdd, msi 7900gtx, vista business.

The upgrade would cost around $220 dollars if I sold my 7900GTX here on AT. Is it worth it, or is the preformance upgrade only meger for that amount of money over the duration of around 2 years?
 
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Coldkilla

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2004
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Considering that my current 7900GTX will decrease in value? I don't want to spend that much more, and I know newer cards are coming out, but I would much rather make as much as I can with the 7900GTX and then pay a smaller dividend towards the new card. (Im assuming you speak of the R600?)
 
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DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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The benchmarks for Rainbow 6 (unreal 3 engine) and Oblivion are compelling, see the Video tab R6 and 8800 articles.

I'm tempted, but am almost finished with Oblivion so I'll probably wait for some other game that "needs" it like Unreal Tournament 3.
 
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DEredita

Senior member
Dec 24, 2004
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by summer - the price of the 8800 can devalue a great deal. In addition, there will be other DirectX10 video cards on the market.
 
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Coldkilla

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2004
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Sure by summer they will devalue, however, my current 7900GTX will also devalue. The price difference, is what I am looking at.

For example:
Say the 7900GTX is: 350.
The 8800GTX is: 600
The difference: $250.


By summer the 8800GTX drives down to about 500
and the 7900GTX drives down to about 200.
The difference: $300.

Now this is (of course) an invalid mistatement of fact, however I just dont want the divident cost to be more than I currently would be paying now.
 
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JAG87

Diamond Member
Jan 3, 2006
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except this summer you will be able to get an 8900GTX for 600 dollars perhaps.

dude whatever you do, don't keep hardware for too long. it depreciates in value way too much and you end up with nothing in your hands.
 
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Coldkilla

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2004
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Exactly. The value of my system after a few years of not upgrading will be very small. Hence why I want to make sure I get the better technology now, so it will last longer than what I currently have.

So what exactly are you suggesting? If I wait until Summer, I don't want to find out that my current 7900GTX and the 8800GTX price differences are larger than they are now. This isn't a matter of "Oh the 8800gtx will be cheaper then, buy it in summer" its "You want to make the most out of your 7900GTX now, its worth more today, but you will have the pay the price difference in order to get the 8800gtx, will that price difference be larger come summer?"
 
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DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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Also figure in the value of having the 8800GTX for an extra 3-4 months of gaming.

Say the 8800GTX falls faster and the difference goes the other way, decreasing $50. Is it worth paying $50 extra to use an 8800GTX for those months?

The main reason to wait if (unlike me) you have several games to play now, is if there will be an 8900GTX out in 4 months that is enough better than the 8800GTX that you'd be willing to pay even more for it, say with a price difference of $350 instead of $250.
 
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Coldkilla

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2004
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Putting my current hardware specs into consideration, is this the major thing I should be considering upgrade? Or is my videocard not as big of an issue, say.. for example: as my processor?
 
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ionoxx

Senior member
Jan 18, 2005
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Stick with the original plan. Keep your 7900GTX. The performance increase to a 8800GTX does not justify the 250$ you're going to spend.
 
KeithTalent

KeithTalent

Elite Member | Administrator | No Lifer
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Nov 30, 2005
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Originally posted by: ionoxx
Stick with the original plan. Keep your 7900GTX. The performance increase to a 8800GTX does not justify the 250$ you're going to spend.
Click to expand...

I'm not so sure about that. Particularly if he is planning on playing all of the new games coming out with even a few bells and whistles on (Crysis, Stalker, Quake Wars, et al.). The performance increase from a 7900 to an 8800 is quite large from what I have seen.

OP I am essentially in the same boat as you, I can not for the life of me decide whether it is in my best interest to bump up from my X1900XT yet. Seeing all of the Crysis and STALKER footage, I am starting to lean towards the upgrade while I can still get $100 for my current card. :confused:

 
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KutterMax

Member
Sep 26, 2004
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I think the most important thing to do is ask yourself - Is your current system playing the titles you like at good framerates and detail levels that you are happy with? If so, then keep using your current system; if not, then upgrade.

Upgrades are an endless perpetual cycle. There will always be something newer, faster, better coming - no matter what you buy.

While your 7900 may go down in value, so will the price of the 8800's. If you buy the 8800 now and don't truly need it, then I wouldn't consider this a good investment. Rather keep the $250 in your pocket (or the bank) and wait for the next-gen.

 
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thecrecarc

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2004
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I personally would think 7900GTX is enough and would wait for r600. However, its totally up to your demands on gaming. do you NEED perfect frame rates with all the goodies on UBER 1337 high? if not, wait.
 
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btcomm1

Senior member
Sep 7, 2006
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When you say your card is running below avg, is it below avg for vista or for everybody, including people still running windows XP? Vista would degrade your performance vs xp, at least right now it does.
 
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alimoalem

Diamond Member
Sep 22, 2005
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stick with your 7900GTX. the way you're thinking is the way those people that spend $3000 on their rigs think: if i get the best i can with all the money i have, it'll be the the best option. reality? the person that spent $1200 on a system initially and upgraded $1000 within the next 2 years would have the better system and overall gaming experience in the end.

stick with your 7900GTX. if your concern is the $250, in 12-18 months i'm guessing a $250 card will be out equivalent to today's 8800 series graphics cards. your 7900GTX is still one of the top cards. just because there are 2 cards faster doesn't mean it's time to upgrade. next time, get the 7900GT of the future instead of the GTX. that way you wouldn't have this dilemma and would not feel so negatively towards the upgrade
 
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Roguestar

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
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What the hell kind of resolutions are you playing at that your configuration can't handle max details??
 
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DimZiE

Golden Member
Jun 26, 2001
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i'll wait for the next batch of DX10 cards and make my decision afterwards.. more choices..
 
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Coldkilla

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2004
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Originally posted by: Roguestar
What the hell kind of resolutions are you playing at that your configuration can't handle max details??
Click to expand...

LCD Monitor only supports MAX of 1024x768 res. So the resolution is not that large. The FPS in, for example: Supreme Commander's Demo is around 15-20. I don't know why it's so bad. Im so frustrated with my PC I don't know where to turn.

I'd like to perhaps with with someone to walk me through some suggestive downloads + programs + tests to see what my PC's performance really is, and what I can do to make it preform at its optimal speed. If anyone is knowledgeable in this and would be willing to walk me through the steps to get my PC up to speed, please PM me. I'd really appreciate your help.
 
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Roguestar

Diamond Member
Aug 29, 2006
6,045
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Intel TAT for temperatures, Orthos SP2001 for stress-testing, CPU-Z for checking memory timings and CPU speed (make sure speedstep and that other noise is all turned off in the BIOS) do a virus/spyware scan - use AVG 7.5 Free (now with ewido antispyware mashed into it, delicious), go through Add/Remove Programs and make sure you recognise everything there, check your memory is running in dual-channel, make sure your graphics card isn't overheating (Speedfan), install the latest drivers for everything, good for your problem incase there are any conflicts with new drivers, install windows updates and reboot, reinstall Supreme Commander?
;)
 
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obeseotron

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
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If you're concerned about your current performance, don't use Vista, at least not until nVidia gets its act together and releases a decent driver.
 
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Coldkilla

Diamond Member
Oct 7, 2004
3,944
0
71
Did a google for: Orthos SP2001. Nothing came up.

How can I check that that my memory is running in dual-channel?
Is there another name for speedstep in BIOs? I dont see it in mine.
-- Warnings saying Intel TAT: Invalid Processor. (I was wondering why you suggested an Intel application for AMD setup :)

So I still need: Something for temperatures. Something for PC Stress testing as well.

 
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