$85 8600GT - Should I buy it or not?

[cpl625]

I am close to buying this 8600GT for $85 (free game included). I am looking for a midline card and this seems like a good deal. I don't want to spend more than $100, preferably not more than $85. I don't play the latest games, but I have Pro Evolution Soccer 2008, Civ IV, and Virtua Tennis 3, which I do play often. I currently have an nVidia GeForce PCX 5900, which definitely needs to go. What should I do?

 

[taltamir]

No... buy a used 7900GS on ebay instead... way better performance... Heck I will be selling mine for about that much on ebay in a week or so when I get my 8800GT...

http://www23.tomshardware.com/...2&model2=855&chart=318

The ONLY card worth buying new right now is 3870, 3850, and 8800GT. Nothing else is worth anything.. unless you buy a used top end from last year for half of what those cards cost.

 

[cpl625]

Can I expect good quality from ebay though? The seller of the 8600GT has used the card for only a few hours, so it's in great condition. Also - I have a pretty firm $85 price point, so I don't want to pay more than that with shipping and so forth.

 

[clickynext]

In my opinion if $85 is all you can spare, then the 8600GT is a good choice. The link you sent says $100 though. I have one of these cards, and it doesn't have quite as much raw power as the 7900GS, but it can hold its own and it does DX10. A lot of reviews have the 7900GS much higher, but most of them were done using early drivers, which have improved substantially now.

EDIT: Oh you're buying used off ebay. I wouldn't get it, then. ncix.com here in Canada had it for $80 new last week.

 

[cpl625]

I'm buying it from a guy near me in NYC who posted it on hardforum. I would like to stick to $85; I could go higher, but I don't think I need high-end stuff right now.

 

[s44]

$85 could have gotten you a 2600XT 512mb on Cyber Monday at the Egg.

 

[wrangler]

In my opinion, you can't go wrongat $85 for that card. Most of them OC good as well.

 

[hans007]

the 8600gt isnt necessarily slower than the 7900GS in some of the nwere shader heavy games. if you happen to want company of heroes its an excellent deal

 

[neothe0ne]

My 8600GT plays Crysis and UT3 fine at acceptable graphics settings. It's not a bad card by any means, and is really your only choice if you're looking for both low price and small profile. (7900GS is much longer)