8800 GS (384MB) vs Diamond Viper 3850 (512MB)

[Juked07]

I'm building a computer for general purposes. I may play some games on it, but it's not a huge priority, so I'm hoping to buy a vid card for under $100. I know it may not play upcoming new releases as well as a better card, but I've decided it's not a priority for me while I'm at school. Maybe in a year or 2 I'll find more time for gaming and buy a nice card =)

For now, I'm trying to decide between:

EVGA 384-P3-N851-AR GeForce 8800 GS 384MB 192-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16
DIAMOND Viper 3850PE3512O Radeon HD 3850 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16

Which of these is better? Or is there another vid card in this price range I should consider?

(Editted the above)

 

[Jax Omen]

You know it's a good time to shop for graphics cards when those cards are being considered "lower end".

Those will RUN any game released for a couple years. They should be able to max out any game from 2006 or earlier at reasonable resolutions

I'd personally pick the HD3850 between those two, because they're fairly comparable except that the HD3850 has more RAM.

 

[natty1]

Pretty sure the 8800 GS beats the 3850.

 

[Juked07]

Haha I didn't think of these cards as lower end to start either, but that's what they were listed as in the July suggestions in the general hardware section.

Thanks for the replies guys... But 1:1 calls for more votes =)

 

[TurtleCrusher]

If you aren't gaming but might want to play some games at decent frame rates, the 3470 / 3450 reigns supreme. If you can find a cheap 3650 with DDR3 i'd go for it. Superior HD capability while able to maintain great frame rates.

8800gs is low end? Are you guys high? It sure isn't high end, but it smacks the living hell out of the 8600gt/2600xt/HD3650.

 

[SergeC]

8800Gs if there's any chance of you doing any gaming.

 

[bob4432]

i am happily running a 3850 512 @ 1280x1024 and it works very well on company of hearoes and have been benching it on crysis on high resolutions - only about 5fps slower than the 4850 @ that resolution.

i picked up the asus version beause it has a nice large heatsink so you can't hear it runinng, and it idles @ 32-35C in my rig, which is in a room that typically is @ 80-85F

 

[Sylvanas]

The 3850 is faster in the majority of titles see this review for a full list of results- and considering a 3850 can easily be OC'd to 3870 levels.....you have yourself a very good budget card.

 

[Juked07]

Seems like both cards have their supporters performance wise.. Does either card have an edge in stability/reliability or cooling?

 

[ss284]

3850 has hdmi+audio, they both consume roughly the same amount of power.

 

[RussianSensation]

HD 3870 - $100 after MIR
- Free Neverwinter Nights 2 game
- Free Zalman aftermarket heatsink
- NO worries of overclocking 3850 to 3870 speeds
- Free shipping

vs.

9600GT @ 720 on gpu $96
This card should even be faster than 3870 above as it'll start to enroach on 8800GT's speed.

 

[monovillage]

This 9600GT for $95.00 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814261002
this HD3870 for $99.99 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814125086
this 9600GSO (8800GS) $89.99 after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127365
all with good cooling solutions

 

[gregoryvg]

As someone said, what a great time to buy a video card when those are considered lower end cards. As long as you don't expect to play Crysis at the highest resolutions with everything cracked up, either card are good for gaming.

Personally, I'd go with the 8800GS (or the 9600GSO which is the same thing).

 

[TC91]

i would grab the 3850 512mb over the 8800gs (more memory, more memory bandwidth, more shader power).