8800 GTX Question

[vikingblade]

I am currently running a system I put together a year ago... basically...

X1800XT
AMD 64 3500
2GB RAM

Was sweet a year ago, but now its...well sad. Im unable to smoothly play FEAR at god rez with eye candy and now... recently bought Rainbow Six Vegas and am really depressed that I cant play above 1024x768 and eye candy is way down. The nature of the industry I guess.

My problem is this... I cannot afford a new system... Can only swing about 600 bucks.

If I get a 8800GTX Card, will I be able to run the latest and upcoming games at 1600x1200 with eye candy, very well. OR is my CPU really bottlenecking me. Of course, I know a faster cpu would help, but is it an absolute need. Would the 8800 be enough by itself to really improve my current situation.

THANKS

 

[Kromis]

Yeah, just get it.

 

[GundamSonicZeroX]

You can run all your games at great resolutions and high eye candy, but I suggest getting a new CPU first. Maybe an X2 3800 like me?

 

[Slitherythesnake]

Originally posted by: Kromis
Yeah, just get it.

 

[Noema]

Do you have s939? In that case, may humbly suggest:

1) Get a X2 s939 processor now

2) Wait for the R600 and the G80 refresh / mainstream cards ( a couple of months)

3) Get either an 8800GTX in late february (it's bound to be chaper by then), or one of the mainstream G80 cards (8600Gt or whatever).

4) ????

5) PROFIT

 

[adairusmc]

Originally posted by: Slitherythesnake

Originally posted by: Kromis
Yeah, just get it.

 

[Brian48]

Was in the same situation as you before I was able to finally upgrade the processor. Had a x1800xt, 3500+, and 2gb of RAM. Saw a huge difference in performace with the 8800GTX at the higher resolutions. In fact, I game at 1650x1050 with 4xFSAA and 16x Aniso.

I'm running a X2 4800+ now and it still can't keep up with with the 8800GTX.

Get the card now if you can afford it. Upgrade the rest later.

 

[Chapbass]

if your at socket 939, what about getting either a dual core cpu, or maybe like one of the fx-55 deals that newegg has (not sure if theyre still going on), and then grab a 8800GTS?


ive got a GTS and love it. yeah, a gtx would be faster, but youd get faster performance on everything else with a faster cpu...


just throwin out ideas!

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Come on guys. Obviously he'll get the greatest gain in FPS from a new vid card. In some games going dual core will not gain you a single fps.
If you want to sort the problem out now, yes -- an 8800GTX will greatly improve your situation. You could also try ocing your processor a little bit. Keep in mind the power requirements for an 8800GTX, though. What PSU do you have?

 

[SPARTAN VI]

Originally posted by: gersson
Come on guys. Obviously he'll get the greatest gain in FPS from a new vid card. In some games going dual core will not gain you a single fps.
If you want to sort the problem out now, yes -- an 8800GTX will greatly improve your situation. You could also try ocing your processor a little bit. Keep in mind the power requirements for an 8800GTX, though. What PSU do you have?

QFT.

It may have been implied in this thread, but all this talk about bottlenecking the 8800s doesn't really relates to real world performance.

If he buys an FX-55, what's going to happen? He'll spend $130 and still be playing at 1024x768 with medium settings (or whatever he's playing at) in RS:Vegas.

If he buys an 8800, it's likely that his GPU will still max out before his CPU becomes a bottleneck. I've observed this trend in even the most CPU intensive games.

 

[vikingblade]

thanks a bunch for the input guys. pretty much what i was thinking, but wasnt sure. ideally, i know i should be upgrading my cpu as well, but, money is tight and i want to be able to enjoy the new games now. so, the 8800 will be able to power thru the new games even with my modest cpu?

anyone out here running an 8800gtx or gts with a single core cpu like my 3500?

 

[JSt0rm]

I upgraded my 3700sd to a x2 4200 and went from a 1800xt to a 8800gts. I'm happy with my system right now. Yeah c2d would be nice but not having to buy a mobo and keeping my 2gig of ddr ram made this upgrade nice. I also sold the 1800xt on ebay for $200. You should look into selling your old video cards to help with the payout. I don't know why people let them sit in the closet. I know the value on this stuff drops but sell it fast and get the most you can. I sold my 3700sd for like $80 on ebay as well. $280 off the cost isnt bad. You should be able to sell your 1800xt for like $140 and your 3500 could sell for 20 or so. That right there is a new cpu.

 

[wanderer27]

I think you'll get the biggest bang going from the X1800XT to the 8800GTX.

CPU upgrade would help some, but not nearly as much as the Video Card.

EDIT:

Actually, when my Card came out the 3500 was considered the "Sweet Spot" for CPU/Graphics balance, so I really don't think your CPU is killing you here.