8800 GTX to ATI 4550

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Claudius-07

Member
Dec 4, 2009
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My old time father brought in his computer as he has having some OS issues. Usual for him, he accepts every pop-up in the world. Anyhow, the tech at the store told him the 8800 GTX (I had installed in his system, since I had no use for it), was infinitely weak in comparison to the video card he installed, an ATI (asus) 4550. He said the 8800 GTX was causing issues with his system, power supply related, removed the card and installed a 4550. He said this was a TOTAL upgrade compared to the 8800 GTX.

Since I am not sure of what is what, since freaking ATI and Nvidia with their 1000000 types of cards released, is the 4550 an upgrade to the 8800 GTX? don't get me wrong my dad does not play games... but i never had an issue with that 8800 GTX... and the 450 Antec power supply never had an issue dealing with it. The tech guy says we got a deal getting the 4550... a huge upgrade...lucky to have walked into the store.

Anyone chime on this?
 
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CurseTheSky

Diamond Member
Oct 21, 2006
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The 8800GTX was a downgrade in terms of raw graphics power (for playing games), but you could call it an "upgrade" for his uses - less heat, less power consumption, etc.

Did they give you back the 8800GTX? If not, I'd go back and demand a refund for the card's price (or modern resale value). It's an aging card, but still very capable of playing modern games.

By the way, Using an 8800GTX on a 450w power supply isn't the best idea. You can get away with it, but depending on the 12v rail amperage, it could have been causing problems.
 
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v8envy

Platinum Member
Sep 7, 2002
2,720
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In a nutshell, that sales guy could not be more wrong.

Memory bandwidth was downgraded from 86.4 GB/sec to 12.8 GB/sec.
Shader power was downgraded from 345.6 GFLOPs to 96 GFLOPs
Pixel fill rate was downgraded from 13800 MPixel/sec to 2400 MPixel/sec
Texture fill rate was downgraded from 18400 MTexel/sec to 4800 MTexel/sec

Both parts have equivalent feature sets when it comes to gaming. The Radeon has better video decode support and drastically lower power use.

So, when it comes to gaming you got downgraded from a mainstream performing video card to an extreme budget, entry level video card. Lucky to have walked into the store indeed.
 
S.K.A

S.K.A

Junior Member
May 7, 2010
21
0
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To be honest, I think your dad just got screwed, really screwed.

The 8800GTX was one of the best cards out on the market at it's time, and it still isn't bad at all.

It's equivalent to the HD4850 nowadays.

But what the hell was that technician thinking ?

The HD4550 is nowhere near what the 8800GTX has to offer ( gaming wise ), even though your dad doesn't play games.

Now, of course the HD4550 is lighter on the PSU, but if you had no issues with the 8800GTX before, I don't see why the technician changed it.

The tech guy says we got a deal getting the 4550... a huge upgrade...lucky to have walked into the store.
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Do me a favor and kick that guy the next time your dad sees him. To me, this is the type of technician I hate the most.

It's the type who talks complete garbage to sell s#!t to clients.

Sorry, but your dad just paid for something that was completely useless.

So, when it comes to gaming you got downgraded from a mainstream performing video card to an extreme budget, entry level video card. Lucky to have walked into the store indeed.
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Well said. Lucky to have walked in that store.
 
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frozentundra123456

frozentundra123456

Lifer
Aug 11, 2008
10,451
642
126
You have to be kidding.
What did he charge you for the 4550? That is a generation old ATI card that was low end when it came out. I should not cost more than 40 or 50 dollars.
It is much less powerful than the 8800GTX. The only good thing is that is uses very little power and may be better at video playback than the 8800.

As sky said, the 8800 could have been causing problems with only a 450 watt power supply, but even if so, the tech could have put in a much more capable low power video card such as a HD5670 or GT220 or GT240. If the comp is never used for gaming, I guess the 4550 is acceptable, but there were better options and in no way would I consider it any kind of upgrade from the 8800GTX, much less a "total" upgrade.
 
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Claudius-07

Member
Dec 4, 2009
187
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The issue with the computer to START with was the fact my dad had like 100 apps installed that he should not have. It had NOTHING to do with the video or any hardware. I just am going back to the store now to demand the 8800 GTX back, which is in perfect condition. He charged my dad 100$ for the diagnosis, took the 8800 GTX and charged him $125 for the ATI 4550 "upgrade" as it shows on his invoice.

All I got to say is thank you Anandtech and the forum folks here!
 
Gikaseixas

Gikaseixas

Platinum Member
Jul 1, 2004
2,836
218
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Just make sure you get the GTX back, it's a lot better than the Radeon. Good luck on your trip back there.
 
S.K.A

S.K.A

Junior Member
May 7, 2010
21
0
66
I really hope you get the card back. It really was a rip-off, as that card does NOT cost 125$ ( needless to say it wasn't an upgrade either )

PS : Why did he take the card anyways. Don't they have to give it back to you if it isn't at fault ? ( Unless if he took it for himself, then that would really suck )
 
Daedalus685

Daedalus685

Golden Member
Nov 12, 2009
1,386
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Was this a large business or a small 'mom and pop' shop?

If it was a big store let us know who so we can avoid int eh future. Folks can't be allowed to get away with this kind of BS and expect business.

Not only is charging the prices they do exceedingly shady, but taking the gtx8800 (a card that would resale for more than a new 4550) is effectively theft at this point.
 
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tcsenter

Lifer
Sep 7, 2001
18,533
336
126
$125 is higher than upper-limit pricing on HD 4650/4670, which is hugely faster than 4550 and would have solved any issue of over-taxing the PSU.

The technician was either grossly uninformed/misinformed or out-right scamming your father.
 
mrblotto

mrblotto

Golden Member
Jul 7, 2007
1,639
117
106
Wow.......just.....wow.

I would be quite upset if the *cough* tech *cough* did not return the GTX. Unfortunately, I too smell scam. Please get down there ASAP and get your card back if at all possible. Perhaps mentioning legal action may persuade him further......tho I don't know if that's even an option.
 
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Claudius-07

Member
Dec 4, 2009
187
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0
So really it's my fault. I got so sick and tired of reinstalling Windows on my dad's system, since every time he gets a "Britney Spears Naked.exe" email or "you just won $20,000.exe," my dad just clicks them. I told him, no more family tech support. At that point his system, crawling as it was, was destined to be brought to a "mom and pop" computer store.

I just got home from the store -- and when I was there, I asked for the 8800 GTX back. The tech reluctantly gave it back to me. He said he had placed it in the garbage, and it was in the back room. I watched him go, swing the door open and grab his knapsack and take my FREAKING 8800 GTX out of his bag!! F**& me!! He then informed me it was useless and broken and of no use.

Like I said, I just got home, plugged it into my older comp and it works and benches like a champ and a 380 Watt system. It's a wonderful card and I don't know what I was thinking even considering asking this forum if a 4550 was the same. However I do understand it's a world apart in regards to power consumption, or if you are using it for an HTPC/HDMI system. Then the 4550 wins hands down and I appreciate that.

My dad who is 72 and although not a "GAMER", plays Age of Empires, Civ and still manages to kick some ass on Unreal Tournament. I never thought the 8800 GTX was anything special, but I just plugged it back in his system and the games, I can honestly say, do work MUCH better/faster on that card than the 4550. However he is stuck with the original bill, and they still insist he pays for the $125 for the 4550 "upgrade". Hey anyone want a $125 4550???

Edit: honestly what is a 8800 GTX worth now on Ebay? can it be more than 100$??? I can't even imagine it
 
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S.K.A

S.K.A

Junior Member
May 7, 2010
21
0
66
At least you got your card back. That's the most important.

As for the bill, I don't think you can do anything about it.

On another note, I don't know what type of jackal that technician is. Going in the back room and taking a 8800GTX out of his own bag and lying in your face telling you it doesn't work.

Sheeesh, what a looser.
 
VirtualLarry

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Aug 25, 2001
56,545
10,171
126
Daedalus685 said:
Was this a large business or a small 'mom and pop' shop?

If it was a big store let us know who so we can avoid int eh future. Folks can't be allowed to get away with this kind of BS and expect business.

Not only is charging the prices they do exceedingly shady, but taking the gtx8800 (a card that would resale for more than a new 4550) is effectively theft at this point.
Click to expand...

Theft of/from a person (for something of value of more than $250) is a felony in this state. How much would that 8800GTX be worth?
 
HumblePie

HumblePie

Lifer
Oct 30, 2000
14,665
440
126
Umm, you do not have to pay the $125 upgrade. The diagnosis you are screwed on, but not the upgrade. However, I would point out that they did not do the correct job for what they were paid for on the original $100. If they are a member of the BBB you could take it up with them. If not, I would take his computer back and demand they either do what they were payed for, or you might just call a local news station about them fleecing customers.

Crap like this happens often. Sometimes there is recourse and sometimes not. You do NOT have to pay for that $125 video card though.

One last thing. I highly, highly HIGHLY suggest you do something like this.

Upgrade your dad's OS to Windows 7. Create an admin account for yourself, and a power user account for your father. Get a good free anti virus like avast and leave UAC on. Install everything he normally uses and let him just log into the account you set up. This will prevent 99% of the problems of his system getting screwed over by mal ware since he is unable to be a responsible computer user.

If you have access to sandboxie software then you can go that route and prevent 100% of the problems.
 
Daedalus685

Daedalus685

Golden Member
Nov 12, 2009
1,386
1
0
VirtualLarry said:
Theft of/from a person (for something of value of more than $250) is a felony in this state. How much would that 8800GTX be worth?
Click to expand...

Replacement value would be much less than 250, a new 9800gtx is probably the closest you would find these days at slightly under $100.

A used 8800GTX would generally sell for $60 on ebay as of a few weeks ago. Mind you new the thing would be upwards of $600 in early 2008 (edit: early 2007/late2006).
 
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B

bunit

Member
Apr 25, 2010
78
0
0
Seems like most of the people involved in tech/computer shops are straight up scammers/people who take advantage of common people who don't know much about computers and overcharge like a little bish.
 
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CurseTheSky

Diamond Member
Oct 21, 2006
5,401
2
0
Daedalus685 said:
Replacement value would be much less than 250, a new 9800gtx is probably the closest you would find these days at slightly under $100.

A used 8800GTX would generally sell for $60 on ebay as of a few weeks ago. Mind you new the thing would be upwards of $600 in late 2006 / early 2007.
Click to expand...

Fixed. Not that I'm trying to be picky, but I vividly remember dropping nearly $600 on the card when I built my previous system in November, 2006. :p
 
mrblotto

mrblotto

Golden Member
Jul 7, 2007
1,639
117
106
Glad you managed to get the card back. A shame you had to deal with the douchebag tech tho. Well, at least you know where NOT to go next time, eh?

/knowing is half the battle
/GI Joe!

Edit: I'm still rockin a SLI 8800GTX setup. It shows it age on the newer games, but it will still perform well given what it is.
 
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