8800gt 640 superclocked or 8800gts 512?

[zCypher]

Which card is better? 8800GT 640MB superclocked or 8800GTS 512MB?

things in favor of 8800GT 640: 320-bit, 640MB, a little cheaper in price
things in favor of 8800GTS 512: 128 stream processors, 64/64 texture address/filtering, 650MHz core, 1.625GHz shader, 1.94GHz memory, 65nm

Do the 320-bit and 640MB of the 8800GT contribute to anything worthy of consideration in comparison to the 8800GTS 512?

I'm going to assume the 8800GTS 512 should be somewhat better but if there's a reason I should think otherwise please let me know!

Last question ... does the 8800GTS 512 kill the 3870? People have said the 3870 has higher quality, is this true or is the difference negligible?

Thanks in advance!

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: zCypher
Which card is better? 8800GT 640MB superclocked or 8800GTS 512MB?

things in favor of 8800GT 640: 320-bit, 640MB, a little cheaper in price
things in favor of 8800GTS 512: 128 stream processors, 64/64 texture address/filtering, 650MHz core, 1.625GHz shader, 1.94GHz memory, 65nm

Do the 320-bit and 640MB of the 8800GT contribute to anything worthy of consideration in comparison to the 8800GTS 512?

I'm going to assume the 8800GTS 512 should be somewhat better but if there's a reason I should think otherwise please let me know!

Last question ... does the 8800GTS 512 kill the 3870? People have said the 3870 has higher quality, is this true or is the difference negligible?

Thanks in advance!

FiringSquad 8800GTS 640MB SSC Review

I'm guessing you meant 640MB GTS, as there are no 640MB GT. The above review shows the GTS performs favorably when compared to a stock 8800GT (or even GTX) when run at similar clock speeds. Keep in mind, the card reviewed is the 112SP "updated" G80 GTS core run at 576MHz (stock G80 GTS was 513MHz 96SP).

There's also a few more good reviews there, including 8800GTS 512MB Review and Comparison. The important thing to take away from this review is that an 8800GT and 8800GTS 512MB perform nearly identically when run at the same clock speeds (compare the 678MHz and 680MHz GT/GTS). However, the GTS 512MB starts stock at 650MHz and has been known to OC higher than the GT due to the better cooler and possible PCB and BIOS enhancements (speculation). Same holds true when you compare to the G80 GTS 640MB, as you'll most likely get a better OC and performance increase with the 512MB GTS than you would with a 640MB GTS.

In summary, I'd go with a 512MB GTS over a 640MB GTS. A 512MB GTS over a 512MB GT or 3870 is a much harder decision though, since you'll be paying significantly more for similar performance at the same clock speeds. The difference would then be max overclocking headroom, which the GTS 512MB offers. Whether its worth the price premium or not is difficult to say. Don't worry about IQ differences between ATI and NV, anyone who tells you otherwise is still living in 2003.

 

[chizow]

Oh one other thing of note, the 512MB vs. 640MB frame buffer might come into play at higher resolutions with AA enabled. Its part of what keeps the 640MB GTS close to the stock 8800GT in those FiringSquad reviews. Its also very noticeable in more recent reviews done (check the latest 3870X2 review for instance) where the 512MB 8800GTS suffers a much greater performance hit than the 768MB 8800GTX when AA is enabled. Might also be a bandwidth limitation, but the 640MB GTS also has the advantage there compared to the 512MB GTS. Problem is playing with AA enabled is less of an issue with current games and higher resolutions simply because it doesn't allow for playable framerates, so it might not be an issue at all for you.

 

[Munky]

The 8800gts 512MB is on average 40% faster than the old gts, so it's well worth the extra cost. There are a few cases at extremely high resolutions where the old 640MB gts is faster, but at those settings neither card can break 20fps, so that point is hardly worth consideration.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: munky
The 8800gts 512MB is on average 40% faster than the old gts, so it's well worth the extra cost. There are a few cases at extremely high resolutions where the old 640MB gts is faster, but at those settings neither card can break 20fps, so that point is hardly worth consideration.

It might be 40% faster against a stock GTS (513MHz) but its nowhere close to that against the reviewed 576MHz GTS. G80 scales better than G92 clock-for-clock, and although G92 OC's higher, it scales much worst for whatever reason (bandwidth, fewer ROPs whatever).