8800gts- 320 or 640 for 16X12??

[Zardnok]

I am in the process of planning a new rig and have been waiting for the April price drops and the coming 8600 cards. Unfotunately, my BFG 7600gt is not holding up well in Vanguard, so I think I am going to go ahead and pull the trigger on the video card at least. My monitor is a Viewsonic PF815, 21" CRT, that I run in 1600X1200 mode, my current CPU is an A64 3800+ with very mild OC, and I have 4X512mb RAM.

My question is, playing Vanguard and Everquest, do I need the 640mb card to play in 16X12 mode? My 7600gt has all eye candy turned down/off in VG and I can tell problems when moving through crowded areas or areas with lots of graphics intensive computations. The eye candy is less important to me than smooth frame-rates, but at the same time if I am going to fork over the cash, I want to get the best overall performance.

Is there possibly some other card I should pick up other than an 8800gts at this time in the sub $300 range? The $100 price difference between the 320 and 640 cards will likely mean the difference between a C2D 4300 or C2D 6400 later on or perhaps better quality memory or perhaps the difference between an S3 mobo vs a DS3 mobo.

PS I stink at rebates! I have never actually followed through, so please discount rebates in any suggestions.

PPS Should I just bite the bullet now and retire my old rig to alt-box status and build my new C2D rig before the April price drops?

 

[chizow]

16x12 is where the 320MB starts to hit the wall. In most games you can still run AA, but for the most part 1600+ resolutions you need to turn off AA to get similar performance to the 640MB version. The difference is pretty extreme, within 5-10% with AA off but when you turn on AA and the 320MB starts hitting the paging file you can see 50-100% penalties in frames.

I would hold off on your platform upgrade until the price drops, that rig is more than enough to drive a GTS at 16x12. Also, don't spend much more on "good" RAM, the difference in price between DDR2-800 and DDR2-1000+ isn't worth it and won't affect your total OC (depending on board/BIOS ofc). You won't find a better performing card for the price right now though than the 320MB GTS, but if you can spring for the 640MB it might be worth it in Vanguard (EQ1/2 should be fine on the 320MB).

 

[DoctorTran]

16x12 is where the 320MB starts to hit the wall.

I'd have to disagree. I have both a 640MB and 320MB card, both running on 1680x1050 monitors (just short of 16*12) and I rarely notice a difference between the two. 95% of the time they run at the exact same settings, and the other 5% I might just have to run MSAA over SSAA to keep things nice and smooth.

So for today I say the 320MB card is plenty powerful. But as for DX10 your guess is as good as mine.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: DoctorTran

16x12 is where the 320MB starts to hit the wall.

I'd have to disagree. I have both a 640MB and 320MB card, both running on 1680x1050 monitors (just short of 16*12) and I rarely notice a difference between the two. 95% of the time they run at the exact same settings, and the other 5% I might just have to run MSAA over SSAA to keep things nice and smooth.

So for today I say the 320MB card is plenty powerful. But as for DX10 your guess is as good as mine.

Your experience isn't different from what I wrote. Without rehashing the hundreds of reviews on the 320MB GTS from a month ago, 1600 x 1200 is where the 320MB starts to hit the wall. When looking at a suite of 6-10 games, it has more staying power in some than in others. One game I clearly remembering the 320MB taking massive frame rate penalties early was BF2142 at 16x12. At 1280 and probably even 1680, it runs within 5-10% of a 640MB. But hey if the OP only plays the games you play he should be fine. :thumbsup:

 

[Zardnok]

It is comments like "starts to hit the wall" that is pushing me towards the 640.

ClubIT has almost everything I am looking at purchasing on sale right now, SO...

 

[Skott]

I think in your case price will be determining factor. If you cant or dont want to pay for the 8800GTS 640Mb version then the 320Mb version is the next best choice at this time.

Here's a suggestion and I'm not sure its possible but maybe look into the eVGA card and see if they let you later step up to the 8800GTS 640mb version from the 320Mb version within the 90 day Step Up program. If so, then you have the option to get the better card if you arent happy with the first choice. Something to look into anyway.