I've been out of the loop...what's good nowdays and what's not?

[VigilanteCS]

Hi all. I've been out of the loop lately with what GPUs are good and what's not. I've searched through the forums for a thread highlighting all of the current gen cards and what's the best for each price range but I've had no luck. Could anybody highlight what's good and what's not from both nVidia and ATI? From what I gather

High end nVidia:
800GTX, Ultra

Semi-high end:
8800GTs

High end ATI:
2900XT


Past this I really know nothing. I have trouble finding any site that will just compare everything out there right now. Reading through threads on here I'm confused becuase people are saying the 8800GTS's aren't out yet and I've seen them out for almost a year now, etc.... Right now I'm really leaning toward this. It seems to trump the 8800GTX is most benchmarks and it's cheaper.

I'm going to be building a new computer for christmas so I can wait if new cards are coming out. I'm looking to build a new gaming PC and I'm willing to spend ~$400 on a nice DX10 video card (Going to use a C2Q, 2 gigs of ram and a nice mobo too). Thanks a lot guys, it's really appreciated!

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: VigilanteCS
Hi all. I've been out of the loop lately with what GPUs are good and what's not. I've searched through the forums for a thread highlighting all of the current gen cards and what's the best for each price range but I've had no luck. Could anybody highlight what's good and what's not from both nVidia and ATI? From what I gather

High end nVidia:
800GTX, Ultra

Semi-high end:
8800GTs

High end ATI:
2900XT


Past this I really know nothing. I have trouble finding any site that will just compare everything out there right now. Reading through threads on here I'm confused becuase people are saying the 8800GTS's aren't out yet and I've seen them out for almost a year now, etc.... Right now I'm really leaning toward this.

I'm going to be building a new computer for christmas so I can wait if new cards are coming out. I'm looking to build a new gaming PC and I'm willing to spend ~$400 on a nice DX10 video card (Going to use a C2Q, 2 gigs of ram and a nice mobo too). Thanks a lot guys, it's really appreciated!

ATI also has the Radeon HD 3870, which is pretty much as fast as the card you linked to for a lot less money. You can easily Crossfire two of those for the $400 you're looking to spend. Also, if you go with nVidia, just get the 8800GT and wait for the next graphics card refresh. The 8800GT is within 10% of the 8800GTX and within 10% of the Ultra if you overclock it a bit.

 

[s44]

The old 8800GTS was a stripped-down 8800GTX. The new 8800GTS will be a beefed up 8800GT, and probably the fastest card out there (at least in the rumored 1gig version).

After that, who knows? The next ATI high-end (currently the 3870 is faster than the 2900XT btw) is rumored to be two of the cores on the 3870 in one GPU, but who knows if it'll be more elegant than the 7950GX2. Nvidia has a new high-end soon too, which may or may not be a GX2 version of the GT core.

 

[VigilanteCS]

Thanks a lot for the response. What's the designation between the old GTS and the new GTS? Something in the name? So it goes Old GTS < New GT < New GTS < GTX?

The new 8800GT is faster than an old GTS...but much cheaper?

 

[s44]

The GT is supposed to be much cheaper, but supply problems have struck and you can't really get it anywhere. Supposed to ramp up in the next week or two though.

I believe the new GTS will have memory in 512 and 1024mb versions, so you'll easily be able to tell from that. It should also stomp the GTX, since the GT is within spitting distance already.

 

[VigilanteCS]

I guess it's confusing me cause the 8800GT is half the price of a GTX and almost outperforms it. I'm going to look into running dial 3870s or 8800GTs.

EDIT: Just looked at some 8800GT benchmarks and all I can say is damn!

 

[taltamir]

only cards worth buying at the moment are 8800GT and AMD 3870 / 3850.

Nothing else is even worth considering... if you need more power SLI / crossfire one of these... ultra and GTX are only a few single digit percent more powerful then a 8800GT

3870 is the most powerful AMD card available and it costs only 220$

 

[Denithor]

nVidia has not been kind with their decision to reuse the 8800 name for the new series of cards.

Here is the lineup of cards you can buy right now:

8800Ultra > 8800GTX > 8800GTS 640MB ~ 8800GT 512MB > 8800GTS 320MB

Or on the Radeon side:

2900XT ~ HD3870 > HD3850

In both cases the older generation cards (8800Ultra/GTX + 2900XT) are nearly matched by the newer generation of cards (8800GT/3870) at a much lower price point.

The 3870 is about 15-20% slower than the 8800GT but has a dual slot cooler and runs quieter with lower temps.

nVidia is expected to launch an updated 8800GTS (512MB for sure, rumored 1024MB also) based on the G92 chip used in the 8800GT cards (all 128 shaders enabled instead of 112 and faster stock speed). Rumor has it December 3 is the launch date for this card.

 

[VigilanteCS]

Cool. Thanks a lot for the help guys. Hopefully the new GTS will be out by the time I'm ready to order.

 

[taltamir]

Denithor made some mistakes... allow me to correct them:

8800Ultra > 8800GTX > 8800GT 512MB > 8800GTS 640MB > 8800GTS 320MB
HD3870 > 2900XT > HD3850

There is only one very specific example that doesn't occur in realistic examples where the 640MB GTS compares the the GT... otherwise it is about 5% slower... same for the 2900XT... for average AND most non average (1920x1200 for example is not average, but is certainly not one of those bizzare circumstances)...

I think the only time the 640MB GTS compares to the GT or even slightly passes it is when you SLI on a PCIEv1 board in 2560x1600 resolution (not 1920x1200 or below) on a few specific games.... Anything else the 640GTS falls short AND Costs 200$ more to boot.

 

[Mustanggt]

I read a review that had said Crossfire works with some games but not all like Crysis it yeilds no gain over one 3870 card?

 

[VigilanteCS]

I'm completely sold on the 8800GT. Looks like an amazing card. I may wait until the new GTS comes out to see how much it goes for, but I may just get a GT and spend the saved money on extra ram. Do you guys think it'd be worth it to buy two GTs and run them in SLI?

 

[taltamir]

Originally posted by: Mustanggt
I read a review that had said Crossfire works with some games but not all like Crysis it yeilds no gain over one 3870 card?

Xfire AND SLI don't work with some games... both will work well with crysis since it is a big production... but you will have to give it time...

For example. using 2x 8800GT
The crysis demo with 169.01 drivers didn't work with sli.
It worked and got a 25% FPS boost over one card with drivers 169.04 in the demo.
The final version with 169.09 gave a 40% boost over one card.
A patch is in the works claiming to greatly increase SLI in crysis...

But if the game is NOT the biggest talk of the year... if it is some no name game from some start up company from east europe then there is a good chance that SLI / Xfire will NEVER work in it. And that is another big reason to use a single card instead.

Originally posted by: VigilanteCS
I'm completely sold on the 8800GT. Looks like an amazing card. I may wait until the new GTS comes out to see how much it goes for, but I may just get a GT and spend the saved money on extra ram. Do you guys think it'd be worth it to buy two GTs and run them in SLI?

No, the only thing that the GT doesn't max out right now is crysis... If you have to get one GT now and upgrade to a geforce 9 in 6 monthes. (or better yet, a year)

 

[bryanW1995]

yes, if you're looking for ultra high end right now then 8800gt is single card is almost certainly the way to go. you could consider 8800gts 512 when it comes out (allegedly in mid dec) but be wary as nvidia has had incredible supply problems with 8800gt thus far. It's their own stupid fault, that card is a monster at a mousy price. I've seen VERY few people actually get their hands on one for under $250, with the going price currently closer to 275-300 depending on your version. 3870 is available at a much cheaper price (225 ish) but not everyone at that price is currently shipping, either. basically, you're probably best off looking around hard-core for deals, both here and on other sites like dell, outpost, newegg, td, etc, all the usual suspects, and actually best buy has had some really good deals, too. depending on what card you have now you might be best-served to hold onto that one for a week or two into 08 to see if prices/availability get more reasonable as demand slakes and supply has a chance to catch up.

one last note, beware of the new 8800gts 512, it appears to be just an 8800gt sc with 16 more sp's. if it is priced closer to $350 then you might actually be best-served by either keeping your old card until r680/g92 x2 come out in jan/feb or maybe settling for a cheapie 3850/8800gt 256 to tide you over until r700/g100 in mid08.

 

[tuteja1986]

8800U = Uber high end $550USD +

8800GTX = high end $490USD

8800GT = mid high end $270USD +

3870 = mid high end $219USD

3850 = mid range $179USD

 

[VigilanteCS]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
yes, if you're looking for ultra high end right now then 8800gt is single card is almost certainly the way to go. you could consider 8800gts 512 when it comes out (allegedly in mid dec) but be wary as nvidia has had incredible supply problems with 8800gt thus far. It's their own stupid fault, that card is a monster at a mousy price. I've seen VERY few people actually get their hands on one for under $250, with the going price currently closer to 275-300 depending on your version. 3870 is available at a much cheaper price (225 ish) but not everyone at that price is currently shipping, either. basically, you're probably best off looking around hard-core for deals, both here and on other sites like dell, outpost, newegg, td, etc, all the usual suspects, and actually best buy has had some really good deals, too. depending on what card you have now you might be best-served to hold onto that one for a week or two into 08 to see if prices/availability get more reasonable as demand slakes and supply has a chance to catch up.

one last note, beware of the new 8800gts 512, it appears to be just an 8800gt sc with 16 more sp's. if it is priced closer to $350 then you might actually be best-served by either keeping your old card until r680/g92 x2 come out in jan/feb or maybe settling for a cheapie 3850/8800gt 256 to tide you over until r700/g100 in mid08.

I'm actually building an entirely new PC. I'll probably be ordering the parts a few days after christmas. Right now I'm stuck with my laptop. I think I'm going to just try to find a single 8800GT and spend the leftover money on a better processor and more ram.