Looking to upgrade from a 7600 GT

[toronado97]

I realize there's probably been a million of these posts, but I looked through quite a few and none really answered my questions, so here goes.

First off, I game at 1680x1050. The game I play most is WoW, however I do plan on picking up Age of Conan and Warhammer online as well. I am not limited to MMO's and do play other games quite a bit (mostly RTS and FPS) however Crisis isn't a huge concern of mine. I am on a budget, so the cheaper the better, which leads me to my main question.

I've been comparing the 9600 GT and the 8800 GT for almost a week and I can't come to a conclusion on which to get. The 9600 is going to run me around 50 dollars less at Newegg which is a huge consideration for me, but I want to get the best bang for the buck and be somewhat future proofed. (ie, I don't want to get a 9600 because it's cheaper, but it not have the longevity of the 8800 GT because I only upgrade once a year or so.)

On another note, I plan on upgrading my GF's computer as well. Her specs are the same as mine, she mostly plays WoW, but the big difference is she is using a Dell desktop, and I'm kind of leery of her PSU (320 watts). Could it push an 8800 GT or should I be safe and just get the 9600?

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

If you just upgrade every year or so,a 9600GT will more than likely be plenty enough.

And as for your GF's box,i'd hate to burst your bubble,but a 9600GT or even a 8800GT on a 320W PSU is very bad idea,she'll need a new PSU definitely,but fear not! For the Antec Earthwatts 430W PSU is only $50 on the egg,and has plenty of juice for even a 8800GT (Probably for the 512MB G92 GTS aswell) unless she wants to be stuck with the 8600's,HD 2600's and HD 3650.

 

[TC91]

i doubt a 320w psu will have enough juice to drive an 8800gt or even a 9600gt sufficiently like IL2SturmovikPilot said; it might work, but its better to be safe then sorry. the antec earthwatts psu's are very reliable and efficient units and i also think either the 430w or 500w would be a good psu for your GF's computer. for your computer, since you dont upgrade too often, the 9600gt should be fine imo, especially if its 50bucks less. the 9600gt is a very powerful card and it should fly thru WOW easily.

 

[Denithor]

Actually the OEM powersupplies used in Dell boxes are pretty strong for their ratings. Should be fine for a 9600GT, might be pushing it for an 8800GT though.

If you look at my sig you will see that my system is pretty similar to yours but I have a slightly faster OC on my e6400 and a nice shiny new 9600GT. This thing runs WoW great at 1600x1200 @ 8xAA even in the large cities (on a crowded server no less).

Take a look at either the 8800GS or the 9600GT, either of these will be more than adequate for you for WoW @ 1680x1050. The 9600GT costs a bit more but should receive more frequent driver updates going forward so it may be slightly better in the long run.

 

[toronado97]

Thanks for the replies all, good food for thought. Regarding upgrading the PS in my GF's box, the only thing keeping me from doing that is I think it has to have a special sized PS specifically for a Dell desktop, or I would have to mod one to fit. At least, I think I read somewhere that they don't use a standard PS form factor in there.

Everyone seems to say 9600 GT, paying the extra cash for the 8800 GT wouldn't be a problem for me, but are the gains so small that it's not worth it at this point? In reading the forums here it sounds as if the 8800 GT might be better futureproofing than the 9600 GT is right now.

 

[happy medium]

psu for Dell ..100.00$


https://shop.pcpower.com/power...silencer-470-dell.html

 

[Lithan]

I thought dell PSU's were no longer proprietary?

Desktop models... wow didnt even think they still made those. Maybe those ones are.

 

[happy medium]

Its the motherboard as far as I know. The connector.

 

[Lithan]

Yeah I know dell used to reverse atx connector on mobos and PSU's, but I THOUGHT they stopped doing it a few years back... maybe not tho.

 

[s44]

Don't worry about the Dell PSU -- it's rated very very conservatively. I believe the +12V rail is pretty big.

 

[toronado97]

Alright that's good to know s44. I would honestly rather just build her a new rig with mobo/case and reuse her E6400 than spend 100 dollars on a 470 watt PSU. Granted PC P&C is a good brand, but for what she uses it for, a silent PSU isn't worth that kind of money. So general consensus is go 9600 GT and then in a year or so find the next good midrange card to upgrade to? Or would the 8800 GT give me more longevity/performance for the buck atm?

 

[soonerproud]

Originally posted by: toronado97
Alright that's good to know s44. I would honestly rather just build her a new rig with mobo/case and reuse her E6400 than spend 100 dollars on a 470 watt PSU. Granted PC P&C is a good brand, but for what she uses it for, a silent PSU isn't worth that kind of money. So general consensus is go 9600 GT and then in a year or so find the next good midrange card to upgrade to? Or would the 8800 GT give me more longevity/performance for the buck atm?

With the type of games you play, both would be great cards to buy. If cash is tight the 9600GT is a perfect balance between performance and value. It is about twice as powerful as the card it replaces. (The 8600GT) If paying the $50 is not an issue, of course the 8800GT is the better long term choice. It really is up to you to determine if the $50 is worth it considering the games you play and how long you plan to keep the card.

Personally, I chose the 9600GT because the performance is not that far behind the 8800GT. This card plays WoW at 1280 X 1024 at 8X multisampling with all the eye candy turned up. I average 50 FPS in Shattrath where my 7600GT would only do about 35 @ 1X multisampling.

 

[toronado97]

Sounds like the 9600 GT is the way to go then. My only concern is how it will handle games like Starcraft 2, Fallout 3, etc as these are games I'm very interested in picking up, along with Age of Conan and Warhammer Age of Reckoning.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: toronado97
Dell desktop, and I'm kind of leery of her PSU (320 watts). Could it push an 8800 GT or should I be safe and just get the 9600?

How about taking a peek in there and seeing what the label says on that Dell PSU? Let us know the brand (Delta? Bestec?) and the +12v amperage.

 

[toronado97]

Couldn't find a brand name anywhere on the PSU, but it looks like it has 2 12V rails both at 18.0A.

 

[jmmtn4aj]

Could be a single rail actual at around 30amps, which would be more than the combined power output of all the rails as rated, but then like someone said, it's conservative. Did JonnyGuru ever do a test on those PSUs?

And in reply to another post, yeah Dell stopped doing it IIRC, some models support standard ATX PSUs, perhaps the OP's GF's Dell is just an older model..

 

[Lithan]

Is it UL listed... if so what's the code?

 

[Pabster]

I don't think there's a better deal out there right now price/performance than a 9600GT.