New graphics card needed - gonna go for 8800GT

terrett101

Member
Nov 21, 2007
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Hi guys,

So it looks like I'm being forced into getting a new video card because of the steady demise of my X1900 GT. I've mostly been looking at the 8800GTs, however when I do a comparison with some 3870s (which I've always considered to be slightly less powerful) they seem to win out on the specs. These are the two I'm looking at on newegg.com:

link

The 3870 has more stream processors than the 8800GT, and if the speeds are the same as another 3870 listed, then it also beats the 8800GT on core clock speed, with 775mhz to the slower 600mhz. It also has DDR4, while the 8800GT only has DDR3. They're both listed at $130, so I really don't know what I'm missing that makes the 8800GT so much better.

Any advice you can give would be very welcome, I want to make sure I make the right decision. Thanks!
 

bryanW1995

Lifer
May 22, 2007
11,144
32
91
the 8800gt is typically 15-20% faster than 3870 across a huge variety of benchmarks. however, that doesn't matter as you should wait until 4850 is release on june 26 before making a decision on a midrange gpu.
 

terrett101

Member
Nov 21, 2007
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Well that's what I thought, it's just weird how the specs don't suggest that difference in speed. It's gonna be tough holding out for late June, I'm missing my games, I might just go for a good deal now, depending what the entrance prices for 4850's are gonna be. I don't wanna spend any more than $150.
 

gigahertz20

Golden Member
Apr 30, 2007
1,118
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Originally posted by: terrett101
Hi guys,

So it looks like I'm being forced into getting a new video card because of the steady demise of my X1900 GT. I've mostly been looking at the 8800GTs, however when I do a comparison with some 3870s (which I've always considered to be slightly less powerful) they seem to win out on the specs. These are the two I'm looking at on newegg.com:

link

The 3870 has more stream processors than the 8800GT, and if the speeds are the same as another 3870 listed, then it also beats the 8800GT on core clock speed, with 775mhz to the slower 600mhz. It also has DDR4, while the 8800GT only has DDR3. They're both listed at $130, so I really don't know what I'm missing that makes the 8800GT so much better.

Any advice you can give would be very welcome, I want to make sure I make the right decision. Thanks!

Your post is a textbook case of how your average consumer buys a video card/processor/new computer. Oh, the specs on this look better, it must be better....right?.....wrong. I can't blame you though, it's not like we all read reviews, benchmarks, or research products before we buy.

Anyways, if I were you I would go for a 8800GT as it pretty much is faster then the 3870 in every category. The prices are already pretty low, but they may even drop farther when the new Nvidia video cards come out. You might just want to hang on and see.

But if you wanted to buy right now, I would go with a 9600GT or 8800GT, depending on which one you can find cheaper.

Here's a link to a Evga 9600GT for $150, $140 after $10 rebeate. Very good card for the money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...ards-_-EVGA-_-14130334


Benchmarks
NVIDIA GeForce 9600 GT vs. ATI Radeon HD 3870
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3235&p=2



For a great guide for the best video cards for the money, go to the below link, tomshardware releases a new article every month that gives recommendations for the best video cards for the money.

The best video cards for the $150 segment in June was a tie between the 9600GT and 3870. Best video card for $170 was the 8800GT.

http://www.tomshardware.com/re...hics-cards,1942-3.html


If you want to spend a little more, the 8800GT is amazing for the price. This is what tomshardware said,

"The 8800 GT offers incredible Geforce 8800 GTX-class performance at almost half the price. It beats both the Radeon 3870 and Geforce 9600 GT by a notable margin, and only costs a few dollars more. As far as raw performance goes, if you have $175 to spend on a graphics card, you couldn?t do better than a nice 8800 GT. The reference 8800 GT has a single slot cooler, however, and there are those who prefer spending more for the dual-slot cooler on the GTS 512 MB model."





 

bryanW1995

Lifer
May 22, 2007
11,144
32
91
that gigabyte 8800gt for $123 AR is just stupid. I'm tempted to get that so that my mom can, um, view flash from her emails better...yeah, that's what I'll tell her...
 

terrett101

Member
Nov 21, 2007
187
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Thanks for your reply gigahertz20, I certainly do refer to as many bencharks and articles etc befor ebuying, which is why I knew the 8800GT was always faster. I suppose I was trying to see if there was any explanation for why its specs were good, but performance is not. I'm pretty sold on the 8800GT now though, as I mostly have been the entire time.

In regards to that Gigabyte model, I had noticed that, but I'm concerned with it only having 256MB, rather than 512. Although it does come with NWN2, a game I wouldn't mind having, spending $7 more for 512 seems a much smarter move to future proof my system as much as possible.
 
Apr 20, 2008
10,067
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Terrett, i would wait to see the 4850's release. That card might blow the CRAP out of all the cards out today. For a modest $200, this card could become "THE CARD."
 

terrett101

Member
Nov 21, 2007
187
0
0
Okay, so clearly the 8800GT is the best option. I've read up on the upcoming releases, but I'm not prepared to spend approx. $200 for a new card, when I'm seeing 8800GT's which will more than meet my needs at $130. And although it will cause a slight price drop, this won't be noticed for at least a few weeks, if not longer, and I really do need a new one now.

So these are the ones I've found that seem best newegg. All are priced at $130, and aside from different original prices and shipping costs there doesn't seem to be much between them. if any of you have any of these cards and can let me know what you think, that would be appreciated. I know ASUS and XFX are pretty established so my leaning is towards them, I'm not sure who ECS are, and they only have a few reviews for that card. Let me know what you think.
 

s44

Diamond Member
Oct 13, 2006
9,427
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XFX has the better (double lifetime) warranty, but the Asus is slightly cheaper (free shipping)... I'd get either of these because the stock cooler (on the ECS) is either loud or inadequate, depending on how you set it.