nVidia GeForce II GTS or Pro?

[Sunny129]

i've been noticing that the price difference between the video cards with these two GPUs is not a big one. is the actual performance difference worth the extra $, or would a be better off saving a few $? and also, i noticed that Guillemot attaches the fan/heatsink to their Hercules 3D Prophet II GTS Pro boards using two clips and a non-adhesive thermal pad. does ASUS, Visiontek, and other GF2-based cards also attach their cooling device the same way? if i get one, i plan on using arctic silver if the contact area still makes contact without the thermal pad. thanks guys...

 

[JayPatel]

no creative uses this thick Glue junk to attach their sinks.....nasty contact as well....

 

[Sunny129]

so does anyone else have any info or opinions on the price and performance difference between the GTS and the Pro?

 

[Biggs]

Wait for the NV20, it's near.

 

[Sunny129]

the NV20 will also cost me an arm and a leg. i'm looking to spend $300 max. i know i can get either a GTS or a Pro for that amount of money or less...i just want some info and opinions on these two chips to be specific. these are what i'm looking at and these are what i intend to buy while the price is right.

 

[Biggs]

Well, just get a Pro and overclock it to have performance near the Ultra level. Taking into consideration that the price difference is substantial.

 

[Sunny129]

ok i just went to a few websites after running a search @ pricewatch.com, and i've already came across two places that sell the Pro for $10-20 less than the GTS? how and why is this? i thought the Pro was supposed to be the middle of the road between the GTS and the Ultra in both price and performance?

 

[InsaneMorphius]

I have had both the GTS and the GTS Pro. My take on it is, the Pro is nice and can overclock to ultra levels, but... The ultra is only a few dollars more and can also overclock to insane levels. That would be my reccommendation, get an ultra. Either that or wait for the NV20.

Morph

 

[Sunner]

Cant say about the other manufacturers, but all the Asus cards I've owned have had the heatsinks attached with real thermal compound.

 

[Gringo]

Sunny129,

Where did you find really good deals on the PRO? i havnt seen anything cheaper than 275/shipped, and yeah, im sure you can pay more for a GTS if you looked hard enough

Im gunning for a PRO when it drops a few $$ more; like the performance it gets, and its OC'ability. I personally cant justify the cost of an Ultra at the moment; that may change over the next week or two (doubt it, prices on the U's are flat, or even going up in some cases). And, yeah, i cant handle the NV20's when they come out. I feel the PRO will take me another 2 gens of games (certainly well into Tribes2 territory)...

G.

 

[Smbu]

There are some ppl selling Ultras in the FS/T forum for pretty cheap. I think the lowest price I've seen is about $320.

 

[DarkMajiq]

I qould say go with the Pro, its performance advantage over the GTS far outweighs the small price difference.

 

[Sunny129]

beloved patriot, $275 is what i meant when i said less than $300. i found two places on pricewatch currently selling the GTS Pro for $275, one of which will ship it free of charge, but i have to look into it more. As far as the former model, the GTS, i found it listed @ $305 at the same website the sells the GTS Pro for $275. doesnt that seem starnge to anyone? anyways, i'm really thinking about the Pro. now all i have to decide on is the brand. i hear great things about Hercules and Elsa. I also hear that ASUS makes a good card using the GTS and GTS Pro chip.

Sunner, the idea of having a contact area fitted with thermal compound only is a big turn on. i really like the Hercules 3D Prophet II GTS Pro...the only problem is that non-adhesive thermal pad they use between the chip and the heatsink. i would really like to do away with the thermal pad and just substitute some arctic silver in its place, but i have this feeling that the absence of that thermal pad will leave a gap that cant be filled by compound alone. what is your performance take on the ASUS cards you've used in comparison to some of the other top cards such as Hercules?