Semi-budget nVidia GPU

[zrush]

I've read the benchmarks and unless I'm reading something wrong it seems the 9600 and the 8800 are practically the same. So, which one out of these cards do you guys recommend? (prices shown are after rebate)

EVGA 8800 GTS ($150)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130317

EVGA 8800 GT ($145)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130319

Zotac 8800 GT ($150)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814500006

XFX 9600 GT ($115)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814150304

Chaintech 9600 GT ($115)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814145152

Best price/performance ratio? I'm not going to be running Crysis, and I don't need all the eye candy turned up to max.

 

[Zap]

I'd get the 8800 GTS 512MB, which is not on your list. The reason is that it isn't much more, but you get around twice the stream processors versus the 9600 GT, plus higher clocks, plus better fansink.

price sorted list at Newegg

Note that while the BFG card is $5 more than the cheapest card (MSI, both after rebate) it has free shipping while the cheaper one has $9 shipping, putting it $4 more. $160 shipped after rebate is a good price for a G92 8800 GTS.

If you had to go off your list, the Zotac would be the fastest card.

(standard disclaimers apply)

 

[bob4432]

why not look at any of the ati cards?

 

[vgkarthik88]

are you very specifc about NV? checking the red side will give u more choice. my main worry is always getting older gen cards. u will have to upgrade sooner rather than later. get a 4850 and u can hang on to it a lot longer.

 

[zrush]

I'm going intel, so I figure I'll go nVidia.

Originally posted by: Zap
I'd get the 8800 GTS 512MB, which is not on your list. The reason is that it isn't much more, but you get around twice the stream processors versus the 9600 GT, plus higher clocks, plus better fansink.

price sorted list at Newegg

Note that while the BFG card is $5 more than the cheapest card (MSI, both after rebate) it has free shipping while the cheaper one has $9 shipping, putting it $4 more. $160 shipped after rebate is a good price for a G92 8800 GTS.

If you had to go off your list, the Zotac would be the fastest card.

(standard disclaimers apply)

I saw that BFG card, but the EVGA GTS I listed has more memory and is 320-bit. Does the core clock make that much more of a difference?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

man, those 8800GT (92)'s are really good gpu's

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I'd go with the EVGA 8800 GT

 

[SSChevy2001]

Go with a 8800GTS 512 and clock it to 9800 GTX speeds or go the ATI 4850. Both are great cards though, the 4850 will handle AA better.

 

[SneakyStuff]

BFG 8800GTS (G92) Not a bad deal if you want an nvidia card.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: zrush
I'm going intel, so I figure I'll go nVidia.

it is your money but how does this make sense? intel offers crossfire capable boards - you can't run nvidia sli unless you go skulltrain...but to each their own

 

[natty1]

ATI doesn't make a good card in the price range he's looking at

my choice would be that zotac 8800GT for $150, it's a good price and you don't have to hassle with rebates

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Originally posted by: natty1
ATI doesn't make a good card in the price range he's looking at

my choice would be that zotac 8800GT for $150, it's a good price and you don't have to hassle with rebates

if he's willing to hassle with rebates (and he is considering his links) then ATI does offer a 4850 on the higher end and the 3870s and 50s can be found just as cheap or cheaper than those on the lower end of his list.

 

[Mr Fox]

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: zrush
I'm going intel, so I figure I'll go nVidia.

it is your money but how does this make sense? intel offers crossfire capable boards - you can't run nvidia sli unless you go skulltrain...but to each their own

You might want to first ask the QUESTION

"What Monitor Size/Resolution are you going to use it on ????"

You are making an Assumption that he was going Multi-GPU......

 

[zrush]

Right. I probably should have mentioned that. The desktop resolution I'll be running is 1680x1050 (DVI), but I expect to play games at a lower widescreen resolution. I won't be going Multi-GPU.

 

[Extelleron]

This: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814121253

Is better than all of those options you posted (performance-wise & by price). Especially avoid that eVGA 8800GTS.... that is a G80 model, it does have 112 SPs but it is still slower than the 8800GT most of the time.

There is no reason to only consider one brand. As for going Intel having anything to do with going nVidia.... Intel and nVidia might as well be enemies at this point. Intel & ATI work much more closely together than Intel and nVidia do.

 

[zrush]

I thought that since AMD acquired ATI, that makes them and Intel enemies. Intel and nVidia are enemies??

As for the card you posted, I'm going Asus for the motherboard, so it would be nice to go with them as well for the gpu. Question: how the hell can it have 800 SPs when the equivilent geforce cards have only around 128?

 

[Mana]

Intel and AMD do compete, but Intel and AMD are mature enough to realize that working together on videocards is a good thing for both of them. As well, it's not publicized very much but Intel and AMD work together on certain things in the x86 space.

 

[Martimus]

Originally posted by: zrush
Question: how the hell can it have 800 SPs when the equivilent geforce cards have only around 128?

This gives a pretty good explanation about why the HD48xx series can have 800 SP's and the geForce card have much less. Anandtech article.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: zrush
I thought that since AMD acquired ATI, that makes them and Intel enemies. Intel and nVidia are enemies??

As for the card you posted, I'm going Asus for the motherboard, so it would be nice to go with them as well for the gpu. Question: how the hell can it have 800 SPs when the equivilent geforce cards have only around 128?

It's not like having components from competing companies will cause crashes or anything. Just because Intel and AMD compete in the CPU arena while Nvidia and ATI compete in the GPU arena doesn't mean Intel and Nvidia have any particular love for one another.

 

[bob4432]

Originally posted by: Mr Fox

Originally posted by: bob4432

Originally posted by: zrush
I'm going intel, so I figure I'll go nVidia.

it is your money but how does this make sense? intel offers crossfire capable boards - you can't run nvidia sli unless you go skulltrain...but to each their own

You might want to first ask the QUESTION

"What Monitor Size/Resolution are you going to use it on ????"

You are making an Assumption that he was going Multi-GPU......

my retort made as much sense as the op's statement of "I'm going intel, so I figure I'll go nVidia.", like skulltrain is a valid option for 99% of us other than reviewers who don't have to pay for their products or some type of engineer/modeler.

on a serious note, op - have a look at the ati 3850/3870 or 4850 cards. the 38xx cards, being a bit more mature than the 48xx now offer cards w/ better cooling than the stock heatsinks of the reference designs, thus 38xx cards from asus run extremely cool compared to a reference design card. the 48xx cards are so new that it seems nobody has put out a card w/ a better than stock reference design cooling and i don't think even a aftermarket cooler is an option. you will howerver, get a much better bang for buck if you can wait a bit for the 48xx cards to 1 - get a bit better bios, 2 - ati to fix a couple issues w/ their software and 3 - better heatsinks, as the cards run extremely hot - like 60-70C+ @ idle and 90C+ @ load. this will be fixed soon, but it appears these cards were a bit rushed so a bit of patience will be rewarded. plus usually w/ a coupon or rebate you can pick up a 4850 for ~$150-$160AR.

the last item i will touch on is brand loyalty - don't worry about it. the cards are made to specs, so a asus or visiontech or whoever's card will perform the same (unless you get one that is a o/c model) in the same motherboard, so you don't have to get an asus m/b & gpu, if you find a better m/b from a different company, then there is no reason not to get it. i always so to be loyal to your wallet as electronic equipment, especially computers lose their value faster than a new car.