Speed difference between 8800GTS 320 and 8800 Ultra?

[Owls]

Since I'm building my wife a new computer I have the option of giving her my 8800GTS and picking up a new one myself but I'm not sure if I should wait. How much of a difference is there between the two anyway?

 

[InflatableBuddha]

Not enough given the price tag. The Ultra costs about twice as much as the GTS 320MB, for 25% performance gain.

If you game at 1600x1200 or below, just keep the GTS for yourself and get something less beefy for your wife's comp. However, if you use higher resolutions, a 640MB GTS or a GTX would be good choices, and then you can "re-gift" your 320MB card.

 

[alcoholbob]

The Ultra is definitely ridiculously overpriced. In some games if you SLI'd the 320 (especially UT3, looks like massive SLI gains) you'd get better performance than the Ultra.

Depends on the resolutions too, so the 25% figure Buddha gave you is roughly the 1280x1024 with 4x AA/8x AF. It is probably somewhat higher if your settings are higher than that, though generally I don't run it with AA or AF, so the difference may be less.

Another thing to note, the drivers are a little old in that, so I don't know how the performance diff has scaled since then.

 

[superbooga]

Originally posted by: Astrallite
The Ultra is definitely ridiculously overpriced. In some games if you SLI'd the 320 (especially UT3, looks like massive SLI gains) you'd get better performance than the Ultra.

Depends on the resolutions too, so the 25% figure Buddha gave you is roughly the 1280x1024 with 4x AA/8x AF. It is probably somewhat higher if your settings are higher than that, though generally I don't run it with AA or AF, so the difference may be less.

Another thing to note, the drivers are a little old in that, so I don't know how the performance diff has scaled since then.

Sigh... look I own an 8800GTS-320 but I'm honest enough to tell you that the Ultra kicks the 320's butt, even at 1280x1024 4xAA/8xAF.

You are totally underestimating the performance gap. Of course, if you play games at 1024x768 all day, then the gap really isn't that big.

Here's the comparision at 1280x1024 4xAA/8xAF:
BF 2142: Ultra > 50% faster
Might and Magic: ~33% faster
Flight Sim X: Even, CPU bound
Oblivion (no AA): > 50% faster
Prey: > 40% faster
Warhammer: Even, CPU bound

 

[Munky]

Look at some benches in this article. There's a 63% average difference between the ultra and the gts320 at 1280x1024 resolution, and the gap grows to 78% at 1600x1200.

 

[Owls]

I play at 1600x1200 right now and I'm planning on getting a 24" widescreen when the new Dells hit the US. a 78% difference is pretty huge, I can't refute that.