Step up from 8800 Ultra to 9800 GX2?

[terencek]

Hello All

I've been on the eVGA site as well looking for some insight on this.

I have the 8800 Ultra and qualify for eVGA's extended 120-day Step Up to the 9800 GX2 promo. Some downsides of the 9800 GX2 are the bus width and the lower memory. I know that they are both times 2, but some of the discussions on eVGA are that playing some games aren't able to access the second 512MB of memory, or the bus width...Are these driver limitations or something within the game?

The Ultra has been AWESOME since the day I got it, and this deal is good as long as the 9800 GX2 is a better card. So, my question to everyone is: What are your thoughts on the pros and cons of this deal?

I read so much of both on eVGA that I wanted to ask another group of enthusiast.

Thank you all in advance

 

[imported_wired247]

Keep the ultra for a while longer. It's pretty close in performance, I think you might be disappointed.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Originally posted by: wired247
Keep the ultra for a while longer. It's pretty close in performance, I think you might be disappointed.

agreed

 

[lopri]

Well but the question is.. Can you get the difference in money back when stepping up? I assume that you paid quite a bit for the Ultra. I mean if you can get $300+ back and have a 9800 GTX for returning your 8800 Ultra, then it's worththile, IMO.

 

[surfsatwerk]

Originally posted by: lopri
Well but the question is.. Can you get the difference in money back when stepping up? I assume that you paid quite a bit for the Ultra. I mean if you can get $300+ back and have a 9800 GTX for returning your 8800 Ultra, then it's worththile, IMO.

I can't find the thread, but a mod on the EVGA forums answered this by saying you can "step-down" but you will still have to pay shipping and no refund on the difference in price.

 

[terencek]

No, I wouldn't get a refund for anything.

Actually, remember when Dell was offering that MSI OC'd 8800GT? Well, I ordered 2 of them and when I called to inquire as to why they weren't shipping 5 days after they said the cards would ship, they offered a consolation of the next card coming out. During our conversation, he cancelled my 8800GT order which screwed me out of "the next card coming out" deal. He gave me an eVGA 8800 Ultra for $450, but I had to pay $700, then he gave me a refund. Good deal in hindsight.

Just from the benchmarks that I've seen so far, the 9800 GX2 is better than the Ultra in most games, but how reliable are all benchmarks. I've read that some people live by them and others think they're a joke....

 

[terencek]

I can't believe no one else has no input on this question! (Thank you for the few that did respond)



I thought that other people would have the same question and want to get more input...

 

[error8]

I wouldn't do it if I were you. Is not that much faster.

 

[terencek]

Originally posted by: error8
I wouldn't do it if I were you. Is not that much faster.

Actually, on that comment, I had a separate question...If I kept the Ultra and decided to get another when the prices drop, would the Power Supply in my sig (PCP&P) be able to power 2 Ultras?

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: terencek

Originally posted by: error8
I wouldn't do it if I were you. Is not that much faster.

Actually, on that comment, I had a separate question...If I kept the Ultra and decided to get another when the prices drop, would the Power Supply in my sig (PCP&P) be able to power 2 Ultras?

Yes, I think is enough for two ultras. And yes, those would be better spent money then this step up, but only if you could find a cheap ultra indeed. But I don't think there will be a cheap one ever, since it costs so much to make them.

 

[terencek]

Originally posted by: error8

Originally posted by: terencek

Originally posted by: error8
I wouldn't do it if I were you. Is not that much faster.

Actually, on that comment, I had a separate question...If I kept the Ultra and decided to get another when the prices drop, would the Power Supply in my sig (PCP&P) be able to power 2 Ultras?

Yes, I think is enough for two ultras. And yes, those would be better spent money then this step up, but only if you could find a cheap ultra indeed. But I don't think there will be a cheap one ever, since it costs so much to make them.

I really ask about the power supply because on SLI Zone.com the lowest PCP&P psu that they certify for 2 Ultras is the Turbo Cool 860W psu. I know they certify these for SLI, but I don't want to spend $260+ just to have a SLI certified psu.

 

[Denithor]

At your gaming resolution (1920x1200) you are likely to see about a 50% increase in performance going from a single Ultra to the GX2.

Top end cards in Crysis 1920x1200

I don't think you will find low prices on 8800 Ultras. IIRC they are out of production already so any left on websites are just excess inventory. If the prices haven't fallen already they aren't likely to in the future. Now if you can find another Ultra to run in SLI that setup would definitely be faster than the GX2.

How much is the step up going to cost? A different option would be to sell the Ultra and buy two 8800GT/8800GTS cards to run in SLI. A quick check shows 8800 Ultras selling on eBay for $350-450 so you could probably upgrade your performance significantly (2x8800GTS for $460 would destroy the performance of the Ultra and even exceed the GX2 by a bit) for around $100.

 

[Tempered81]

keep the ultra,

get another, or sell for gt200 \ rv770

for ultra sli, do you have 2 8pin and 2 6pin pcie connectors on your pcp+p

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: jaredpace
keep the ultra,

get another, or sell for gt200 \ rv770

for ultra sli, do you have 2 8pin and 2 6pin pcie connectors on your pcp+p

8800 ultra uses only two 6 pin pcie connectors.

 

[Rubycon]

Definitely keep the Ultra!

I have a 3870x2 and am ready to go back to the 8800U because the 3870x2 is pitiful in NFS Street Pro. :|

 

[Tempered81]

Originally posted by: error8

Originally posted by: jaredpace
keep the ultra,

get another, or sell for gt200 \ rv770

for ultra sli, do you have 2 8pin and 2 6pin pcie connectors on your pcp+p

8800 ultra uses only two 6 pin pcie connectors.

so ummm....

do you have 4 6 pin pcie connectors on your pcp+p

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Definitely keep the Ultra!

I have a 3870x2 and am ready to go back to the 8800U because the 3870x2 is pitiful in NFS Street Pro. :|

The 8800 GT I have also runs NFS pro street horrible, is unplayable actually. The game is coded like cra*. Electronic Arts should be ashamed of their work.

 

[Jephph]

Keep your Ultra. You won't see nearly 50% performance increase in most games at most resolutions. Crysis is an exception. I guess if you're only going to play Crysis, then it would be beneficial to get the 9800 GX2. Otherwise, the Ultra is going to be very close performace-wise.

 

[Jephph]

Do you pay anything extra (besides shipping) for the step up (down?)?

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: error8

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Definitely keep the Ultra!

I have a 3870x2 and am ready to go back to the 8800U because the 3870x2 is pitiful in NFS Street Pro. :|

The 8800 GT I have also runs NFS pro street horrible, is unplayable actually. The game is coded like cra*. Electronic Arts should be ashamed of their work.

Really? Tests showed the 8800 was much better. I run at 1200x800 and it's fast but kind of ridiculous on a 2560x1600 30" display.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Originally posted by: error8

Originally posted by: Rubycon
Definitely keep the Ultra!

I have a 3870x2 and am ready to go back to the 8800U because the 3870x2 is pitiful in NFS Street Pro. :|

The 8800 GT I have also runs NFS pro street horrible, is unplayable actually. The game is coded like cra*. Electronic Arts should be ashamed of their work.

Really? Tests showed the 8800 was much better. I run at 1200x800 and it's fast but kind of ridiculous on a 2560x1600 30" display.

It doesn't matter what screen resolution I use, or what settings, because the performance is the same. I don't know what you experience, but I have this severe stuttering all the time, even though fraps is showing between 30 to 60 fps. There is a thread on the NFS pro street forum about this situation, but there is no fix for it.

 

[terencek]

Originally posted by: jaredpace

Originally posted by: error8

Originally posted by: jaredpace
keep the ultra,

get another, or sell for gt200 \ rv770

for ultra sli, do you have 2 8pin and 2 6pin pcie connectors on your pcp+p

8800 ultra uses only two 6 pin pcie connectors.

so ummm....

do you have 4 6 pin pcie connectors on your pcp+p

Yeah, I do.

 

[Rubycon]

Originally posted by: error8

It doesn't matter what screen resolution I use, or what settings, because the performance is the same. I don't know what you experience, but I have this severe stuttering all the time, even though fraps is showing between 30 to 60 fps. There is a thread on the NFS pro street forum about this situation, but there is no fix for it.

It was just slow at 1920x1200 with everything turned on so I started turning eye candy off to make it acceptable. I force V sync off for that reason as it tends to make things stutter. Perhaps that's what is happening on your system?

 

[Throckmorton]

The memory is accessible, but everything has to be duplicated in the mem of both cards.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: Rubycon

Originally posted by: error8

It doesn't matter what screen resolution I use, or what settings, because the performance is the same. I don't know what you experience, but I have this severe stuttering all the time, even though fraps is showing between 30 to 60 fps. There is a thread on the NFS pro street forum about this situation, but there is no fix for it.

It was just slow at 1920x1200 with everything turned on so I started turning eye candy off to make it acceptable. I force V sync off for that reason as it tends to make things stutter. Perhaps that's what is happening on your system?

Tried it and it didn't help.

I have the same problem that everyone talks about in here: http://forums.ea.com/mboards/t...07481&start=0&tstart=0