stop gap card

[mordantmonkey]

so i need a card that will tide me over for the next month or so, until i can buy a 8800gt.
I got in on the q6600 dell deal and i figure after xmas i can use my $100 gift card there to get an 8800 gt.
the catch is that the dell came with a 22" samsung. i'm thinking that at the higher resolution (1680x1050), i'd be better off going with the 7900gs instead of a new 8600gt. but then maybe the 8600 would have better resell value considering it would have a warranty (xfx) and a game included.

wwyd?

fwiw: i'd mostly be playing orange box and BF2, since everthing else i want to play would be better held for the 8800

 

[Syntax Error]

$100 gift card to Dell? I suppose you can try to find an 8600 for around that price...

You can also shoot around for some used 7900s or X1900s/1950s for the month.

Unless you can either go without the computer for the month or find a second-hand card to plug in in the meantime, then I think you should hold on to the $100 for the 8800GT - save that, you've only got another $150-170 to go anyways....

 

[mordantmonkey]

that's what i intend on doing. problem is i won't get the gift card for another month. so what to do in the mean time.... 7900 or 8600...
i haven't had a gaming rig for 9 months and it's killing me...arghh!!!

 

[angry hampster]

Check out the sale in my sig. I play a ton of CS:Source and TF2, along with COD4 and Crysis. That 8600GTS served me well.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: mordantmonkey
that's what i intend on doing. problem is i won't get the gift card for another month. so what to do in the mean time.... 7900 or 8600...
i haven't had a gaming rig for 9 months and it's killing me...arghh!!!

i woudlnt buy a completely different card just so i could wait for my $100 gc to come in and go through the hassle of having to resell it either.



i mean if you get a 7900 or 8600 gt by the time you get your GC it will probably be close to when the midrange g96 is coming out (march), so it gives you a 1-2 month window to sell the old card



i'd say get the 8600gt personally. i'm a big ebay seller and the 7900GT even doesnt sell for that much. most "regular people" just wont pay much for a 7 series even if it is fast anymore... i dont know. sadly due to the way people pay for things on ebay, if you can get a 512mb 8600gt that would probably be ideal even if it was a ddr2 model.


if i were you i'd go on ebay buy a used 7800gt. they go for about $60 shipped if you bid well, and generally auctions dont go for so high during the holidays since most people have lives (unlike me who knows this) and are seeing family. i am not sure how eager you are to buy used stuff, but generally old stuff used doesnt depreciate too much if its already depreciated down to the $60 level.

 

[jdkick]

I'd wait until the $100 comes in, then by the card you want.

I have a BfG 7900GS OC at the moment and play BF2 frequently. I don't know the specs for your system but from my experience, I don't think the card will be up to BF2 at 1680x1050 w/ decent settings. You will probably need to drop the quality by a fair bit or, like me, play a lower non-native resolution.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I gamed at 1680x1050 with a 7900GS with a mild overclock (525mhz core). It did pretty well for me. I could play most games at medium to high settings, I never used AA though. I never tried an 8600, so no idea how it'd compare.