Upgrade from an 8800GT

[dug777]

It's a brilliant setup by AMD and Nvidia, I tell you. They managed, through pricing changes and supply/demand, to create a videocard market with absolutely no sweet spot for price/performance. As such, I can find no suitable upgrade for my 8800GTS.

I think we were in part very spoilt by the 8800/9800gt/48X0 generations of cards, in terms of price/performance.

You can get a HD 5850 right now from newegg for $280, shipped. That will almost certainly overclock to a comparable level of performance with a HD 5870 or GTX 470, which cost $390 and $350 respectively.

Even those prices are reasonable on a historical basis, remember how much an 8800 Ultra or GTX cost, or a 7X00 GTX

There was usually then a 'better value' enthusiast card (usually a GT for nVidia), and then a yawning chasm in price and performance to the mid range like the 6600GT, 7600GT or 8600GT.

 

[Powermoloch]

5770 is great, but you can get a 5850 when ya save a little extra cash. And you can sell your 8800GT to offset the price.

I own 5770 x 2. they run like a beast.

 

[tweakboy]

Yes gurus are right. Or get a 260 216 core and do a badars OC ,,,,

You can OC too,I don't know what type of cooling you have.. gl

 

[evolucion8]

Yes gurus are right. Or get a 260 216 core and do a badars OC ,,,,

You can OC too,I don't know what type of cooling you have.. gl

Not another GTX 260+ recommendation. . .

The card is great but why upgrading to another DX10 card? GTX 260+ is basically a souped up 8800GT/G92 card. Get a DX11 capable card like the HD 5770 or the HD 5830/HD5850 or a GTX 460/470. There's no reason to buy old hardware unless if you are gonna do Crossfire/SLI.

 

[poohbear]

I agree with everything here, except that the review doesn't actually list the performance of the 9800gt.

But yes, the 5770 is about 50% faster, and like I said, I agree that 50% isn't enough for an upgrade. I went from an 8800gt to a 5850 and think it was a good investment, at about 2.2 times faster.

So how about this 5850 for $260 with shipping after Bing Cashback from Tigerdirect:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicati...083&CatId=3669

u faill to mention that its only $125 for a 5770 on sale, so that's an awesome upgrade for a 50-70% increase in performance, especially when he sells his 8800gt for $50. Seriously, who says u always need a 2x increase in fps to get a good upgrade??? he'd be paying $75 as opposed to $210 (after selling his 8800gt) for the 5850!!

i upgraded to a 5770 from an 8800gt and have no regrets whatsoever.

 

[Will Robinson]

Jeez, why do some folk have to interpret everything in the context of some sort of video-card Holy War?

For _me_ the 5850 is far too expensive. Its about double what I've ever spent before on a video card (barring the first geforce and that was only out of frustration that the voodoo3 I had was faulty). I paid half that for the 8800GT, which gave a much bigger performance improvement over the 1950xt I had before. That kind of performance improvement for that kind of cost is what I would consider worthwhile.

Right now seems a bad time to upgrade.

This has nothing directly to do with nvidia vs ATI (the gtx4x0 series is utterly out of the question from my p.o.v., where did I say otherwise?).

Do I really need to remind you of the X1950XT's retail launch price?
It was HUNDREDS of dollars more expensive than an HD5850.

 

[pmv]

Do I really need to remind you of the X1950XT's retail launch price?
It was HUNDREDS of dollars more expensive than an HD5850.

The 5850 costs £230. The x1950xt cost something like £150 (presumably some time after launch, though I have no idea how long, I don't keep track of these things, but then the 5850 is also some time after its launch right now).

So not 'hundreds of dollars' more than £230. That would put it at £300-£400! There's no way on Earth I'd pay that much for a video card, ever. Some on this forum would, and the best of luck to them, but I know I didn't pay that for the 1950xt!

The 5850 costs a lot relative to my assets/income. That's not a statement you are in a position to debate, nor is there any rational reason why you should want to.

(To be fair, it occurs to me the £ has dropped a _lot_ against the $ since I bought the 1950, even since I bought the 8800, so that might be part of it. Doesn't change the simple fact that the card is too expensive for me now.)

 

[Termie]

The 5850 costs £230. The x1950xt cost something like £150 (presumably some time after launch, though I have no idea how long, I don't keep track of these things, but then the 5850 is also some time after its launch right now).

So not 'hundreds of dollars' more than £230. That would put it at £300-£400! There's no way on Earth I'd pay that much for a video card, ever. Some on this forum would, and the best of luck to them, but I know I didn't pay that for the 1950xt!

The 5850 costs a lot relative to my assets/income. That's not a statement you are in a position to debate, nor is there any rational reason why you should want to.

(To be fair, it occurs to me the £ has dropped a _lot_ against the $ since I bought the 1950, even since I bought the 8800, so that might be part of it. Doesn't change the simple fact that the card is too expensive for me now.)

You must be referring to the x1950xt 256mb card. It was much cheaper than the x1950xt 512mb card. I went from the older $320 x1900xt 512mb to a $300 8800gt to a $275 5850, and I can tell you that the jump to the 5850 was much bigger than the jump to the 8800gt, for less money. But for those who got a 8800gt for $150 or less during the golden days of graphics cards, when even 4890s could be had for under $150, today's prices may seem a bit high. They are not compared to the prices in 2005-2006.

All that being said, if you have a budget, then stick to it. $150 will buy you a 5770, which is a nice card, and about as big a jump as your 1950xt to 8800gt was. I'm sure you'll be happy.

 

[Oyeve]

I went from an 8800GT and a 3870 to a 5770 a couple of months ago and with proper driver installs the 5770 has been great. Granted I am currently only playing Dragon Age Origins but I am playing it with 2 22" monitors in eyefinity and have everything cranked to max and it looks beautiful and flows like butter. I couldnt find a better card in the price range and have been very happy with it. I havent even OCed it but have read it OCs very nicely.

 

[SlowSpyder]

For the money the 5770 doesn't look like that bad of an upgrade in my opinion.

 

[kalrith]

I used to have my e8400 overclocked to 3.8 GHz, but it wont run stable anymore for some reason >_>. Also my 8800 GT is an overclocked edition (overclocking it more isn't an option I've tried.. lol...)

Anyway I think I'll just stick it out a bit longer until I can do a complete overhaul. When the time comes I can sell my current system, and replace it with something better.

Another option is to sell your 8800GT for $50 and find a 4870 for $85. That should tide you over quite nicely until the full system upgrade.

 

[tweakboy]

You should get a GTX 260 216 core for under 200, Like $150 Get it from amazon or something so you get free shipping and they are the best. Newegg will be more expenisive and tax yuck.. GL

 

[RaistlinZ]

Eew. Just get a 5770 for about $140 and call it a day. You obviously keep your cards for 3 years and more, the money really isn't much of an issue over that long a time frame.

 

[pmv]

You must be referring to the x1950xt 256mb card. It was much cheaper than the x1950xt 512mb card. I went from the older $320 x1900xt 512mb to a $300 8800gt to a $275 5850, and I can tell you that the jump to the 5850 was much bigger than the jump to the 8800gt, for less money. But for those who got a 8800gt for $150 or less during the golden days of graphics cards, when even 4890s could be had for under $150, today's prices may seem a bit high. They are not compared to the prices in 2005-2006.

All that being said, if you have a budget, then stick to it. $150 will buy you a 5770, which is a nice card, and about as big a jump as your 1950xt to 8800gt was. I'm sure you'll be happy.

You've almost persuaded me, though the benchmarks I've seen show the 1950xt to 8800gt as being a bigger leap - but that could vary greatly depending on the game, the one or two games I was looking at benchmarks for might have played like crap on the former for some reason. Mainly I like this 8800gt because its so much quieter than the 1950xt.

You are probably right that the 8800gt era was good for bang-for-buck compared to immediately before and after, but I don't know if it was unprecedented. I have a very dim memory, for example, of getting a great boost going from a voodoo2 to a voodoo3 for much less than the 8800gt cost.

What would be interesting would be a survey of 'the history of upgrades', showing what kind of boost you got for what cost at each point since the days of voodoo1.

(Except it would vary by country, subject to exchange rates. Boy, I miss the days of $2 to the £).

 

[Termie]

You've almost persuaded me, though the benchmarks I've seen show the 1950xt to 8800gt as being a bigger leap - but that could vary greatly depending on the game, the one or two games I was looking at benchmarks for might have played like crap on the former for some reason. Mainly I like this 8800gt because its so much quieter than the 1950xt.

You are probably right that the 8800gt era was good for bang-for-buck compared to immediately before and after, but I don't know if it was unprecedented. I have a very dim memory, for example, of getting a great boost going from a voodoo2 to a voodoo3 for much less than the 8800gt cost.

What would be interesting would be a survey of 'the history of upgrades', showing what kind of boost you got for what cost at each point since the days of voodoo1.

(Except it would vary by country, subject to exchange rates. Boy, I miss the days of $2 to the &#163.

How's this for persuasion:

8800gt vs. x1950xtx: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2365/11 (squeking by with a 50% advantage)

5850 vs. 8800gt: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2856/12 (clear 100% advantage)

Mind you, that first graph was the very graph that convinced me to ditch my x1950xt and pay $300 for a 8800gt back in the day. But it's nothing compared to the jump from the 8800gt to a 5850. Note that the 5770 hits closer to the 50% advantage mark in those same graphs. I've been charitable and chosen a non-memory limited game. But check out the Crysis graphs to show you how far you can pull away from the 8800gt with either of those new cards: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2856/5

 

[pmv]

How's this for persuasion:

8800gt vs. x1950xtx: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2365/11 (squeking by with a 50% advantage)

5850 vs. 8800gt: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2856/12 (clear 100% advantage)

Mind you, that first graph was the very graph that convinced me to ditch my x1950xt and pay $300 for a 8800gt back in the day. But it's nothing compared to the jump from the 8800gt to a 5850. Note that the 5770 hits closer to the 50% advantage mark in those same graphs. I've been charitable and chosen a non-memory limited game. But check out the Crysis graphs to show you how far you can pull away from the 8800gt with either of those new cards: http://www.anandtech.com/show/2856/5

I'm not sure what figures you are looking at there!

Your first link, for example, shows the 8800gt being almost double the fps of the 1950xt for Oblivion at 1680 (which is the res I'd have been at then).

While your second link only shows the 5770 being only 50% faster than the 8800gt at left 4 dead.


Which seems to support my point rather than yours! Given that the 5770 now costs what the 8800gt did then, the 8800gt gave a much bigger boost.

What figures are you looking at in those links?

Also that's an XTX its compared with. I can't even remember now, but is that not a faster card than the xt?

 

[Termie]

I'm not sure what figures you are looking at there!

Your first link, for example, shows the 8800gt being almost double the fps of the 1950xt for Oblivion at 1680 (which is the res I'd have been at then).

While your second link only shows the 5770 being only 50% faster than the 8800gt at left 4 dead.


Which seems to support my point rather than yours! Given that the 5770 now costs what the 8800gt did then, the 8800gt gave a much bigger boost.

What figures are you looking at in those links?

Also that's an XTX its compared with. I can't even remember now, but is that not a faster card than the xt?

Depends what you look at. The 100% jump in Oblivion numbers are the outlier...almost every other game was a 50%-60% improvement. And yes, as I said in a previous post, the 8800gt to 5770 jump will be about 50%, and that's what I pointed out with those 5770 numbers. I also agree that we're not in the same VGA market, so FPS/dollar just can't be compared. You got a steal on the 8800gt. You also have a point that the x1950xtx was faster than your card, so in the end, maybe the 8800gt was a 60-75% improvement of your x1950xt 256 for $150. No doubt a great upgrade, and one that you cannot get today. If that's your budget, just be prepared to get the same or less of a jump. If you can spend $300, however, the graphs prove you will get a BIGGER jump.

 

[SlowSpyder]

According to the link in the reviews, the 8800GT was $199 - $249 (I guess depending on memory?) And if I recall correctly they stayed above MSRP for quite a while. On the other hand 5770's are $130AR. So, while it may not offer has huge of a jump, I don't think 8800GT's (or 9800GT's) hit ~$130 for quite a while. Both seem like great values for their time to me...

 

[pmv]

According to the link in the reviews, the 8800GT was $199 - $249 (I guess depending on memory?) And if I recall correctly they stayed above MSRP for quite a while. On the other hand 5770's are $130AR. So, while it may not offer has huge of a jump, I don't think 8800GT's (or 9800GT's) hit ~$130 for quite a while. Both seem like great values for their time to me...

Sadly we don't get 'rebates' over here!

I still think my point stands, but I'm prepared to accept that I'm comparing it with a period where the 8800gt was an unusually good deal.

Also I'd have been looking at Oblivion benchmarks then because that's the game the 1950xt was struggling with.

And there _is_ an annoying gap in the market between the 5770 and the 5850. Something with performance and price pitched exactly between the two would be interesting to me.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Sadly we don't get 'rebates' over here!

I still think my point stands, but I'm prepared to accept that I'm comparing it with a period where the 8800gt was an unusually good deal.

Also I'd have been looking at Oblivion benchmarks then because that's the game the 1950xt was struggling with.

And there _is_ an annoying gap in the market between the 5770 and the 5850. Something with performance and price pitched exactly between the two would be interesting to me.

I think part of the problem that makes the current gen midrange so 'meh' to many is that the 8800GT for $200-$250 was faster than the previous generation's top products. The 5770, while still a good value, is about as fast as the previous generation 'performance' parts, it's still slower than a 4890, 4870x2, GTX285, GTX295, etc.

The 5770 offers decent performance for it's cost, but there's just not much incentive for someone with say a GTX260 or 4870 to buy one. Earlier, if you had a 7950 or a 1950XT and looked at the mid priced 8800GT as an upgrade it was a no brainer.

But in my opinion, for the price and jump over an 8800GT I would think it's worth it, but that's just me... of course others may not.

 

[peonyu]

I would get the 5850 if you absolutely want a new card right now, that card has enough 'teeth' in it that it will last you atleast a year without performance issues. And two if you dial down settings in the newest games.