Upgrade options from an XFX Geforce 7800GT?

[AHSGoose]

Hey guys, just hoping for some buying advice here from all you pro's.

I have an XFX Geforce 7800GT that I'm fairly happy with right now. I'm trying to decide how to upgrade it for the next tier of games though.

I am thinking about buying a second XFX 7800GT for about $205 (brand-new, from a friend). This way I can get 7800GT SLI. Plus XFX is a GREAT brand, it comes factory overclocked and has a lifetime warranty for you and the second owner, so it gets good resell value.

But I have plenty of cash for the moment. So I could afford to get TWO 7900GT's if I sell my current 7800GT. If I make $150-200 off my current card, I can get the 7900GT's from Beatprice. They are selling ASUS 7900GTs for $240 a pop.

So it's like I can get 7800GT SLI for $205 or 7900GT SLI for between $278-328 depending on how much I sell my current single 7800GT for.

I dunno if ASUS has the same warranty policy as XFX though. I pretty much only want to buy XFX now thanks to their great warranty.

My last question is, should I just WAIT? I saw the post on Geforce8800 and the person said G80 will be out in mid-November. THat's just a month and a half. When that baby hits 7900GT and 7900GTX prices are going to drop a lot, right?

Maybe if I wait till then I can get a better deal on 7900GT SLI or even 7900GTX SLI?

What do you all think? Thanks for any feedback in advance!!

 

[akshayt]

If you are happy with your current GPU then I feel that you should wait atleast 6 months before you get Dx 10. However if you feel that your current set up is just not cutting it then sell your card and get either:

1900XT/XTX
1950XTX
1900XT CF

 

[AHSGoose]

DX10?

I don't mean I want to buy a Geforce8800 card, I mean when they hit the market, prices on all other Geforces will drop.

That would be a good time to get a sweet 7900GT or 7900GTX setup, right?

The other option is to get a 2nd 7800GT or switch to two 7900GTs now, for SLI goodness either way. How good are these two cards (7800GT and 7900GT) for SLI anyway?

 

[Pabster]

Are you unhappy with the 7800GT's performance?

If not, you'd be throwing money away. DX10 cards aren't all that far off and at such time everything we're debating today will be rendered obsolete.

IMHO the SLI idea isn't a good one. The P/P ratio is terrible.

 

[Golgatha]

X1900XT 256MB and sell the 7800GT if you want to upgrade.

 

[F1shF4t]

I still got a 7800gt, playes everything at 1280 *960 with 4*AA and max AF (except oblivion, which sucks anyways once u play through it once)
If ur happy with it, then why blow money... when its not good enough to play games at reso u want then upgrade.

 

[AHSGoose]

Eh, it lags a lot in Oblivion and there are slowdowns in Company of Heroes, which I'm playing the hell out of.

It's been a great card, but I think I'll heavily consider the X1900XT. THat's much faster than the 7800GT in most of the benches I've seen.

Plus I can sell my current card for $150 easy and that'll bring the $240 X1900 down to like 90 bucks.

But I'm surprised people seem to think SLI isn't a good deal. Why bother with it at all then if the performance for the price isn't worth it?

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: AHSGoose
But I'm surprised people seem to think SLI isn't a good deal. Why bother with it at all then if the performance for the price isn't worth it?

You were suggesting 7800GT SLI. That would not be a good deal as it is easily beaten by several single cards.

Now if you were to suggest quad-SLI with a pair of 7950GX2...

 

[nitromullet]

SLI (or Crossfire) isn't necessarily about getting the best bang for the buck, but about getting the best performance and not having to worry if your rig can hang with a new game or not. Just because it doesn't offer the absolute best bang for the buck ratio doesn't necessarily mean it isn't worth it. Notice that Pabster prefaced his statement with "IMHO".

To offer a different perspective... IMHO, SLI rocks if you have the money to buy two of the top cards because it offers performance simply not possible with a single card. However, using it as an upgrade path isn't really the best bet because there is usually a single card that beats an aging SLI set for less money. Based on your last post, I would recommend an X1900XT. The Radeons generally beat NVIDIA cards in Oblivion, and they aren't too pricey for what you get. Either that or you can wait unitl the next generation cards come out.

edit: it looks like Pabster and I are more in agreement than I thought... Great minds think alike, I guess...

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: nitromullet
To offer a different perspective... IMHO, SLI rocks if you have the money to buy two of the top cards because it offers performance simply not possible with a single card. However, using it as an upgrade path isn't really the best bet because there is usually a single card that beats an aging SLI set for less money.

:thumbsup:

You just have to deal with the disappointment when a few months later a single card beats your expensive SLI setup. And pony up some more greenbacks

 

[AHSGoose]

Thanks for the comments, guys, it looks like a Radeon X1900XT for me.

Is the 512mb version worth it?

Too bad XFX is NVidia only -- they are pretty much the best manufacturer I've dealt with.