Upgrade or wait

[stumben32]

Wow.. I cannot believe my computer is 2 years old already! I did good with this build, I do not ever remember getting this much bang for my buck. Some more details:

ASUS SLI PREMIUM MOBO
AMD 4400x2
2 GIG RAM
NVIDIA 7800GT
Corsair 550w psu

I run in 1680x1050 res.

Obviously - my 7800GT is outdated but still quite useable for just about everything ( Obviously I do not think trying Crysis would be wise ). In fact I am quite surprised just how good it still runs, but you know I need to upgrade soon

So now I am faced with the upgrade dilema. I make plenty of money however, I really need to budget myself - I have just spent way too much on Games/hardware in the past. It pains me to have to even ask the wife to spend 220 on a video card right now - I am starting to feel the guilt factor!!

I think I should Upgrade my Video Card - which I would probably like to be the last upgrade I make to this box. I want the most bang for my buck so I have been eyeballing the MSI 8800GT on newegg. But now the new 9800GX2s are coming so do I wait for another price drop? Do you guys think the 8800s are going to take a big price drop soon?

As you can see my rig is SLI ready ( or I think ) but I am very anti-SLI. I just cant see it as a good option except for wasting money. If we could ever run 2 different cards at once that would be sweet - having to match cards makes it an overpriced frill IMO.

Eventually I am going to build a new machine to run vista 64 on and, keep this rig as a 2nd box for the wife or ...whatever. But that is probably at least 6 mos away.

Sorry for being so chatty, I am home from work today Just finding myself at that 2 year mark where you know you have to do something to keep playing games but you are gunshy about the money!

Expensive hobby but....there are worse hobbies!

 

[Extelleron]

What nVidia 7800 card do you have? GT or GTX?

Anyway, upgrading will not cost $220. If you are looking for a good upgrade without spending too much, you can get a 9600GT for $135 AR: http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814133216

Performance is going to be leagues better than what you have, and not too expensive... you can probably sell your current card for $50 or so, so it won't cost that much more than a new game.

 

[Magusigne]

Hey man! I had a BFG 7800GT OC and upgraded to the MSI 8800GT OC. Big difference at high rez with eye candy on.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

How much money can you spend? A $110 8800GS or a $150 9600GT isn't too expensive, is it? If you wanted to do more you could SLi the mid-end cards such as the 8800GS, 9600GT, or HD 3850/70.

 

[andrei3333]

im in the exact same boat but my pc is brand new, i reused the video card....i have the XFX 7800GT overclocked and its amazing what this card can do at 1280x1024 res i play all COD4 UT3 GOW to the max

but i am going to be getting a 22" LCD for my birthday in april and obviously will need a new video card for higher resolutions

so my question is the same as the OP: shouldi wait and get a GT200 whenever it comes out ? should i wait and get a 9800GT/GTX ? or get a GTS512 now ?

i am getting the monitor mid to late april, rig in sig, budget is around $300 canadian i guess i MAY strech that slightly if needed

 

[v8envy]

As always, if you can wait -- wait! If you can't wait, buy the best bang/buck for today.

 

[MyLeftNut]

If the 7800gt can play games at somewhat satisfying framerates at reasonable resolution for the games you play then keep that until the gt200 comes out. If not, then get the cheapest 512mb solution for now.

 

[andrei3333]

ok i am keeping it until a real good gt200 comes out, cause right now i am satisfied with the framerates, it chugs at times and it gets noticeble but i am still enjoying the games

 

[HOOfan 1]

I am still slumin' it with a Geforce 3 Ti200, wonder if I should upgrade

 

[Piuc2020]

The thing is, I think GT200 is a single card not a new architecture, it's only for the high-end and according to what we know it's a monster of a card (it might even be more of a power hog than the 9800GX2), new high-mid range cards won't com from NVIDIA until possibly later this year or even further.

The 9600GT and 8800GT are dirt cheap and they can run everything out there at 1680x1050, Crysis run great at high settings with no AA (but you get edge aa at high which makes it look super smooth) at that resolution if you run it on Windows XP and even then Crysis is pretty ahead of it's time (I'm thinking this kind of graphics will be the standard by late 2009), I've seen this year release list and I've seen no game that seems even nearly as demanding as Crysis, they are all based on UE3 or other engine which these cards run with flying colors.

So what's the point of waiting for a possibly very expensive card with no signs of the mid-high range cards until 2009? If you get a 8800GT now, you'll enjoy much better graphical quality, have much better gameplay (due to higher framerates) and you'll be set for gaming the entire year. I see absolutely no reason why NOT to upgrade if you have the money, waiting for GT200 is pointless since we don't know when it's coming and what it is, for all we know it could just be a beefed up G92 with insane power draws and a high price tag (I'm sure you are not willing to wait to pay $600 for GT200?).

8800GTs right now are going for $199 without rebate and if you factor in rebates you can get awesome cards (like Gigabyte's Turboforce edition or MSI's VF1050 8800GT) for less than $200. 9600GT cards are available for under $150 and with rebates you can get them for as low as 120-130, the same for 8800GS cards which can be found for as low as $100.

With these prices you'd be a fool not to upgrade but that's just my humble opinion

 

[andrei3333]

Alright thats an excellent point you make, that new high end car will nto cost 300 i dont think, and i will not pay 600 or even 500 for a vid card. i know around christmas Nvidiots like to release some updated refresh like they did the gts512 and the 6800gs a while so they will do it again i can feel it like a 9800gs that performs better than a 9800gt but not as good as a 9800gtx

i think that since these new cards are coming out so so recently its hard not to wait another month for the 9800gt/gtx, even if i would buy a 8800 i would only get a gts as i like to have a better performing product and not the gt

btw if i ever get an lcd television i will hook up my pc to it as well but thats unknown when that will happen so i will not worry about it right now

 

[stumben32]

Yeah, 8800gt is a great buy right now. I think you guys convinced me. Waiting just seems pointless. On the bright side I think I waited till the perfect time.

I was just thinking like I said that the prices might drop again soon but oh well.

Honestly I didnt even know about the GT200 but one thing is for sure I never want to spend 500-$600 on a video card so it would be a long time before I would spend money on one of those.

 

[buck]

Another vote for the 8800GT . Just got mine and I couldnt be happier.

 

[andrei3333]

but why not go for the GTS512 right now then ? its better than a gt but is it just that much more expensive ?

 

[bryanW1995]

the 8800gt is the way to go if you want high-end performance.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127329

Currently $191 AR

That 9600gt for $140AR is pretty tempting, too however, as is the $110 AR 8800gs. All 3 are GREAT prices. Get the 8800gs if you want a decent performance upgrade that you plan to leave with the old computer when you pass it on to your wife/girlfriend/other in 6 mos. The 9600gt is a keeper but will probably start lagging a bit as time goes on. The 8800gt OC should last you another couple of years.

 

[Piuc2020]

It's not much more expensive but it's also not much faster, 8800GT can be had for under $200 (even without rebates), the 8800GTS 512 can only be had for $229 if you use rebates or if you use the UltimatePC Vista Ultimate offer so if you have the money then by all means go for it but the 8800GT and the 8800GTS will run the game at pretty much the same settings, the 8800GTS will only be a tad faster.

 

[andrei3333]

i am really really interested now in a gt or gts

i see that evga sells standard clocked gt got 220 - 30 rebate here locally by tigerdirect.ca but they also have a superclocked version available for 250 - 30 rebate with higher clock

which one makes more sense ? can the standard clocked one be easily overclocked by rivatuner or ati tools to reach the speed of the superclocked one ?

i like buying products ready to use, and dont like the idea of having to overclock a new card

 

[Chaotic42]

I'm in the same boat. I've got a 7800GTX, and I'm honestly not impressed with nVidia's current offerings. I'm hoping that the 4xxx series from ATI will be worthwhile.

 

[SniperDaws]

i upgraded from an 1800XL which i think was as fast as a 7800GT i could be wrong but omg, this 9600GT is rapid, benchmarks do NOT do this card any justice.

obviously you can wait til April 1st when the 9800GTX comes out and if the 9600GT is anything to go on ( Regardless of its specs ) i think it will kick arse big time.

 

[AzN]

8800gs for $110 is pretty sweet. It would hold you over until a card that can play crisis @ max settings.

 

[Piuc2020]

Originally posted by: SniperDaws
i upgraded from an 1800XL which i think was as fast as a 7800GT i could be wrong but omg, this 9600GT is rapid, benchmarks do NOT do this card any justice.

obviously you can wait til April 1st when the 9800GTX comes out and if the 9600GT is anything to go on ( Regardless of its specs ) i think it will kick arse big time.

Nah, the 9800GTX is just a 8800GTS with a bunch of stuff like better power circuitry (better overclocking) and Tri-SLI, it's going to be nice but don't expect miracles.

And these cards can play Crysis at max settings, just not at uber resolutions and/or AA (you get Edge AA anyways).

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: andrei3333
i am really really interested now in a gt or gts

i see that evga sells standard clocked gt got 220 - 30 rebate here locally by tigerdirect.ca but they also have a superclocked version available for 250 - 30 rebate with higher clock

which one makes more sense ? can the standard clocked one be easily overclocked by rivatuner or ati tools to reach the speed of the superclocked one ?

i like buying products ready to use, and dont like the idea of having to overclock a new card

don't bother with a gts unless you game at 1920x1200 or above. The superclocked 8800gt is just a stock unit with a slight oc in the bios; you can get the exact same clocks or better out of the standard unit.

 

[andrei3333]

niice, i am really considering this standard evga GT versus waiting for a new card in april for my Bday like a 9800GT or something

I want to smoothly play at 1600 resolution i think thats the max res that a 22" lcd supports, i dont care about numbers and frame rates, i just want max setting and smoothness, im tired of having to compromise a setting or two here and there and unexpected choppiness