Upgrade to 7900 worth it?

TheRyuu

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2005
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I have 2 7800GT's in SLI. Now I just got Water Cooling for them (or at least it's on it's way).

I'm wondering whether it's worth it to upgrade, or should I just skip this refresh. I only game a 1280x1024, and with WC I should be able to OC my 7800's quite nicly.

So what do you think?
 

TheRyuu

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2005
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Originally posted by: Ichigo
Upgrade your monitor.

Why cause I can only do 1280x1024? I'm fine with that. I'm not upgrading the monitor or anyother part that costs a lot of money.

The only reason I ask is I can Step up with egva till march 15. I don't think it's worth it, but thats what I think.
 

ElFenix

Elite Member
Super Moderator
Mar 20, 2000
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depends on how much the step up cost is, then, and whether the WC rig can fit on the 7900
 

TecHNooB

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2005
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I guess you're going to have to if you want your money's worth. I'm holding out until NVidia comes out with a design that can do HDR+AA and DX10 is available. Whoever wins during that gen gets my money.
 

TheRyuu

Diamond Member
Dec 3, 2005
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Originally posted by: TecHNooB
I guess you're going to have to if you want your money's worth. I'm holding out until NVidia comes out with a design that can do HDR+AA and DX10 is available. Whoever wins during that gen gets my money.

I was thinking of doing that too. Two Overclocked 7800GT's at (I'm hoping) 520/1200 should hold out for a while.

I got them 3 months ago, I guess I'll wait till DX10 and unified shader and HDR+AA.
 

TecHNooB

Diamond Member
Sep 10, 2005
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I thought once you bought a card from eVGA you only have 3 months to step up?
 

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
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If I was to buy a new videocard I would go for the X1900 series or wait. To me they seem to have the edge in features over the 7xxx series.
 

meson2000

Senior member
Jul 18, 2001
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Dude, if you only game at 1280x1024, ONE 7800GT is more than enough. You won't notice a benefit by overclocking your 7800GT SLI's so going to the 7900's shouldn't even enter your mind....
 

Wreckage

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Jul 1, 2005
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Originally posted by: meson2000
Dude, if you only game at 1280x1024, ONE 7800GT is more than enough. You won't notice a benefit by overclocking your 7800GT SLI's so going to the 7900's shouldn't even enter your mind....

Agreed. At the resolution you are running, stick with what you have already. A 7900GT will perform like a 7800GTX 256, while a 7900GTX will be a bit faster than a 7800GTX 512 or a 1900XTX.

Your dual 7800GT's are already more than enough for 1280x1024.
 

RobertR1

Golden Member
Oct 22, 2004
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Originally posted by: Wreckage
Originally posted by: meson2000
Dude, if you only game at 1280x1024, ONE 7800GT is more than enough. You won't notice a benefit by overclocking your 7800GT SLI's so going to the 7900's shouldn't even enter your mind....

Agreed. At the resolution you are running, stick with what you have already. A 7900GT will perform like a 7800GTX 256, while a 7900GTX will be a bit faster than a 7800GTX 512 or a 1900XTX.

Your dual 7800GT's are already more than enough for 1280x1024.


Agreed. You're resolution limited and at a low res. of 1280x1024, you'd benefit from a CPU upgrade just as much a GPU upgrade in a fair amount of games.

 

Munky

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2005
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Originally posted by: meson2000
Dude, if you only game at 1280x1024, ONE 7800GT is more than enough. You won't notice a benefit by overclocking your 7800GT SLI's so going to the 7900's shouldn't even enter your mind....

I'd have to disagree. My bro uses a single 7800gt oc'd to 520mhz, and he has to run FEAR at 1024x768 to get smooth gameplay. Also, I'm running my x1900xtx at 1280x960 res, and I dont think it's overkill either - when you crank up the setings like AAA and HQ AF in demanding game slike COD2 it really puts the card to good use.
 

the cobbler

Senior member
Mar 8, 2005
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Originally posted by: munky
Originally posted by: meson2000
Dude, if you only game at 1280x1024, ONE 7800GT is more than enough. You won't notice a benefit by overclocking your 7800GT SLI's so going to the 7900's shouldn't even enter your mind....

I'd have to disagree. My bro uses a single 7800gt oc'd to 520mhz, and he has to run FEAR at 1024x768 to get smooth gameplay. Also, I'm running my x1900xtx at 1280x960 res, and I dont think it's overkill either - when you crank up the setings like AAA and HQ AF in demanding game slike COD2 it really puts the card to good use.



I game @ 530/1351 and I need another 7800GT if I want to run COD2 at highest settings 1280x1024.

If I crank up eye candy to max settings, frames rates dip into the teens and 20s.
 

Elfear

Diamond Member
May 30, 2004
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I'd keep your 7800GTs as they will provide good frames at the res you play at.

Originally posted by: Wreckage

Agreed. At the resolution you are running, stick with what you have already. A 7900GT will perform like a 7800GTX 256, while a 7900GTX will be a bit faster than a 7800GTX 512 or a 1900XTX.

You have access to some secret benchmarks that the rest of us don't know about?
 

5150Joker

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Feb 6, 2002
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www.techinferno.com
Originally posted by: wizboy11
I have 2 7800GT's in SLI. Now I just got Water Cooling for them (or at least it's on it's way).

I'm wondering whether it's worth it to upgrade, or should I just skip this refresh. I only game a 1280x1024, and with WC I should be able to OC my 7800's quite nicly.

So what do you think?


Nope not worth it, your SLI setup is more than fast enough.
 

Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
41,091
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Originally posted by: wizboy11
Originally posted by: Ichigo
Upgrade your monitor.

Why cause I can only do 1280x1024? I'm fine with that. I'm not upgrading the monitor or anyother part that costs a lot of money.

The only reason I ask is I can Step up with egva till march 15. I don't think it's worth it, but thats what I think.

Monitor probably costs less than the GPUs you are buying ;)

You can pickup a 2001 or 2005FP with coupons for the low 400s at times.
 

Matt2

Diamond Member
Jul 28, 2001
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Originally posted by: meson2000
Dude, if you only game at 1280x1024, ONE 7800GT is more than enough. You won't notice a benefit by overclocking your 7800GT SLI's so going to the 7900's shouldn't even enter your mind....

Dude, if one more freakin person posts this BS, I am going to scream!

I can't imagine running one 7800GT anymore, even at 1280x1024. Hell, I run 7800GT SLI 500/1200 and i still need more power to run 1280x1024.

For those of you who think one 7800GT is enough for 1280x1024, have you ever tried cranking up all the IQ settings? What about gamma correct AA? 4x/16x AA/AF? what about 4xTRSSAA or 4x TRMSAA??

COD2 and FEAR bring my comp to it's knees wiht high enough IQ settings at 1280x1024. Just cause one 7800GT might be enough for you at 1280x1024, doesnt mean it's even close to good enough for those of us who want to play with the highest IQ settings.
 

5150Joker

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Feb 6, 2002
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www.techinferno.com
Originally posted by: Matt2
Originally posted by: meson2000
Dude, if you only game at 1280x1024, ONE 7800GT is more than enough. You won't notice a benefit by overclocking your 7800GT SLI's so going to the 7900's shouldn't even enter your mind....

Dude, if one more freakin person posts this BS, I am going to scream!

I hope it's not a loud feminine scream.

I can't imagine running one 7800GT anymore, even at 1280x1024. Hell, I run 7800GT SLI 500/1200 and i still need more power to run 1280x1024.

I suppose if you play every game with 8X SSAA and 16x AF it might not be enough at that resolution but for 4x AA/8x AF 7800 GT SLI is more than enough for just about every game out there at 1280x1024. 7800 GT SLI isn't as fast as my XTX in a game like FEAR but in other games like COD 2 it probably comes close enough and if I can run my card at 1680x1050 4xAAA/8x AF in that game comfortably at 50-60+ fps then you should be able to as well at a lower resolution.

 

Golgatha

Lifer
Jul 18, 2003
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Originally posted by: the cobbler
Originally posted by: munky
Originally posted by: meson2000
Dude, if you only game at 1280x1024, ONE 7800GT is more than enough. You won't notice a benefit by overclocking your 7800GT SLI's so going to the 7900's shouldn't even enter your mind....

I'd have to disagree. My bro uses a single 7800gt oc'd to 520mhz, and he has to run FEAR at 1024x768 to get smooth gameplay. Also, I'm running my x1900xtx at 1280x960 res, and I dont think it's overkill either - when you crank up the setings like AAA and HQ AF in demanding game slike COD2 it really puts the card to good use.



I game @ 530/1351 and I need another 7800GT if I want to run COD2 at highest settings 1280x1024.

If I crank up eye candy to max settings, frames rates dip into the teens and 20s.


Tweak the game (COD2) a bit. It's a lot cheaper than upgrading. Enable SLI optimization because there's a bug that costs you FPS if you don't (among other minor tweaks). I can run that game around 40-50FPS at 1280x960 with all the goodies on with my 7800GT@460/1200. I'm not running 4xTRSSAA or 4x TRMSAA, but I can run 4xAA with 8xAF. Good enough IQ for me anyway.
 

gi0rgi0

Golden Member
Dec 5, 2004
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If its not going to cost you much to upgrade using the stepup program I say go for it. Even if it was a couple of hundred id go for it. You'll be set for the next few months playing the newer games
with all the eye candy turned up. I bought an xtx cuz i couldnt wait a few weeks till the gt's but I would've definitely gone with 2x7900gts since I do have a sli board. Oh well the xtx still rocks!
 

Ichigo

Platinum Member
Sep 1, 2005
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You want the highest image quality but don't want a new monitor? Am I missing something here? With SLI 7800GT's, you could stand to get a new widescreen monitor. Or else you can sit in your little world believing that you should spend more on a video card than a monitor.
 

CP5670

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2004
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Basically, there are two FPS games that make heavy use of SLI at 12x9 / 12x10, FEAR and DX9 COD2. Whether or not the second 7800GT is worth it for that resolution depends on how much you play those games. For most other games a bigger monitor is a better buy.

I am thinking of skipping this refresh line up too. The thing is, with the G80/R600 having no rumored release date and probably still a while off, I don't want to be stuck with SLI for several months (have gotten fed up with the vsync problems in older games), but at the same time I will only switch to something if it's at least as fast as what I already have.
 

Elfear

Diamond Member
May 30, 2004
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Originally posted by: CP5670
Basically, there are two FPS games that make heavy use of SLI at 12x9 / 12x10, FEAR and DX9 COD2. Whether or not the second 7800GT is worth it for that resolution depends on how much you play those games. For most other games a bigger monitor is a better buy.

I am thinking of skipping this refresh line up too. The thing is, with the G80/R600 having no rumored release date and probably still a while off, I don't want to be stuck with SLI for several months (have gotten fed up with the vsync problems in older games), but at the same time I will only switch to something if it's at least as fast as what I already have.


I had the same problems as you and I'm loving my X1900XT.