Upgrading video card this summer...

arcenite

Lifer
Dec 9, 2001
10,660
7
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I currently have a 7800GT.... Would it be more cost effective to just get another 7800gt? Or is there going to be a video card out there that would just stomp dual 7800gts for not much more money?

Thanks!

Bill
 

JAG87

Diamond Member
Jan 3, 2006
3,921
3
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there is nothing that will stomp 2 7800GTs in SLI for the price of 1 of those cards. Anything "single" that performs like those 2 will cost you a lot more than another 7800GT. What i suggest you do is wait for a possible "8800GT" which should be coming in the fall. This way you will probably get a card that performs as good as 2 7800GTs, supports DirectX 10 and SM 4.0 for roughly 300-400 dollars.
 

Ctrackstar126

Senior member
Jul 14, 2005
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I agree save your money and wait until the next generation. I got a 7800gt and it works perfectly fine for the games I play(oblivion, BF2, FEAR, COD2). If anything save up your money so you can buy two next generation cards ;). Also at the rate its been going when the 7800gtx came out the 7800gt came out same as the 7900gt and 7900gtx so the same should be true for next generation.
And with the performance of the 7800gt and 7900gt its good to say the the next generation "step down high end" card will be as good as well.

 

Cookie Monster

Diamond Member
May 7, 2005
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I heard VIsta is delayed again meaning the DX10 cards might be delayed.

So, i think thats why NV is pushing the idea of quad SLI etc.
It would be cost effective to just buy another 7800GT to make SLI.

An X1900XTX would sometimes outperform the 7800GT SLI, but thats 450~ dollars. A X1800XT for around $300~ wouldnt be worth it because for that much you can grab a 7800GT to create SLi which is much faster than the X1800XT.
 

Ctrackstar126

Senior member
Jul 14, 2005
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While true he can get better performance by upgrading it comes down to if he really needs to. Yea the x1900xtx is nice but I game at 1680X1050 and can max out any game(except oblivion). In numbers its a big step but as far as the experience I dont think its worth to upgrade now.
Consider how two 7800gts will do for the next generation of games. Oblivion is just the start and high end cards can hardly run that now.
 

Ika

Lifer
Mar 22, 2006
14,264
3
81
there's no guarantee that the "8800GT" will have a huge performance jump, however. Basically if you're waiting on the next-gen graphics cards you're taking a gamble. It's up to you to decide. IMHO, I would wait for a leak or two before deciding on anything.
 

Cookie Monster

Diamond Member
May 7, 2005
5,161
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Originally posted by: Ctrackstar126
While true he can get better performance by upgrading it comes down to if he really needs to. Yea the x1900xtx is nice but I game at 1680X1050 and can max out any game(except oblivion). In numbers its a big step but as far as the experience I dont think its worth to upgrade now.
Consider how two 7800gts will do for the next generation of games. Oblivion is just the start and high end cards can hardly run that now.

Im sure a X1900XTX runs oblivion faster than the 7800GT SLI.
 

Ctrackstar126

Senior member
Jul 14, 2005
988
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Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
Originally posted by: Ctrackstar126
While true he can get better performance by upgrading it comes down to if he really needs to. Yea the x1900xtx is nice but I game at 1680X1050 and can max out any game(except oblivion). In numbers its a big step but as far as the experience I dont think its worth to upgrade now.
Consider how two 7800gts will do for the next generation of games. Oblivion is just the start and high end cards can hardly run that now.

Im sure a X1900XTX runs oblivion faster than the 7800GT SLI.


I didnt say that two 7800gts were faster i said theres no reason for it. Why upgrade to a x1900xt when it still struggles with oblivion.

Also its not said that the "8800" series is going to be a huge performance boost but if you look at the history usually the next series of GPUs has crushed the prior series. Unless you are telling me a 6800ultra is as good as a 7800gtx?
 

Ctrackstar126

Senior member
Jul 14, 2005
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Originally posted by: Corporate Thug
sell 7800GT, buy 7900Gt and volt mod. Pretty nice upgrade from what would roughly cost you $50

Aslo if you were going to do any upgrade this would be it. because your paying minimal and getting a decent upgrade. but spending 200 dollars when you have a REAL good GPU(I dont care what anyone says my 7800gt is a beast) isnt real good practice
 

Cookie Monster

Diamond Member
May 7, 2005
5,161
32
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Originally posted by: Ctrackstar126
Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
Originally posted by: Ctrackstar126
While true he can get better performance by upgrading it comes down to if he really needs to. Yea the x1900xtx is nice but I game at 1680X1050 and can max out any game(except oblivion). In numbers its a big step but as far as the experience I dont think its worth to upgrade now.
Consider how two 7800gts will do for the next generation of games. Oblivion is just the start and high end cards can hardly run that now.

Im sure a X1900XTX runs oblivion faster than the 7800GT SLI.


I didnt say that two 7800gts were faster i said theres no reason for it. Why upgrade to a x1900xt when it still struggles with oblivion.

Also its not said that the "8800" series is going to be a huge performance boost but if you look at the history usually the next series of GPUs has crushed the prior series. Unless you are telling me a 6800ultra is as good as a 7800gtx?


All i said was that the X1 series in general perform better than the 7 series in oblivion. The X1900XTX is the single fastest card (not until the 7950GX2s come out anyway). But in this case the Op should either get a 7800GT and SLi or sell the 7800GT and buy a 300~ card e.g 7900GT or X1800XT.
 

Munky

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2005
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It all depends on how cheap you can get the second 7800gt. If it only cost you $200, then go for it. If it costs as much as a new 7900gt, then it's not worth it. I've seen many people come to the same conclusion as I had all along - SLI as an upgrade path is almost never the best choice. Often it's more cost effective to sell your old card and get a single newer and faster card.
 

havuk

Senior member
Oct 24, 2005
252
0
0
would i see any improvement going from 2x 7800 gtx 256mb cards to a single 7900gtx 512mb card or would that be a downgrade?