Videocard decision help.

[BigCheeZ2000]

I just graduated with my BS in Computer Engineering and I am looking forward to a summer where I can actually play some video games on my PC again. I bought a 7800gt in Dec of 2005 and it has worked fine. Since school has been taking all of my time, I have not kept up with the video card market, and what is currently the best. I have seen the 8800's but I am not looking to spend a lot of money. Now that I have some free time I am trying out Stalker, and I have to set it on Medium settings to make it run smoothly.

Anyways here is the question. Which would be a better option as far as performance and price:

1) Buy another 7800gt and use SLI (~$100)
2) Buy a new videocard and not use SLI (Nvidia 8 series?)

As I said before I do not want to spend a lot of money.

If you need to know my setup for any reason:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
1GB RAM
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
WinXP
Plenty of HDD space
...

Thanks in advance

 

[Kromis]

Originally posted by: BigCheeZ2000
I just graduated with my BS in Computer Engineering and I am looking forward to a summer where I can actually play some video games on my PC again. I bought a 7800gt in Dec of 2005 and it has worked fine. Since school has been taking all of my time, I have not kept up with the video card market, and what is currently the best. I have seen the 8800's but I am not looking to spend a lot of money. Now that I have some free time I am trying out Stalker, and I have to set it on Medium settings to make it run smoothly.

Anyways here is the question. Which would be a better option as far as performance and price:

1) Buy another 7800gt and use SLI (~$100)
2) Buy a new videocard and not use SLI (Nvidia 8 series?)

As I said before I do not want to spend a lot of money.

If you need to know my setup for any reason:
AMD Athlon 64 3500+
1GB RAM
ASUS A8N-SLI Premium
WinXP
Plenty of HDD space
...

Thanks in advance

You might want to save up your lunch money for a new card!

 

[BigCheeZ2000]

So you think that a new card (maybe 8800gts ~$300) would be better than just adding another 7800gt?

 

[theprodigalrebel]

8800GTS 320MB would be a great upgrade - the kind where you instantly know you are getting your money's worth without having to compare FRAPS logs.

 

[Bill Kunert]

Another gig of ram would also benefit you.