new gfx card

1st Official Post

    so my 3yr old 8800 is dying.

    so, i need a new gfx card. sense im buying a new one, i want a big improvement over the 8800 ultra.

    i was thinking i could hopefully wait for these new 480s to come out, and either buy one of them, or an nvidia card that is still a beast and cheaper, or and ati, such as the 5870.

    any suggestions out there?

    im running on 6gb ram (it was 4 1gb sticks, but a while ago 2 sticks died, so i bought 2 2gb sticks, figuring the others could go at any time) and my processor is an old but still pretty decent (i think) Q6850 at 3gb, but i can overclock it (i dont for crysis because my gfx card is usually the bottleneck, but i do for supcom)

    Heya Visky,

    I assume you are running a 64-bit operating system? Otherwise (including the graphics card RAM!!) the system can only use 4 gb even if you have more installed.

    I have had good luck with my XFX 4870 at factory clocks. I think the next generations are still overpriced and many games don't take advantage yet of the new technologies being offered. By the time the games catch up you can get the same cards at 1/2 the price.

    If your MB supports it, you could SLI or x-fire two GTX 216's or 4850's or 4870's for a lot less. there again a watchout is that the games support sli/xfire well.

    Tom's hardware is a good place to start for bang for the buck articles.
    http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-g…-card,2569.html

    and Game performance: (they have some crysis benches in other articles, but I use FarCry2 as about the same)
    http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-…chmarks,70.html

    cheers and let us know how it goes!
    :D

    "You are what you do, when it counts." - the masao

    Look no futher, or in the direction you are looking now. Here is a list over the nVidia GeForce cards and their specs. Also, you can take a look here too for an automatic check on what games your computer can handle. Last time I checked it gave some info on prices for specific hardware parts in case your system couldn't handle a game.

    0j18luls0gj0xsuh26qw.gif

    Edited once, last by RobtheRobot (July 6, 2015 at 9:37 PM).

    id like to spend under $500, obviously less is better, i saw an ati 5870 for under $400, and almost got it, but i wanted to see what peeps thought.

    i have vista 64 bit os.

    i love toms hardware, thats where i read the chart about the 5870, thats why i almost bought it, same tier as the 295, but far cheaper.

    im wondering if yall think i should try and wait a tad longer and see if prices drop with the announcement of the new nvidia cards?

    edit, my mother board does support sli, but not xfire(being an nvidia card) and i have a 1000w power supply, so that should not be an issue. (assuming its working properly)

    I believe two 8800 Ultra cards in SLI hang with the GTX 280 in Crysis. My understanding is the Crysis devs optimized for the 8800 series cards. But, since Crysis 2 is coming out soon, I'm not sure what's in store.

    However, I will definitely say that Nvidia has better drivers and software support than ATI. Also, ATI has a higher rate of failure and DOA. Overall, you might save some money on ATI, but it might be payed for in the trouble that comes with it. Nvidia gives you what you pay for. Besides that, Nvidia has optimizations like Physics and CUDA, among other things. With Nvidia Physics, the Physics load will be relieved from the processor. Then you are less likely to be bottlenecked.

    A prime example of Nvidia software quality superiority: Folding @ Home. Nvidia cards can process F@H independently, and reliably without the help of the processor. ATI tried to compete with Nvidia in this field. Yes, ATI released drivers and software for F@H. But it usually crashes several times before ever finishing a WU (work unit). Does ATI care? No. As long as they can say they have the ability, that's all that matters, because then they can sell more video cards.
    _______________________
    *edit*
    It might be a good idea to wait for the GTX 4xx series release. Prices will drop and maybe you can pick up a GTX 285 for cheap. It looks like the GTX 470 might be in the $350 range.
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc…N82E16814130550
    GTX 285 is currently about $350-$400, but the GTX 470 is possibly twice as fast with more 'stream processors'.
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc…N82E16814143190

    overclocked and water cooled mang!
    Crysis_signature_by_spiridusumagik.jpg

    Edited once, last by B-e-t-a (July 6, 2015 at 9:37 PM).

    • Official Post

    Scout_Felix is right about tomshardware. They have the best bang for your buck recommendations. If you trust Tom, then currently the best bang for your buck video card would likely be the radeon 5850 which can be picked up for under $300. It should be a bit more powerful than nvidia's gtx 285.

    However, if your current card is still holding together, wait for some new products from Nvidia, as they have the most powerful chip offered on the market in the form of their new gf100 GPUs which will surely be seen in more video cards than just the 470 and 480 which will soon be on store shelves.

    But wait! I assume you've already looked into your current card manufacturer's warranty information. A free replacement is the best choice :)

    I have absolutely no idea what PCI 2.0 is, but it rings a bell though. Unless some PCI 3.0 or 2.5 is coming up, I suggest upgrading while your at it. Of course, if you wait for a while it may become cheaper. I recommend buying a single nVidia card due to the compatibility to games, mods and other stuff. Also, many games doesn't allow for SLI, so buying 2 ATi and putting them in SLI may not be as smart. Take for example GTA IV. I am sure it doesn't support SLI since its a console-to-PC port (It was badly ported, but it's still GTA). Buying one good nVidia card and later buy a same one to put in SLI for even more performance may be better. Also, when you have a, let's say, GTX285 that equals to two 8800 can be overclocked and still have room for another card that can also be overclocked. You then have the strength of about or even more than four 8800's. I suggest you wait for the new cards from nVidia, though.

    0j18luls0gj0xsuh26qw.gif

    Pci 2.0 is another gimmick. It's for cards that use more power allowing you to draw more power from the pci slot to try to offset the draw of power from the connectors. (about a 1% difference.)

    As Evil said 5850's are the best thing you can buy for the money right now and if you wait another couple weeks they are going to drop even more with the release of the fermi cards. I expect to see them around the 200-250 range.

    However, What are your computer specs? (why did no one ask?)
    In order to see what card would be best suited to your system we are going to need to see what your other specs are to make sure there is no bottleneck and whether or not an sli crossfire setup would be viable. Most notably I'd like to know your cpu and power supply. Also power consumption is an issue as well as I know the 480 uses roughly double the power that previous high end cards have used. 480 470 cards are worthless as it is right now. Epeen is about all they are good for. Nothing that's out will use its potential same can be said about the ati next gen cards. The issue itself is how "future proof" do you want your system to be. If it were me I'd buy a 5850 and after that I'd be looking to move to the next chipset. As buying a new chipset right now is not a good idea.

    edit: didnt see your post about power supply and and mobo compat.

    What's your cpu?

    ATI is good if you wish to be the quality control. I propose you should wait until fermi is released before you buy anything related to your video card.

    Oh and warranty the 8800 Ultra and sell it. Or send the replacement to Evil or someone. Just don't throw it away if it's covered for lifetime.

    overclocked and water cooled mang!
    Crysis_signature_by_spiridusumagik.jpg

    This discussion got me thinking, why don't we create a used equipment topic for OSF?
    Like - "Wolfenstein player, desperately seeking AGP 4x card....." :lol:

    When members with the means upgrade, we could help out the other members with a good deal, and I for one would trust the seller
    a lot more than some random guy who recreates his ID on Ebay every 2 weeks....

    I think the key here is the help with setup and compatibility that our combined knowledge would provide.

    OSF A - "Hey I want to sli my existing 8800 XYZ PDQ card........my specs are...900 jigawatt single rail......"
    OSF B - " I just dumped in a new triple pump quad piped super hip 290000 series, and have just the old reliable 8800 you are looking for"
    OSF A - "Great, that's gonna work perfect for me, SOLD"

    8)

    "You are what you do, when it counts." - the masao