WHICH CARD IS BETTER?

[charper2013]

Im building a new PC...

And Im deciding between

http://bytecom.stores.yahoo.net/ev01ge88gtak.html

8800GT wth 1gb of memory ..... Ima SLI with 2

OR OR OR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130338

9800GX2 also with 1gb..... Also SLIed with 2


HELP ME!!!!

Please explain to me why one is better thn the other im just learning...

 

[charper2013]

Also if you can recommend a graphics card in or close to those prices that are much better than please tell me

 

[infornography42]

I'm pretty sure the 9800 is the better card. I know it is the top group of the next newest generation of Nvidia chip.

Comparing a generic 9800 to a generic 8800, I'd pick the 9800, but I can't say I know for sure regarding those two cards in specific.

Also FYI, that 9800 seems to be sold out at the moment.

You may also want to check out Radeon HD 4870s. I think you can get them for around that price and they are quite good.

 

[mi1ez]

The 9800GX2 is a dual GPU card! It's more powerful. You will need a pretty hefty power supply to run 2 of these in SLI!

(don't worry infornography, we all have our off days! )

 

[BlakHart]

I may be wrong...but I do believe that a single GX2 has outperformed 2 8800GT's in many of today's latest games.

If you have your heart set on those 2 cards...get the GX2.

I personally would spend that money on a 1gb 4870 or a GTX 260 Core 216.

 

[llama_man]

I just built a new PC and had a similar choice. I agree with the 4870 1Gb or GTX 260 "maxcore" as the best contenders. You get the fleixibility of being able to add a second card later if you wish (and have chosen a suitable motherboard).

Failing that, 2 x 9800GX2's offers a good price-to-performance ratio, but they'll need a lot of power and presumably chuck out a lot of heat - there's 4 GPUs!

Best place to check is Tom's charts. They do a price-to-performance guide, updated monthly. Asking on forums is risky - there's a lot of fanboys out there! Don't ignore factors such as noise, heat and power consumption if they're likely to bother you later!

 

[pr2thej]

$279 for a 8800?!

Do you get chips with that?

It appears to be this one, plus 512 GPU RAM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130426

Sooooo $165 for 512 dedicated GPU RAM?


FTL

 

[pr2thej]

oh... +1 4870 as well apologies double post im still too retarded to figure out why edit isnt working

 

[quantumsheep]

These cards are old hat these days!

If i were you i'd look into getting an HD4870X2 which is the fastest single card (well, it's not really one card but y'know) available today.

 

[cyber_jockey]

Posted in the wrong section...Oh well welcome to THG charper keep em coming.

 

[pr2thej]

Old hat my arse, only thing my 4850 cant run well is Crysis.
Let gaming software catch up ftw

 

[llama_man]

Isn't a 4870X2 essentially a single-card Crossfire solution of 2x 4870 1Gbs?

And a such, you won't get any benefit at all in non-Crossfire games? I've yet to see much to convince me of the need for a 4870X2 other than running at very high resolutions (24" monitor and upwards), in a Crossfire-supporting game, with all the AA bells and whistles turned on.

For most people a single 4870 should be more than enough (probably even a 4850, as noted above). You can always add a second card later if you feel the need (2x 4870s run as well as a 4870X2 in the benchies I've seen) when the cost is lower.

 

[mi1ez]

You could even add an X2 to a single 4870...

 

[gamerk316]

If those are your only options, the 2x 9800 GX2's would blow away SLI'd 8800's. Just make sure the PSU can handle the load (800 Watt PSU, if not 1kW minimum).

A single GX2 is a force to be reckoned with, two of them gives a lot of power. Note though, there are a few games the GX2, due to its design, performs worse than its capable of. Two of them should negatate that downside a bit, but its something to watch out for...

The cards can get a bit hot; I used rivatuner to OC my fan to 80% fixed, and i'm steady at 75C. Be sure your case is capable of getting rid of that hot air, or temps will higher than you would want.

BTW, 2x 9800GX2's go for the same or less as a single 4870X2. I would love to see benchies between those two matchups...

 

[BlakHart]

BTW, 2x 9800GX2's go for the same or less as a single 4870X2. I would love to see benchies between those two matchups...

I have seen that bench somewhere along with GTX 280's and 260's sli, and tri sli...The nvidia cards did a little better in crysis but not much improvement in other games.

If this guy is going to spend a lot of money one gtx 280 or 4870x2 will be more then enough power for anything.