8xxx headache!

[sunny27]

i can buy a XFX 8500gt-256 mb card for 6000rupees i.e 120 US $
XFX 8600gt-256 mb for abt 9500rupees i.e 190 US $

which card do u think i should buy?
i play games but then i have a 17 inch crt and i would be playing anything i can lay my hands on.
i am using a XFX 6600gt -256 mb right now
do i wait for ATi or stick with my 6600gt??

help convince me to buy a new card/wait for sometime and look at ATI's stuff/stick to my existing card for a while
if u can convince me to get the card i would have it in 24 hours.

always been an nvidia fanboy--never tried ATI
but would like to see the other side as well.

 

[Gary_Busey]

From what I've seen so far, other than DirectX10 (which there aren't any games that utilize DX10 yet), the 8600 really isn't a very good buy. I'd go with either a mid to high range 7 series or X1000 series card, or if you could, save up your money for an 8800 or r600 from ATI. What's the rest of your system specs?

 

[3Ball]

I would also agree with a good DX9 card. Something such as X1950Pro or XT.

Best,

3Ball

 

[sunny27]

so u guys think i should stick to my old 6600gt 256mb card??

btw i own an amd 64 3000+ overclocked to 2.3ghz (from 1.8ghz)
ram-transcend 1gb(512x2) ddr400
2gb(1gb x2)corsair value select ddr400
total ram -3gb
motherboard asus A8NE nvidia nforce 4 ultra chipset
onboard audio
sony dru 810A dvd writer
generic 400watts smps with a generic cabinet

investing in a dx 9 card now would make sense??
with vista and dx 10 gaming at our doorstep( well not the doorstep but atleast up the alley?)

for 190$ i could get an Ati powercolor x1950 Pro -512mb card--with a damn good HSF on it,but its dx9
how well would it handle crysis or any other dx 10 game?

 

[sunny27]

my amd 64 3000+ is a venice core socket 939 cpu.

 

[sunny27]

alo listing the games i currently play
test drive unlimited
call of duty 2
call of duty 1 and its expansion pack
farcry
half life 2 and episode 1
need for speed most wanted (carbon sucks!)
counterstrike 1.6 and cs source
ghost recon advanced warfighter GRAW

my existing setup handles these games not at the highest settings though
i turn off or lower the aa and af in some games but it runs properly
also i run windows xp sp2 and vista ultimate and fedora core 6 linux

 

[Gary_Busey]

You should understand that although an 8600 would run a DX10 game like Crysis, because of its lack of power, you'd be setting the graphics to medium-low to get a descent frame rate. Also, if you go with something like an 8800, you're running into CPU limited territory since your processor isn't very strong. If you're content with your system now, just stick with it, save your money and when Crysis or other DX10 games come out, use that money for an upgrade.

 

[sunny27]

the system i own would be some kinda bottleneck for a 8800 or an Ati r600(if it does come out someday!)
also those cards cost a lot!!!!!
i run games @ 1024x768/1280x1024 on my 17 inches crt monitor!
might upgrade to a widescreen viewsonic 19 inches lcd display later

 

[sunny27]

now if i plan to go in for a powercolor x1950 pro with 512mb --how good would it be for my system --ram inst an issue --the cpu is --so planning to get a socket 939 dual core opteron clocked at 2ghz
also with my existing 17 inches monitor the powercolor with the amd 3000+ would rip apart any game i throw at it at the highest possible settings.
but how good would it be if i plan to drag it along for 2 more years?

will the card run the games i play at the max settings on a 19 inch widescreen lcd ??

 

[Gary_Busey]

now if i plan to go in for a powercolor x1950 pro with 512mb --how good would it be for my system --ram inst an issue --the cpu is --so planning to get a socket 939 dual core opteron clocked at 2ghz
also with my existing 17 inches monitor the powercolor with the amd 3000+ would rip apart any game i throw at it at the highest possible settings.
but how good would it be if i plan to drag it along for 2 more years?

An X1950Pro would be a huge improvement over your current card, but it's still close to CPU limited territory, and I don't know that it'd rip apart any game you throw at it, but most.

 

[3Ball]

It will probably start getting angry with you within 2 years if you continually play newer games such as I do. Im not a stick with one game for 2 to 3 years like my roommate is...its rediculous! lol

Best,

3Ball

 

[Eru]

you also might need to change your powersupply.
i'm also from india, and i see that most of these generic powersupplies don't have too much juice in the 12V line.
look for the number of Amps in your PSU. i suggest you change it before upgrading if it is less than 20A.

 

[sunny27]

@ 3ball! i do stick with games like counterstrike and call of duty
i think i finished call of duty 2 more than 30 times at different levels of difficulties!
i love it!

@ gary --u think this x1950 pro 512mb card would be bottlenecked by my existing system at high settings??--apart from the cpu (which is overclocked)
nothing else seems to be bad -i mean 3gb of ram and an excellent motherboard on a very competitive chipset would bottleneck the radeon x1950 card?!
will it play dx 10 games properly??

 

[Gary_Busey]

@ gary --u think this x1950 pro 512mb card would be bottlenecked by my existing system at high settings??--apart from the cpu (which is overclocked)
nothing else seems to be bad -i mean 3gb of ram and an excellent motherboard on a very competitive chipset would bottleneck the radeon x1950 card?!
will it play dx 10 games properly??

Not your entire system, just the CPU. I don't know if it definitely will, but it's close. It should play DX10 games, but it'd use DX9 and you won't get some of the eye candy that DX10 will bring.

 

[3Ball]

K, well what I am saying is that the card may limit to you playing games currently out as it may start to drop in performance in new releases that are comming up in the recent months! DX10 games will run in DX9 mode on that card. I am very picky though, so take what I am saying with a grain of salt. My X1900XTX is bothering me because of the occasional frame loss in CoD 2 with high amounts of people in the server with full AA, AF, and all details at 1680x1050! Hopefully I will get a decent DX10 card this summer.

Best,

3Ball

 

[shellofinsanity]

well id go with the 8600GT, it gives a poor showing here and alot of other places but this might be because the drivers for it are still beta, give it time and it will be alot better i imagine

 

[Eviltwin17]

you would be better off buying an 8600gts or you could just take the plunge and buy an 8800gts which would last you much longer anyway

 

[shellofinsanity]

well over at firingsquad it just a tad slower than the 7950GT, thats the 8600GT, so agian tom is off on his benchmarks. Id say thats pretty damn good for a 170 dollar card.

 

[sunny27]

must wait for some more time b4 i can buy tht dx 10 card--yeah it wont be dx.9--using my 6600gt for 2 years now it and it played everything i threw at it-minus aa/af at times.
with amd's mid range coming out--wht would it be badged?-x2600? x2700??
must wait for 2 more months now b4 i buy tht card.
the market's getting damn competitive and tht's good for me--i want the ultimate bang for the buck card that would last me another 2 years b4 u get those dx11 and some crappy new windows version.
any idea hw the mid range ati might stock up against nvidia's 8600 series??