Nvidia 8800 or ATI 2900 XT

[PhantomBlot]

Hi
I am building a new computer system from a scratch and I need to buy a new graphics card. My old system is obsolete (AMD 1.3Ghz, R9500). The biggest problem is that I cannot decide on graphics card. Because I cannot decide on graphics card I cannot pick motherboard(SLI/Crossfire).
I probably just buy one card now and upgrade system so SLI/Crossfire later(Crossfire would be good for upgrades). Also I have been thinking
Intell core2 duo processor. Now i have been thinking of the following choices.

a) Buy Nvidia 8800 GTX
b) Buy Nvidia 8800 GTS 640Mb ram + save some money
c) Buy Nvidia 8800 GTS 320Mb ram + save more money
d) Buy ATI Radeon 2900XT 512Mb ram + save few coins.
e) Non of the above, just wait and get along with my old computer.

The problem was that 2900XT was not so good as I had hoped. If I go with the new p35 chipset that would mean crossfire, or should I go with Nvidia and p35 chipset any way and plug in ati cards later?. Budget is about 2000 euros including monitor.

The second problem is that the next gen of DX10 cards are almost here. Is it a wiser just wait and see what happens(R650 seem to be promising).

Could someone help me out. I am lost. Good motherboard+graphics card combos are welcome too.

 

[djplanet]

GTS 320 MB ftw. It barely trails the the 640 version, and costs $100 less. I have one, and couldn't be happier. Besides, Nforce 6xx mobos are becoming mainstream anyway.

 

[daverimer]

Hi, what size monitor do you plan on using? The higher the resolution you plan on playing at (with eye-candy turned on), the better video card you can use.

 

[PhantomBlot]

Most likely i will be buying 22 inch LCD Samsung SyncMaster 226BW.
Resolution is 1680x1050, 2ms.

It is rather cheap if you compare it in price to the price of GTX card for example. It is very good monitor.

Thanks for the replys by the way.

 

[PhantomBlot]

Most likely i will be buying 22 inch LCD Samsung SyncMaster 226BW.
Resolution is 1680x1050, 2ms.

It is rather cheap if you compare it in price to the price of GTX card for example. It is very good monitor.

Thanks for the replys by the way.

 

[Neotriple]

Which size moniter, and which resolution do you plan to play on? If it's a higher resolution, higher than 1600 x 1050, I would suggest an 8800 GTS with 640 MB, just to be safe, and for it to last longer than that 8800 GTS with 320 MB. Also, I would stay away from SLi'ing and Crossfire for now, as the price of 2 8800 GTS 640 MB's are less than one 8800 GTX, which will beat it.

Remember, you can always play the waiting game, but you will have to buy the PC at sometime. The only reason I would wait is to see Intel price cuts on June 22nd, then go from there.

 

[Phrozt]

I don't understand why anyone would buy a 2900xt right now. It costs about $150 more than a card that can easily compare to it.

 

[daverimer]

Thats great, I'm looking at getting that monitor as well.

I use the 8800GTS 320mb on my 19" at 1280X1024 and it runs great. You may want to consider a card with more RAM. I do not have personal experience with gaming at 22" though. I'd consult somebody with that experience.

 

[Techfan]

My advice is don't buy high end parts coz are too expensive for what you get. Before you build a computer system consider Price/performance ratio.
Also to take advantage of crossfire at max level you have to overclock your CPU add list at 3GHz.
I think for now the best choice for you is:
Core2Duo 2.4Ghz ~$230
P35 chipset ~$140
ATI HD2900 XT 512 the same price/performance as nvidia 8800 320 ~$350

After 2-3 years you'll have to change your CPU and graphics card in order to be able to play games with all eye candy turned on at high res.
Moore law every 18 months the density of transistors in silicon and the processing speed doubles.

 

[aevm]

I'd wait until the end of July, then pick up an E6850 CPU and an 8800 GTX.

Nobody knows when the 8900 GTX will appear so I'm not going to tell you to wait for it. Nobody knows when ANY AMD/ATI product will appear or what it will do, so don't wait for those either. (I hope AMD reads this and realizes they're shooting themselves in the foot by keeping quiet.)

If you can afford it there's a new 24" Samsung monitor out there. it's $700 in Canada, it supports 1920*1200. That one will definitely want a GTX. For 1680x1050 the GTS will do, depending on the game and settings.

Forget SLI, it's rarely worth it, especially if you don't have a 30" monitor. By the time one GTX is not enough you'll be able to buy a single card that beats the 8800 GTX SLI all by itself. This can save you $100 or so on the mobo. History seems to indicate that high-end cards just disappear, they don't really become dirt-cheap after a long time, so don't expect to get your second 8800 GTX for $100 in a year or two.

 

[Phrozt]

ATI HD2900 XT 512 the same price/performance as nvidia 8800 320 ~$350

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000048&Description=2900&name=Video+Cards

Show me where there is a 2900xt on that page that is anywhere CLOSE to $350... much less anywhere close to the $260 you can buy a 8800 320 MB for:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+106791921+1067924922+1068327613&name=320MB

Like I said, I cannot understand any reason why someone would buy a 2900xt right now....


UNLESS you're a very blind fanboy.

 

[ninjaquick]

I think that the 320MB is fine, and its price agrees. some gmaes require 512MB to run all max, so if you feel like thats a problem for future games then get the x2900XT, at newegg they comewith so many freebies that the amount of that cash going towards the game (in relation to the cost of the inividual parts of the components subtracted from the total cost) is lower than that of the GTS 640 . (I <3 ATI but if you dont share my opinion of subtracting freebie price from shelf price then the 640MB is cheaper and thus well, for the person tight on cash, more attractive (if you do get the 2900 get it from newegg, if ur in the US, if not then deff get the 640, so long as its cheaper...)