I have the following:

E2160 OCd to 3.2Ghz, 2 gig ram, 7800GT

I am playing Half life 2 at 1920 medium and it runs fine. I was going to get one of the first cards for the 8800GT but missed out by a couple hours. But after thinking about it, I don't really feel the need as i am not going to play with Crysis any time soon as i havn't finished HL2 yet. I want to wait until the next high end comes along and see what it provides and also the X3800. The reason is if I get the 8800GT I will want to get a new case, new PSU (all high end) and use my older hardware that is gathering dust as a server and build, then i would need to spend close to 900.

The 7800GT is a very strong card,contrary to what some would say.I suspect you should be able to play HL2 at max settings.I own two 7800GT's,bothe are from EVGA and they are great cards especialy in an SLI configuration.I would only upgrade if you need to or really want to.But hey,if you got the money,go for it.It never hurts having a better video card.Goodluck.The 8800GT would be a solid step-up from the 7800GT,and it would allow you to play the newest games that are out.

Dahak

M2N32-SLI DELUXE WE
X2 5600+ STOCK (2.8GHZ)
2X1GIG DDR2 800 IN DUAL CHANNEL
TOUGHPOWER 850WATT PSU
EVGA 7950 GX2 550/1400
SMILIDON RAIDMAX GAMING CASE
ACER 22IN WS LCD 1680X1050
250GIG HD/320GIG HD
G5 GAMING MOUSE
WIN XP MCE SP2

i upgraded to 8800GT from my 7900GS and the only difference is the sustained higher fps on my old dx9 games

if you plan to play the new dx10 games, crysis etc then upgrade otherwise dont bother

I already run Half-Life 2 at 1920x1200 on high at 2x AA and 8x AF and it runs fine for me. My processor is only an Athlon 64 X2 3800+ too.

it's all about price then... if you can find a 8800GT for cheaper get it otherwise don't and wait for the next gen

Based on the demo, Crysis in DX9 still looks pretty good. With a hack, you can enable DX10 features in XP. http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=522

The 7800GT is still a reasonably fast card. I'd wait *at least* until the HD3800s come out to see what that does to the market, and for the 8800GT prices to stabilize. A DX10.1 card wouldn't hurt...

-mcg

hmmm i would get the 8800gt as the 7800gtx isnt really good card. i have the x1950 pro which is better than the 7800xt as games strugle ie crysis. even though i have an e6850 so if you want to play games for teh presnt i would get the 8800gt its cheap also.

Never upgrade until you feel the need.
Stuff just bets better, cheaper, faster.

By the time you think you "need" the 8800GT, you will wish you had the card that is not even on the market yet.

Hi, my 8800 has just arrived replacing my 7800GT which I have had for some time.

Ran 3DMark06 before and after swapping the cards

7800GT: 3983
8800GT: 11617

Fair improvement I'd say though I'm not sure if I should be getting worried about the GPU temps as they reached 90C by the end of the test. :s

Stoo

dude, "need", n "want" are all relative terms. only u can decide that. of course in all history, newer cards will be more expensive, u wait for them to get cheaper then ull c newer cards then the previous newer. n the cycle keeps going.

hl2 isn't very video demanding, go to 8800GT when you want to play crysis

Don't do it. You don't need an 8800GT. As others have said, just wait for the next gen.

As for Crysis, an 8800GTX can't even run the game silky smooth (with eye candy on). So just wait, I'm sure other 65nm gpu's will be released, with higher clocks and room for overclocking.

Smart move!

Never upgrade until you own a game that you can't play at settings you find satisfying.

Upgrading any earlier than that is a waste of money.

You never need to upgrade. We could all still be running the ATi 7XXX series cards. But then how would we run Crysis?