Newb builder, have I made an 8800GTS mistake?

[solidGoldstone]

Hi guys,

Recently bought this spec -

core2duo 3.0ghz
8800GTS 320mb
abit ip35 pro
2gb ballistix ram

and I got a "low" score from 3D mark. I'm new to building and such and now everyone is telling me I shouldve bought the GT rather than the GTS.. I think I can still return the card as I only bought it last week, what does everyone think. Please see my attached image for my 3D mark results..


Many Thanks

Will

 

[ShortRef]

If possible, id recommend getting the GT instead

Those 3d mark results are virtually the same as mine (same card). The GT is better, although youd probably only see a visible difference in new games like crysis.

 

[Maziar]

Well 8800GT is better than 8800GTS, but have u got any problems with games? cant u play them @ high quality ? Your 3DMARK isnt low, its very good
http://futuremark.yougamers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24249

"Dont upgrade your card for only getting a little more score from 3DMARK, upgrade it if u have problems with it (like for example u cant play games @ good settings ,but as we all know a 8800GTS is a solid performer) "

 

[itotallybelieveyou]

agrees with maziar keep with the 8800gts and save up man.

 

[ramo]

Did you install your DDR2 correctly?

The graph shows that your using slot 2 and 3

You should use slot1 and slot3

 

[solidGoldstone]

Slot 1 and 3? Oops, erm, well its in 2 slots next to each other, I did wonder as the slots are coloured (1)black, (2)blue, (3)black, (4)blue, but I put the 2 dimms in the first two slots. So should I put them in 1 and 3, so its black and black?

Sorry for being such a novice but if it says in my computer that I am running 2gb of ram, is this not working fine?

Also thanks guys for your thoughts on the GTS, i'm still in two minds - One thing is it causes a problem physically with the mainboard whereby I cant fit in the wire that makes the firewire port work because the GTS is so damn bulky it blocks any chance of attaching that cable to the mainboard. My other issue being that so many forum posts ive seen state that the new GT is somewhere between the GTS and GTX performance wise (closer to GTX) and its about the same price, and seeing as i've just bought this setup 2 days ago, i'm kind of thinking did I get the best deal for my money, its not like i bought the GTS when it came out, then i'd think twice about swapping it out so soon.

 

[ausch30]

Slot 1 and 3? Oops, erm, well its in 2 slots next to each other, I did wonder as the slots are coloured (1)black, (2)blue, (3)black, (4)blue, but I put the 2 dimms in the first two slots. So should I put them in 1 and 3, so its black and black?

Sorry for being such a novice but if it says in my computer that I am running 2gb of ram, is this not working fine?

Also thanks guys for your thoughts on the GTS, i'm still in two minds - One thing is it causes a problem physically with the mainboard whereby I cant fit in the wire that makes the firewire port work because the GTS is so damn bulky it blocks any chance of attaching that cable to the mainboard. My other issue being that so many forum posts ive seen state that the new GT is somewhere between the GTS and GTX performance wise (closer to GTX) and its about the same price, and seeing as i've just bought this setup 2 days ago, i'm kind of thinking did I get the best deal for my money, its not like i bought the GTS when it came out, then i'd think twice about swapping it out so soon.

The RAM should be either in 1 and 3 or 2 and 4 for dual channel.

Find out what the shipping and possible restocking fee would be (my guess $35-$40) and then decide if it's worth going with the GT. I made the same mistake when I bought my E6300, the E6320 had just been released and I was planning on buying it and hit the wrong button (wasn't paying attention) and bought the wrong chip. The GTS is a good card but the GT is better and runs cooler so if your ok for paying the difference for a mistake then you might want to go that route. Keep in mind though that with the GTS you still have a better card the 95% of the population.

 

[APieceOfCheese]

The RAM should be either in 1 and 3 or 2 and 4 for dual channel.

I'd check the mobo manual just to be sure. My M2N32 uses slots 1 and 2 for dual channel.

 

[solidGoldstone]

Yikes. Okay guys i've now swapped to slots 1 and 3 for dual channel - Apieceofcheese, thanks for your reply I will check my manual - I only read it after putting the machine back together.

Meanwhile, I also benchmarked again, having set my nvidia control panel slider to Performance, rather than Quality, and also set my mainboard's uguru software to "turbo" mode, which seems to up the voltage on my cpu slightly, results are in image attachment..

Thoughts?

 

[neisonator]

is your cpu gpu and ram overclocked the higher scoring similar systems are proplably heavily overclocked. btw whats the gaming performance like thats all i would worry about..

 

[Ananan]

29061 is the fastest? Damn that's fast.

As to the OP: Nothing to worry about. That score is ok and the card is a good card.

edit - is there a competition to see who can get the lowest score with a bootable system that can run 2006? 11 seems to be a pretty low score.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

As mentioned it depends a bit onthe prices and the restocking fee issue.

The GT is a better card, and if you have space problems then it should help solve those.

If it's low-impact on the hassle scale then swap them, otherwise the GTS-320 is a solid card, but it will underperform the GT. I'd swap them if I were making a new build simply because I prefer the longevity of the GT for future titles, plus I'd also want the added HD video playback features, but that's just me.

 

[solidGoldstone]

Hey,


No, nothing is overclocked at all.. I know not how! - new to this stuff. Still in a quandry over the graphics card. Especially as its so thick it blocks me from plugging in the wire for my firewire card - need to do edit video on this machine so its kind of making my decision for me.

That aside, game performance seems fine. Running Crysis at a fairly decent level with no glitch whatsoever - single player demo anyway, the multiplayer beta keeps freezing every 20 seconds which is a really annoying concern.. Downloading episode 2 on steam during the day to test that and will put the bioshock demo on to try that, should be fine.. Can anyone point me at any beginners guides to overclocking? Don't think I need to yet, but i'm curious.


Cheers

Will

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

IMO for now leave OCing alone; then do some research once you have everything running as you would like it at stock speeds.

OCing is fairly straight forward, the main thing is to take it slow and easy.

But really any benefit you expect to gain from OCing a GTS would likely be equaled or excelled by the 65nm GT.

Some help for OCing C2Ds;
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide

 

[amnotanoobie]

You worry too much, your system is already on the top 25% of the pc population. And as for the score with similarly configured systems, I guarantee that 75% of those systems were overclocked to high heaven.

As AUsch30 said, if you're willing to pay for a mistake and can't stand that you can't play Crysis @ Ultra settings @ 1900x1200 then get the 8800GT. Though it'd be a different case if you'd be spending only a couple of bucks to get the 8800GT. If it's too costly to switch then you should be happy with your gts, it's a pretty good card anyway.

 

[solidGoldstone]

All Done.

Thanks for your help guys I have now returned my card to the supplier explaining the issue with my firewire port not being accessible and they actively recommended the GT instead which said it all. Ended up going for the EVGA 512 8800GT superclocked, which cost me an extra £30 (so er.. $60 for you US people) more than the GTS, which, given that i'm only going to upgrade every 3-4 years is fine by me, wanna get the best I can as of right now!

Cheers again for your advice, its been a sound ingratiation into the community here, and i'll be sure to come back now i've got interested in hardware tinkering!

 

[Maziar]

Well for £30 thats a good deal, hope u will enjoy it

 

[Noya]

Great decision.

I can't believe the people here giving you bad advice.

You worry too much, your system is already on the top 25% of the pc population.

And you wouldn't swap it to an 8800GT for a few more $$?

Well 8800GT is better than 8800GTS, but have u got any problems with games? cant u play them @ high quality? Dont upgrade your card for only getting a little more score from 3DMARK, upgrade it if u have problems with it (like for example u cant play games @ good settings ,but as we all know a 8800GTS is a solid performer

This guy ^^ constantly tries to downtalk about the 8800GT (and looking at his sig we know why).

agrees with maziar keep with the 8800gts and save up man.

Save up for what?

Are you people messing with him or too stupid to understand the bar graphs in the 8800GT reviews? It's a $250 card that performs like a $500 card in nearly every game at resolutions of 1080p and less (and who the hell game at 25x16 anyway? 0.5% of gamers?)

 

[amnotanoobie]

Great decision.

I can't believe the people here giving you bad advice.


Are you people messing with him or too stupid to understand the bar graphs in the 8800GT reviews? It's a $300 card that performs like a $500 card in nearly every game at resolutions of 1080p and less.

We're just saying that the 8800GTS is already a good enough card as it is. If the guy couldn't refund the thing then the 8800GTs is "good enough". But he traded it in, it is a good deal for £30, end of story. Cheers.