Is it time to upgrade or should i wait?

Status
Not open for further replies.

detpower

Distinguished
Aug 2, 2006
141
0
18,690
Hi all,

well i have a question for all you comp experts, I have been looking to upgrade my gpu recently since i have a old ati radeon 1800xt 256mb, I have been eyballing the 8800gt but i am seeing that there might be something better around the corner such a 9 series and such, what would you guys recommend i do, should i buy or wait for something better? I have been able to play most games with all the settings on high at 1280x960 like on COD4 i get about 50fps and under which i guess is so so. I have had great success with this card but i know its getting left behind on the performance aspect now.So what your guys verdict? Thanks....
 

deltabullet

Distinguished
Nov 23, 2007
25
0
18,530
I would say go for the 8800GT since the ATI Radeon's 3870's price is getting higher and more closer to that of the 8800GT due to high demand. The new Nvidia "9" series doesn't even have a lunch or release day so who knows when it will hit the shelves. Plus the 8800GT and ATI's 3870 are both future proof and should last you for at least 1-2 years. If you decide to go with an 8800GT plz get an aftermarket cooler for that thing cuz the stock cooler is horrible.
 

sketchy69

Distinguished
Sep 10, 2007
50
0
18,630
same thing either is good ppl have said as the next games come the 3870 should contest better to the 8800gt or even surpass it but ass of right now for xmas 8800gt is best bet since the release of the nvidia 9 series is to come out in the 1h of 2008
 

detpower

Distinguished
Aug 2, 2006
141
0
18,690
Thanks for the help guys...so should i get the 3870 since the price is 50 bucks cheaper? I know it doesnt perform as well as the 8800gt. Also what brands are best to get i see so many different brands i don't know what to get.. are they all the same just have a sticker on them or are they actually modified from the brands factory?I would hate to buy a gpu from crappy companies with no support.
 

deltabullet

Distinguished
Nov 23, 2007
25
0
18,530
Honestly all the companies use the same raw materials to make their cards and they only differ in the bundle values and warranties, although some companies do make crappy boards comparing to others (for some strange reasons). If you are getting an nVidia card go with either: eVGA, BFG Tech, PNY, XFX. Now there are also companies like Leadtek, MSI, Gigabyte etc but I wouldn't go with them. Now for ATI cards I would go with ATI's own brand (ATI), Sapphire, HIS, ASUS, and Power Color. Now like I said before some companies offer game/software bundles while others offer better warranties and customer service. I have recently purchased an eVGA Geforce 8800GT Superclocked and it came with a copy of Crysis plus eVGA's lifetime warranty. So personally I would chose eVGA for nVidia cards.
 

detpower

Distinguished
Aug 2, 2006
141
0
18,690
Thanks delta, Hey I noticed you CPU, how is it holding up? I'm asking because i have the same cpu and was thinking of upgrading it,is this cpu working well with your new 8800gt?
 
If you can get the 3870 for $50 cheaper than the 8800gt than get it! Most people here would die to get there hands on a $50 cheaper 3870! Well not most, but you get my point. I don't think upgrading your x2 3800 will net you much as far as performance goes. So save your $ for your next upgrade or spend it on some cool games!
 

deltabullet

Distinguished
Nov 23, 2007
25
0
18,530
Well I overclocked the X2 3800+ to 2.4ghz but I think it might be bottlenecking my 8800GT a bit. Plus if you have a socket 939 motherboard like mine then it will almost be impossible to find a X2 4800+ or FX-60 since they are both discontinued. This summer I'm planning on getting a LGA 775 mobo along with either a Core 2 Duo 3.0ghz or a Quad Core 2.4ghz and I would be a happy camper :)
 

detpower

Distinguished
Aug 2, 2006
141
0
18,690
My cpu is a AM2 and is OCed to 2.4 also, I am worried it will bottle neck my new gpu..so i am also looking at the 5000 BE as a replacement..but it all depends on my MOB since DFI is having problems with the 65nm processors. Now another question...If both the 3870 and the 8800gt where priced the same what card would you buy?
 
If you going to SLI in the future I'd go with the 8800gt. If you want to X-fire in the future I'd go with the 3870. But if you just are going to use one GPU than the 8800gt right now is better. I'm betting that there will be some driver updates that might unlock more potential from the 3870, but that is just speculation on my part. If you followed what happened to the 2900xt, than I might be on to something here.
 

bildo123

Distinguished
Feb 6, 2007
1,599
0
19,810


I'll second that big time. In my particular system with stock fan speed and a nicely ventilated case would be 60C. Then when gaming came on it would go high 70's maybe even 80's which was kind of scary. Not only that I had the BFG 8800GT OC. So technically it was supposed to be @ 625/1800. But it was just @ 600/1800. So I'm sure using RivaTune to up it would have defenitly put it in the 80's no problem. So I did a little shopping and found a miracle called the Artic Cooling Accelero S2. For $17 plus $5 shipping at the Egg this thing does wonders to a 8800GT. I now have it OC @ 700/1950 and I cap at about 70C. I idle at about 48~50C. This is WITHOUT the turbo module fans also. Completely passive and silent. Of course this relies heavily on good case cooling.
 

spoonboy

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2007
1,053
0
19,280


i had a leadtek 7600gt, was a good card and took alot of overclocking abuse. Gave it to a friend to put into his 'power house' oem sempron 3000+ with 512mb sdram - FTW! Ran the new commander & conquer pretty well on that rust bucket. Never had to deal with technical support or return the card, so I dont have experience with that sideof it, but the card was solid, stable and well put together.

Like someone else said, if you choose to wait you might end up eternally waiting. Somebody else said wait for the 9 series, but that is bogus cos they'll be pricey as hell when they come out, then you might up waitin for them to drop in price... Get a 8800gt or 3870. Your x1800 has had good service by now and you certainly got your moneys worth with it.

I'd also stay away from cards with less than 512mb ram, as dx10 seems pretty disadantaged by it.
 

spoonboy

Distinguished
Oct 31, 2007
1,053
0
19,280


single slot cooling is often a bit w#nk.
 

detpower

Distinguished
Aug 2, 2006
141
0
18,690
Ok, I thought i would bring this thread back to life instead of making a new one since I still have the 3870. It is now time to upgrade and I was wondering what would be the best bang for the buck today? what will blow the 3870 out of the water for cheap?
 
You should have just made a new thread but yes, you can certainly get a good upgrade fairly cheaply.
It depends on what you want exactly though.
This GTS 250 will give you a 40-50% performance increase for only $80 after rebate;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127495

This HD4870 is $115 after rebate and would be about 75% more powerful;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121376

And then there is the HD5770 which performs similarly to the HD4870 but is much more power efficient, DX11 compatible, supports 3 monitors and has the latest audio/video playback features;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100007709%20600007320%20600007603&IsNodeId=1&name=Radeon%20HD%205770
 

alhanelem

Distinguished
Apr 20, 2010
601
0
19,010


i hate to say (since im a nvidia fan) you should get the HD 5770 since its faster than the gts 250 and has dx 11.
this should easily trash your HD 3870
 
Status
Not open for further replies.