The 3850 is a better deal than the 8800 gt but has bad drivers......

This one is only $210

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150264

$20 more buys me a 512 8800 gt.

well my native res is 1680x1050. But I can sacrice some res for more performence.

I heard that the 7.11 and 7.12 drivers for the 3850 stunk and that they are working on the 7.13 ones. I also heard that the 7.10 drivers did fine though.......

Too late I have been bugged by this question since November......

7.12 drivers? Have I missed something??

Erm 7.11 are the newest ATI drivers out atm. As for problems i've had hell with them but for a single card setup the 7.10 drivers work best or maybe the 7.11 with the crysis hotfix. Go 3850 over 8800. The 8800 does draw more money from your pocket it's that damn lure of slightly more power, but honestly a 3850 is great for the price.

If you read your details in CCC --> Information Center --> Graphics Software you will notice the Crysis hotfix is a modified 7.11 driver still. Just the way i typed it didn't sound clear i suppose. In my defence i have just finished a night shift .

Roll on christmas, only 1 night left then 2 weeks of leave wahoo . Hope you ain't working crimbo time.

You'll enjoy a 3870 from the x1950. I have the 1950 but 512 in my second rig, power hungry little devil ( i went through 3 thats right 3 PSU's to get it going a Hiper580 wasn't enough!!). If i disable crossfire i still max every game i own bar Crysis so i'm sure you'll be grinning like a 'sane' person in an insane asylem .

I won't be doing any SLI or Crossfire just a single card.

Sorry I must have gotten something confused.

MS Framework error usually means you have to update the Microsoft .NET framework to the newest version.

I saw a review of the 8800GT 256 version over at legitreviews, and they put it almost dead even with the HD3850 (they traded being on top in various games).

Since that's the case, I'd either go with the 3850 or the 3870, since one is a bargain, and the other performs better.

3850 VS 88000GT(256) ??

like duh!! 3850!! here are the benchmarks.

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/607/8/

If the 8800GT 512 is only $20 more than the 8800GT 256 then your choice should be between the 8800GT 512 and the 3850.

"http://www.legitreviews.com/article/607/8/"

Wow, just me that thought it strange, that they had so high settings even the GTX struggles at <30 frames?
If you crank up the settings so the amount of memory is used up, you will not even get a frame at that particular test.
Who says that a 256MB card should even attempt a benchmark at 19x12 with filters enabled?
I wouldn't recommend any card other then the Ultra or SLI/Xfire if even the GTX struggled.
Those benches just told me to go with a GTS 512 or higher.

Before everyone jumps to too many conclusions about the hd3850 being so much better than the 8800gt 256mb, the firingsquad review should probably be considered since they used newer drivers than legitreviews. The 8800gt 256 outperforms the hd3850 at 1280x1024 in nearly every game by large margins in some cases. The hd3850 is a great deal for the money, but for ~$30 more the 8800gt 256mb offers a noticeable performance boost that many consider worth it.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardwar [...] page20.asp