NVidia 8800GT vs 8800GTS Worth the difference?

I am in the process of building a new gaming computer system, and am going back and forth to figure out what I want in terms of graphics card. I have all the other components on order, or already in my possession...I will list them and maybe it will give some better insight into what I need.

- AMD X2 Brisbane +5000 (Black Ed)

- 2GB Corsair XMS2 RAM

- 480 Watt PSU

- 280GB West. Dig. HD

- Foxconn C51XEM2AA AM2 NVidia 590 SLI MoBo

The question I have is, is the 8800GTS worth the extra $100 over the 512MB 8800GT? Will I need a bigger power supply with the GTS? I would get the XFX version of the 8800GT off NewEgg and it is priced at $269.00, I just wanted to get informed opinion about this rig and what would be best. Thanks a lot in advance!

-Mike G.

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Nothin? Anyone? Just wondering if it is worth the extra $100....

Reply to garber

Noobie gonna say something here since noone else is. Based on what I've read on other threads, you don't give enough information.

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Reply to drysocks

Personally, I don't believe so. Its $100 for a few extra FPS. And I mean just a few.

What you could do is save that $100 and use it towards a new card in another year or so.

------------------------------ Antec Nine Hundred, Gigabyte P35-DS3R, Intel Q6600 @ 3.2 Ghz, Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme, eVGA 8800GT 512MB, G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-800 4-4-4-10, Seasonic S12 ATX 650W, Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA, 26" LCD Monitor (1900x1200), Windows XP Pr
Reply to deuce271

Save the $100 and get the GT; I don't think you'll miss those 16 stream processors.

Reply to Heyyou27

From what i have read its not going to be worth it the only diff seems to be at higher resolutions and even then i dont think its worth the money.
Mactronix

Reply to mactronix

I went with the 8800GT option and Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 VGA Cooler

user reviews at: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/show [...] -AR&tool=3

the supplied thermal tape I hear is a waste of time - so get some Akasa AK-TT12-80 Thermal Adhesive Tape for the S1's RAM sinks.

at standard speeds the GTS is only 10 - 15% faster than the GT. The extra cost just is not worth it

Once OC'd it will be dam close to GTS speeds.
and the GTS and GT both clock about the same I've heard...

Reply to Pailin

You can get a PNY 8800 GTS 512 from Fry's for $299 today
http://www.frys.com/product/5471769

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------------------------------ q9650 @ 4.050 | Asus Rampage Formula | 2x2 & 2x1 Corsair Dominators | WD Black 640 x2
EVGA GTX260 Core216 @ 686/1479/1103 | Antec TPN 750

Reply to Delluser1

drysocks what info do you need to. he just asked if the gts was worth the extra $100. I would have to go with no myself

Reply to Crazywheels

I just got a GTS 512 and it's great, but I really wanted the dual slot cooler and didn't want to play around with installing an aftermarket cooler myself. Also, I was able to get an EVGA with Crysis for free which I couldn't do with the 8800GT at the time. I don't regret the choice, but the card's performance certainly isn't worth $100 more. The extra factors made the decision for me.

Reply to prodystopian

I'm getting one for the dual-slot cooler too.

------------------------------ "He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose" -- Jim Elliott
Reply to leo2kp

Great! Thanks a lot for the help. I have been building PCs for a while, and this one just stumped me. I like to ask people "in the know" before I got out and blow a good bit of money. I appreciate all of your replies!

-Mike G.

Reply to garber

Delluser1 wrote :

You can get a PNY 8800 GTS 512 from Fry's for $299 today
http://www.frys.com/product/5471769

For that price the GTS is the one to for.

Reply to ethel

I forgot to mention its nice having the dual slot cooler. Not sure if that + a few extra FPS still makes it worth it. But its another plus.

------------------------------ Antec Nine Hundred, Gigabyte P35-DS3R, Intel Q6600 @ 3.2 Ghz, Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme, eVGA 8800GT 512MB, G-Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-800 4-4-4-10, Seasonic S12 ATX 650W, Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 320GB SATA, 26" LCD Monitor (1900x1200), Windows XP Pr
Reply to deuce271

There you go garber!
Most generally think it's not worth it.
$100 for a few more fps, better at higher resolution, larger cooler.
But at +$30.00 (See ethel's post), is it now "worth it"?

It appears to me to be a "pain threshold" issue mostly.

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Reply to drysocks

drysocks wrote :

There you go garber!
Most generally think it's not worth it.
$100 for a few more fps, better at higher resolution, larger cooler.
But at +$30.00 (See ethel's post), is it now "worth it"?

It appears to me to be a "pain threshold" issue mostly.

It all depends on how much cash is small change for someone. For me, a $100 difference is quite a bit. I couldn't justify the difference, so when I upgrade my son's Nvidia 405 chipset X2 4600+ system's PSU, I'll get him an 8800GT 512 when the prices drop in 2008.

Right now, the old Coolermaster PSU can only handle an 8600GTS. We all know that's a bad choice! So, I have to factor the cost of his new PSU into the mix when I replace his aging 7600GT.

I'm asking myself whether the 3870 is really worth it on our two 690G boards, or whether a 512 meg 3850 is a better choice? I play games too, but I don't care about a few fps when cost is factored into it. They already have decent Antec Neo and Truepower PSU's so that's not a factor there.

Overall, I think Nvidia's really screwing up with their naming conventions for the G92 parts. I don't think the new GTS are worth the extra cost and the old GTS just won't cut it compared to a 512 meg version of the 8800GT.

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Message edited by yipsl on 12-20-2007 at 11:56:26 PM

Reply to yipsl

Dont forget about your cpu bottleneck, just a little bottleneck, if you can afford it take the gts but if not dont worry about geting gt (512 of course) you dont lose too much and with the saved money buy the game you prefer.

Reply to talit

if you want speed and value at the expensive of noise and heat go the gt if you want speed quietness and low temps at the expense of your hard earned cash get the gts. my gts is sooo quiet idles at 52 c max 64 C

------------------------------ Amd Anthlon x2 4800 @ 3.0 Ghz..........2 gb g skill ddr2 1066 ram
Gigabyte GA-m57sli-54..........Seagate 320gb 7200rpm
XFX Geforce 8800 gts 512 Core: 780 Memory:2200

Reply to neisonator

yipsl wrote :

It all depends on how much cash is small change for someone. For me, a $100 difference is quite a bit. I couldn't justify the difference, so when I upgrade my son's Nvidia 405 chipset X2 4600+ system's PSU, I'll get him an 8800GT 512 when the prices drop in 2008.

Right now, the old Coolermaster PSU can only handle an 8600GTS. We all know that's a bad choice! So, I have to factor the cost of his new PSU into the mix when I replace his aging 7600GT.

I'm asking myself whether the 3870 is really worth it on our two 690G boards, or whether a 512 meg 3850 is a better choice? I play games too, but I don't care about a few fps when cost is factored into it. They already have decent Antec Neo and Truepower PSU's so that's not a factor there.

Overall, I think Nvidia's really screwing up with their naming conventions for the G92 parts. I don't think the new GTS are worth the extra cost and the old GTS just won't cut it compared to a 512 meg version of the 8800GT.

I believe the 8600GTS uses more power at idle than the 8800GT 512mb. The 8800GT barely uses more power under load. If the old PSU handles the 8600GTS, it would likely handle the 8800GT. Even a typical modern quad core system with an 8800GT 512mb won't use more than 277W under load. If it's too old, I'm sure it's a good idea to replace the PSU anyway...

drysocks wrote :

Noobie gonna say something here since noone else is. Based on what I've read on other threads, you don't give enough information.

lol. WRONG. he provided enough info.

Your belief is likely wrong, the 8600GTS doesn't even need a power connector.

I don't think the 800GTS 512 is worth it... the new cooler for the 8800GT solves most problems with noise/cooling for it it seems fine to me.

8800GT 512mb ftw.

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------------------------------ Na na na na na na na na HATMAN!
Reply to Hatman

Hatman wrote :

Your belief is likely wrong, the 8600GTS doesn't even need a power connector.

I don't think the 800GTS 512 is worth it... the new cooler for the 8800GT solves most problems with noise/cooling for it it seems fine to me.

8800GT 512mb ftw.

8600gts DOES require the power connector.

8600gt does NOT
__

8800GT is the best deal going right now, if you can find one...

Reply to jwolf24601

Hatman wrote :

Your belief is likely wrong, the 8600GTS doesn't even need a power connector.

I don't think the 800GTS 512 is worth it... the new cooler for the 8800GT solves most problems with noise/cooling for it it seems fine to me.

8800GT 512mb ftw.

Actually... the 8600GTS does require a power connector as I owned one. And the power requirements for it are right up there within 20-30W of the 8800GT under load. The 8800GT delivers a surprising amount of performance per watt. Google it...

http://arstechnica.com/journals/ha [...] 800-series

There you go, Hatman...

Not even remotely worth it, if every frame rate counts then get a gtx. It has much higher overclock gains than the gimped 256 bit cards.

Reply to LAN_deRf_HA

GTXs are 500 dollars, and a poor buy. Additionally, they are out of his price range.

Reply to nukchebi0

Closer to 400 actually...

------------------------------ Xeon X3350 @ 3.4 GHz >Asus X38 P5E >4 gigs DDR2 @850mhz 4 4 4 12 >X-fi Fatality
>Thermaltake Toughpower 650w >PALiT 260 GTX (216) @729/1458/2520

Reply to LAN_deRf_HA

If you shop smart the price difference isn't really $100. The GT(s) are pretty hot sellers right now where as the GTS(s) aren't so much and thus there are more rebate/free game offers with GTS(s). I bought mine for $359 - $20 rebate + Crysis which I sold for $35. So my total cost was $305, well worth it for the better cooler and higher FPS. Remeber if you buy a GT and an aftermarket cooler not only will it cost almost as much but you'll most likely void your warranty.

------------------------------ GIGABYTE GA-P35-DS4 v2.0
Intel Core2 Q6600 @ 3.3Ghz
4GB OCZ Reaper DDR2 800 @ 915Mhz
EVGA 8800GTS 512MB G92
Reply to purplerat

No. not worth it... get a 8800GT for ~$250-280 if you can.

Reply to qmalik

Newegg has 450 as the lowest, average price is still 500.

Reply to nukchebi0

you gt fanboys are forgetting the gts can be overclocked further than stock and ocing the gts with the dual slot cooler its much cooler and quieter.

------------------------------ Amd Anthlon x2 4800 @ 3.0 Ghz..........2 gb g skill ddr2 1066 ram
Gigabyte GA-m57sli-54..........Seagate 320gb 7200rpm
XFX Geforce 8800 gts 512 Core: 780 Memory:2200

Reply to neisonator

Yeah.

If you really look at it from a practical standpoint there is $80 of difference between the two cards, which I think makes the GTS around 130% of the GT's cost (looking at 270 and 350, which are the most common). However, a new cooler for the 8800GT, which is needed for OC'ing to the height of the dual slot stock on the GTS, runs around 40 for a good one. Therefore, looking at the same cooling levels, we have the GTS running 350 and the GT 310, with a 10-15% performance (mathematically, 14%) difference guaranteed by the number of SPs. When looking at the price differences between 310 and 350, we see it is roughly 12.9%. This means, that if you are overclocking both, the GTS is in reality no worse a deal. Especially considering the lack of hassle with installing an aftermarket cooler, the GTS might even become a better deal than the GT if you are overclocking.

Message edited by nukchebi0 on 01-06-2008 at 07:38:00 AM

Reply to nukchebi0

Soo many people in this thread saying NO it is not worth it......
HELLO PEOPLE! GTS cards are NOT $100 more then a GT~!~! for pete's sake!
As someone else posted- you can get a 8800GTS 512mb for only $300, and I found yet another place you can score one for that price after $30 rebate---- NEWEGG.com has a leadtek 512mb GTS for $300 (and the rebate offer is good until mid feb!)

The cheapest 8800GT I can find is $260.... So for 40 bucks more you get a GTS card that is 10% better, runs cooler, is quieter, and can generally overclock to higher levels then the GT can without having to add some ridiculous cooling solution.. How in the hell is the GTS a poor choice?

I would say--- 8800GTS 512mb (G92) is the better buy when you take all of those points into consideration.

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Reply to gamebro

Here is a little Article i Found putting a Stock and OC'd 8800GT against a Stock and OC'd 8800GTS G92:

http://www.tweaktown.com/articles/ [...] index.html

From the article you can see that a OC'd GT at 700mhz barely breaks even with a stock GTS g92 and in some cases still loses.

From what i see

A. buy a stock gt for 270ish and try and overclock it yourself with a possibility of burning up the card due to a not-so-great cooler and/or Voiding the warranty all together

B. Buy a Factory OC'd gt anywhere from 299 to 349 depending on where you look and get max OC performance on par of a Stock GTS

Choice A is scary for me and probably alot of people because we dont have the money to risk burning up a card and voiding the warranty.

Choice B For me kinda shoots the whole price/performance argument cause you will be spending the same on an OC'd GT as you would on a stock GTS (maybe 20 or 30 dollars cheaper)

For me, it just seems smarter to just get the GTS (which stock is faster than a 700mhz OC'd GT) Has better cooling and has HUGE OC'ing potential. Just my $.02

Reply to mpkonig

I bought a EVGA 8800GTS 512MB. It was certainly a bit more expensive, but I think the value is still there. The extra steam processors is nice to get a few extra fps, which, hey IS a few extra fps.
Also, for me, the dual slot cooler was important because it vented heat OUT of the case. I liked that enough to justify the $40-$70 price difference.

Not to mention free Crysis, step-up program, and great warranty.

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Reply to rallyimprezive

rallyimprezive wrote :

I bought a EVGA 8800GTS 512MB. It was certainly a bit more expensive, but I think the value is still there. The extra steam processors is nice to get a few extra fps, which, hey IS a few extra fps.
Also, for me, the dual slot cooler was important because it vented heat OUT of the case. I liked that enough to justify the $40-$70 price difference.

Not to mention free Crysis, step-up program, and great warranty.

I think if you can get the GTS for $300-330 with a free game that you are wanting, it is a good option. The problem is you can find an 8800gt for $220 after rebate if you really look.

http://www.ncixus.com/products/273 [...] echnology/

One just has to decide if the 2 or 3 extra fps are worth 50-100 bucks as the cheapest GTS I see on Newegg is $310 after rebate.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150261

DOH! they sold out on leadtek cards lol.

That 8800GT (galaxy) is very cheap! But it is an OEM card, with no guarantee on which cooler you will get! (2 versions) And if you look at the forums there, a good number of people have problems with the fans lol. So maybe it is cheap for a reason lol?

They have a more decent looking cheap GT there for $230-- http://www.ncixus.com/products/277 [...] 1-AR/eVGA/

Those prices are the cheapest I've seen a 8800GT (512mb), all my searches turn up $260 for the lowest =-\

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Message edited by gamebro on 01-08-2008 at 08:25:24 PM

Reply to gamebro

I just got the evga 8800 gts 512 mb and love it. If you plan on stepping up, which I do then don't worry about the price. I'm hoping the 9800's will be a substantial upgrade from the 8800's. If this is the case all you have to pay is the difference in price. So if you are in fact planning on stepping up through evga then the more you pay now, the less you will later...

...at least i think that's how it works.

If you're not, the extra $ from a GT to GTS is not worth the 1-2 fps increase.

Reply to drumr1829

gamebro wrote :

DOH! they sold out on leadtek cards lol.

So maybe it is cheap for a reason lol?

Those prices are the cheapest I've seen a 8800GT (512mb), all my searches turn up $260 for the lowest =-\

That may be true... but like you said, there are others for similar prices.

For me a few frames for ~$100 isn't worth it. Of cording to anandtech, evga is coming out with a dual slot cooling solution to the 8800gt

Reply to dodian

gamebro wrote :

Soo many people in this thread saying NO it is not worth it......
HELLO PEOPLE! GTS cards are NOT $100 more then a GT~!~! for pete's sake!
As someone else posted- you can get a 8800GTS 512mb for only $300, and I found yet another place you can score one for that price after $30 rebate---- NEWEGG.com has a leadtek 512mb GTS for $300 (and the rebate offer is good until mid feb!)

The cheapest 8800GT I can find is $260.... So for 40 bucks more you get a GTS card that is 10% better, runs cooler, is quieter, and can generally overclock to higher levels then the GT can without having to add some ridiculous cooling solution.. How in the hell is the GTS a poor choice?

I would say--- 8800GTS 512mb (G92) is the better buy when you take all of those points into consideration.

$230 for eVGA 8800GT w/ Crysis

http://www.ncixus.com/products/277 [...] merReviews

Message edited by qmalik on 01-09-2008 at 03:23:46 AM

Reply to qmalik

gamebro wrote :

Soo many people in this thread saying NO it is not worth it......
HELLO PEOPLE! GTS cards are NOT $100 more then a GT~!~! for pete's sake!
As someone else posted- you can get a 8800GTS 512mb for only $300, and I found yet another place you can score one for that price after $30 rebate---- NEWEGG.com has a leadtek 512mb GTS for $300 (and the rebate offer is good until mid feb!)

The cheapest 8800GT I can find is $260.... So for 40 bucks more you get a GTS card that is 10% better, runs cooler, is quieter, and can generally overclock to higher levels then the GT can without having to add some ridiculous cooling solution.. How in the hell is the GTS a poor choice?

I would say--- 8800GTS 512mb (G92) is the better buy when you take all of those points into consideration.

Personal choice, not good or poor.
Your $ your choice, my $ my choice.
No need to shout

------------------------------ P35-DS3L Rev 2 bios F9C l E8400 @ 3.6Ghz @ 1.232v l OCZ Vendetta 2 /LGA775 Bolt-Thru l 4GB G.Skill 8800PI@1000mhz 4:5 @ 1.87v l WD3200AAKS 320GB l Evga 8800GTS 512 l X-Fi Xtreme Music l Corsair HX520 l Antec Sonata III 500 l Vista32 SP2 l Win7 X64 7600
Reply to kpo6969

No need to shout is your opinion of course =)
Personally if the average price is $260 for a GT and $300 for a GTS, I think it is shout worthy lol, especially when everyone here is saying "not worth the $100 price difference".
That is not the real price difference (on average-- the cards on ncix are an exception, will those prices\stock last?).

oh and qmalik-- it does not come with crysis, it comes with FarCry.

Reply to gamebro

Personally, I'll just get the 8800GT. I had some heat issues with Vista 64, but they seem to have gone.
If you care about performance, wait for the g100 & r800

Reply to enewmen

No one is arguing that the GTS is better then the GT but from a price/performance perspective the GT is the better choice.
As i see it i save $50-100 to my next upgrade by going with the GT since neither of them are "next gen" that will handle Crysis-like-games with ease.

If you look at the benches above i see aproximately a 5-20% difference in performance but a 20-35% difference in price ie GT is better in price/performance.

------------------------------

Reply to rosu9801

A $240 or lower 8800GT no doubt wins the price to performance ratio, but at $260 I am not convinced the GTS is a loser for mearly $40 more, especially when overclocking is taken into consideration....

I hear people say--- "don't buy the 8800GTS it is a waste of money.... Instead buy the 8800GT and then buy a good heatsink\fan!"

Buy a good fan!? For the 8800GT? For that kind of money, you'd do better just to buy a darn GTS lol.

Reply to gamebro

my god, just look at tomshardware video card benchmarks
:facepalm:

Reply to caskachan

I would have to say check out the asus website and consider the EN8800GTS/TOP/HTDP/512m.This card Is the king of gts cards in my opinion.The only problem is finding one.It is factory overclocked(a-lot)and not just the core&memory.Plus it comes with a cool o/c tool so you might even be able to squeeze even more out of it.But like I said no-one seems to have it.Yet... http://usa.asus.com/news_show.aspx?id=9243

Message edited by fbm211 on 01-09-2008 at 01:52:57 PM

Reply to fbm211

I got given an 8800 gts 640mb of my friend and it has the maddest bigass cooler on it lol...works like...awesome

Reply to Iol

garber wrote :

I am in the process of building a new gaming computer system, and am going back and forth to figure out what I want in terms of graphics card. I have all the other components on order, or already in my possession...I will list them and maybe it will give some better insight into what I need.

- AMD X2 Brisbane +5000 (Black Ed)

- 2GB Corsair XMS2 RAM

- 480 Watt PSU

- 280GB West. Dig. HD

- Foxconn C51XEM2AA AM2 NVidia 590 SLI MoBo

The question I have is, is the 8800GTS worth the extra $100 over the 512MB 8800GT? Will I need a bigger power supply with the GTS? I would get the XFX version of the 8800GT off NewEgg and it is priced at $269.00, I just wanted to get informed opinion about this rig and what would be best. Thanks a lot in advance!

-Mike G.

Hold on there....first of all...which 8800gts are you talking about cause there are three different types, the 320mb 512mb and the 640mb. which one do you want? The 8800GTS 512mb is the best out of the three since its g92 technology and has the most cores. After that comes the 640mb and 320mb which might have more ram but have less cores and less clock speeds.

Reply to blackhawk1928

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