all 8800gt's are not created equal.....help?

[260zdatsun]

ok so I got a bit of money and I was thinking I could use a 8800gt so I went to newegg and started looking at the 8800gt. Which model should I get??? Im thinking 280ish is about all I wanna spend. Somebody wanna give me the lowdown cause all 8800gt's are not created equal... Thanks for your help guys

Also if the 9 series is comming out in just a bit would it be better to wait...kinda hate playing that game tho

 

[TSIMonster]

There is an eVGA one on there for $240 shipped. I bought the same thing a couple of weeks ago for $280 shipped. definitely the one to buy right now.

 

[Dunkel]

Your right they aren't created equal. From what I understand, if you plan on playing on a nice high rez monitor then the 512MB version is the way to go. On the same hand, I have heard that that thing runs very very hot. So if you don't have a well vented case or some extra fans to blow on it, you might want to consider the Gigabyte 8800GT 512MB. It comes with a big Zalman fan and heat sink. It runs around $280 and I can't find it in stock, and that's the one I want.

The other options are:

1. Buy the cheaper eVGA now, which is a very nice card, and decide later whether or not to buy an after market GPU heat sink and fan.

2. or...Save a little extra cash for the new 8800GTS 512MB. It's a double wide card with cooling that vents outside the case. I hear it's a lot cooler. Runs around $329 though.

 

[Silverion77]

The 9 series is supposedly out in Feb. March time but its just a relaunch of the G92's (8800GT and 512 8800GTS). Nothing special.

I would suggest eVGA. Great company. Overclocking is allowed and so is aftermarket cooling which is sort of needed. This thing is pretty loud when at max speed. It also has the step-up program so say the 9 series comes out and you want it you can trade up the card you got

Otherwise generally they just come with different factory clocks. Get the 512 mb version.

 

[folius]

I have two eVGA 8800GT 512mb cards in SLI now (just got my second one yesterday) and they are great. I have no aftermarket cooling on them, idle are about 55c and full load is about 72c. These are the v2 cards with the bigger/quieter fans. Even at 100% fan speed on BOTH cards... they are still quieter than the first gen cards at 100%.

 

[amddiesel]

I have two eVGA 8800GT 512mb cards in SLI now (just got my second one yesterday) and they are great. I have no aftermarket cooling on them, idle are about 55c and full load is about 72c. These are the v2 cards with the bigger/quieter fans. Even at 100% fan speed on BOTH cards... they are still quieter than the first gen cards at 100%.

You using riva tuner and manually stting the fan speed at 100%? Thats what im doing and its staying cool...but i hate having to open up riva tuner and set a fan speed every time i game.. Im worried running the fan all day at 70-100% would wear out that little fan quickly

 

[Dunkel]

How do you know if it's version 2?

I just ordered http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16814130318

 

[folius]

You using riva tuner and manually stting the fan speed at 100%? Thats what im doing and its staying cool...but i hate having to open up riva tuner and set a fan speed every time i game.. Im worried running the fan all day at 70-100% would wear out that little fan quickly

No, my fan speed is at 40% idle, and I have profiles to increase the fan speed as the card temps increase. So idle at 40% fan speed ~55c, then when it hits ~60c (starting games) it speeds up to 60% load. When the cards reach ~70c (full gaming loads) my fan speeds increase to 80%. And god forbid if they go above 80c (which they NEVER do...) my fans go to 100% auto.

I never run my fans at 100% all the time, not ven 70% all the time. I was just making the comparison about how quiet the new version cards are compared to the launch cards.

How do you know if it's version 2?

I just ordered http://www.newegg.com/product/prod [...] 6814130318

You know its a v2 card when you get it. The fan will be larger and it wont sound like a jet engine. The pictures on the newegg lisings are all of the v1 cards because they havnt updated them yet. I really dont think they even have any v1 cards left in stock. Since they were all sold out for weeks after launch and they are not even made anymore... odds are your getting a v2 card. If you dont, just RMA it back and request one because of heat issues or somthing.