upgrade to 8800gs from 7950gt?

[MayDay94]

i have an xfx 7950gt with 512mb (256bit) and slight factory oc reviewed here:
http://techreport.com/articles.x/10779/1

i was considering getting this evga 8800gs 384mb (192bit) at newegg today or tomorrow due to rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130332

based on this list, the 8800gs is a 4-tier jump from the 7950gt:
http://www.tomshardware.com/2008/03/05/the_best_gaming_graphics/page8.html

i have an old s939 system and play cod2, all source games, coh and graw. cod2 and source games play awesome on my current card at 1680x1050. coh and graw are good but have to turn some things down. i plan on building a new gaming pc in a few months once new ati 4 series is released and the latest intel quads are readily available. therefore, not looking for major overhaul, but just want to improve my soon-2-b backup system if worth while. at $109 after rebate, small price to pay especially if i can ebay my 7950gt. i know 8 series kills the 7 series in most games, but will i see a big impact in coh and graw without a detrimental one in other games (7950gt has a higher memory bandwith) or will the new architecture in the 8800gs just destroy any memory limitations it may have?
my psu (enermax liberty 400w w/ 30a on 12v) will be fine and looks like 8800gs will fit in my case. reviews say it's quiet which helps since my 7950gt doesn't have a fan at all.

it's hard to find reviews of 8800gs, esp compared to any 7 series card. any recommendations would be appreciated. i saw someone say that the 7950gt beat the 8800gts 320mb in cod2 so this is why i am hesitant but can't find anything to back it up.

1) keep what i got since building a new pc in few months and difference not huge in those games
2) upgrade to 8800gs since huge difference for relatively cheap
3) jump to a 9600gt when see a good price

 

[Annisman]

In my opinion the 8800GS would be a great fit for your system, or a 9600GT, however you should consider a proc. upgrade as well.

 

[crusoe74]

In my opinion the 8800GS would be a great fit for your system, or a 9600GT, however you should consider a proc. upgrade as well.

Agreed, the GS will be a marked increase over your 7950GT but your CPU will bottleneck it slightly.

 

[marvelous211]

modern games use dual cores.

Crysis, COD4, UT3, and the gang.

 

[MayDay94]

yes, i know dual core is better but only option would be an opty 180 for $140. is that worth it? again, i am building a new pc in a few months and will definitely go intel quad core and either 4870x2 or a 9800gtx or whatever makes the most sense once the benchmarks are out. again, not trying to play "modern" games like crysis or even cod4 with this s939 pc. just wondering if the gs or now the opty if worth it for the games i mentioned (cod2, coh, graw, source games). i really don't want to spend $250 on this old pc for both.

 

[Annisman]

Well if that is your plan, than scrap the 8800gs, and buy 1 9600GT, then, once you have upgraded to your 'new' computer, you won't have to buy a whole new video card, just add 1 more 9600 for SLI and that will compete or beat the 9800GTX and maybe the 4870X2 for alot cheaper. So you can increase your performance now with the 9600, and then delve into some more intense hardware with a second 9600 later.

 

[fatcat]

Honestly, I wouldn't upgrade anything just yet. If it's your plan to make a complete new system in a few months than wait and see. There is always new things around the corner. Buy your parts when the time comes. Unless the performances your getting from your system are really bugging you and I don't see the need for an upgrade. You still have a pretty decent rig even if it's not dual core.

 

[pauldh]

The 8800GS is twice the card the 7950GT is. In games like Crysis, UT3, COD4, Oblivion, etc. you just can't compare them. The 8800GS is >= HD3850 256MB, and it offered 100% more performance than the 7950GT in this review. Crysis at 16x12 was 30+ fps vs about 8 fps. http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3151&p=9

Now, yes your cpu can hold it back, but at 16x10 resolution, you will be able to stress the GPU's enough where the 8800GS would dominate the 7950GT. I upgraded from X1950XT to 8800GTS 320MB on a single core and saw a playable difference. And the X1950XT is alot less of a jump than coming from the 7950GT.

 

[MayDay94]

ok, even though building new pc soon, will not scrap my current one. I will keep and use both, but use the new one for all new games (still can play orange box, etc on old one). anyway, my current pc is fine for now (been living with it but i may just go ahead and spend extra cash and make it really nice for next few years (got a huge tax refund coming).

if i got the opty 180 for $140 it's the same default speed as my 4000+. hopefully it can get same comfortable oc from 2.4 to 2.7. the dual core should help in some games and definitely in photoshop & premiere. now for video card, still might go 8800gs, but now tempted for 9600gt or even cheap 8800gt if upgrade cpu. i need to check on space when i get home, but as long as card does not extend beyond by matx board, it should be fine. on evga site, all 3 cards have length of 9 inches (22cm?) and mobo is 24.4cm or 9.6 inches i believe. the hard drive cage in my matx case starts right after mobo (but not before), so i should have about 1/2 inch clearance with a new card.

here is my mobo:
http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en-us/mb/content.php?S_ID=26

opteron is not listed as supported, but x2's are. would the opty 180 work?

for and extra $70 over the 8800gs, is this bfg 8800gt 512 at $180 worth extra juice with the opty? without it? are all 8800gt's the same 9inches in lenght? (bfg site didn't list length like evga):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143118

 

[MayDay94]

ok, i went crazy and got both the opty180 and the evga 8800gt for 175 after rebate. been using them both since sat night and wow! 3dmark06 went from 4500 with my old parts to 6300 with just 8800gt swap. i also doubled my fps in coh from 30 to 60 and i upped the settings. i then installed the opty and 3dmark06 jumped to 8900. everything is much smoother. maybe it was crazy but system flies - i am real happy with it. could've got new mobo/cpu etc but now don't have to reinstall and swapping card and cpu took like 15min mostly with having to remove the psu to get to my cpu in my silverstone sg01 case. dual core does rule and the 8800gt is freakin huge! orange box no longer slows down at certain, intense moments. cod4 demo i have maxed and looks amazing. crysis demo is pretty playable on high as well. can't wait to get some new games now. perhaps wic and the new & improved witcher when that comes out. already have cod4 and bioshock on xbox

 

[Annisman]

Well i'm glad those updates worked for you, it can be surprising what a few hundred dollars can do to a dormant system.