9800GX2, 9800GTX, or wait..?

[wart thumbed]

Hey everyone, I own a 8800GTS 512 G92 graphics card from EVGA and my 90 day step up offer ends in mid June (or mid July if I plan on getting the GX2). My question is to you at tomshardware however is if I should step up to the GTX for 10$ + shipping, or wait untilEARLY summer rolls around and get the GX2 for ~260$ + shipping.

The GTX (I can't get a superclocked or KO model from EVGA since their offer does not allow it), from my limited technical understanding is only slightly better than my 8800GTS but is definitely a cheap cheap upgrade. The GX2 does look pretty awesome but it's clocks on the spec sheet I read are slower that the GTS and GTX.

Anyway, my other option is to just wait it out until May/June or wait until the 9900's come out (which hopefully won't be too expensive..)

Thanks in advance for any reads/replies.

 

[ThrillerGTX]

Id wait for something that will give much better benchmark than the 9800 GX2 and GTX. To me the improvement over the 8800 GTX and GTX Ultra is mediocre. I'd really like to see how the ATI 4xxx serie will do and hopefully the next real upgrade from Nvidia.

 

[mihirkula]

oh wait for the RV770s...they'll be out in early june... the 98x are very underwhelming

 

[wart thumbed]

oh wait for the RV770s...they'll be out in early june... the 98x are very underwhelming

Wow I just read about the RV770 and the upcoming ATI 48xx's and it sounds awesome!

If I did manage to get my hands on an ATI card when ti comes out would it be compatible with my ASUS P5k-E motherboard and Q6600?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131225

P5K-E

 

[grieve]

My question is to you at tomshardware however is if I should step up to the GTX for 10$ + shipping

correct me if im wrong (and im sure someone will)
9800GX2 > 8800Ultra >8800GTX > 9800GTX > 8800GTS

for $10 + shipping i would upgrade.... assumning your shipping costs are reasonable

 

[samal90]

I would wait for the release of the ATI 48xx since it might prove a better alternative and if not....will at least make other video card's prices drop

 

[wart thumbed]

Thanks for all the replies, however, would an ATI 48xx work on my given motherboard and processor specs? (listed above)

 

[3086na]

At the moment i have the same crisis as you because im stuck with a 7300 Light Edition which is terrible. I cant even play NFS:Underground 2 on high and that game is oooooollllddddddd. Im going to get the 9800GX2 in 2 weeks hopefully

If you want a graphics card now get a 9800gx2, since you listed it i assume you can aford it. simply becuase it's the best on the market at the moment and it doesn't matter when people say "your card is going to get discontinued soon", every piece of hardware is going to go through the same fate sooner or later.

If you choose to wait you can do so that's if you have patience. I personally think there isn't much point in that because, probably what is going to happen once the 99xx series has been released and you spend good money on it, NV will probably announce another newer card. and when you get the newer card NV is probably going announce another one, basically it's never ending and patience is not an option for me but your view might be different ofcourse.

Good Luck making a choice, I made mine

 

[wart thumbed]

Thanks for all the replies, however, would an ATI 48xx work on my given motherboard and processor specs? (listed above)

Does anyone know about this?

 

[darkstar782]

correct me if im wrong (and im sure someone will)
9800GX2 > 8800Ultra >8800GTX > 9800GTX > 8800GTS

for $10 + shipping i would upgrade.... assumning your shipping costs are reasonable

Maybe at 2560x1600 and stock speeds.

The 9800GTX overclocks very well. It might have less memory bandwidth but at resolutions lower than 2560x1600 this is compensated for by the massive core and shader clockspeed advantage.

I'd put it as 9800GX2 > 9800GTX > 8800GTS 512 > 8800Ultra > 8800GTX

 

[marneus]

A 9800GX2 is basically 2x8800GTS's... sli performance if your're lucky

wait for the summer when the new hardware comes out... either buy the new card or get a 'out-of-date' card cheaper

 

[LukeBird]

Yeah an ATi card should work fine on your mobo.
Personally, assuming shipping costs are reasonable, I'd chop in the GTS for a GTX and then see how the ATi series pans out. It's a good upgrade for $10 and if the ATi series looks good, you could get rid of your card and prob not lose too much on it, considering it'd only be a couple of months old

 

[mihirkula]

Wart Thumbed... yes the new ATI cards would work very well with your mobo and q6600.

 

[Nvidiafanboy]

just wait for the 9900 series to come out

 

[Jaevric]

Personally, I just upgraded from a pair of Asus 8600GTs (can you tell I didn't do much research before purchasing?) in SLI to an EVGA 9800GTX and couldn't be happier.

I intend to pick up a 9900 when they come out then step-up the 9800 for SLI, assuming it's worthwhile with my 16x10 resolution monitor.

 

[grieve]

I'd put it as 9800GX2 > 9800GTX > 8800GTS 512 > 8800Ultra > 8800GTX

OMG that’s so wrong...if we are talking performance and Nvidia cards only.

9800GX2 is #1 for sure, no question....
8800Ultra is #2 for sure, no question....

8800GTX IS better then a 8800gts in performance, maybe not bang for the buck, but it is the better performer.

the only real question is if a 9800GTX is better then a 8800GTX, I am sure if it matched the 8800 in memory 9800 would for sure be better then the 8800.

 

[darkstar782]

No I disagree.

Clicky

Looking here you can see, at resolutions of 1920x1200 and lower, the 9800GTX has the advantage over the 8800Ultra in almost every test.

Like I said, at 2560x1600 the lower memory bandwidth becomes an issue, but its still pretty close.

8800GTS 512 is so close to 9800GTX it makes hardly any difference.

Both overclock well, unlike 8800Ultra which is at its limit.

8800GTX is kinds sucky tbh, I'd swap my three for two 8800GTS 512s if I could

 

[L1qu1d]

I'd say wait...the 8800 GTS is a pretty bomb card (G92).

 

[soloman02]

Your best bet is to wait. According to this xbit news release, Nvidia is going to release their next gen card this summer.

So wait a little longer.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/video/display/20080414131104_Nvidia_Describes_Next_Generation_Graphics_Processor.html

 

[grieve]

No I disagree.

Clicky

Looking here you can see, at resolutions of 1920x1200 and lower, the 9800GTX has the advantage over the 8800Ultra in almost every test.

Like I said, at 2560x1600 the lower memory bandwidth becomes an issue, but its still pretty close.

8800GTS 512 is so close to 9800GTX it makes hardly any difference.

Both overclock well, unlike 8800Ultra which is at its limit.

8800GTX is kinds sucky tbh, I'd swap my three for two 8800GTS 512s if I could

I went to you link and counted the actual "wins/losses" in every single frame 9800GTX vs. Ultra Below were the results:

9800GTX - 10 win
Ultra - 12 win
Tie -2

-------------------
You said
“8800GTS 512 is so close to 9800GTX it makes hardly any difference.”

- First the 8800GTS isn’t even listed on your link.
- 8800GTS is slower then a 8800GTX (barely and not on all tests),
- 8800GTS is DEFINATLY slower then the Ultra, based on the common knowledge that the Ultra is faster then 8800GTX.

If the GTS is ALMOST as fast as 8800GTX which IS slower then an Ultra, which is comparable to a 9800GTX …how do you figure the 8800GTS is comparable to the 9800GTX??????

Based on the facts I listed above remind me how a 8800GTS is comparable to a 9800GTX???!!!!
We are not talking $ or bang for the buck… just speed.

 

[grieve]

go to this link,
@ the top choose "overall games FPS"
after everything loads up then @the bottom choose "view all products"

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/graphics-cards/warhammer-mark-of-chaos-v1-6,581.html

***this is a pretty old list and i just noticed that the GTS listed are not 500mb... the old model GTS get rocked!

 

[grieve]

here is some comparisons with 8800gtx / 8800gts and the 9800GTX...

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?id=2519&cid=3&pg=5

going simply by specs and results not "bang for your buck" i stand by my previous statments... but would swap the 9800GTX and 8800GTX

9800GX2 > 8800Ultra >9800GTX > 8800GTX > 8800GTS

In the link listed above, the Ultra beat 9800GTX/8800GTX and GTS in almost every single test.

 

[darkstar782]

9800GTX and 8800GTS 512 - the difference between these two cards is just 25MHz core, 63MHz shader, and 260MHz RAM. While the RAM difference is moderate, the other two are so close as to be insignificant when the 8800GTS 512 "OC editions" often run at speeds in the realm of 700MHz core - 25MHz FASTER than 9800GTX.

8800GTX is not all that overclockable. 8800Ultra even less so. I'd still take 9800GTX or 8800GTS 512 over either because both these cards are pretty decent overclockers.

The one weakness of G92 over G80 is memory bandwidth, which shows in high resolutions and high AA situations.

Alot of the benchmarks we have both found show the differences to be pretty damn small tbh..


But in the link I posted, discounting 2560x1600...

On 10 occasions 9800GTX (non SLi) beats 8800Ultra by at least 5 FPS. A few of these are significant.

On none, does the 8800 Ultra beat the 9800GTX by at least 5 FPS.

Although to be fair I only looked at that one page.

I think you can probably find benchmarks to support most points of view on the web... I do remember some sites saying x2900XT was way better than 8800Ultra.... which is obviously not true.

 

[grieve]

9800GTX and 8800GTS 512 - the difference between these two cards is just 25MHz core, 63MHz shader, and 260MHz RAM. While the RAM difference is moderate, the other two are so close as to be insignificant when the 8800GTS 512 "OC editions" often run at speeds in the realm of 700MHz core - 25MHz FASTER than 9800GTX.

That is comparing apples to oranges..
How can compare an OC'd GTS to a stock 9800GXT especially when reports say the 9800GTX runs cooler then a GTS??

 

[darkstar782]

Lets just agree to disagree because this is a silly argument

But even if you think the 8800Ultra is slightly faster, given the pricing of the two cards you have to say 9800GTX is a much better buy - if 8800 Ultra is better its not by much, and its nearly twice the price!