Cheap 9600 v. cheaper 8800 gs

[customisbetter]

Ok, I'm graduating and going to the local university. Since im going to get money for this event, i was wondering how to spend it. I am trying to keep this as close to 100 dollars as possible so keep that in mind.
Here are the contenders so far...
Chaintech 9600 GT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814145151
and

EVGA 8800 GS Superclocked http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130333

i have no idea which one to pick. BTW, my monitor res is 1280 x 1024 incase you need to know.

8800 9600

$105 $119
96 stream processors 64
650 core clock 650
1900 mem clock 1800
384 MB 512
194 bit 256


what do i do????
thanks and i encourage any other suggestions or comments.

 

[royalcrown]

the 9600 has much better framerates and hardware and only averages 10 dollars more, plus the 384 megs really hurts the 8800gs..go for the 9600.

http://www.neowin.net/news/main/08/01/14/nvidia-geforce-9600gt-review

 

[Shadow703793]

^Agreed. Also the 9600GT can be OCed more than the 8800GS imo.

Edit:
:lol: I was thinking about the 8800GTS.

 

[marvelous211]

They are about same in raw performance now but 8800gs would beat the 9600gt where games get more complex into the future. 9600gt is better at AA performance though. usually 0-20% better frame rates depending on the game.

http://shop1.frys.com/%7B6JGVmTC4QX+nDJ+Y7ehlJg**.node3%7D/product/5592220;jsessionid=6JGVmTC4QX+nDJ+Y7ehlJg**.node3?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Fry's has a deal for 8800gs for $80 after rebate. that is much better performance per $$$ than 9600gt.

 

[customisbetter]

so the number of stream proccesors doesn't matter?

 

[marvelous211]

^Agreed. Also the 9600GT can be OCed more than the 8800GS imo.

Like how?

Check out how much overclock I got out of my 8800gs in my sig.

 

[marvelous211]

so the number of stream proccesors doesn't matter?

It does for some games but game today aren't shader limited with current generation cards. In the future though those extra SP would make substantial difference.

8800gs has massive texture fillrate over 9600gt though so it does beat 9600gt in some games and 9600gt beats 8800gs some. 9600gt has 256bit memory bus so it does better at AA.

 

[marvelous211]

http://en.expreview.com/2008/04/02/g80-vs-g92-hi-end-geforce-gfx-cards-round-up/?page=13

Here's a better review

Considering you pointed to a 8800gs superclocked edition it would beat 9600gt in most games with AA off.

 

[royalcrown]

and the 384 is gonna hurt when things like FSAA are used.

 

[marvelous211]

8800gs is good upto 1600x1200 with some AA. It takes a nose dive @ 1920x1200 with 4xAA. It can easily play most games at 1920x1200 0xAA without much of a problem though.

 

[royalcrown]

I'd still go for the 9600, but it depends on the real advantage of shaders in the future, the extra ram for memory intensive appa is real and now though, but either way they are good cards.

 

[blacksci]

He may also want to use aa since he cant kick his resolution up high enough for it to not matter.

 

[marvelous211]

It just depends. What monitor you are running?

I'm on 19" monitor so 9600gt is moot point with a higher price tag that performs about same at current time. However those xtra SP would help in future titles that are more complex.

 

[royalcrown]

oh here is another link to read: and in some cases the 8800gs is ahead, but it depends on the situation and settings and you know what you play better than I.

http://www.bhfo.org/news/news-articles/9600gt-in-the-open-g94.html

 

[marvelous211]

He may also want to use aa since he cant kick his resolution up high enough for it to not matter.

Really? I play BF2 with 16xAA TRMS 16xAF @ 1440x900 and still get 100fps. :lol:

Any new titles I play with 4xAA 16xAF or higher depending on the game.

8800gs performs better than 9600gt in Crysis by couple frames at playble resolution where it matters anyway since all these cards play anything you throw at it with fast frame rates.

 

[marvelous211]

http://shop1.frys.com/%7B6JGVmTC4QX+nDJ+Y7ehlJg**.node3%7D/product/5592220;jsessionid=6JGVmTC4QX+nDJ+Y7ehlJg**.node3?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

Here's the link again. It's a steal @ $80 after rebate.

 

[royalcrown]

Oh hell yeah, for that price, I'd get it too.

 

[customisbetter]

thsnks marvelous. that link to your 8800 gs overclock is helpful considering my currents card is in there. i am about to checkout at frys but im waiting a second longer to make sure i can get rid of some stuff to pay for it.
speaking of, this is how i started. 8500 for 140 bucks, total rip off, sold it immediatly for 90. then bought my 8600 gts for 85 and now im getting a 8800 gs gor 80. i love internet shopping.
back to topic...
i am more into FPS titles like halflife and COD4. I just got crysis and it scares me how demanding it is so i figured that this card sould help a little.
thanks for all of your help!

 

[marvelous211]

In COD4 I can play everything cranked 4xAA 16xAF and still average 70fps.

Half life 2 forget about it. Try more like 100fps with the highest eye candy 16xAA 16AF.

I have a 19" LCD so I can play high settings and pull 37 fps. In very high detail I get 25fps or so with DX9 very high settings.

 

[royalcrown]

Yeah that price is a great bargain, boy when Frye's clears something out, they do a good job.e

 

[Shadow703793]

Like how?

Check out how much overclock I got out of my 8800gs in my sig.

:lol: I was thinking about the old (non G92) 8800GTS. I stand corrected.

 

[blacksci]

When i was talking high, i was thinking 1600x1200, where even if i turn on aa, i cant see the diffrence, but im glad it works well for you. Also as a side note, my p4 system could get 70 fps with a 7600gt with my above mentioned resolution, its really not that great of a game to give a comparison with, and cod4 doesnt really use that much of the gpu also.

 

[marvelous211]

7600gt with my above mentioned resolution, its really not that great of a game to give a comparison with, and cod4 doesnt really use that much of the gpu also.

Not with 16xAA it doesn't. My old 8600gts gave me 50fps average with 4xAA in Half Life 2. You probably had AA off.

I only mentioned COD4 because the OP asked for it. What games did you want me to compare it with? There isn't a game other than Crysis 9600gt or 8800gs have trouble with.

 

[blacksci]

Indeed i did, like i said, with it on, i dont see the diffrence at that resolution, why kick on aa, when i cant see the diffrence if it is on or off ?

 

[marvelous211]

Indeed i did, like i said, with it on, i dont see the diffrence at that resolution, why kick on aa, when i cant see the diffrence if it is on or off ?

8800gs performs fast as 9600gt if not faster without AA. Your original post mentioned that the OP would want higher AA settings. Your logic doesn't make sense. You say 1 thing and say another.