which is better i have heard that 9600gt's in sli are better than 8800gt's and i have also heard it the other way around. which is really better ?

For sure, 8800GT sli performs better. What you may have heard is reports that in SLI the 9600GT scales better. ie bigger increase going from one card to two cards. I won't argue whether that is true or not as both scale great IMO and it probably comes down to the exact game and resolution. But dual 8800GT will beat dual 9600GT.

Here are example games:
Oblivion:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardwar [...] /page5.asp
COD4:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardwar [...] /page8.asp
Crysis:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardwar [...] /page9.asp

also how overclockable are 8800gt's with the stock cooler such as this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814150252

i got this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130318

and it oc's great and has nice adjustable fan control (i use rivatuner but ntune also works). currently have it oc to 675 core when 3d games launch and back to default when game ends. i also turn up fan when oc so temps stay below 60 full load and about 48 idle.

If noise is no concern, then crank those fan to 100% and you can still OC quite well. Not as good as other aftermarket coolers though. Some of the XFX models run at 100% fan speed as they put a 2 pin fan header off the PCB instead of the typical 8800GT 4 pin heared.

This is what I thought of my loud reference 8800GT fans

There are two versions to the 8800GT reference heatsink. The original has the smaller diameter fan like my BFG's. The new style with larger fan is like the evga posted above. The new one is quieter and cools better.

Here is the difference between the fan diameter. (edit: sorry for the glare)

how would this one do ?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130357

and whats the diffrence between these two

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 57&bop=And

The more expensive one has the Akimbo cooler. I havent heard much about it, but I would assume it keeps the card cooler, allowing higher overclocks while staying quieter. You can buy the cooler separately from EVGA, but this shows it as out of stock.

http://www.evga.com/products/morei [...] F2-EV03-A1

To be honest, I like the cheaper one with the cooler similar to G80 GTS models. Both are dual slot coolers with rear exhaust. But the akimbo is overpriced by comparison.

ok so if i got the dual slot cooler which is the cheaper of the 2 on there it would be better than say but the single slot version xfx i was looking at. also do you know what evga warrenty on overclocking is ?

IMO yes it would be better. With dual GPU's if possible why not vent that hot air right out the case rather than circulate it within and make the case fan(s) exhaust it.

evga's warranty is pretty lenient. Unless you alter the bios or physically damage it changing coolers, I think you are fine. Just register it with 30 days or you get 1 year instead of lifetime.

ok and some guy on other forum keeps telling me 9600gt's in sli suck a lot and suggests that i get just one 9800gtx .... i heard that that card is worse than the 8800gts (g92) version

The 9800GTX is basically a high clocked 8800GTS 512MB. You could OC a GTS to beat a stock 9800GTX.

Alot of people are completely misinformed about SLI. And they spread their misconceptions on the forums. Honestly they stick to really outdated info and believe it still applies today. Then pass it on to the next person, and so on it goes.... The vast majority of games, a pair of 9600GT will beat a single 9800GTX. And sometimes it's by alot.

Next person to tell you that, pass on some links to them. let them measure their misguided opinion against your actual data.

Check each game at firingsquad to see 9600GT SLI vs a 9800GTX:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardwar [...] /page4.asp

This one they may attempt to argue. But the high clocked Gainward GLH 1GB 8800GTS actually beats the 8800GTX and 9800GTX. And in real world gaming like they use here, not scripted timedemos like most sites use, the 9600GT combo beats the beastly single GPU in 8 out of 10 games. As I said once here before. If Tiger Woods 08 is you game, fine grab the 9800GTX. But if you have an SLI mobo and play the other 8 games, grab the SLI 9600GT.
http://www.driverheaven.net/review [...] &pageid=12


edit: and here in this link is proof that this Gainward G92 is worthy of representing the top single GPU solutions currenly out. And 9600GT SLI beats it.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/v [...] html#sect1

The 9800GTX is virtually identical to the 512MB 8800GTS, but it costs a lot more.

I would get a single 512MB 8800GTS over two 9600GTs.

If your budget allows, I would call a pair of 8800GTs in SLI the best value high end solution on the market right now. Try to get models without the crappy stock cooler.

In about a month both ATI and NVIDIA will be releasing their new cards, and they should be very fast. The ATI offerings in particular should be great, offering high end performance for ~$200.

alright cool thank you for the help and everything i will prob go with dual 8800gt's or some sort or 9600gt's also how would 2 of evga's akimbo superclocked 8800gt's do in sli ?