GF 8500GT or GF 8600GS??

kuppy_t

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2008
14
0
18,510
Hi,

I'm having big trouble with choosing new desktop, from bestbuy and futureshop.
other spec. are the same however, the graphic card is slightly different, one is geforce 8500GT
the other is 8600GS i have no idea which one is better, and i dont know what type of game I can play
with these two card, I have low budget, which i believe these are only my options.

Thank you all,
 

kuppy_t

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2008
14
0
18,510
hi, i've been researching a bit and the thing is that in bestbuy and futureshop 's motherboard and power supply not fit with those new card better than 8500gt or 8600gs so i dont know what should i do
 

stridervm

Distinguished
Jan 28, 2008
645
0
19,010
Oh.... I understand .... You're buying a premade system.

Here's my suggestions.

Buy that package you want. Then, replace the PSU and video card inside it. Even the Radeon 4850 should be about 10x faster than that 8600GS.

Anyway, if you can buy computer parts seperately and put them together yourself, please do so, as you can save as much as 50% by buying those parts seperately and you end up with an even faster system than that.
 
One of the problems that most pre built systems have that are available at BestBuy or CircuitCity have is a weak power supply, weak graphic cards and they cannot be overclocked. You have several different options, the first is to build the system yourself using advice from places like here, books of "how to" from Barnes and Noble and research on the internet before you buy your parts. Another option would be to get a price list of system builds that add up to about $800 or $900 or so and go to a local computer shop that builds computers and see what they'll charge you to build it for you. They'd probably offer warranty service and it's best to get that from a local shop. A third option is to shop around at places like www.Newegg.com or www.tigerdirect.com for a much larger selection of computers with different components. Here's a quick example which i'm NOT recommending but is probably a better choice than the ones you were looking at in BestBuy.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883227071
Spend some time doing research here and you'll end up being much happier with what you eventually buy.
A couple of other sites to check out for info would be
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/
http://www.anandtech.com/

 

skywalker9952

Distinguished
Oct 3, 2007
236
0
18,680
If you are looking at premade systems to game on may I suggest using one of the build you own computer sites like systemax (through tiger direct) or Ibuypower, or cybermax. You will pay a premium over doing it yourself, but will get a computer that can actually game. As dirt mountain said, doing some research can help you out, the link to the video card chart should give you an idea of what you are looking for in a video card. As a personal recommendation I would say any card on that chart above the 7950GX2 is a good gaming card. Anything in the top ten lines will probably get you by. Anything lower then that and you are risking it being to old and not supporting a feature, or too underpowered to game.

As for what configuration you should use on such a site, they have a sales support specialist who will try to upsell you crap you don't need, but may be able to give you some good advice aswell. I would also recommend posting your potential build here first and asking for suggestions before buying. Ibuypower always has a sale. Always. So don't feel pressured if you are looking at a sweet sale price only if you buy within XX days. An alright configuration to start from is
http://www.ibuypower.com/ibp/store/configurator.aspx?mid=239#header


Its your money, and your computer. I would strongly urge you to put some time and reasearch into it and get something that will make you happy with your purchase for years to come.
 

kuppy_t

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2008
14
0
18,510
Hi, thank you so much everyone, i delete this comment since i didnt see the one above before i submit my last reply (i found the last suggestion is very satisfying i wanna check can i just order the one you send the link??)
 

kuppy_t

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2008
14
0
18,510
Hi, oh i just saw your suggestion from skywalker9 952, i check everything and adding one 20.1" monitor it would cost me 1278$, im very happy with the price, but i have some question can I lower something and adding 8800gt instead of readeon? (im sorry, i just never customized computer myself)
(do you mind if i ask your email?)
thank you again
 

JDocs

Distinguished
Apr 2, 2008
496
0
18,790
kuppy_t, the GeForce 8800GT destroys the GeForce 8600GS, the GeForce 9800GTX and Radeon 4850 basically tie and either can easily destroy the GeForce 8800GT.
 

sms2luv

Distinguished
Jul 3, 2008
7
0
18,510
my system is iball cabinet with 400w psu, asus msn mx se, amd 6000+, 3 gb ddr2 ram, 22inch lcd, 320 hdd, pls suggest me a graphic card i am intersted in 8600 pls let me kn0wshould i go for ddr2 or ddr3, i am confused should i go for nvidia and amd, as far as my budget goes i can get a 8600 512mb, pls reply soon, i am not able to create a new thread, whether my psu will support a 8600 card, i am interested in playing crysis in a high resolution
 

royalcrown

Distinguished
lol...sms2luv 8600=no, you guys should get an 8800gs...

@ op, buy ythe cheaper system and an 8800gs if you can find one, lower power and MUCH faster than the 8500 and 8600. Then sell your 8600 on ebay :)
 

skywalker9952

Distinguished
Oct 3, 2007
236
0
18,680
The system I linked to above (possibly your broken link?) will play most games just fine.

Do you need the Nvidia card for Linux? If not I would stay with the 4850. I am currently getting 1084 for the computer with a 20.1 inch monitor, so I am not sure what you added to get to that. Is this primarily a gaming rig? If so I may have to recommend a 6000+ or even a C2D. Quad hasn't really caught on in gaming yet.

@Raydog, that machine doesn't have a monitor I think he is looking @~$1200 with monitor.
 

kuppy_t

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2008
14
0
18,510
Hi, i have some more question.

is the graphic card 4850 better than 8800gtx? and also if i change to just geforce 8800gt would it still play most game? since the price is cheaper too,

and the reason im getting around 1278$ is because im living in Canada, so the shipping cost is around 168$ + taxes (i cant find site in canada that going to cost less with same requirement so far your link is the best price which matches all my requirement)

Also, when you said 6000+ and c2d isnt that lower spec than quad? or is it better?.. because it's actually cheaper (it is better for game?)

thank you
 

kuppy_t

Distinguished
Jul 10, 2008
14
0
18,510
lastly, i wanna ask that would the power supply 680 will be fine with all these component? (according to your link, skywalker)
 

skywalker9952

Distinguished
Oct 3, 2007
236
0
18,680
Just saw a somewhat good deal on dell's website.
Go here:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=brcw4zz&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&kc=productdetails~vostrodt_400mt&dgc=BF&cid=27740&lid=772703

Select E8400 or Q6600 (+$40) for processor
Select Vista Home Premium for OS
Select 3 year warrenty if you want it (+$129) standard is one year (up tp you)
Select whatever monitor you want from the monitor page
Select 2GB DDR2
Select whatever drives you want
For the Video Card select the 8800 GT
After that grab what you want. Most of dell's combo stuff you can get cheaper @ newegg. You may want to consider accident protection if you are that kind of person.

At the cart section of checkout use coupon code VC$HQKN25W954M for $200 off. If you don't get too expensive of a monitor you end up well under $1200 with a decent gaming rig.

The I buy power has upgrade potential, the dell doesn't. The dell has a solid brand name behind it (its small business not home for all you naysayers out there). If you aren't going to get into upgrading your computer, if you just want something that games, then go with the dell. If you are actually going to get into the case then go with the Ibuypower, or better yet make it yourself. (there are plenty of how tos just Google it).

The 680 should be fine. Its a cheapo PSU, with those components you would really only need a 500W or 600W higher end PSU, but since its a crappy one 680 will get you by.
 

skywalker9952

Distinguished
Oct 3, 2007
236
0
18,680
Most game these days are optimized for single or dual core processors. There are few newer games which utilize all four cores of a quad core. It is the future, but how soon that future will be here is unknown (at least to me). So for now dual cores are cheaper per GHZ so they game more for the $$. IE a 2.4 GHZ quad core is the same price as a 3.0 GHZ dual core, the 3 GHZ part will run the game faster because the game only uses one or two cores.

So they X2 6000+ will run a lot of games faster then the 9550 Phenom. How much faster? Depends on the game. Is it worth it? Depends on how you use your computer.
 

TRENDING THREADS