8800 GTX SLI or up grade

Hi I have watching all the sites trying to figure out my next video card upgrade. I have a 8800 GTX and was wondering if it would be a good idea to get a second 8800 GTX off Ebay for $180+ or just go with one of the newer cards. My PC has a BFG 850w PS and a good SLI MB so it would be easy. Or is the 8800 GTX a old dead horse? These new ATI card look good. Thanks

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I'd go with the SLI 8800GTX hands down. Here's benchies that include the 8800GT
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341
other benches that show how well the 8800/9800 series do in SLI
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/602/8
lots of others if you look around

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Reply to dirtmountain

get a 8800 gtx...

you can get them pretty cheap NEW for under 200 $

tiger direct has an ultra for 200 ... and its just an oced gtx

Reply to thogrom

Agreed, get the second 8800GTX. Your two cards together will be very close to the $560 HD 4870X2.

Reply to aevm

It depends on the cheapest price you can find on the 8800GTX. Just remember to compare the benchies dirtmountain listed above, with the benchies of a brand new card that costs roughly the same as another 8800gtx. Personally, i would just buy one 4870x2 or 280gtx and be done with it.

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Reply to curryj02

although i don't agree with aevm, it will be better than anything else under $400... if anything it'll be close in performance with a 4850 in CF cause a 4850 outperforms a gtx and i think an ultra

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Reply to eklipz330

curryj02 wrote :

It depends on the cheapest price you can find on the 8800GTX. Just remember to compare the benchies dirtmountain listed above, with the benchies of a brand new card that costs roughly the same as another 8800gtx. Personally, i would just buy one 4870x2 or 280gtx and be done with it.

The problem is they cost 2-3.5 times as much for roughly the same performance.

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Reply to dagger

eklipz330 wrote :

although i don't agree with aevm, it will be better than anything else under $400... if anything it'll be close in performance with a 4850 in CF cause a 4850 outperforms a gtx and i think an ultra

LOL, it depends on game and resolutions. We're probably both right but for different games. Click dirtmountain's second link. You'll see HD 4870x2 getting 134.6 fps in CoD4 at 1680x1050, and 9800GTX+ SLI getting 127.7 fps. The 8800 GTX SLI will get about the same results as the 9800GTX+ SLI (same number of stream processors, more RAM in the 8800GTX but somewhat lower clocks). Either way, on the typical LCD monitor with a 60Hz refresh rate you will get exactly 60 fps in that game with HD 4870X2 or with 8800GTX SLI.

Reply to aevm

2x 8800GTX should equal EXACTLY the same as the 9800GX2 if they are set at the same clocks

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Reply to V3NOM

Thanks for all the input. If 2 8800 GTX's have the performance of new top end cards I should just spend the $200 at ebay for another 8800 GTX. I'm planning a DDR3 Nehalem PC for 2009, so that may be the time to try the one or two of the new cards out. Thanks again

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Reply to wlsh242

V3NOM wrote :

2x 8800GTX should equal EXACTLY the same as the 9800GX2 if they are set at the same clocks

2x8800GT 512 perform like a 9800GX2 and in some cases they are faster,8800GTX is stronger than 8800GT so it performs better too.
In here 8800GTXs are still very expensive,so i cant SLI them

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Reply to Maziar

Guys can anyone post a link for me for comparing 8800GTX SLI and TRIPLE SLI vs GTX 280 ?

thanks

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Reply to Maziar

link to a faster one? that anandtech article (ill post the URL if i have to but its on IE7's favourites and im using Chrome now) 8800GT SLI was slightly slower than the 9800GX2 in every test... i heard from nvidia that a single 8800GTX has 50% of the performance of a single 9800GX2.... i reckon this could be pretty accurate since two 9800GTX are faster than a single 9800GX2 and two 8800GT's are slower. just.

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Reply to V3NOM

Here is the article u mean:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3334

Yeah my bad,u are right,9800GX2 has a slight lead over 2 8800GTs in SLI.
Thanks

Again does anyone has any link for comparing 8800GTX in SLI and 3-way SLI vs GTX 280?

------------------------------ Q6600@3.4+ TT V1 Cooler,SAPPHIRE HD 4870X2,ASUS MAXIMUS FORMULA,4GB OCZ DDR2 800,LG W2452V 1920x1200
Reply to Maziar

V3NOM wrote :

link to a faster one? that anandtech article (ill post the URL if i have to but its on IE7's favourites and im using Chrome now) 8800GT SLI was slightly slower than the 9800GX2 in every test... i heard from nvidia that a single 8800GTX has 50% of the performance of a single 9800GX2.... i reckon this could be pretty accurate since two 9800GTX are faster than a single 9800GX2 and two 8800GT's are slower. just.

I think he/she meant the g92 8800gts instead of 8800gt. 8800gt runs lower binned g92 core with 112 stream processors at 600mhgz, 9800gx2 runs 2 g92 cores with 128 stream processors at the same 600mhz, of course it performs better. Both g92 8800gts/9800gtx use the same g92 cores with 128 sp as 9800gx2, but at a higher clock.

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

let me guess - the 8800GTX has 128 sp's >.> haha im now an "old hand" not an "addict" what an insult

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Reply to V3NOM

V3NOM wrote :

let me guess - the 8800GTX has 128 sp's >.> haha im now an "old hand" not an "addict" what an insult

Unforunately, they run at much lower clock (575mhz).

------------------------------ Q6600@3.6ghz, GA-EX38-DS4 motherboard, 8gb 800mhz ddr2 4-3-3-12, 8800GTS(g92)@780mhz, 1TB + 1.5TB hdds, 850watt psu
Reply to dagger

Heres and article that compares the GX2 quad to the 8800 Ultra tri sli. They came sorta close but the quad came out ontop, at the time the prices were 600$ a piece though:S

http://www.driverheaven.net/review [...] 1&pageid=6

to answer OP, adding 1 more GTX would yield results that are around the gx2 (slightly lower @ 1920x1200 and lower, Slightly higher @ higher resolutions) Since the they both have the same amount of sps, the 8800 Ultra does have a higher bandwidth and also more ram, but it doesn't help it much unless the resolution is upped (what I mean about that is, it won't show it's uniqueness till then, because its one of few cards that had an extra 200 megs ram)

What res do you play at?

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Reply to L1qu1d

I just got another 8800 GTX, off ebay same upgrade pretty much you can find them for pretty cheap! I got mine for 159$

Reply to Anth12

8800ULTRA now $200 at tigerdirect! hmmm....

Reply to V3NOM

so what's that 400% drop in... two years or something?

Reply to V3NOM

dirtmountain wrote :

I'd go with the SLI 8800GTX hands down. Here's benchies that include the 8800GT
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341
other benches that show how well the 8800/9800 series do in SLI
http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/602/8
lots of others if you look around

Buying an 8800 now is just plain wasting your money. They dont have the feature support. By this time next year they are barely going to run anything. Dont forget they perform so flipping horrible in dx10 its just silly. With the new single GPU solutions is just silly to bother with an 8800 card or sli.

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Reply to jerseygamer

wlsh242 wrote :

Thanks for all the input. If 2 8800 GTX's have the performance of new top end cards I should just spend the $200 at ebay for another 8800 GTX. I'm planning a DDR3 Nehalem PC for 2009, so that may be the time to try the one or two of the new cards out. Thanks again

Thats just it they dont. They suck at dx10 and up to date engines this time next year are going to turn your 8800s into a poor low end solution. Single gpu current hardware specificly ati atm is far better. You wont be plugging out your hair dealing with sli or an ancient featured gpu.

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Reply to jerseygamer

jerseygamer wrote :

Thats just it they dont. They suck at dx10 and up to date engines this time next year are going to turn your 8800s into a poor low end solution. Single gpu current hardware specificly ati atm is far better. You wont be plugging out your hair dealing with sli or an ancient featured gpu.

What benchmarks are you basing that on?

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Reply to dagger

The BSHardware.com benchmarks :pt1cable:

Considering 1 8800 GTX can even put some of the 9 series cards to their mercy at high resolutions. And any game out now (other than crysis) can be maxed out with 1 card even at 1920x1200.

EVERY game (give or take crappy or some).

So if you have the strength of 2.... well I think you can just assume the rest :bounce:

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Message edited by L1qu1d on 09-09-2008 at 03:42:43 PM

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Reply to L1qu1d

I dont think 8800's will be "low end" next year, i cant imagine that games will be progressing much more until the new consoles are out, unless there are some amazing exclusives. The companies wont be bringing out too many more cards that will relegate an 8800 GT or above, especially in SLi

Reply to tomdrum

yes, I'd see them being mainstream at least. But they did perform wonderfully though, the 8800s GTX/Ultra were worth every penny, since they lasted for 2 years (in some cases on top). I'd say they were 1 of the best invested cards I've sen (the 1950 Xt would be another long lasting card)

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Reply to L1qu1d

Give it a try , I got 2 7800GTX off ebay for 50.00. I only play DX9 games that are a few years old though.

Reply to maximiza

what are nvidia going to do with mainstream cards now they have a new naming system? just keep with various geforce 9-series numbers, or make it a GTX220

Reply to V3NOM

jerseygamer wrote :

Buying an 8800 now is just plain wasting your money. They dont have the feature support. By this time next year they are barely going to run anything. Dont forget they perform so flipping horrible in dx10 its just silly. With the new single GPU solutions is just silly to bother with an 8800 card or sli.

I most definitely disagree with you saying the 8800s are a total waste of money, Common they are still one of the better cards out there.

Message edited by INSPECTOR71 on 09-13-2008 at 07:28:23 PM

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Reply to INSPECTOR71

L1qu1d wrote :

The BSHardware.com benchmarks :pt1cable:

Considering 1 8800 GTX can even put some of the 9 series cards to their mercy at high resolutions. And any game out now (other than crysis) can be maxed out with 1 card even at 1920x1200.

EVERY game (give or take crappy or some).

So if you have the strength of 2.... well I think you can just assume the rest :bounce:

Actually i am running crysis real nice on just one 8800gtx with my setup right now.

Message edited by INSPECTOR71 on 09-13-2008 at 07:26:44 PM

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Reply to INSPECTOR71

yes but nice for crysis 1 comes nowhere near COD4 nice

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Reply to L1qu1d

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