8800 GTX upgrade?

[petevsdrm]

Hey guys, I am still sitting on my (venerable?) 8800 GTX, and I thought it might be time to upgrade since my card is now 2 generations old and in some newer games I see room for improvement. But lo and behold it seems that the last 2 generations have hardly increased video card performance at all. Even nVidia's newest high-end offering is still based on the same architecture I got nearly two years ago. What gives? I know not every generation can have the huge improvement the g80 did, but 2 ! generations have passed without a significant gain.

I have a single slot board, (asus p5q) so no CF options for me. If scaling problems are truly ironed out in the future (hydra) I will gladly purchase dual slot boards for that.

My only feasible upgrade options are :

a 280 gtx (not enough performance improvement from my 8800gtx to cover the cost)

or a 4870(see above problem, although better performance improvement/investment ratio)

or a 4870x2(seems right for me, but I am worried about crossfire not scaling uniformly in all games)

Is there anyone else in the same boat, and what are your thoughts?

 

[dagger]

4870x2 is fine. Don't worry about the x2. Scaling is not uniform, but it works well with all the new graphics intensive games. The old games that don't scale with dual gpu already get hundreds of fps maxed out anyway, so it doesn't matter. The only real drawback is price. Everything else is fine.

There is also the second highest performing card, 9800gx2, at $270 with free shipping, it's good value as well as performance.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130338

The third highest performing card, gtx280, don't really offer enough performance increase to justify its cost.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=13
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=14
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=15
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=16
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=17
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=18
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3341&p=19

Anything below that is not worthy of an upgrade. Performance gap over 8800gtx is just too small.

 

[petevsdrm]

Thanks for the reply, I tend to agree, even with less-than-perfect scaling the 4870x2 is the only card that would give me a very noticable performance boost. I am not going to order it untill fallout 3 is on shelves though, so still a few weeks to go.

 

[-Fran-]

These are a must ask: What resolution do you play on? What's your PSU? Do you like long walks on the beach?

Esop!

 

[petevsdrm]

These are a must ask: What resolution do you play on? What's your PSU? Do you like long walks on the beach?

Esop!

I play at 1920x1080 (a surprisingly unsupported rez)on my tv, my psu is a thermaltake toughpower 750 watt.

I know at my resolution many would say that the 4870x2 is overkill...but in some games(crysis for example) you will still get way less than 60 fps even at 1920x1080.

I use 1900x 1200 as an example although my pixel count is closer to 1600x1200.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3415&p=4


I expect that in the future more games will be on that list, and I really like to have a smooth framerate. I am one of those guys that likes to turn on vsync so my framerate matches my screen refresh rate(assuming my framerate is at least 60 fps that looks great).

And umm, about the beach thing...well...you're making me a bit uncomfortable....

 

[-Fran-]

There's another option instead of getting the 4870X2:

You could sell the P45 MoBo and the 8800GTX, get a X48 (or even a X38) and get 2 4850's. Your PSU should handle those perfectly (and the 4870X2 also).

Since i don't know how much is their re-sell price, i can't accurately tell you "do it, it's cheaper", but might be worthly to investigate.

Besides, you'll get a much better MoBo (even for OC IMO) and CF support. So, when the 4850's don't do their thingy, just trade them for 2 4870's or 2 4870X2's and so on.

Anyway, if you don't want to do that, the 4870X2 is the way to go, at least until the 4850X2 gets here

And, lol... The beach thingy was a joke XD

Esop!

 

[metalweenis]

Don't upgrade...?

 

[-Fran-]

Don't upgrade...?

Well, he states that he likes to play with all eye candy stuff and VSYNC on (a naturally performance killer, lol). Besides, the 8800GTX is on the 4850 league IMO, so on his resolution, he should upgrade.

Lowering details would be recommended, but well...

Esop!

 

[Ananan]

Interesting.

There seems to be a lot of posts out there all across the net aimed at tempting 8800 GTX owners away from their beloved cards.

(I'm not talking specifically about this post; just in general terms aross message boards).

It reminds me of the TV ads about the gum that (supposedly) doesn't lose it's taste (PLEASE, spit it out already!!!!).

PLEASE 8800 GTX owners - upgrade already. You guys are big spenders, we NEED your cash.

Sincerily - ATI & Nvidia.

 

[Godiwa]

hehe I love my 8800GTX as well *drewls*

I ordered a 4870 though, might not be a super duper huge performance jump, but it is a jump nonetheless

 

[petevsdrm]

Just to update, I did pull the trigger on the 4870x2 yesterday even though fallout 3 isn't out yet. I grabbed copies of Crysis Warhead and Stalker clear sky also, so that should tide me over until fallout hits stores.

I see that there are a few waterblocks out for this card, but no after-market air cooling. Have any of you guys seen anything compatible with 4870x2/3870x2 cards?