- Feb 19, 2006
- 49
- 0
- 18,530
8800GS (9600GSO) vs HD4670
OK, I wanted to say first off that the 9600GSO is the same as the 8800GS. However, I read that Nvidia planned on coming out with a 9600GSO that would be less powerful. If you wanted to have an idea how powerful it is, it’s a slightly slower version of the 8800GT. On the techpowerup benchmarks in Unreal Tournament 3, it had about the same framerates as the HD4670.
Another thing that I wanted to note was that I took off the Glaciator heatsink off the Asus 8800GS (I sealed the anti-static bag and put it in the freezer to do it lol) and installed a Thermalright HR-03 GT and then put on a 92mm Nexus fan. (OK, I have to say Thermalright really has to provide a way better fan mounting mechanism so you can install the fan more easily and more snug. That was a nightmare. Also, it would be nice to be able to use the Nexus rubber mounts to put on the fan.) Yes, it may seem like an expensive proposition for a cheap card ($53 CDN after $30 rebate if I get it), but I wanted to see how quiet my computer could get with all Nexus fans in my computer on a fan controller (Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme). In any case, I discovered that by lowering the fan speed to 0, I was able to determine that the only source of real sound comes from my Fortron PSU which has a Yate Loon 120mm fan (even though those fans are apparently the same as Nexus). I’ve determined that the only way to get more silence would be to have a Silverstone Nightjar ST45NF power supply and have a case that has solid metal all the way around except the back. (The case I have has a plastic front but also holes on the side panel.) I might also need a desk where the computer is surrounded by wood if you know what I mean. That would affect temperatures but I would have silence.
The reason I got the 8800GS was to confirm that my HD4670 had some problems with my Asus M3A78-EM motherboard (780G chipset). I noticed with the 8800GS installed on that mobo, when installing UT2004, that after inserting the disk in my drive, it would start reading the DVD faster and also then after clicking on install, it would start way quicker. The problems with this motherboard are discussed here:
http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=279&threadid=99753&STARTPAGE=3&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear
Also, the images did not appear block by block during the UT2004 installation with the 8800GS. I ended up deciding to keep the 8800GS for that computer and putting the HD4670 in my other computer for reasons I’ll describe later. I can also add that with both video cards on that motherboard (Asus M3A78-EM), my 3DMark06 scores were the lowest compared with other results online. I’ve tried swappping hardware and different drivers and looking at various settings. I even got OCZ official support to determine exact settings for the RAM. So, I would hesitate to recommend that motherboard. (If I happen to get another mobo/CPU/RAM for my other computer in the next 3 months, I’ll post results on the anandtech motherboard forum if I resolve the problem .)
The Geforce 8800GS:
* very smooth movement when turning in a video game (way more playable)
* 1080p Quicktime movie trailers look more pale but somehow seems more ‘natural’
* turning on noise reduction and edge enhancement causes flickering in 1080p Quicktime movie trailers
The HD 4670:
* disturbing blur when moving mouse quickly while playing video games
* 1080p Quicktime movie trailers have richer colors (seems more enjoyable)
* causes delays with Asus M3A78-EM motherboard (and maybe other 780G mobos)
I’d like to say here that the blur when moving my mouse in a video game is not just an issue with the HD4670, but also my old X1650XT. I now feel like I had been victimized for a long time with my video card because I didn’t know the difference. The 8800GS gives me a more natural feel and I should be able to play way better now with no hesitation when I want to turn quickly. So, you can see how that changes everything. That’s why I decided to keep the 8800GS in my other machine and use that as a gaming machine. And I decided to keep the HD4670 and use it in my work computer because of the richer colors on videos.
Since the 8800GS had paler colors than the HD4670 while playing 1080p videos, I installed Asus Splendid for the 8800GS to see if I could get richer colors but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
Just so you know, with the ATI CCC, pulldown detection is under Avivo Video> Basic Quality. With the Nvidia Control Panel, Edge enhancement and Noise reduction is under Video & Television >Adjust video image settings. These features are described in the tomshardware article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/avivo-vs-purevideo,1492-3.html
I then decided to test 1080p Quicktime movie trailers with the HD4670 on my older computer (2.4GHz Athlon single core socket 939). There was no audio lag once I installed the HDMI driver (for some of the 1080p Quicktime videos). (Why some and not others, I have no idea. They were all on the same Apple website.) (I couldn’t find the HDMI driver on the AMD website so lol, I got it from the Asus website for the M3A78-EM motherboard. For whatever reason, that worked. lol) I’m using on-board audio so I’m not sure why the audio lag would be gone for some videos after installing the HDMI driver. However, with pulldown detection enabled in the CCC, there was audio lag.
By the way, does anyone think that 33’C to 38’C is normal for an 8800GS with Thermalright HR-03 GT with a fan on it? (I read using an HR-03 GT with no fan on an 8800 series is not recommended.) The only program that would detect the temps was Asus SmartDoctor and those were the temperatures.
Both computers have WinXP and 2GB of RAM.
So, for now, I’ll try to play all videos on my work computer with the HD4670 unless I see some lag. Then I can use my gaming computer with the dual core 2.8GHz and 8800GS for those videos that show lag on my single core computer. If I notice that’s not acceptable after trying lots of videos, then I’ll get a new mobo/CPU/RAM for my work computer. I don’t have a Blu-Ray drive but if I do get one, it may have to be an external one so I could test both computers.
My hardware on my gaming rig:
Asus M3A78-EM
Athlon X2 5400+ Brisbane
2GB OCZ special ops 800MHz RAM
Asus 8800GS
My work computer:
Abit AT8 32X
Athlon 4000+ San Diego
2GB OCZ Platinum 400MHz RAM
His IceQ HD4670
I’d also like to add that my work computer is mostly passive so it’s nearly silent. I could not really hear the HIS HD4670 in my work computer.
If I do get another mobo/CPU/RAM for my work computer, it may be a Phenom CPU next time with 1066MHz RAM to make sure I eliminate any possible source of lag. And I would choose a mobo with Nvidia chipset and perhaps Corsair RAM. I prefer full-sized ATX mobos with on on-board video.
OK, I wanted to say first off that the 9600GSO is the same as the 8800GS. However, I read that Nvidia planned on coming out with a 9600GSO that would be less powerful. If you wanted to have an idea how powerful it is, it’s a slightly slower version of the 8800GT. On the techpowerup benchmarks in Unreal Tournament 3, it had about the same framerates as the HD4670.
Another thing that I wanted to note was that I took off the Glaciator heatsink off the Asus 8800GS (I sealed the anti-static bag and put it in the freezer to do it lol) and installed a Thermalright HR-03 GT and then put on a 92mm Nexus fan. (OK, I have to say Thermalright really has to provide a way better fan mounting mechanism so you can install the fan more easily and more snug. That was a nightmare. Also, it would be nice to be able to use the Nexus rubber mounts to put on the fan.) Yes, it may seem like an expensive proposition for a cheap card ($53 CDN after $30 rebate if I get it), but I wanted to see how quiet my computer could get with all Nexus fans in my computer on a fan controller (Sunbeam Rheobus Extreme). In any case, I discovered that by lowering the fan speed to 0, I was able to determine that the only source of real sound comes from my Fortron PSU which has a Yate Loon 120mm fan (even though those fans are apparently the same as Nexus). I’ve determined that the only way to get more silence would be to have a Silverstone Nightjar ST45NF power supply and have a case that has solid metal all the way around except the back. (The case I have has a plastic front but also holes on the side panel.) I might also need a desk where the computer is surrounded by wood if you know what I mean. That would affect temperatures but I would have silence.
The reason I got the 8800GS was to confirm that my HD4670 had some problems with my Asus M3A78-EM motherboard (780G chipset). I noticed with the 8800GS installed on that mobo, when installing UT2004, that after inserting the disk in my drive, it would start reading the DVD faster and also then after clicking on install, it would start way quicker. The problems with this motherboard are discussed here:
http://forums.amd.com/game/messageview.cfm?catid=279&threadid=99753&STARTPAGE=3&FTVAR_FORUMVIEWTMP=Linear
Also, the images did not appear block by block during the UT2004 installation with the 8800GS. I ended up deciding to keep the 8800GS for that computer and putting the HD4670 in my other computer for reasons I’ll describe later. I can also add that with both video cards on that motherboard (Asus M3A78-EM), my 3DMark06 scores were the lowest compared with other results online. I’ve tried swappping hardware and different drivers and looking at various settings. I even got OCZ official support to determine exact settings for the RAM. So, I would hesitate to recommend that motherboard. (If I happen to get another mobo/CPU/RAM for my other computer in the next 3 months, I’ll post results on the anandtech motherboard forum if I resolve the problem .)
The Geforce 8800GS:
* very smooth movement when turning in a video game (way more playable)
* 1080p Quicktime movie trailers look more pale but somehow seems more ‘natural’
* turning on noise reduction and edge enhancement causes flickering in 1080p Quicktime movie trailers
The HD 4670:
* disturbing blur when moving mouse quickly while playing video games
* 1080p Quicktime movie trailers have richer colors (seems more enjoyable)
* causes delays with Asus M3A78-EM motherboard (and maybe other 780G mobos)
I’d like to say here that the blur when moving my mouse in a video game is not just an issue with the HD4670, but also my old X1650XT. I now feel like I had been victimized for a long time with my video card because I didn’t know the difference. The 8800GS gives me a more natural feel and I should be able to play way better now with no hesitation when I want to turn quickly. So, you can see how that changes everything. That’s why I decided to keep the 8800GS in my other machine and use that as a gaming machine. And I decided to keep the HD4670 and use it in my work computer because of the richer colors on videos.
Since the 8800GS had paler colors than the HD4670 while playing 1080p videos, I installed Asus Splendid for the 8800GS to see if I could get richer colors but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference.
Just so you know, with the ATI CCC, pulldown detection is under Avivo Video> Basic Quality. With the Nvidia Control Panel, Edge enhancement and Noise reduction is under Video & Television >Adjust video image settings. These features are described in the tomshardware article:
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/avivo-vs-purevideo,1492-3.html
I then decided to test 1080p Quicktime movie trailers with the HD4670 on my older computer (2.4GHz Athlon single core socket 939). There was no audio lag once I installed the HDMI driver (for some of the 1080p Quicktime videos). (Why some and not others, I have no idea. They were all on the same Apple website.) (I couldn’t find the HDMI driver on the AMD website so lol, I got it from the Asus website for the M3A78-EM motherboard. For whatever reason, that worked. lol) I’m using on-board audio so I’m not sure why the audio lag would be gone for some videos after installing the HDMI driver. However, with pulldown detection enabled in the CCC, there was audio lag.
By the way, does anyone think that 33’C to 38’C is normal for an 8800GS with Thermalright HR-03 GT with a fan on it? (I read using an HR-03 GT with no fan on an 8800 series is not recommended.) The only program that would detect the temps was Asus SmartDoctor and those were the temperatures.
Both computers have WinXP and 2GB of RAM.
So, for now, I’ll try to play all videos on my work computer with the HD4670 unless I see some lag. Then I can use my gaming computer with the dual core 2.8GHz and 8800GS for those videos that show lag on my single core computer. If I notice that’s not acceptable after trying lots of videos, then I’ll get a new mobo/CPU/RAM for my work computer. I don’t have a Blu-Ray drive but if I do get one, it may have to be an external one so I could test both computers.
My hardware on my gaming rig:
Asus M3A78-EM
Athlon X2 5400+ Brisbane
2GB OCZ special ops 800MHz RAM
Asus 8800GS
My work computer:
Abit AT8 32X
Athlon 4000+ San Diego
2GB OCZ Platinum 400MHz RAM
His IceQ HD4670
I’d also like to add that my work computer is mostly passive so it’s nearly silent. I could not really hear the HIS HD4670 in my work computer.
If I do get another mobo/CPU/RAM for my work computer, it may be a Phenom CPU next time with 1066MHz RAM to make sure I eliminate any possible source of lag. And I would choose a mobo with Nvidia chipset and perhaps Corsair RAM. I prefer full-sized ATX mobos with on on-board video.
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