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Upgrading Which of these 3 would you go with?

Forum Graphic & Displays : Graphics Cards - Upgrading Which of these 3 would you go with?

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mrmmacd77   03-31-2009 at 02:29:01 AM

Hey, which one of these 3 would you all pick? I'm upgrading from 2 BFG7800 GT OC and going to marry two of the following cards below... Specs on all the cards are further down the page....

The first is BFG 9800GTX + 1gb card PN# BFGE981024GTXPOCE Price-$139.99 rebate none/ total per each $139.99

The second is a BFG 9800GTX + 512mb card PN#BFGE98512GTXPOCBE Price $169.99 rebate 25.00 Total per each $144.99

The third is a EVGA 9800GTX + 512mb card PN# 512-P3-N879-AR Price $134.99 rebate 20.00 Total per each $114.99

I have had good things with BFG but both have LT warranties. Basically going to buy 2 of the following tonight and you guys are going to steer my decision...

Should I just go for the 1gb card or should I go with the cheaper somewhat faster (miniscule differences) EVGA 512mb card... I'm looking for the best gaming setup with what I have here... which would you pick and why? Thanks in advance!!! :)



Model
Brand BFG Tech
Model BFGE981024GTXPOCE
Interface
Interface PCI Express 2.0 x16
Chipset
Chipset Manufacturer NVIDIA
GPU GeForce 9800 GTX+
Core clock 750MHz
Stream Processors 128
Memory
Memory Clock 2000MHz
Memory Size 1GB
Memory Interface 256-bit
Memory Type GDDR3
3D API
DirectX DirectX 10
OpenGL OpenGL 2.1
Ports
DVI 2
TV-Out HDTV / S-Video Out
General
RAMDAC 400 MHz
Max Resolution 2560 x 1600
SLI Supported Yes
Cooler With Fan
System Requirements 475W PCI Express-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 26A or more
Power Connector 6 Pin
Dual-Link DVI Supported Yes
HDCP Ready Yes
Manufacturer Warranty
Parts Lifetime limited
Labor Lifetime limited

__________________________________________________________________________________


Model
Brand BFG Tech
Model BFGE98512GTXPOCBE
Interface
Interface PCI Express 2.0 x16
Chipset
Chipset Manufacturer NVIDIA
GPU GeForce 9800 GTX+
Core clock 760MHz (vs. 738MHz standard)
Stream Processors 128
Memory
Memory Clock 2250MHz (vs. 2200MHz standard)
Memory Size 512MB
Memory Interface 256-bit
Memory Type GDDR3
3D API
DirectX DirectX 10
OpenGL OpenGL 2.1
Ports
DVI 2
TV-Out HDTV / S-Video Out
General
RAMDAC 400 MHz
Max Resolution 2560 x 1600
RoHS Compliant Yes
SLI Supported Yes
Cooler With Fan
System Requirements 475W PCI Express-compliant system power supply with a combined 12V current rating of 26A or more*
Two 6-pin PCI Express supplementary power connectors -or- One 6-pin PCI Express and two 4-pin peripheral supplementary power connectors

NOTE: For the power requirements of multiple GeForce 9800 GTX+-based graphics cards in an NVIDIA SLI configuration, please visit www.bfgtech.com/slipower
*Minimum system power requirement based on a PC configured with an Intel Core 2 Duo E6750 processor
Power Connector 2 x 6 Pin
Dual-Link DVI Supported Yes
HDCP Ready Yes
Packaging
Package Contents BFGE98512GTXPOCBE
Driver Disk
User's Manual
HDTV Cable
Power Cable
DVI to VGA/D-sub Adapter
Manufacturer Warranty
Parts Lifetime limited
Labor Lifetime limited


__________________________________________________________________________________

EVGA 512-P3-N879-AR

Specifications

GPU/VPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GTX+


Additional Features: HDCP Enabled
DirectX 10
OpenGL 2.1
PCI Express 2.0
Game Physics Capable
Shader Model 4.0, Nvidia CUDA Technology


Video Memory: 512MB


Memory Type: DDR3


Memory Interface: 256-bit


Stream Processors: 128


Core Clock: 740 MHz


Memory Clock: 2200 MHz


Shader Clock: 1836 MHz


Interface Type: PCI Express 2.0


Interface Speed: x16


Connector(s): HDMI
Dual DVI (Dual Link)


Message edited by mrmmacd77 on 03-31-2009 at 03:00:54 AM
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smithereen   03-31-2009 at 03:24:33 AM
- 0 +

Personally - I'd get a GTX-series card instead, but if you insist, EVGA's customer support is unmatched, and you don't need more than 1gb total video memory unless you have a HUGE moniter.

Message quoted 2 times
Reply to smithereen
mrmmacd77   03-31-2009 at 03:40:55 AM
- 0 +

smithereen wrote :

Personally - I'd get a GTX-series card instead, but if you insist, EVGA's customer support is unmatched, and you don't need more than 1gb total video memory unless you have a HUGE moniter.




Maybe I'm I missed something here but all 3 are GTX series cards... the + from what I've read is basically an overclocked version of the standard GTX board... please correct me if I'm wrong.

Reply to mrmmacd77
lostandwandering   03-31-2009 at 03:42:33 AM
- 0 +

smithereen wrote :

Personally - I'd get a GTX-series card instead, but if you insist, EVGA's customer support is unmatched, and you don't need more than 1gb total video memory unless you have a HUGE moniter.



He meant a GTX200 card. I think I agree with him on this. A BFG GTX260 can be had for a little over $170 on newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814143155

------------------------------ LAPTOP: Sager NP5760|T7200|2gb DDR2-667| 100gb 7200rpm HDD| 512mb 7950GTX|17'' WUXGA

Desktop: Core2 E7200 | Corsair 2gb DDR2-800 | Gigabyte EP35-DS3L | 250gb Seagate Barracuda | MSI GTX260 (192 SP) | Corsair VX550 | Antec 300 case
Reply to lostandwandering
mrmmacd77   03-31-2009 at 03:45:53 AM
- 0 +

Ahh I kinda was thinking he meant that I should have posted that as an option... so you think the GTX260's are a better buy for 2 of them...? huh... grrrr back to researching lol...

Reply to mrmmacd77
megamanx00   03-31-2009 at 03:54:20 AM
- 0 +

With games using more and more memory I'd say just go with the 1GB cards. Generally two of those 9800GTX+ cards should be significantly faster than a single 260

Message quoted 1 times
------------------------------ Playing X-Men Origins: Wolverine Phenom II X4 955 | GIGABYTE GA-MA790X-DS4 | 4GB Mushkin DDR2 1066 | Plextor 760A| 2x 3850 512M CF| WD 1TB Black| Fortron Blue Storm II 500W | APEVIA X-Dreamer Black | Win XP Pro & Vista Buisness 32bit
 Reply to megamanx00
vouslavous   03-31-2009 at 03:59:49 AM
- 0 +

Out of what you listed I personally have had good expeirience with EVGA customer service, But like others said i would persoanlly go for a GTX 260 or 285 if you can get one.

Reply to vouslavous
mrmmacd77   03-31-2009 at 04:07:19 AM
- 0 +

Ok now another question.... Should if I chose to go with the GTX260 series should I go with the GTX260 OC1 or OC2 55? keeping in mind going to go SLI.... Looks to be main differences in overclocking...

Reply to mrmmacd77
chef7734   03-31-2009 at 09:43:04 AM
- 0 +

megamanx00 wrote :

With games using more and more memory I'd say just go with the 1GB cards. Generally two of those 9800GTX+ cards should be significantly faster than a single 260


Yes but 2 gtx260's are better than 2 9800 gtx.. I say get the fastest card/cards you can afford.

Reply to chef7734
coozie7   03-31-2009 at 02:44:14 PM
- 0 +

@ mrmmacd77: From your comments here and in the thread started by Hybridremix You`re looking to the future with this upgrade rather than the present, right?
You should bear in mind that large video memories can only be used effectively by a fast card (faster than a 9800) and at high resoloutions and settings (>16x12 and 4xAA 8xAF) so the 1 Gb 9800 would be 512 Mb of memory wasted.
Your best choice is to go for the GTX 260 but get just the one for now, you`ll be staggered at just how fast it is, really, trust me.
Basic rules of economy apply to the decision; Do n`t pay too much for frills you do n`t need and if you want an overclocked card you r`e better off doing it yourself rather than paying a heavy price premium for a fairly small performance increase. This is an expensive purchase for the future, get the best warranty you can and do n`t forget to REGISTER THE CARD or you`ll miss out on the longer period of protection.

Reply to coozie7
mrmmacd77   03-31-2009 at 03:45:10 PM
- 0 +

Thanks for the info, I decided on the 2 9800GTX + cards... I'm going to wait and see what these new GTX200 series cards do in price range... I have never been one to buy a model year car so I'm going to stick with tried and true testing.... In a few months or so I want to see how those new cards are fairing in the price war battle... if the GTX285/95 are dropping like rocks I will pick one of those up.... But your info is quite helpful!!

Reply to mrmmacd77
Bluescreendeath   03-31-2009 at 03:48:26 PM
- 0 +

^ The 9800GTX is powerful enough to use all 1GB - its ATI rival 4850 shows a good increase in fps @Crysis in larger resolutions when it's the 1GB version compared to the 512mb version. (also for AA/AF)

Reply to Bluescreendeath
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