GeForce 88-- GTS versus GeForce 9800 GTX

[Frasierf1]

I currently have a PNY VCG88GTSXPB GeForce 8800GTS 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 and am looking to upgrade. Would a EVGA GeForce 9800 GTX+ 512MB 246-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 be a very noticable upgrade? Or should I go with an EVGA GeForce GTX 260 896MB 448-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16?

The rest of my system specs are:

Windows Vista 32bit
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775
4 GB CORSAIR XMS2 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)


Figured this was the best place to get good answers. Thanks in advance all.

 

[rubix_1011]

Yes, I made the same jump from the 8800GTS 640 (G80) to the 9800GTX+ and it was a noticable difference. The 8800GTS and GT (G92) didn't have as noticeable of a performance gap, but you will see some benefit if you are going that route.

 

[boulard83]

+1 for the GTX, its an imporvement.

And a lil OC to this CPU can really help ALOT.

 

[Frasierf1]

+1 for the GTX, its an imporvement.

And a lil OC to this CPU can really help ALOT.

Which GTX?
I'm one of those people that is afraid/ignorant of overclocking.

 

[invisik]

The jump is like going from 8800gts to the 8800gtx. It is a step up but if i were you i would want to jump on a 4870 or gtx260.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121288 (4870)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143140 (gtx260)

 

[Frasierf1]

The jump is like going from 8800gts to the 8800gtx. It is a step up but if i were you i would want to jump on a 4870 or gtx260.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121288 (4870)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143140 (gtx260)

So you think the GTX 260 would be the better upgrade? $180 for the card plus $60 for a new powersupply (only have 450 now)...would the performance upgrade be worth that cost?

 

[boulard83]

A 9800GTX+ can run on a 450W psu. The GTX260 can ... but its near the limit ... this 450W psu gonna get HOT !

The GTS250 ( retaged 9800GTX+ ) is sometime on sale near 100$.
The GTX260 can also be found quite cheap now but your PSU is on the very limit.

The 8800GTS 640-320 are quite old now. The newer GTX+ or GTS250 are better. not WAY better, but better !

Your CPU is also very limiting your performance. 2.16ghz is slow. You can read the OC turorial on the Toms forum.

 

[invisik]

Yes it would be a much better upgrade and 450w should be enough for single setup depending on the psu brand. Can you tell me the model of your psu? spec?

 

[Frasierf1]

Yes it would be a much better upgrade and 450w should be enough for single setup depending on the psu brand. Can you tell me the model of your psu? spec?

It's actually a 500w PSU...Rosewill RP500-2 ATX12V v2.01 500W.

So how much could I safely OC my CPU? Or should I just upgrade that as well?

Thanks again all for the advice.

 

[boulard83]

Mobo and cooling ?

 

[Frasierf1]

Mobo and cooling ?

I can't recall for sure...I think it's an ASUS P5B-VM SE, but I'll have to look at it when I get home. Cooling is povided by Scythe SCMN-1100 100mm Sleeve CPU Cooler and Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower (1 200 mm Fan and 3 120 mm Fans).

 

[boulard83]

You have decent cooling. I think you can hit 3.0 ghz without trouble.

Its 375 mhz X 8 for 3.0 ghz. Quite EZ with decent Vcore and your Memory can run near to stock speed. No problem !

 

[Frasierf1]

You have decent cooling. I think you can hit 3.0 ghz without trouble.

Its 375 mhz X 8 for 3.0 ghz. Quite EZ with decent Vcore and your Memory can run near to stock speed. No problem !

Unfortunately I know absolutley nothing about overclocking a cpu. Maybe a cpu upgrade is what I need (along with anew gpu)?

 

[boulard83]

Just Read OCing guide. Its very EZ and youll get addicted to it

+ this guide was made using a P5B deluxe mobo. its Near to yours.

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/240001-29-howto-overclock-quads-duals-guide

 

[rewindlabs]

Did i miss where we found out his resolution before recommending gpus? you know because a gtx 260 or 4870 might be just a little bit of a waste at 1280x1024 or similar resolution

Hey why we are at making pointless suggestions i say buy a gtx 295....

 

[hundredislandsboy]

I would spend a little more for the GTX 260 just to buy more time for the next upgrade especially if you love 3D games.

I went from the 8800 GTX 320 to a 9800 GT but didn't like the hardly noticeable performance gain. So I then went to an 8800 GTS 512 which was better but was still choking in Crysis, Far Cry 2, so I had to move up to a GTX 260 and I'm kickubg myself in the butt for not doing it sooner.

 

[jerreece]

+1 for GTX 260 (core 216)

I had an 8800 GTS (512MB G92) and upgraded to the GTX 260 Core 216. From benchmarks I was afraid it wasn't going to be much of an upgrade. In honesty though, it was quite a bit more of an upgrade than the benchmarks I read suggested it to be.

I play @ 1920 x 1080 with my GTX 260. Most of my games I can do High/Max settings. For instance, I run Age of Conan in DX10 mode, with everything set to high. Sure I did a little tweaking to distance views and such, but it looks great and runs really well.

Of course I'm always running an OC'd Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz so that factors in.

If you have an 8800GTS 640MB (step below 8800 GTS 512) I wouldn't ugprade unless you're jumping to the GTX 260 or ATI 4870. But that's my opinion. The 9800GTX+ or GTS 250 are basically newer, and slightly improved 8800 GTS 512 cards.

If you're going to spend the money to upgrade, make sure you're really getting an upgrade.

MSI GTX 260 Core 216 OC $175 - $20 MIR = $155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127430

The above card, is apparently a newer revision of the card I have. I have the "OCv2" edition of this card. The one above is the "OCv4". I don't see any spec differences, so I can only imagine MSI did some tweaking or something. Been a great card so far. (don't have my rebate yet though, so keep in mind that takes quite some time).

 

[jerreece]

Did i miss where we found out his resolution before recommending gpus? you know because a gtx 260 or 4870 might be just a little bit of a waste at 1280x1024 or similar resolution

Hey why we are at making pointless suggestions i say buy a gtx 295....

Though you have a very good point, that applies to today only. Next year's games (next gen perhaps) will require more GPU power at the same resolution. So even if he plays at 1280x1024, Crysis II (lol) will need a better card to play well at that resolution than Crysis does now.

So even if he does play at a lower resolution, if he plans to keep this video card for a year or more, it may still be worth upgrading higher than the GTS 250 or 9800GTX cards.

He may not see a significant jump in performance right now if he plays at those low resolutions, but may reap the benefits later. (Then again, if he does play at that low a resolution, he probably has no need to upgrade as it is).

 

[Frasierf1]

+1 for GTX 260 (core 216)

I had an 8800 GTS (512MB G92) and upgraded to the GTX 260 Core 216. From benchmarks I was afraid it wasn't going to be much of an upgrade. In honesty though, it was quite a bit more of an upgrade than the benchmarks I read suggested it to be.

I play @ 1920 x 1080 with my GTX 260. Most of my games I can do High/Max settings. For instance, I run Age of Conan in DX10 mode, with everything set to high. Sure I did a little tweaking to distance views and such, but it looks great and runs really well.

Of course I'm always running an OC'd Q6600 @ 3.2Ghz so that factors in.

If you have an 8800GTS 640MB (step below 8800 GTS 512) I wouldn't ugprade unless you're jumping to the GTX 260 or ATI 4870. But that's my opinion. The 9800GTX+ or GTS 250 are basically newer, and slightly improved 8800 GTS 512 cards.

If you're going to spend the money to upgrade, make sure you're really getting an upgrade.

MSI GTX 260 Core 216 OC $175 - $20 MIR = $155
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127430

The above card, is apparently a newer revision of the card I have. I have the "OCv2" edition of this card. The one above is the "OCv4". I don't see any spec differences, so I can only imagine MSI did some tweaking or something. Been a great card so far. (don't have my rebate yet though, so keep in mind that takes quite some time).

Thanks for the advice. So you think the GTX 260 would be a good reasonable upgrade? I would prefer to not upgrade my cpu at this time (may do it six or so months down the road). Thanks again

 

[boulard83]

A gtx 260 is far from a waste.

 

[Frasierf1]

So say that I'll go ahead and upgrade to the GTX 260 gpu...what would you recommend would be a good cpu upgrade (considering I have a Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 right now). I know everyone says oc'ing is easy, but I prefer to stay away from such things. Anyway, thanks again for all of y'all's inputs.

 

[boulard83]

And ill keep tell you to OC

If you REEAAALLLYYYY dont want to OC, get an E8400 or E8500-E8600.

 

[rewindlabs]

Not overclocking hardware is a ridiculous choice...good luck finding a cheap stock clocked 4ghz or 3.5ghz quad core/dual core for upgrades....

Unless your wallets loaded with cash and not iou's start googling cpu overclocking

 

[boulard83]

the MISTYCAL E8700 3.5ghz ?

 

[Frasierf1]

And ill keep tell you to OC

If you REEAAALLLYYYY dont want to OC, get an E8400 or E8500-E8600.

Okay, so I think I may go ahead and try to OC my CPU. here are some vitals:
CPU = Intel Core 2 Duo E6400 Conroe 2.13GHz LGA 775 65W
MoBo = ASUS P5B (just plain P5B is what is imprinted on the board).
RAM = CORSAIR XMS2 4GB (4 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)

Now from what I gather I need to go into my Bios and just change my FSB? What should I change it to? Sorry, but I'm good with some computer items...just never tried overclocking. Thanks