usualsuspect

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Hi all,

I'm in a predicament over a graphics card. I have fully water cooled system (except PSU) which includes a Q6850 and an 8800GTX.

I look at the various benchmarks that put the 8800GTX up against the newer cards that are availble and can see that's it's a bit of a dog in comparision these days. I have money burning a hole in my pocket!

But....then I look at the games I currently have and know that in most cases - my rig runs them extremely happily even at 2560X1600 (where allowed). Farcry 2 and Fallout 3 both perfectly fine (Crysis at full whack may be a push at full res). I'm not running OC'd. I just feel that maybe games development isn't what it used to be and developers limit us to what the consoles can handle?

So the question is why upgrade? Are the new cards just for benchmarking? The 285GTX and 4870 are in contention but am I just plain wasting money? Hmmmm
 

Helltech

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The 8800GTX is a great card.

When new games come out you might want to upgrade. Once you can't play at the settings you want. Save the money for when the 300 series come out (I think at Q4 of this year).
 

usualsuspect

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Yep, I think I've managed to be pursuaded into not wasting my money for a change. It's a miracle!

Right, what else can I spend the money on......
 

ahslan

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i had my ati x1800xt last me almost 4 years...i didnt bother upgrading until i couldnt run what i wanted the way i wanted...so ya...save ur dinero
 

one-shot

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BOOOO! Waste your money :) *Thinking of things to waste money on* How about a faster HDD? or maybe a larger HDD. Maybe a Velociraptor HDD 300GB for ~$200? Or an Intel X25-M SSD? If you want a new video card, buy it. lol. If you buy a new GPU, then the urge to buy a GPU is gone. Problem solved. Appease your need to spend money without cause. I do it too and it makes me :) After you get one GPU, then the urge to buy a matching twin might arise. It that happens, then you gotta buy another to appease that urge. Then you'll need a new CPU, motherboard, RAM, Power supply and it never ends.....
 

usualsuspect

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lol, yep the circle of life. I was in that club but when there is now no longer any need to (if there aren't applications that demand it) I am questioning myself for a change. Why do we need fast HDD's? Why do we need uber big HDD's?

I'm putting the money to a holiday instead.
 

sefit

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Why upgrade...why not :) really if you can run your games a way you want then no reason to upgrade. Probably you are not looking for all eye candy enabled because at 2560*1600 your 8800 GTX cannot handle everything at all (and I am not talking only about crysis). Before I had 8800 GT at 1650*1080 and I was very satisfied for long time but in modern games this one of the best GPU ever couldn’t cut mustard anymore...DX10 interface was big problem from beginning (but at beginning it wasn’t worth indeed compared to DX9) and in course of time playing at high/medium without AA, SSAO, soft shadows etc at avg. 30-35 fps and pretending that’s absolutely playable...not for me. I have invested to new 26inch monitor at 1920*1200 and GTX 295 and I am happy now.

With on-going next generation it’s little tricky…when its will be released (q4 09/q1 10) it will become king of the castle (ATI 58xx and GTX 300 series) , no discussion about that. All games will be running flawlessly but that will be a case of nowadays high-end GPUs too. I do not think that GTX 285/ATI 4890 and over will be chocking in games in one year time and if you put the to SLI/CF...you are good to go for sure. Advantage of new gen (expect raw performance) is DX11 support but:
1. When are we going to see first DX11 games (end of 2010 probably)?
2. How will DX11 be looking like exactly (couple of tweaks over DX10 like DX10 in 2007 and first half 2008 compared to DX9 and later it will be improved)?
3. What about performance of new DX11 games (like in DX9-DX10 case at the beginning, almost no visual difference but terrible performance drop)?

Sorry for saying that guys but those of you who will ask Santa for next gen GPU under X-mas tree are seen a bit like test rabbits in laboratory…I will be watching you a see results of this test and then I go for new improved and matured release of this new generation of GPUs…
 

usualsuspect

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I haven't tried all my games at full res but those that I have seem pretty happy. (HL2 Ep2, Farcry 2, and Fallout 3). Perhaps my CPU is helping a bit?
I don't look at FPS - I just go off how smooth it plays to my eyes, if I'm honest. Don't do jerky, that's my rule.

 

sefit

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good rule...I do the same...I do not have any idea how many points I have in 3dmark06/07 or whatever I don’t care about any benchmarking. Now I did only some in-game benchmarks (crysis, far cry 2, world in conflict...) when I bought GTX 295 to see if it’s running properly and how big is bottleneck in my case (oced q6600 at 3.6). When I had 8800GT and I´ve got impression that’s lagging I downloaded fraps for first time in my life and put it on upper corner realising that 30-35 is my very bottom limit in fp shooters... as I said until you are OK with game performance there is no sense to upgrade...so have a nice holidays :D
 

jeffredo

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Don't change a thing until DX11 cards come out. Your 8800 GTX is only slightly slower than an HD 4850 or GTS 250 stock and being its watercooled I'm sure you have it cranked up pretty high, so its beating them I would think. If it runs your current games well, hang onto it until it doesn't.

Have to admit, I have an 8800 GTX and it plays all my games fine on a 22 inch monitor @ 1680x1050. I play mostly RPGs and MMOs, so a super high frame rate isn't critical - and it keeps everything above 30 FPS usually with full eye candy settings. I doubt I'll get rid of it for at least another 8-9 months (it'll be three years old by then - wow).
 

usualsuspect

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I've found I didn't need to OC it. My main reason for water cooling was silence - cooling has been a bonus.
If I wanted to and it was required it could be OC'd of course, giving me more flexibility.
I've always 'kept up with the Jones's' and a few years ago, Ebaying the 8800GTX for the next latest thing wouldn't even cross my mind since there were games that caused my system to choke. That's no longer the case.
 

jeffredo

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Just to get the full benefit out of your system before upgrading. Someday games will come along that it won't run well and if you OC both you may be able to keep it a little while longer (and get all your money's worth possible). Again, if its doing what you want at the moment, don't worry about it. Its just an option in the future.
 

efeat

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Try it so you know what your system is capable of. Then when you find your performance a bit lacking, bring back your known overclock settings without having to mess around for hours/days to find a stable and acceptable overclock.




The new cards are for people upgrading from older cards or building a new system. If someone still had a 7800 GT today, it'd be a bit silly to tell them to upgrade to an 8800 GTX. The card hasn't been manufactured in quite some time, so you can only find second hand ones (no warranty) and the price won't be worth it compared to its performance.
Most 8800 series cards had ridiculously good performance (similar to the old ATI 9700/9800 PRO) and thus are remaining in use longer. This makes it seem like new cards are pointless, when they're still improving (die shrinks, SPs, gddr5, dx11, etc.) Eventually, your 8800 GTX will fall from grace and you'll need a new card, and when that happens you'll see how cards have improved since your initial purchase.
 

usualsuspect

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Anyone know of a GPU temp gauge for Vista 64? If I overclock, I like to watch the temps. The CPU is at 26C at the mo.