Have a 8800 GTS 640MB - upgrade or leave it?

[manhattan01]

I don't game too much anymore though I did just finish COD MW2 and it look fine - performed well enough. I'm looking at moving my rig from a gaming outfit to one that will help me do some basic video editing - nothing too heavy (just rip from mini-dv, add music, , etc.) though with the occasional gaming. I was thinking of:
a) looking for another 8800 GTS 640 but they're hard to find
b) get a new video card
c) upgrade to Windows 7

I've been out of hardware for so long now, that for option b, I don't know if there are cheaper solutions out there that will allow me to get better performance. Is there? Either Radeon or GeForce line is fine with me...

 

[rolli59]

What is the rest of your system?

 

[JackNaylorPE]

and resolution ?

 

[jyjjy]

If you still find your current card fine for gaming then I doubt you should bother with an upgrade. Depending on how much you have now more ram is more likely to help you with video editing.

 

[manhattan01]

I guess that would help

Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4
nForce 680i
2 GB ram
1680 x 1050 on a 22"

Ok...so perhaps I should dump the money into ram...ditch the 2x1GB sticks for 2x2GB sticks...or maybe go up to 8gb.

Only reason I'm asking is I saw an ad on craigs for 2 8800 GTS 640mb cards for $200. I was thinking of using one of them in mine and another in a separate PC for my sister (overkill perhaps).

 

[jyjjy]

That's WAY too much for 640mb 8800 GTSs. For $100 you can get an HD4850 new that is a much better card;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102824
It would be a nice upgrade as your current card is really rather out of it's league for gaming at your resolution.
For something better that will perform well at that resolution for a while and is DX11 compatible this HD5770 would be a good choice for $153 if you can swing it;
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161317
You can use your old card in your sister's machine.
For video editing(and gaming for that matter) another 2 gigs of ram would be wise. Overclocking that processor would also be a good idea if your motherboard allows for it.

 

[manhattan01]

For $153, I can swing that...but not sure if you noticed...the $200 was for two 8800 GTS cards. Nonetheless, I'd have to deal with used cards so I do prefer new.

Alright...thanks jyjjy for your advice!

 

[jyjjy]

Yeah, I did notice it was for 2 cards. It's a terrible deal. The card is on par with an HD4670 and you can get 2 of those new for $120-130.

 

[manhattan01]

Best answer selected by manhattan01.