Upgrade from 8800GT to GTX 285

Depending on how great the Deal is, and whether or not 3D gaming is important or not i would probably go with your friends used GTX 285 unless you're really wanting to stay cutting edge or go DX11 i think a 285 could get you by for 2 years pretty easily. Then again if money isn't much of an issue it's always fun to have the latest and greatest  

I'm using a 285 and I have no complaints. It's been doing just fine for all the games I play and I don't plan on getting a new card until at least another 2 years anyways. If its a cheap deal, I'd say go for it.

Im not sure if the GTX285 is a good choice as im not aware of its capabilities, (still running the GT8800). Does the GTX 285 run warm in case ?

Lots of new info on GTX 460 and 6850's. I have not negoitiated the price on the GTX 285 yet..... we shall see, I will post when I know pricing.

Just trying to extend the life of the rig for another 2 years.

thanks for replies, steved

if he wants more than $100 for it, pass. too many newer cards slaughter it.

A GTX 285 is actually over all is better than a GTX 460 depending on the game. The shader architecture on the Fermi line is weaker than the previous generations. Your card may not be the latest and greatest out there but it is worth it. Don't bother getting a 6850 as most here that being 80-90% only favor ati no matter what yet they post problems and complaints about their drivers.

I'd have to agree with that statement. If he wants more than $100, then its worth it putting a few extra dollars into just getting a new one that will last even longer.




I have a Coolermaster HAF922 and inside that case the card probably idles around 50C, load temps usually never get past 80C. This is in a room that's usually around 80F as well.

I'd have to say that even though the 285 is a good card. The DX11 craze is pretty real I suppose. But after re-looking at your games, they are mostly DX10 games so the 285 would perform real well. The GTX 460 and 6850 would really be good choices for future proofing, but probably perform a bit worse than the 285. They do run cooler though to my knowledge and consume less power. I think the 6850 is fine it's on par with the GTX 460. Same amount of overclockability and power consumption (close). A lot of people have driver problems with the ATI/AMD (so they say), but tbh I've never had ANY driver problems with AMD/ATI on my 5850 or any of my ATI products for that matter. It really depends whether you like Nvidia or AMD.

Anyway, all those cards at your resolution will perform fine. So... Yeah...

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/166?vs=180

As you can see unless he is going to sell that to you for less than 120$ it's really bad. AnAndtech hasn't put the 6850 on the comparison table yet but the 460 = 6850 in most things, not everything, but most. As you can see the newer tech actually beats out the older tech.