Graphics Cards

[BSSBlade]

Hi Sparta peeps its {B:P:R}BSSBlade hear. I`m after some tech help with deciding on an upgrade of my vid card. At the moment i have a 8800GTS 640mb and the 2 cards i`m looking too upgrade too are http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct....rodid=GX-072-GW or http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct....rodid=GX-141-LT

Problem is they both have pros and cons but which would be the better? Any help would be much appreciated. CHRS

[BSSBlade]

Aye but bench marks show the 9800X2 too be better performance wise in gaming including COD4

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

The 280 due to it has double the pci-e 100% more buss speed and allmost double the stream processors and can dam near do pixar anamated movies like Quatro series of cards. Well then do sli with 2-280s like the 9800gx2. I have found that all review sights are not true to each outher, one sight will say its best and anouther will say it sucks. Go look at 3 or4 sights and then make up your mind.

Edited July 19, 2008 by Athlon64~SPARTA~

[MUTILATER]

In Oz 9800GX2 is now down to $380 ($185 UK Pound)

 

Which makes it the best performance to $ ratio out of them all.

 

The 280 GTX is over priced by about 40% at least, and has Sweet FA better performance in all aspects.

 

However prices are plumeting as the ATI 4780 cards in crossfire kick the 280's butt in performance and price making it an over priced lemon to say the least.

 

From what I'm seeing the GX2 is probably your best choice currently.

 

Read a few reviews and make your own mind up when you see the results and consider the cost of the card in FPS, With reference to what applications you are using, New Nvidia cards due out September as well.

 

 

Edit ... $ to UK $ stuff up.

Edited July 19, 2008 by MUTILATER

[BSSBlade]

Thanks for help though with the advent of the ATI 4870 X2 on the horizon i might just hold fire. See price and performance diff.

[NoScream~SPARTA~]

I would go for the 280 1024Mb card personally

but I would not buy gainwood.

 

I have a 8800GTX OC2 and it's great, when I upgrade it will be

BFG or EVGA. Lifetime guarantee

 

THe 280 is expensive but it's packed with power. not the

best bang for the price but the most advanced card of the two.

 

Drivers for the 280 are early so don't expect the full power to be

there till better drivers come out.

 

 

viii

 

 

viiiper's choice: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct....s)%20-%20Retail

 

 

remember both cards don't support triple monitor view.

 

[.TuG.Breaker]

well i meself woulda go for the ati radeon hd 4870

 

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct....s)%20-%20Retail

 

it has only 512mb, ok, but...it got wicked clocks, so just go for two of these mate

[BSSBlade]

Money has some part too play only got around the £300 mark so 2 of those would be outta my budget but as an ATI 4870 dual card is on its way then maybe the price might be within my range so will hold my breath as release date is around end of July.Also motherboard is an SLI board so 2 off would need a change of board.

Edited July 20, 2008 by BSSBlade

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

Well then get the best card for the buck . But remember, is this card going to stay with the games for a couple of years, or you going to have to change it a couple of months, thats also something to consiter. I am a sterned nvidia fan and thats all I use. But the factory vid card Bios has the instructions loaded in it telling the card to run at said specs. So that means that you are paying more for a OC card, when you can get the standard card and use a OC utility to runn it up to the OC settings you get the same results for less money. But tomatios, tomatios. Or you can edit the vid card BIOS useing a editing utility, and reload the oc bios in it, makeing it the same as the oc card, but that will void the factory warranty if the mfger finds out.

[CoBoL~SPARTA~]

Well I am in the process of building a new rig, a Core 2 Quad Extreme QX9775, and I dropped 2 x 9800 GX2. Not tested as I have not finished building rig, due to waiting of 1400 watt supply coz these baby's need 560 Watts each. Existing supply of a 1000 Watts wont kick machine up. So keep this in mind.

 

These are the two I bought Here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

WOW that broke the bank. Nice machine!

[NoScream~SPARTA~]

That's one sweet Rig dude.

[custard~SPARTA~]

Dribble

[BSSBlade]

Aye nice rig. But just a heads up B:P:R:Solar bought 2 9800X2 and ran them in quad running Vista and had a hell of a time with them. Heat being a big issue and also driver support. Hes now running XP and they a bit more stable.

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

Well case cooling is a major factor with these monster machines now days. I have A 120mm side fan blowing right on my vid card. The old days of just haveing 1 fan in the case is gone. If I was running 2 9800 gx2 I would have side buy side 120mm fans blowing right on them. I would recomend no less. My case has 4 120mm and 1 80 mm at the top. These new machines generate ALOT of heat and require max cooling!

 

Cobols machine is going to use 1.4 kw of power at max load. 1.2 kw for the vid cards alone.

Power bill is going up with that to!

Edited July 21, 2008 by Athlon64~SPARTA~

[Inimigo~SPARTA~]

Hey guys,

 

wanting to upgrade my 8800 GTS 320 here.

Budget is around 250 euros and I'm doubting between the following 2 cards:

 

Asus ATI EN4870 512MB (HDTV,2xDVI,HDMI,PCIe) for 250 euros

 

and

 

Asus nVidia GeForce 9800GTX/HTDP 512MB for 275 euros

 

(or, if really making a BIGGGG difference: Asus ENGTX260 (HTDP/896M DDR3,HDTV,2xDVI-I,HDMI,PCIe) for 300 euros)

 

Side note: I only have a 500W power supply and want to avoid to change it (cause it would cost me another 100 euros for a more powerfull one).

 

 

Glad to hear.

 

edit: this is what I have now:

Antec Sonata III (500 W)

P5K-VM + E8400 processor

1xsata 160GB harddisk + 1xsata 700GB harddisk

2xdvd writers

2 GB RAM

8800 GTS 320

Edited July 21, 2008 by Inimigo~SPARTA~

[Halli~SPARTA~]

Just get a 8800 GTS 512 it is not the gtx but for the money it should rock.

Get higher mem but not the 640 one and all should be fine.

[NoScream~SPARTA~]

THe GTX 9800 GTX needs a big Power supply, your 500 may not be able to drive is correctly....

Talk to Cobol & post for him & his 2x 9800 GTX X2.

[bmwkk]

hey, I'm using gtx260, and it's really awesome. I havnt used 4870, but with 260gtx, i got max performance in arma and graw2.

 

But, I dont think u can still hold your 500w psu, cas I changed my 550w psu.

my specs:

e8400 cpu+asus p5qe deluxe

1 bfg 260gtx

4g ram

300g+80g harddisk

750 psu

 

Hey guys,

 

wanting to upgrade my 8800 GTS 320 here.

Budget is around 250 euros and I'm doubting between the following 2 cards:

 

Asus ATI EN4870 512MB (HDTV,2xDVI,HDMI,PCIe) for 250 euros

 

and

 

Asus nVidia GeForce 9800GTX/HTDP 512MB for 275 euros

 

(or, if really making a BIGGGG difference: Asus ENGTX260 (HTDP/896M DDR3,HDTV,2xDVI-I,HDMI,PCIe) for 300 euros)

 

Side note: I only have a 500W power supply and want to avoid to change it (cause it would cost me another 100 euros for a more powerfull one).

 

 

Glad to hear.

 

edit: this is what I have now:

Antec Sonata III (500 W)

P5K-VM + E8400 processor

1xsata 160GB harddisk + 1xsata 700GB harddisk

2xdvd writers

2 GB RAM

8800 GTS 320

 

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

Something that was over looked, Bouth the modles you got listed at top are second tier cards built with lower quality componets from aftermarket card mfgers. and the warranty, anything less then life time i would not touch it. Let those cheap cards stay right where they are.

[MUTILATER]

LMFAO ... Asus, ......."A second tier card manufacturer" .... Yeah Right ! ... Must be a second tier board one also ..LOL

 

And ..

 

As for paying a premium of at around 15% for lifetime warranty let me ask this question .... How long will you keep the card ? ...three years max, maybe if your unlucky. XFX just to name one, provide three years warranty. So do you need to pay a premium for some rubbish you will probably never use.

Reference boards are also used in ALL cards so component quality is not an issue either. Coolers attached are the main difference in models and brands, also the bundle of useless crap with the card and the sticker upon the cooler.

 

Inimigo >>> Now coming back to your original question regarding card choice,

 

Your 500w PSU in that case should be an EarthWatts unit, they have a very reliable performance graph and can be pushed to the limit, not like the yumchar brand ones, so 500 rating means 500 available.

That PSU you have already should provide enough power for your requirements with regards to what you listed above,

however consider a couple of other points as i don't know the answers, number of case fans, is you CPU overclocked and do you plug any external devices in that draw on power. If no to all the above the 500w will do the job for your cards listed above.

 

MY Opinion from here on ....

 

ATI ... Very fast cards, better value than Nvidia and better bang for buck, crossfire is the leader in dual card technology. Drivers can let them down as they have in the past but i think driver issue is a thing of the past your going to have to do some research.

 

Nvidia ... Stable cards and stable drivers, SLI is utter crap don't bother as trouble will be forthcoming. Not the best bang for buck but unless your going to tinker and play with card bios and drivers Nvidia would be my choice.

 

Currently the 9800 GTX over here is selling for about $240 AU your price that you quoted was high and you can do much better if you look around. 98XX is basically the same as 88XX cards. The gap to the 260GTX is not anything to write home about and probably not worth the price premium, same as i would look at other brands as Asus is always up the top of costings. There are many other card manufacturers who produce quality products at a substantial saving from the expensive brands and offer the same product. Stay away for Ultra, Or OC or XXX edition cards, higher cost for the marketing kiddies for bragging purpose. You can overclock any card to Ultra specs if you know your stuff. Ram on the card 512MB is min any more is a bonus but comes at a price jump for no real world benefit.

 

Maybe in 2-3 years time you will need a way faster card with 1GB of ram ... However software on the shelves today can't press the current crop of cards except for Crysis ... but we all know the problem with that title.

 

So with that said ... you asked which card, I would point you toward the Nvidia 9800GTX (Standard Version)

 

Last but not least .... Your not going to notice any real major performance jump from your current 8800 card as in the likes of 20% +, And double check your power consumption, I'm guessing around 460w for your system thats why i said the Antec will be fine. If you can't be bothered adding up all your components look for an online PSU calculator, however most over estimate actual wattage needs.

 

OK L8R

 

 

EDIT :

Just looked as interested, 9800GTX is $230 for a Leadtek which is $136 Euro's and an Asus was $146 Euro's.

 

Average price here for a 9800GTX is $142 Euro, No i didn't bother looking at card specs BTW, Just showed you a price comparison as i thought what you were quoted above was way too high.

Edited August 20, 2008 by MUTILATER

[Forrester~SPARTA~]

dang Blade send the old baby to me, that would be an upgrade for me still.....lol

 

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

Asus is not second tier its first. Go ahead and buy a arbitron And see what you get and how long it lasts. I was refering to the very first post of this thread. And if that be the case then how come all these guys cards are dieing allready? After about a year or year and a hafe? And Do they have warranty? I would not want to be there. You buy cheap=you get cheap.

Edited August 20, 2008 by Athlon64~SPARTA~

[MUTILATER]

Athlon ... Did you even look at the cards in the said first post ?

 

Reason i question this fact, both are very respected cards with good reviews and reports overall. Something your apparently missing here i think, with your tier one and two choice. Some of the facts you stated previously could also have been mistaken for an answer to a previous post not the OP. (Like i did,I also thought he referred to the Asus cards in Inimigo's post)) Everyone has a different experience with certain brands some good some bad, overall a bit of research can remove any market hype or fanboi disguise for a product. Many of the cards people had issues with on here (Sparta) were the so called premium products you yourself Athlon refer others toward, and yet the ones like the OP linked are not an issue (Leadtek and Gainward). Your previous post here quoted below states the Arbitron (I think you mean Albatron) as being a lemon, when in fact has many good reports. (Not just my view as stated below also)

 

 

"Asus is not second tier its first. Go ahead and buy a arbitron And see what you get and how long it lasts. I was refering to the very first post of this thread. And if that be the case then how come all these guys cards are dieing allready? After about a year or year and a hafe? And Do they have warranty? I would not want to be there. You buy cheap=you get cheap."

 

 

The Two cards linked in the Original Post

 

Gainward has some of the best reference design video cards available that include some of the best statistics for the given model, they also over clock like hell. They also come with a two year warranty. They command a price premium as they are a top notch card. (This is the top link in the first post)

 

Leadtek also has the same high end specs with room for over clocking, very popular cards in enthusiast circles, and again a two year warranty with competitive pricing. This brand also has respected following. (This is the second link)

 

Arbitron ... I assume you mean Albatron. (USA Product made like them all in Taiwan under contract)

Maybe you should take a look at this manufactures spec sheets, They have consistently some of the BEST performing video cards in the game, consistently out performing many of the so called better brands with package contents and performance sheets to match, on top of that a three year warranty. (Take a look on there site at the 9800GTX)

 

 

My Opinion now ... (Opinions are like assholes ... Everyone has got one)

 

I own one Albatron it's a 6800GT over clocked (By Mutly) to a bit faster than Ultra specs, All i added was an after market cooler and heat sinks, This still runs fine as it's in my D/L box running 24/7 and has been for over three years currently. In that time i have had NO issues with the card. Personally i would recommend this brand over others.

 

This box I'm on now has an XFX 7900GT O/C (By Mutly) with an after market cooler and sinks, core running at 580 and mem at 1650, Been running like that for over 3 years also. It has yet to miss a beat ... How often do you hear me bitchin my box is giving me grief ? (Did have it running at about 620/1800 and backed it off for everyday stability) So again there is a card with exceptional performance.

 

So anyway there is my view on the so called second rate cards that i own currently, and i just purchased yet another (See Below). I would be interested to understand why you get so hell bent on brands like BFG/EVGA when there marketing hype doesn't match there performance and price premium, warranty is not worth the extra alone. No where in PC enthusiast O/C groups do they lean toward these branded cards, they simply are non performers and the stock coolers are not that great upon them either, again you can purchase much better, and if your going to Over Clock, then you need to get a better cooler anyway. (Just by using decent thermal compound you can gain 5+ Deg C) Poor value for money from my perspective, that's why i had to have a say regarding them. Personally i would not recommend them even for a novice computer user as the excess money/price premium can be spent far better elsewhere.

 

Computer hardware is personal choice, so the individual will hopefully make an informed decision based on users factual information, and reading many reportedly non biased review sites. I'm sorta curious how many people recommend a particular brand of product, when they themselves don't in fact own or even have owned the said item previously either ...

 

My new toy to build in next few weeks Gigashyte EP35-DS3P/E6850/8800GT/1200 ViperRam

(Want to get 3.8+ on Air, If i can hit 4.0 I'll be very happy) Then a CPU change to an E8600 and try again. The 6850's OC like a dream.

 

This is for the above box - Leadtek 8800GT ... yet to fire it up, my new case arrives next week, again with an after market cooler and ram sinks. This card has been tested in several machines by other people i know, they are getting insane O/C and 3D scores from this card (14000 +), Stock is 675/1850 and all for $150 AU with a heatpipe cooler (Copper sink set is another $20 on top) Time will tell if i made a nice decision.

 

Anyway .. enough from me for now.

 

L8R

 

 

[Athlon64~SPARTA~]

Good luck with Gainword,Arbtiron, Leadteck, Zotac, Powercolor, I won't buy them. I might pay alittle more for a card that has better warranty knowing that if ever burns out I can rest easy knowing that I can get it replaced. I recycle my old cards into my wifes machine and I will get my moneys worth out of it. Ive had cards running 5 years now or longer, some longer then that. I had a MSI Ti4200 for 6 years. It went from my machine, into my wifes machine, and took it out sold it to a guy for $25 and hes still useing it today. I myself am tired of haveing to replace cheap componets, Paying big money for a componet and have the dam thing fail after 1 year just after the warranty expires really Ts me off. Im so tired of low quality CRAP thats on the market now days. I bought a SONY digital camra and it burned out after 10 uses or so and of coarse its was out of its 1 year warranty. I complained on a consumer webb sight, It turns out that thousands of outher people read the post and a law firm launched a class action law sute aganst Sony corp. They had to fix every sony digital camra from 2000-2004 for free. Thousands of them. Serves them right for building cheap jap crap! So I will spend alittle more for something thats better, and comes with a better warranty. Becouse as a consumer I have rights under consumer protection act Of the united states of america. And I won't put up with cheap crap any more! I don't know about you guys but I work hard for my money and Im not going to lose out to some shister cheap product that gives up the ghost just after the 30 day warranty expires. I myself, have had enough.

Edited August 20, 2008 by Athlon64~SPARTA~