What 8800gt card do you recommend?
- Thread starter Caleb
- Start date
Whon
Tribe of Judah Left 4 Dead Chapter Leader
I currently run a 8800 GTS 640MB card (gen one rather then the 512MB gen two) I haven't really noticed a skip in a step really anywhere other then TF2, but I believe that to be caused more to my CPU and board. (AMD Opteron 185 and Gigibyte AV8-Pro SLI) Depending on how many usb devices and # of graphic cards you plan on running the PS should do for now, but if you plan on going SLI I would at that time look into going 600-700 watts, just my opinion though.
The 8800 GTS proform pretty darn close to the GTX models and are cheaper. (atleast the gen one series were compairable when I looked into it last) I'm not sure of the newer GTS as they lowered the MB but using a different prossesor. This Link might help you understand the changes better.
The 8800 GTS proform pretty darn close to the GTX models and are cheaper. (atleast the gen one series were compairable when I looked into it last) I'm not sure of the newer GTS as they lowered the MB but using a different prossesor. This Link might help you understand the changes better.
vibrokatana
New Member
The main thing I would say is to avoid the pre overclocked cards, companies rocket up the clock rate without thoroughly testing each card. I usually buy eVGA because their tech support seems to be pretty good and they tend to be cheaper.
Whon
Tribe of Judah Left 4 Dead Chapter Leader
agreed - vibro. Mine's also an eVGA
I just got the EVGA 8800 GTS 512. I really don't have any hands on experience with other current cards for comparison. I'm still testing this one as I just got my new computer set up.
However having just got through researching them and buying one...
I would not buy a factor overclocked card. Be careful they phrase overclocking differently to confuse you OCC, Superclocked etc. Compare clockspeeds on some cards (like different GT cards) and it looks like they OC and don't tell you anything at all sometimes.
The 2 top sellers of Nvida cards are XFX and EVGA the most difference discussed being in the warranties...
XFX has a double lifetime warranty meaning you can resell the card and the second owner will be under warranty (but not the third obviously)
EVGA has a step up program which means until 90 days past the purchase date you can exchange any regular card they make for another more expensive model and pay the difference http://www.evga.com/stepup/default.asp?switch=2
The 8800 GTS 512 takes TWO slots up on your motherboard while the 8800 GT does not. Generally all the more powerful cards take two slots up to allow for the integrated cooling fan.
There are sometimes packaged deals on video cards. In the case of the GTS 512 there are some with multiple model numbers that indicate it's packaged with a game. The GTS without a game http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130325 and the one with Crysis http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130312. (note I got the without because the offer originally didn't give a price better than buying the game separately. Unfortunately the price dropped right after I bought one making the one with Crysis a much better deal -_-. Also the caption saying it's an overclocked card was added at the price drop and is incorrect according to EVGA itself (the caption should probably go on a different card they sell for 10 bucks more).
Wish I could give you more info on the GT but I've forgotten most of it and I got to go. Most sites seemed to say the GTS was better so I went with it. Of course if you cannot give up 2 slots or afford the difference the GT was my second choice.
Also the 9800s (the 9800 GTX is soon right???) are in the process of coming out so the possibility of a slight price drop in the next couple of months occurs to me.
However having just got through researching them and buying one...
I would not buy a factor overclocked card. Be careful they phrase overclocking differently to confuse you OCC, Superclocked etc. Compare clockspeeds on some cards (like different GT cards) and it looks like they OC and don't tell you anything at all sometimes.
The 2 top sellers of Nvida cards are XFX and EVGA the most difference discussed being in the warranties...
XFX has a double lifetime warranty meaning you can resell the card and the second owner will be under warranty (but not the third obviously)
EVGA has a step up program which means until 90 days past the purchase date you can exchange any regular card they make for another more expensive model and pay the difference http://www.evga.com/stepup/default.asp?switch=2
The 8800 GTS 512 takes TWO slots up on your motherboard while the 8800 GT does not. Generally all the more powerful cards take two slots up to allow for the integrated cooling fan.
There are sometimes packaged deals on video cards. In the case of the GTS 512 there are some with multiple model numbers that indicate it's packaged with a game. The GTS without a game http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130325 and the one with Crysis http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130312. (note I got the without because the offer originally didn't give a price better than buying the game separately. Unfortunately the price dropped right after I bought one making the one with Crysis a much better deal -_-. Also the caption saying it's an overclocked card was added at the price drop and is incorrect according to EVGA itself (the caption should probably go on a different card they sell for 10 bucks more).
Wish I could give you more info on the GT but I've forgotten most of it and I got to go. Most sites seemed to say the GTS was better so I went with it. Of course if you cannot give up 2 slots or afford the difference the GT was my second choice.
Also the 9800s (the 9800 GTX is soon right???) are in the process of coming out so the possibility of a slight price drop in the next couple of months occurs to me.
Last edited:
vibrokatana
New Member
"lifetime" warranties for video cards are only for the duration of it's "product lifetime". If the card fails 5 years down the road you probably will not get a replacement. So in effect the company can at any point in time say your warranty is invalid because they don't make the card any more.