Upgrade from 7800gtx512 to....??

S

SleeplessIncubus

Gawd
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Dec 28, 2006
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I currently have a s939 x2 4400+ 89w cpu and a evga 7800gtx512 and I have been playing FSX on medium settings since I get very low frame rates on the higher settings. I just picked up Vista Home Premium and thought about getting a DX10 card for FSX.

I have been using my computer less and less now for gaming and my x360 more but I really want to get the most out of FSX (and probably CnC3 when it comes out). Is there an easy way to do this? Like upgrading the video card or will I need some more juice out of my cpu.

I have been looking at the 8800 GTSs since they only require 1 power connection. I would really like a GTX but 2 power connections are a little much for me. I was thinking about the 8800gts 640mb version would be more then enough.

Now....I assume that I can probably get around 250-300 for the 7800gtx I have and a new 8800gts goes for about $359 after mir....so it would cost me about $75-100 for the upgrade.

Unless you would recommend that I upgrade to a C2D then I'll just hold off until the R600s and 8800 refreshes come out and just do a full upgrade....but if I can get the performance out of a GTS without the major upgrade then ill do it.

edit: I'll probably go with evga since I can do the step up incase something better comes out in the next 3 months.
forgot to mention I have a 37" Westinghouse and run games at 1920x1080
 
yea I'd consider a GTX for anything above 1600x1200, i had it and used it at 1600x1200 and was very pleased with it =) but I'm sure as games get a bit tougher and tougher the increased bandwidth and mem will help a tad, if you do wait a few weeks Nvidia might release a refresh when R600 launches, that would give you some more options. maybe an 8950GX2 model will pop out within the next month, if they stick to 6month refreshes then you'll see one in April
 
Digital Viper-X- said:
yea I'd consider a GTX for anything above 1600x1200, i had it and used it at 1600x1200 and was very pleased with it =) but I'm sure as games get a bit tougher and tougher the increased bandwidth and mem will help a tad, if you do wait a few weeks Nvidia might release a refresh when R600 launches, that would give you some more options. maybe an 8950GX2 model will pop out within the next month, if they stick to 6month refreshes then you'll see one in April
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well, i was thinking sorta on those lines....was going to jump on the 8800gts now and then use the step up to possibly a 8950gx2. the only problem is I am not a big fan of these monster power consuming gpus hence the reason i would be going with the gts. not sure if the 8950 will require 1 or 2 power connections.

i'll probably wait and see what ati has to offer before i make the move. so you would agree that I should stick with the x2 and just upgrade the video card or should i go to a c2d setup?
 
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ir0nw0lf said:
$265 you mention is on the high side of what is currently listed. IF you fleaBay your card and get the same amount, more power to ya. But look at the current prices on the other 7800 GTX 512 MB cards to see if they will hit that high.
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yeah i got the other ones in my "watched" folder. i only pointed out the one thats going for $265 since it is ending soon....as opposed to the others that are ending a couple of days later.

again..... would you agree that I should stick with the x2 and just upgrade the video card or should i go to a c2d setup?
 
okayyy....does anybody know if FSX is more cpu intensive or gpu?

would it be better upgrading to a 8800gts and keeping the x2 or going to a c2d and a 8800gts?
 
SleeplessIncubus said:
theyre going for $265 right now on ebay
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Yeah but for 265 you can get wayyy better cards than the 7800GTX. You could probably do better for much less than that, actually, and people will always chose new over used, if the price is the same.

BUT, I'm sure there are some people out there who love their 7800GTX and would pay a half decent price so they can go SLI
 
JackAshley said:
Yeah but for 265 you can get wayyy better cards than the 7800GTX. You could probably do better for much less than that, actually, and people will always chose new over used, if the price is the same.

BUT, I'm sure there are some people out there who love their 7800GTX and would pay a half decent price so they can go SLI
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huh? im selling my 7800 for hopefully a price in that range. i plan on buying a 8800gts, r600 or a 8800 refresh...not sure if u understood that or read the whole thread
 
SleeplessIncubus said:
huh? im selling my 7800 for hopefully a price in that range. i plan on buying a 8800gts, r600 or a 8800 refresh...not sure if u understood that or read the whole thread
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Sorry, I'm sleepy and as such i cant really make coherent statements :D

What I meant is you might be hard pressed to sell it for that much, as people can buy better new cards for less or equal...and same thing about your best bet being find ppl who have 7800gtx who might want to buy yours for sli.
 
JackAshley said:
Sorry, I'm sleepy and as such i cant really make coherent statements :D

What I meant is you might be hard pressed to sell it for that much, as people can buy better new cards for less or equal...and same thing about your best bet being find ppl who have 7800gtx who might want to buy yours for sli.
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i see...yeah i was suprised to see that one sell on fleabay for that much. esp with the 8800gts going for about $350 after mir.

anyways, i am still looking for an answer to this question.......does anybody know if FSX is more cpu intensive or gpu? would it be better upgrading to a 8800gts and keeping the x2 or going to a c2d and a 8800gts?
 
SleeplessIncubus said:
anyways, i am still looking for an answer to this question.......does anybody know if FSX is more cpu intensive or gpu? would it be better upgrading to a 8800gts and keeping the x2 or going to a c2d and a 8800gts?
Click to expand...

Sorry for going off-topic previously. Games will, more often than not benefit more from a GPU than CPU. In my opinion, I would always rather have a high-end video card on a medium-end cpu, than a medium end video card on a high-end CPU.

For example, when I obtained my Core 2 Duo E6400, I originally had a 7900gs. This was up from an athlonXP 3000+ with a 6800 ultra. I was amazed by the performance. Then I upgraded to a 7900GTO, and was even further amazed at how big a difference I perceived from the upgrade. That 7900gs is now in an athlon64 3200+, and the performance isnt terribly different than it was in the e6400.

To summarize, FSX (and other games) will most likely take advantage of GPU moreso than CPU.


...man, i talk too much.
 
i had a 3500+ with a 7900gs ko
it was alright, i wanted more.
I upgraded to a 8800GTS.
I could bairly disearn a difference in my games (dark messiah, second life, eq2, gothic 3)
Yes, i could pump up the AF and AA to insane levels, but still had some drops and stuff in games.
Upgraded to a e4300 and better ram.
Now everything runs better, its not like a huge performance boost, but its enough. I need more ddr2 ram to make a good comparison (since i only have 1gb now, and i get stuttering).

So this is another... high end video, mid-end processor kind of deal :D

3DMark scores
3500+ 7900gs ko - 4000
3500+ 8800gts - 6000
e6400 + 8800gts - 10000

3DMark06 is synthetic, yes. It still shows a bit of what I was talking about earlier though.
 
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