desisions decisions

M

Mr.Pickles

Gawd
Joined
Oct 2, 2006
Messages
879
ok I am using the rig in my sig except the proc I might be getting a X2 4600+ from a freind dirt cheap or a X2 4200+ I was wondering under which proc for current cards to go with. The choices are...

8800GT

HD3870

HD3850

I don't want to be spending extra on a card that i can't fully utilize and heat is a factor along with price and power consumption. it gets hot here. BTW I am not looking to be turning on everysingle bit of eye candy and game at 1280x1024 because i have a habit of alt-tabbing. any other questions plaese ask because I am really split on all of these for different reasons.
 
got the 4600+ for dirt cheap so its a 3850 eh any other opinions here I want to hear more than one person.
 
Wait til the new coolers for the 8800 GT come through the pipeline and hopefully better price when supply finally meets demand.

If you use rivatuner or edit the bios to increase the fan speed on the new cooler, you should be fine heatwise and have the best card of the 3.

3870 might best best if you have to buy right now or don't want to trust that the heat issue can be fixed by suggestion above.

I have a 7900 GS and plan on waiting til next summer. the 8800s should theoretically drop in price when the 9xxx get released.
 
yea I can hold out maybe a week or 2 thank you for the info that was a good reply and one that I can understand other than a short response. I will start to think a little more but the 8800GT seems good but will it hold with my PSU?
 
Your PSU may well die with /any/ of those cards. Hell, I had a rig that could've been the one in your sig kill 3. They're utter trash.

Of the three the GT is by far the fastest, but the 3870 gives the option of fairly inexpensive crossfire or even crossfire x in the future -- these are AM2 chips you're looking at, right?
 
1 8800 GT only needs a minimum of 400 W so I'm not sure why you're telling him that his psu will die with those cards.

I know how everyone loves 800W+ PSUs but it's not needed unless you are SLI 2 ultras or something.

550W is more than enough for any of those cards unless you're doggin on the brand.

Not sure how much the prices will change in the next couple weeks (probably not much) but i'm guessing getting one with a new cooler will be a safe bet in a week or 2 given that stock is moving fast.
 
its 939 and I got the proc for around 50 bucks and am using it right now I am not upgrading anymore after this for this machine. BTW this PSU has been loyal for a year and I have loaded it a lot worse.
 
3870 wouldbe the best based on your criteria. Did anyone mention that this card overclocks like a hellbitch? It'll even beat the 8800GT at stock speeds after you overclock, but of course that depends on your max overclock
 
Swingman said:
1 8800 GT only needs a minimum of 400 W so I'm not sure why you're telling him that his psu will die with those cards.

I know how everyone loves 800W+ PSUs but it's not needed unless you are SLI 2 ultras or something.

550W is more than enough for any of those cards unless you're doggin on the brand.

Not sure how much the prices will change in the next couple weeks (probably not much) but i'm guessing getting one with a new cooler will be a safe bet in a week or 2 given that stock is moving fast.
Click to expand...

I wasn't advocating more amperage, I was stating (pretty clearly, I thought) that I've had horrible experiences with 500 and 550 watt Antecs. No, he doesn't need more than a 500 watt PSU with that setup.
 
I like the fact NV and ATI finally are getting competition with these three cards. I am waiting for a few more responses before I make the plunge I think its going to be 2 weeks make or this Friday after check clears. All I ask is no trolling and flaming I want facts not some bias so far so good I am thinking really hard now. I am comparing performaces and checking the $ proff for the bang.
 
Mr.Pickles said:
I like the fact NV and ATI finally are getting competition with these three cards. I am waiting for a few more responses before I make the plunge I think its going to be 2 weeks make or this Friday after check clears. All I ask is no trolling and flaming I want facts not some bias so far so good I am thinking really hard now. I am comparing performaces and checking the $ proff for the bang.
Click to expand...

Since it's S939 (so more than likely no Crossfire, just one PCIe 16x slot) you're probably better off with an 8800GT as it'll be fastest in a single card configuration, particularly if you're willing to eventually put on an aftermarket dual-slot cooler from Zalman or Thermalright to replace the somewhat questionable stock single slot and OC it.
 
silent-circuit said:
I wasn't advocating more amperage, I was stating (pretty clearly, I thought) that I've had horrible experiences with 500 and 550 watt Antecs. No, he doesn't need more than a 500 watt PSU with that setup.
Click to expand...

Oh ok, misunderstood. I was thinking Antec was a good brand. Been a while since researched PSU.
 
silent-circuit said:
Since it's S939 (so more than likely no Crossfire, just one PCIe 16x slot) you're probably better off with an 8800GT as it'll be fastest in a single card configuration, particularly if you're willing to eventually put on an aftermarket dual-slot cooler from Zalman or Thermalright to replace the somewhat questionable stock single slot and OC it.
Click to expand...

I got a crossfire board it was the first good one if you check my sig it was the one done right it runs really well but only did it with X1600XTs from friends for laughs






Also I might just might as well get a PSU if it seems that it is soo bad...I can look for that easly...I guess not looking forward to it.
 
How much longer until you do a new build (replace everything) ? Which games do you play? Do you want to play Crysis or other true next gen games? Or do you have a select few games that you play exclusively?

Basically, if you plan to do a new build soon, and by soon I mean the coming summer or within a year then I suggest the 3850. Anything longer than that, or you feel that you will want to play some next gen games and you don't exclusively play some select games ( like WoW or CS) then you should get a 3870. I'm suggesting both because of their excellent performance for a reasonable price. The 8800 is also good value for the money, but it sounds like you don't want to overbuy so why spend more?
 
Honestly since you are only running a single card, either of those processors will be fine.

Your PSU can handle ANY of those cards with relative ease. You could even Crossfire two of the 3850's without a problem, though I wouldn't double up on the other two though, that might be a little too stressful on the PSU.

...and considering I have nearly the same PSU, I have much experience with it and others of the True Power category.

The only reason I say that the PSU might give out under the upper two cards (in Crossfire or SLI) is because the second 12v rail isn't very beefy and could overload without proper cooling.
 
pushing the 4600 to 2.6~2.7ghz will be of tangible benefit. go wth the 3850's as they are available and some as low as 169.99:

www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127313.

if it is within your budget, get two. prices of the 3870's are pretty inflated, as are the 8800gt's.
which ever card you choose, it will be considerably faster than your x850.
 
Look at my sig I have the same PSU just 50 watts less. Powers my 3870 just fine. If price matter and you really dont care about eye candy and ur rez is low..... go with the 3850.

my 2cents
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top