*gasp* Memory v. bit-interface?? *ungasp*

B

BoOnDcKSt.6

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Joined
Sep 22, 2004
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Ok. little bit on the uneducated side of video cards.


looking at a new build right now and trying to determine the video card that will win my PCI express spot in the new build :D

Here's my options:

EVGA 8600GTS OC 706mhz 512mb and 128-Bit GDDR3
or
EVGA 8800GTS 500mhz 320MB and 320-Bit GDDR3


Now, i may in the future being running SLI with one of these cards. :eek:

I need clarification from you intelligent souls as to whats more important in a video card for a semi-hardcore gamer (keeping in mind the price) and what would perform best under an average gamers needs??

PLEASE!!! Thanks :D
 
The 8800GTS is miles ahead of the 8600GTS. Unfortunately, comparing video cards is not intuitive at all where higher numbers mean better performance. For instance, the 8600 has a higher frequency on the graphics processor, 700 vs 500. However, the 8800 has many more shader units, or many more processors within the main processor itself so it is much faster. Also, the 8600 has a larger amount of memory, but it's bus width is only 128 bits. It's sort of like having a really big bus station with 512 people in it, but a really small bus to take them anywhere. The 8800 on the other hand has a slightly smaller bus station but a much bigger bus to transport them. Oh and the people are data in this analogy, hehe. Anyway, depending on your budget, I think there may be cards that are even better than the 8800GTS available for a similar price. By the way, what is your budget?
 
BoOnDcKSt.6 said:
Ok. little bit on the uneducated side of video cards.


looking at a new build right now and trying to determine the video card that will win my PCI express spot in the new build :D

Here's my options:

EVGA 8600GTS OC 706mhz 512mb and 128-Bit GDDR3
or
EVGA 8800GTS 500mhz 320MB and 320-Bit GDDR3


Now, i may in the future being running SLI with one of these cards. :eek:

I need clarification from you intelligent souls as to whats more important in a video card for a semi-hardcore gamer (keeping in mind the price) and what would perform best under an average gamers needs??

PLEASE!!! Thanks :D
Click to expand...

8800gts 320 = 96shaders, vs the 32? on the 8600 :p no comp even if the 8600 had 12TB of ram at 1024 bit in this case :p
 
how much are you getting that 8800gts 320mb for? because if you are buying it new, you might as well save the $20 extra dollars and get this 8800gt 512mb.

to answer your question though, memory vs bit-interface really depends on the power of the core you are talking about. in the case of the 8600gts, it is probably bottlenecked a bit by its 128 bit interface, and the core itself really isnt powerful enough to warrant getting the 512mb version. as far as the 8800gts 320mb card, the 320-bit bus is definitely enough for the g80 core (in fact, it's probably more than the card needs), but the card is held back by only having 320mb of vram....not to mention only 92 stream processors. if you HAD to pick between those 2 cards, the 8800gts is going to give you a much better gaming experience overall, but like i said before, you should probably just spend $20 more dollars and go with the 8800gt unless you are getting a crazy deal on the cards you listed.
 
skadebo said:
The 8800GTS is miles ahead of the 8600GTS. Unfortunately, comparing video cards is not intuitive at all where higher numbers mean better performance. For instance, the 8600 has a higher frequency on the graphics processor, 700 vs 500. However, the 8800 has many more shader units, or many more processors within the main processor itself so it is much faster. Also, the 8600 has a larger amount of memory, but it's bus width is only 128 bits. It's sort of like having a really big bus station with 512 people in it, but a really small bus to take them anywhere. The 8800 on the other hand has a slightly smaller bus station but a much bigger bus to transport them. Oh and the people are data in this analogy, hehe. Anyway, depending on your budget, I think there may be cards that are even better than the 8800GTS available for a similar price. By the way, what is your budget?
Click to expand...


Thanks for the extremely fast reply!

Well. my budget is like 800$-1000$ (excluding monitor)

Im looking at the AMD Phenom with 2 gigs ram, 500Gb harddrive, (still looking for a MOBO) and a 550Wpsu
 
bpizzle1 said:
how much are you getting that 8800gts 320mb for? because if you are buying it new, you might as well save the $20 extra dollars and get this 8800gt 512mb.

to answer your question though, memory vs bit-interface really depends on the power of the core you are talking about. in the case of the 8600gts, it is probably bottlenecked a bit by its 128 bit interface, and the core itself really isnt powerful enough to warrant getting the 512mb version. as far as the 8800gts 320mb card, the 320-bit bus is definitely enough for the g80 core (in fact, it's probably more than the card needs), but the card is held back by only having 320mb of vram....not to mention only 92 stream processors. if you HAD to pick between those 2 cards, the 8800gts is going to give you a much better gaming experience overall, but like i said before, you should probably just spend $20 more dollars and go with the 8800gt unless you are getting a crazy deal on the cards you listed.
Click to expand...

The 8800GTS is on newegg for 219$ -20$(reabte) so $199
 
bpizzle1 said:
how much are you getting that 8800gts 320mb for? because if you are buying it new, you might as well save the $20 extra dollars and get this 8800gt 512mb.

to answer your question though, memory vs bit-interface really depends on the power of the core you are talking about. in the case of the 8600gts, it is probably bottlenecked a bit by its 128 bit interface, and the core itself really isnt powerful enough to warrant getting the 512mb version. as far as the 8800gts 320mb card, the 320-bit bus is definitely enough for the g80 core (in fact, it's probably more than the card needs), but the card is held back by only having 320mb of vram....not to mention only 92 stream processors. if you HAD to pick between those 2 cards, the 8800gts is going to give you a much better gaming experience overall, but like i said before, you should probably just spend $20 more dollars and go with the 8800gt unless you are getting a crazy deal on the cards you listed.
Click to expand...

:eek: i must have completely overlooked that 8800Gt youre talking about. Thats a nice card and def. fits into my budget. Thanks for the help. :p
 
skadebo said:
The 8800GTS is miles ahead of the 8600GTS. Unfortunately, comparing video cards is not intuitive at all where higher numbers mean better performance. For instance, the 8600 has a higher frequency on the graphics processor, 700 vs 500. However, the 8800 has many more shader units, or many more processors within the main processor itself so it is much faster. Also, the 8600 has a larger amount of memory, but it's bus width is only 128 bits. It's sort of like having a really big bus station with 512 people in it, but a really small bus to take them anywhere. The 8800 on the other hand has a slightly smaller bus station but a much bigger bus to transport them. Oh and the people are data in this analogy, hehe. Anyway, depending on your budget, I think there may be cards that are even better than the 8800GTS available for a similar price. By the way, what is your budget?
Click to expand...

LMAO
That's the greatest analogy ever!! :D
 
BoOnDcKSt.6 said:
Thanks for the extremely fast reply!

Well. my budget is like 800$-1000$ (excluding monitor)

Im looking at the AMD Phenom with 2 gigs ram, 500Gb harddrive, (still looking for a MOBO) and a 550Wpsu
Click to expand...

Is there a particular reason that you're going with a Phenom? Intel quad cores are noticeably quicker at doing what a quad core should be doing, like encoding videos etc. And they overclock pretty damn well.
 
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