Good upgrade for the price?

I

inotocracy

Supreme [H]ardness
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Jul 25, 2004
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Cash is tight but I've been wanting a new video card for a long time now, and I happened to stumble across this deal:

MSI NX8800GTS 320M OC GeForce 8800GTS 320MB 320-bit GDDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127328

For $179.99 after rebate. Looks like a great deal for the performance gain, my specs are:

C2D E4500
2GB DDR2 800
7600GT 256mb
Raptor 150gb

I know the performance jump would probably be huge, and the price seems very right. Any other cards around this price (or lower preferrably) that would offer me the gain this one would? Also, my resolution is 1440x900 so I wont be running that high.
 
Id probably buy a 512mb 3870 before that, its a bit more however. G80 is getting old and you dont need a 320bit bus for 1440x900. I wouldnt consider the performance jump either, only compare it to other cards and how much performance you get for the money. Also, i think a G92 GT or even GTS would be a much wiser choice, i think it will keep you satisfied for a very long time at that res.
 
Isn't the 3870 slower than this particular GTS and costs a bit more? If I were to go the GT route I'd end up paying $300 which I'm trying to avoid. With taxes and shipping this would cost $220.
 
Thing is, 8800GTs don't cost $300 anymore. :)

No tax if you're in the States, but $12 shipping. You also have to deal with a $40 rebate if you're up for that. :(

Otherwise, there's a Newegg deal for an EVGA 8800GT for $240?
 
I would spend a bit more and go for atleast 8800GT 512MB or a HD3870 512MB.

Cheapest 8800GT 512MB is around $240 and $220 for a HD3870 512MB.

EDIT: if it was between the 9600GT and 8800GS I would opt for the 9600GT since the 8800GS has a 192-bit bus compared to the 9600GT's 256-bit bus.
 
Its being released in two weeks, eh? Guess I'll wait to see what the performance is like. Thanks guys!
 
-PK- said:
I believe the 9600GT 512MB will be priced at $169.99 MSRP and is being released arround feb. 14. The 9600GT is better than the 8800GS 384MB - http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/247886-33-full-geforce-9600-review

I'm currently waiting for the benchmarks of the 9600GT with the 8800GTS and for the 9800's, which are also being released in feb/march.
Click to expand...
the latest price rumor for the 9600gt that I have seen is $169 for 256mb model and $199 for the 512mb model.
 
inotocracy said:
Isn't the 3870 slower than this particular GTS and costs a bit more? If I were to go the GT route I'd end up paying $300 which I'm trying to avoid. With taxes and shipping this would cost $220.
Click to expand...

As far as i knew the 3870 was slightly behind the 8800 GT, which was a decent amount faster than the G80 GTS. Not only that, but there is a memory/ring bus trade off in your favor with the 3870. You dont need the 320 bit bus, but you have the extra memory for AA and such.

I forgot about the 9600 GT, i agree it may be a good idea to wait a short time and see what happens with that card.

It really boils down to how often do you game, do you need max details, and how long do you want it to last...?
 
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