Help me decide on NVIDIA GPU - ~$300

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kilgore777

Gawd
Joined
Sep 12, 2005
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896
Happy Holidays, folks!

My 8800 GTX has bit the dust, so I am looking for a new NVIDIA GPU for about $300. Please make some suggestions and let me know why you think a particular card would be good for me. Stablity is important, even more so than a great deal.

I game with a 22 inch HP monitor at 1680 X 1050, so I can probably get away with something kinda modest, but I would like a card that is more than a boost from my 8800 GTX (RIP old friend).
 
This is the worst possible time to buy an Nvidia card around $300. The GTX 275, which costs between $200-$250, performs the same as the 4890 which can be found on slickdeals for as little as $135. The GTX 285 is $350+, but the $310 5850 outperforms it - and that will only get worse when the 5850 settles down to its intended price of $250.

Your EVGA 8800GTX should have a lifetime warranty on it. Use it!
 
^ ditto - get a replacement 8800GTX for now, and then wait until around april or may when Nvidia releases their 2010 line of cards and ATI has to drop their pricing and increase supply. Then you'll have the best selection and will pay about the same for a better card.
 
Is it just me or has a crapload of 8800GTX & Ultra died since early summer this year? I came back a few hours ago checking on a repair a relatives kid wanted and found the cause to be that his 8800GTX was dead (no OC, good ventilation, no dust death, no power surges), not the first time I've seen that this year either. Every other forum I go to has covered a lot of dead gtx/ultra, one a week if people are lucky.

(I wanted to start a thread about it asking around, but it'd get seen as anti Nv sentiment these days)
 
MrLonghair said:
Is it just me or has a crapload of 8800GTX & Ultra died since early summer this year? I came back a few hours ago checking on a repair a relatives kid wanted and found the cause to be that his 8800GTX was dead (no OC, good ventilation, no dust death, no power surges), not the first time I've seen that this year either. Every other forum I go to has covered a lot of dead gtx/ultra, one a week if people are lucky.

(I wanted to start a thread about it asking around, but it'd get seen as anti Nv sentiment these days)
Click to expand...

I'm seeing a lot of "my 8880GTX/Ultra died" threads these days.

Glad I sold my 8800 Ultra earlier in the year. :)
 
evilsofa said:
This is the worst possible time to buy an Nvidia card around $300. The GTX 275, which costs between $200-$250, performs the same as the 4890 which can be found on slickdeals for as little as $135. The GTX 285 is $350+, but the $310 5850 outperforms it - and that will only get worse when the 5850 settles down to its intended price of $250.

Your EVGA 8800GTX should have a lifetime warranty on it. Use it!
Click to expand...

You have a link to a 4890 on slick deals for 135?
 
MrLonghair said:
Is it just me or has a crapload of 8800GTX & Ultra died since early summer this year? I came back a few hours ago checking on a repair a relatives kid wanted and found the cause to be that his 8800GTX was dead (no OC, good ventilation, no dust death, no power surges), not the first time I've seen that this year either. Every other forum I go to has covered a lot of dead gtx/ultra, one a week if people are lucky.

(I wanted to start a thread about it asking around, but it'd get seen as anti Nv sentiment these days)
Click to expand...


it seems the failure rate of the 8800 series is high right now, I can count on 1 finger all my video cards that have died on me from just usage (my 7800GT just up and died on me for no real reason).

Even my Voodoo1, that has been through 7 moves, shuffled who knows where, forgotten about for a few years and all without being in a anti-static bag still works flawlessly :)

Maybe its just that people are more vocal about it but it has been a little concerning.
 
JaYp146 said:
Think he's referencing this: http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=1751226

Which is after a couple MIRs and Bing cashback.
Click to expand...

I browsed over to slick deals. Evidently there is that thread and another one. The other one was a dead on posting (used an expired code at time of posting) to get it to 135. That one is a 190$ of video card - 20$ MIR. They then add 135$ of crap this is free after MIR to combine with the 170$ of video card to get a paypal cash back to bring it down to 137.50 or something. There is 135$ of rebate risk for 13.50 gain as part of that.

Tis a shame because I was going to pounce on a 135$ 4890 or 5.
 
H-street said:
it seems the failure rate of the 8800 series is high right now, I can count on 1 finger all my video cards that have died on me from just usage (my 7800GT just up and died on me for no real reason).

Even my Voodoo1, that has been through 7 moves, shuffled who knows where, forgotten about for a few years and all without being in a anti-static bag still works flawlessly :)

Maybe its just that people are more vocal about it but it has been a little concerning.
Click to expand...

Seems that they often can be revived for a while through baking so it's quite certain it's solder-bump related. Same problem they had with their Mobile GPUs.
 
vengence said:
I browsed over to slick deals. Evidently there is that thread and another one. The other one was a dead on posting (used an expired code at time of posting) to get it to 135. That one is a 190$ of video card - 20$ MIR. They then add 135$ of crap this is free after MIR to combine with the 170$ of video card to get a paypal cash back to bring it down to 137.50 or something. There is 135$ of rebate risk for 13.50 gain as part of that.

Tis a shame because I was going to pounce on a 135$ 4890 or 5.
Click to expand...

The only way you're going to get that good of a deal without MIRs or Bing cashback is to wait about six months.

And to all the MIR naysayers, I don't know what you're doing wrong, but my success rate with them is up to around 90%, with 5% being my own damn fault.
 
Thanks for your responses. I am seeing about the RMA, but may buy a new card anyway. I am not tied to NVIDIA, so what is your take on the ATI 5850? It would fit my budget and seems like a decent step up from the 8800 GTX...
 
Kowan said:
I think Kyle is running one in his system. Be sure to run Driver sweeper in SafeMode after uninstalling nVidia drivers.
Click to expand...

Do you think the 5850 would be overkill for me? Or wouyld it be better "future proofing"?

I do always run Driver Cleaner - so shouldn't be an issue (good tip though).

BTW, I haven't really been up on the GPU thing lately as I wasn't looking for one until now... pretty much out of the loop. I had no idea that ATI had made such strides, I knew they were better than 2 years ago, but I had no idea that they are now a better value than nVidia.
 
Once AvP in DX11 is released, you might be glad you got a 5850 instead of a 5770.
 
I thought GTX 275 was a major upgrade from 8800GTX OC but it doesn't quite give me the performance I was looking for at 1680 in Crysis. It does improve Team Fortress 2, Fallout 3, and all those games quite a bit, but you still have to make significant compromises in Crysis. I can't really do the settings I want with anti-aliasing with 275. It rocks everything else. Really, you want something faster than GTX275. 5870 would do the job but you might want to wait for the new Nvidia cards.
 
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Unless you want to wait I'd say go for 5850. That's what I did after my 9600gt died and I'm lovin the 5850.
 
JaYp146 said:
The only way you're going to get that good of a deal without MIRs or Bing cashback is to wait about six months.

And to all the MIR naysayers, I don't know what you're doing wrong, but my success rate with them is up to around 90%, with 5% being my own damn fault.
Click to expand...

Ok.... 90% success rate on 135$ of MIR yields on a return rate of 121.50$. A loss of 13.50$. Add back the 13.5$ you saved and your net is..... ZERO! Nothing, zilp, zitch, noda. Except of course you've wasted a lot of your own time.

20$ risk to save 20$ is fine. 135$ risk to save 13.50$ is not.
 
$300 budget? I'd say get a 5850. Another choice is get a 4890 or a 260 as a temp replacement and then upgrade again next year. A 4890 would give you a better performance/price ratio though considering you are using 1680x1050 res.
 
I wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. I took some of your advice and bit on a 5850 (XFX HD-585A-ZNDC 5850-XXX Edition). Got it installed yesterday and it seems to be performing very well. I didn't have time to tweak things, but I can't wait to see how high I can push game settings.... now I have to get Crysis just for the eyecandy! Come on Steam, give me a good deal! :p

Thanks again for your good advice.

Happy New Year to all!

-kilgore777
 
kilgore777 said:
Happy Holidays, folks!

My 8800 GTX has bit the dust, so I am looking for a new NVIDIA GPU for about $300. Please make some suggestions and let me know why you think a particular card would be good for me. Stablity is important, even more so than a great deal.

I game with a 22 inch HP monitor at 1680 X 1050, so I can probably get away with something kinda modest, but I would like a card that is more than a boost from my 8800 GTX (RIP old friend).
Click to expand...

If you have an SLi capable board, concider 2x GTX 260s in SLi. Performance will be better than a GTX285 and cost about the same as that same said card.
 
kilgore777 said:
I wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. I took some of your advice and bit on a 5850 (XFX HD-585A-ZNDC 5850-XXX Edition). Got it installed yesterday and it seems to be performing very well. I didn't have time to tweak things, but I can't wait to see how high I can push game settings.... now I have to get Crysis just for the eyecandy! Come on Steam, give me a good deal! :p

Thanks again for your good advice.

Happy New Year to all!

-kilgore777
Click to expand...

Good job and congrats on your decision kilgore. Have fun with your new toy
 
Don't forget that Mech Warrior: Living Legend is a free mod using the Crysis engine so you can DL and play it once you have Crysis installed. :D
 
kilgore777 said:
I wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this thread. I took some of your advice and bit on a 5850 (XFX HD-585A-ZNDC 5850-XXX Edition). Got it installed yesterday and it seems to be performing very well. I didn't have time to tweak things, but I can't wait to see how high I can push game settings.... now I have to get Crysis just for the eyecandy! Come on Steam, give me a good deal! :p

Thanks again for your good advice.

Happy New Year to all!

-kilgore777
Click to expand...

Great choice!
 
make sure your rma the 8800gtx anyway because they will probably send you a gtx 275 in replacement. Which you could sell for about $200 and dramatically help offset the 5850 cost.
 
hossdaddy said:
make sure your rma the 8800gtx anyway because they will probably send you a gtx 275 in replacement. Which you could sell for about $200 and dramatically help offset the 5850 cost.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, that might be a problem because I bought my PC from a boutique. I contacted them and they said they weren't up on registering GPUs at the time I bought my PC :( (I know, I know.....). I will look into this, but I don't know if it worth the hassle.

I was kinda getting itchy for an upgrade anyway, so I am not too upset. It would be nice to get back some money though....
 
RMA replacement cards for the 8800GTX these days are either a GTS 250 1GB or a GTX 260, depending on the company. A GTX 275 would be highly unlikely.
 
evga are seriously strict on that whole registering thing to activate the warranty. there should be laws in place for that nonsense.
i got a gtx275 as a gift and it was bought about three months before i got it. evga will not honor the warranty.
 
>GSXR<mrbusa said:
evga are seriously strict on that whole registering thing to activate the warranty. there should be laws in place for that nonsense.
i got a gtx275 as a gift and it was bought about three months before i got it. evga will not honor the warranty.
Click to expand...

Awww, that sucks. Maybe I will have a slightly better chance since I am the first owner - but I wouldn't bet on it. It is rediculous that the PC maker didn't register the product.... how long would that have taken??
 
you only have thirty days from the time of purchase to register the lifetime warranty evga items in order to activate the step up program and the lifetime warranty. once that thirty days passes and it wasnt registered the hardware then falls under the one year standard warranty with no step up program or cross shipping rma. no evga warranty is transferable either and all rma's require the original receipt.
the actual registration process takes like 30sec so there is no reason not to do it. what id did is tried to register it when i didnt know the place of purchase and what i should have done is find out then registered. withing a half hour they sent me a nasty email saying that the card was purchased a few months back and demanded an invoice with proof of ownership, lol....in other word, i am probably screwed even for the one year limited warranty now. oh well, i dont need to overclock it anyhow and wanted to break the seal to apply as5 and vram pads. good luck
 
Well, I went with an XFX card this time. The double lifetime warranty is really pretty nice. I wish EVGA would follow suit...
 
I sold my 285 a few months ago for $250 when the 5000 series cards came out. Now guys are asking $280+ in FS/FT....I never in my wildest dreams imagined that prices would stay so high for so long.

Now is the time to buy ATI for sure.
 
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