was looking to maybe upgrade from a 7800GTX. How do the cards scale from here up to the lastest and greatest? Like for example I see the 8600GT for 80 bucks on the egg but SLI would they even beat a single 7800GTX? Should I go 2 cheaper cards in SLI rather than go with an 8800? Im not going all out like last build 2 years ago when I splurged on the then brand new 7800GTX. Im thinking about 200ish this time (maybe 300)
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How do they stack up?
- Thread starter sabbs
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farfromhome
Gawd
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Skip the 8600, it's a terrible card, not even any better than my 7800 GT. You'd might as well get another 7800 GTX off of eBay if you want to SLI on a budget, but IMHO SLI is a waste unless you're SLI'ing the absolute top-of-the-line, or at least close to it.
For the around-$200 price-range, the 8800 GT is unassailable (though getting it for anywhere close to MSRP is tricky these days; prices should cool off in a month or two), and will be much better than two 7800's or two 8600's. If you're willing to switch to Red, then the ATI Radeon 3850 at is the best in the sub-$200 price range, coming in at $180.
For the around-$200 price-range, the 8800 GT is unassailable (though getting it for anywhere close to MSRP is tricky these days; prices should cool off in a month or two), and will be much better than two 7800's or two 8600's. If you're willing to switch to Red, then the ATI Radeon 3850 at is the best in the sub-$200 price range, coming in at $180.
Battleneter2
Gawd
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Agree with above, going from a 7800GT to a 8600GT is a sideways move at best. I also wouldn't bother with SLI.
You could look at a ATI 3850, that would be a very tangible upgrade, but realistically I wouldn't go lower than a HD3870 or 8800GT myself.
You could look at a ATI 3850, that would be a very tangible upgrade, but realistically I wouldn't go lower than a HD3870 or 8800GT myself.
i wasnt necessarily planning to SLI. I was just wondering how 2 would stack agaisnt a 7800GTX. The reason i even ask is nvidia cant make simple freakin logical linear model transition and it was so cheap. Why cant it be something like the model "100 budget", "100 good", "100 close to bad ass" "100 freakin awesome". (Wait till they release the 200 series early spring! 
) The 7800GTX still kicks ass. its just now showing signs of age on 1600x1200. I can still play all the latest games at least in 1280x1024 max settings and get respectable FPS so it isnt like i absolutely need to upgrade. Wish i had the 500 extra bucks i had then to get the best there was to get at the time.
) The 7800GTX still kicks ass. its just now showing signs of age on 1600x1200. I can still play all the latest games at least in 1280x1024 max settings and get respectable FPS so it isnt like i absolutely need to upgrade. Wish i had the 500 extra bucks i had then to get the best there was to get at the time.farfromhome
Gawd
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Ask and ye shall receive. This HotHardware review, for instance, has the 8600 GTS SLI performing about on par with a 8800 GTS 320 MB, or marginally higher than a single 7950 GT, on pretty much every real game (as opposed to synthetic benchmarks where the SLI makes more of a difference).
As for the 7800 GTX, it depends on which games you're playing and at what resolutions and with what anti-aliasing. It's not all that much better than my 7800 GT, which sucked at 1280x1024 with Oblivion, and sucks even more at 1680x1050. OTOH, it can run Guild Wars just fine at 1680x1050 with all the features turned on, and would probably do fine at 1920x1200. LOTRO is a borderline case; it works mostly fine at 1680x1050, but is just slow enough to notice that it's struggling a bit, and I can't turn all the eye candy to maximum. In other words, I'm itching for an upgrade, but certainly don't need SLI'd 8800 GTX's either; a single 8800 GT (or heck, a 3850 probably) would be good enough to run all my current games at a level I'd be happy with. Your milage may vary.
This HotHardware review, for instance, has the 8600 GTS SLI performing about on par with a 8800 GTS 320 MB, or marginally higher than a single 7950 GT, on pretty much every real game (as opposed to synthetic benchmarks where the SLI makes more of a difference).As for the 7800 GTX, it depends on which games you're playing and at what resolutions and with what anti-aliasing. It's not all that much better than my 7800 GT, which sucked at 1280x1024 with Oblivion, and sucks even more at 1680x1050. OTOH, it can run Guild Wars just fine at 1680x1050 with all the features turned on, and would probably do fine at 1920x1200. LOTRO is a borderline case; it works mostly fine at 1680x1050, but is just slow enough to notice that it's struggling a bit, and I can't turn all the eye candy to maximum. In other words, I'm itching for an upgrade, but certainly don't need SLI'd 8800 GTX's either; a single 8800 GT (or heck, a 3850 probably) would be good enough to run all my current games at a level I'd be happy with. Your milage may vary.