New card 8800 or 2900?

B

Brantoc

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 8, 2004
Messages
386
Finally upgrading my 6800...

question... 8800GTS 640Meg or HD 2900 XT 512Meg??
and why?
 
i got a 8800GTS its a awesome card
you will notice how your regular games look better
play a hella faster
 
Whichever you can find a good deal on really, they are both very nice cards. I got a smokin' deal on a 2900XT and it's working well for me. I'm not sure if eVGA has that MIR promotion on their GTS640 anymore but that was a pretty damn good deal too (assuming you don't have an adversion to MIRs like I do).

What do you have for a display size?
 
What games are you playing and at what resolution (each card fares differently / game)? Also what power supply do you have (higher PSU req for 2900)?
In general I would go GTS. Price vs performance is better. Cards are about same strength.


PS you may want to get another GB of ram
 
Yeah, the 2900XT pulls GTX levels of power under 3D load. If you've got a mediocure-to-crappy "500W" PSU it might push you past the breakpoint when playing games.

The 2900XT is a little faster overall but it'll vary game to game right now, sometimes a lot faster sometimes slower. That's also why I was asking about the display resolution. Chances are if you are running 1280x1024 or something like that then either card is plenty enough so the speed differences aren't going to matter anyway.
 
grr... ati let me down this time, but I would have to say go with the gts it has a lower power draw, it's cheaper and preforms on par/better than the 2900 in most games
 
the last nvidia card i owned was a TNT video card

ive had Radeon 8500 9600xt x800xl X1950Pro

now i got a 8800GTS 320mb and i just bought a 640mb for my 24inch monitor
i must say the 8800 looks sharper and plays faster than any ATI card ive had
and ati usually had better image quality than nvidia thats whyi always stuck with ATI
but not this time nvidia has a killer product
 
Brantoc said:
Finally upgrading my 6800...

question... 8800GTS 640Meg or HD 2900 XT 512Meg??
and why?
Click to expand...

This has been answered to death, so here it is again:

The 8800 GTS 640 is the card to get. When comparing both, they perform more or less the same (slight edge for the GTS 640), while the XT consumes more power, produces more heat and is noisier. Not to mention the tiny little fact that the GTS 640 is cheaper.
 
...and in some games the 2900HD drops down to the single digits or only slightly above for no apparent reason. Oh -- and it has massive driver issues, as seen in the Lost Planet DX10 benchmarks in particular. Stay away from that card.
 
UGH.. not another one of these threads. OP, why don't you simply read through the other 2479249078 posts in these forums pitting these cards against each other. Seems like all these types of threads are simply more bandwidth for arguments and brand loyalists.
 
yea sometimes you have to wonder why ppl start threads like this, unless you've been living under a rock i dont really think there is no way a person could not have heard about the 2900 and gts
 
Silus said:
This has been answered to death, so here it is again:

The 8800 GTS 640 is the card to get. When comparing both, they perform more or less the same (slight edge for the GTS 640), while the XT consumes more power, produces more heat and is noisier. Not to mention the tiny little fact that the GTS 640 is cheaper.
Click to expand...


True, and it seems most GTS's overclock very well so that's an added bonus.


I went from a 6800 GT to an 8800 GTS and the difference is like night and day. I have no regrets with my upgrade and the performance has been more than I anticipated.
 
To OP: Are you going to upgrade your motherboard also, because they don't make a 8800 or HD2900 in AGP?
 
Answer a few questions..

Power Requirements? no problem 650W Antec
Fanboy? Neither. I owned both over the years, and had issues with both, and liked both at times.
Display? Got a new Viewsonic 22in Widescreen in box.
AGP? You gotta be kidding me, this is not a 2 year old computer.

I'm leaning a little toward the 2900XT for now, simply because it's a little newer, and I expect it to have mode headroom over the next couple years. Since I'm upgrading from a 6800GTX you can tell I'm not buying a new board every year. If I spend this kind of money on a board, I expect it to be decent for a couple years.
 
The 2900 is slower thus far in pretty much all benchmarks, or at very best on the level with the 640MB GTS. I don't see where you're seeing more headroom. Stream processors? Yes. Just don't plan on running AA or high AF in anything if you get the 2900.

I was burned by the X800 generation ATI cards -- really wish I'd gone Nvidia at that point. Don't plan on making the mistake again without some conclusive evidence, personally.
 
Considernig I can keep my Maze 4GPU waterblock if I get the ATI, and have to buy a new one for the 8800GTS makes them both cost about the same.

Theres always more than meets the eye.

Not to threadjack but which will perform better @ 1920x1080?
 
Justintoxicated said:
Considernig I can keep my Maze 4GPU waterblock if I get the ATI, and have to buy a new one for the 8800GTS makes them both cost about the same.

Theres always more than meets the eye.

Not to threadjack but which will perform better @ 1920x1080?
Click to expand...

I believe the 640MB GTS. There are benchmarks and reviews of these cards all over -- asking about power consumption and heat is one thing, as that's rarely a focus of most video card reviews, but the performance numbers are only a quick Google search away.
 
silent-circuit said:
I believe the 640MB GTS. There are benchmarks and reviews of these cards all over -- asking about power consumption and heat is one thing, as that's rarely a focus of most video card reviews, but the performance numbers are only a quick Google search away.
Click to expand...

But I see mixed reviews...and since the ATI is newer, could it be driver problems? I have never been fond of ATI's drivers.
 
Newer drivers have shown performance improvements, yes, and things like the Lost Planet demo benchmarks show that there are still serious issues with ATI's current drivers, but I wouldn't hold out too much hope for the 2900HD. Maybe the respin will solve some issues, but I certainly would not buy one of the current generation ATI cards.

Depending where you look and what rumors you put stock in, the comparative lack of ROPs in the 2900 may be the reason it does so terribly with AA and high levels of AF. If so this is a hardware, not software, issue, and so is unlikely to be resolved with new drivers.

Look to the reviews here at the [H].
 
SuperKeijo said:
It's newer than a 8800 ultra too. So it must be better than that also!
Click to expand...

You mean GTX? well rhwn you are talking about a much more expensive card..
 
No, I meant ultra. Point was, that it's stupid to assume it's better just because it's newer. BEcause in this case the 2900 isn't better despite being over half a year late.
 
Brantoc said:
I'm leaning a little toward the 2900XT for now, simply because it's a little newer, and I expect it to have mode headroom over the next couple years. Since I'm upgrading from a 6800GTX you can tell I'm not buying a new board every year. If I spend this kind of money on a board, I expect it to be decent for a couple years.
Click to expand...

Never, EVER choose a product over other, simply because it's "newer". Despite the fact it's newer, the HD 2900 XT is not better than the GTS 640 or GTX/Ultra.
Drivers will improve, but they won't do magic and suddenly crush the GTS 640 or the GTX. If you really want to buy something from ATI, you need to wait for the 65 nm versions of R600, because the current version is not recommended. I wouldn't play the waitng game though. I never believed in it and the R600 launch, proved me right. You should buy something that will provide you an excellent gaming experience now and that exists in the form of a GTS 640 and GTX/Ultra.
 
i got a 8800GTS 320 last saturday at Circuitcity
upgraded from a x1950pro
i personally love teh 8800GTS one of the best cards ive ever own
just for the fact it has improved my games graphic image quality alot
not just the improvement of speed like other cards
so i bought a 640mb verison should be here today in the mail
i am returning the 320mb verison
 
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