Suggest a replacement for 8800gts

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bigforearms

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
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My 8800gts died. I have the rig in my signature with the addition of a Blu-Ray/HD-DVD drive. I don't really do any high-end gaming anymore--mostly occasional games of Europa Universalis 3, Medieval 2 Total War, and Civ4--so I have no complaints with the performance of the 8800gts. I watch a lot of Blu-Ray and HD-DVDs.

I'm looking for:
1. Something at least as fast as an 8800gts (hopefully not difficult)
2. that can handle current strategy gaming titles at 1900x1200,
3. can handle Blu-Ray and HD-DVD without a problem,
4. is quiet,
5. and can be bought or ordered today.

Price isn't an issue, but I don't need today's highest-end and I'm not trying to future-proof. Thanks for your help.
 
You sound like you are going for bang for the buck. I would go with an hd4890.
 
RMA the 8800gts, EVGA is very quick about RMA service and you will either get the same card back or a slightly faster one.

I recently RMA'd my dead 8800gtx and they sent back a gtx260(216).

Even if you are going to get a new card at least RMA the other one to recoup some money.
 
Since quiet is one of your stipulations, 4870 reference cooler is basically out. They're generally loud with the generic coolers being shipped out. Research models with built in coolers.

I heard 4850s are quite hot, and that would require a louder fan, so that isn't going to be a great deal either...

4890 is a superb deal, and will be able to run with the fan quiet(er) because of the redesign of the power systems. This card should max out everything under 1920x1080, and will max out most games (in-game settings) at that resolution (depending on AA settings ofc...), and its pretty cheap.

Nvidia cards tend to be quieter...by how much I don't know (because they run cooler)...you also get PhysX which is a nice and handy thing. You do lose the option to run 2 video cards later, as SLi won't work on non Nvidia boards...but I presume this isn't even in your consideration at this point...
If you chose this route...you can go with a GTX260 216 core, which will do what you want, and cost about as much as a 1Gb 4870. Were I in your shoes I would get either a GTX 260 216 core with an upgraded cooler for ~$155AR and cahsback at the egg. Linkage

Or the Vapor-x which I read is quite quiet and quite qool Linkage. Cheaper after Cash back, but barely.

*edit* Yes, also try RMAing the card, I've seen several free upgrades come back!
 
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My 250 1G is quiet when idle at 35%, noisy at load.
But 260 is just a little more but u still can hear the fan noise at idle 40%, not too much louder at load.
I got both BFG.
 
I was stupid and didn't register my card within 30 days, so no RMA is available. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
Any ideas on whether the rig in my signature with the substitution of a gtx 260 is going to need a new power supply? I'm looking at the back package of a BFG GTX 260 OC (cheapest version they had at Fry's) and they say I should have a 525 watt PS, but I've got 450. Are they just over-estimating considering my other components?
 
I think im uniquely qualified to answer this question....

I have a rig thats nearly identical. I also had an 8800GTS, but when it died, I returned it under my EVGA lifetime warranty and they were nice enough to send me an 8800GTS 112SP, so for the rest of this post when I refer to an 8800GTS I'm referring to my, now stock, 8800GTS w/ 112 SP. I'll skip the details but due to my own idiocy, I had to loan half of my 4GB of ram to someone and exchange my 8800GTS for their XFX HD 4870 1GB. I'm currently running windows 7.

I can tell you the biggest problem with this setup is the RAM. 4GB just... for both windows 7 and windows vista, adding that extra 2GB is like taking a blur tool to your FPS graph. Those split second dips disappear. Minimizing and maximizing is substantially quicker (presumably data for desktop rendering never gets pushed out of memory). It makes the whole experience way more enjoyable.

After that, the reduction in CPU clock from he 3.3GHz I used to have it OC'd at back down to the stock 1.86GHz definately makes the system more sluggish. That extra CPU speed really gives a bump across the board --most apparent when my MP3 player software is converting a video.

The change in game performance from an 8800GTS rig w/ 1.86GHz (2MB) conroe and 2GB sys ram to the same rig with an HD4870 1GB, was barely noticeable. If I were you, buying the extra ram and squeezing a few extra cycles out of that CPU would be higher on the priority list than a video card swap.
 
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The video card swap is mandatory. My 8800 gts is dead. I didn't register the card either, so I can't RMA it.

I'm looking for a replacement for the video card only. I was happy with the performance of the 8800gts until it died, but I'm willing to drop a few tens of extra dollars to get whatever the current sweet spot for price/performance is. I'd like to avoid having to swap any additional parts out though if possible, including a power supply (mine is 450w right now).
 
bigforearms said:
The video card swap is mandatory. My 8800 gts is dead. I didn't register the card either, so I can't RMA it.

I'm looking for a replacement for the video card only. I was happy with the performance of the 8800gts until it died, but I'm willing to drop a few tens of extra dollars to get whatever the current sweet spot for price/performance is. I'd like to avoid having to swap any additional parts out though if possible, including a power supply (mine is 450w right now).
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well as MrWizard6600 said you will absolutely need to oc that cpu with a card like the 4870. your E6400 at 2.13 would be about like my E8500 at 2.0 and that will easily kill 30-40% of what a 4870 can do in many games. also that better be a high quality 450watt psu in there.
 
My 8800GTS still works, but after turning the Ghostbusters game into a slideshow, it's dead to me :) I went with an xfx 4890, and i have regretted that decision approximately zero point zero seconds so far. And my core temps (e6600) have dropped admirably by replacing the card!
 
Which GTS - G80 or G92? I'd think that would make a difference in how "low you can go" for a suitable replacement. (I feel like I'm the only one who noticed you said you did NOT play many games)

I had a G92 GTS which I was very happy with. When I went from a 1600x1200 CRT to 1920x1200 LCD I felt I needed a little more and at almost the same time I stumbled across a great deal on a GTX260 216SP OC (an NCIX surprise sale + rebate). I've been very happy with the 260 in fairly current games and I run 16xQ AA and 16xAF in all Source titles.

Assuming you don't have a combo driver/OS issue that may interfere with it, it downclocks when running Aero quite nicely and should save a lot of power and heat compared to the older cards and the reference cooler is quite quiet so you don't need to shop all over for something with a non-reference cooler that's quiet enough.

If you want to stay in the green camp, you might look at one of those. Of course the GTS250 is probably a closer match but still an upgrade from even a G92 GTS (it's a 9800GTX+).

It's unfortunate you don't have the luxury of watching for a deal for a month or so, you'd likely find one.

I believe the wisdom from the red camp is that a 4850 was great bang:buck, but can be a little lacking if you game in 1920x1200 where the 4870 is a better fit.
 
Alright, let's modify my question then:

I want a card that is:
1. as fast or faster than the evga 8800gts 640MB Superclocked that I'm replacing
2. is quiet
3. will NOT require me to upgrade any other components of this computer, including the 450w power supply
4. can be bought or ordered today
5. Can play BluRay and HD-DVD without a hitch
 
Surly73 said:
Which GTS - G80 or G92? I'd think that would make a difference in how "low you can go" for a suitable replacement. (I feel like I'm the only one who noticed you said you did NOT play many games)
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Looks like it's a G80. Thanks. I don't need more horsepower than the card was giving me. I think a few others were being helpful by giving the best bang for the buck card out now, but if those require me to swap a bunch of other components out I might as well build a new computer... in which case I'd be giving this one away and would need to replace the video card anyway so that the recipient could use it.
 
bigforearms said:
Looks like it's a G80. Thanks. I don't need more horsepower than the card was giving me. I think a few others were being helpful by giving the best bang for the buck card out now, but if those require me to swap a bunch of other components out I might as well build a new computer... in which case I'd be giving this one away and would need to replace the video card anyway so that the recipient could use it.
Click to expand...

Well then I would suggest any G92 based card or a Radeon 4850. If you go any higher, you may need to consider a stronger psu.
 
Thank you all for your help. You saved me a lot of time and probably wasted money. I bought a 250 GTS to avoid needing to upgrade anything.
 
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