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Upgrade 8800GT or ....

M

Main Target

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jul 5, 2004
Messages
1,690
Hey guys. So I have an 8800GT. I do light gaming, mainly I want to make sure that my PC can run Bioware's ToR relatively well when it comes out.

I just upgraded to an i7 930, and 6 gigs of ram. So I ask this question:

Should I sell my 8800GT and invest in something like a 5770?

or

Pick up another 8800 and run them in SLI?

I will be gaming at 1680x1050 resolution.
 
go for the 5770, it offers DX11. Which is something that the 8800 doesn't offer.
 
what's your price range? I would be more inclined to get a 5850 since ur using the i7 930 and it should be enough for your "light gaming" at least 3 to 4 more years. Or a 5830?
 
Around 170~ Which is just around the 5770. But if you think the 58xx is a worthly investment and will last longer, I can consider it.
 
I can't make any sense out of buying upgrades for a game that is not released. In fact, in your case, I'd go as far to say that's it's retarded to upgrade now for a game not due til Spring 2011. That's assuming no delays... riiiiight.
 
Main Target said:
Hey guys. So I have an 8800GT. I do light gaming, mainly I want to make sure that my PC can run Bioware's ToR relatively well when it comes out.

I just upgraded to an i7 930, and 6 gigs of ram. So I ask this question:

Should I sell my 8800GT and invest in something like a 5770?

or

Pick up another 8800 and run them in SLI?

I will be gaming at 1680x1050 resolution.
Click to expand...

You can find an 8800GT used for very cheap these days. I've seen them go for like $50. At that price it is almost a no-brainier to pick one up and do SLI. While it's true that you would have only DirectX10, DirectX11 was built to be compatible with and run on DirectX10 hardware so you will still be able to play DX11 games. You will only be using the DX10 hardware features of course, but given how similar they are I'd be surprised if you even noticed the difference in most situations.

Make sure your motherboard is SLI compatible and that your power supply is up to the task.
 
Menelmarar said:
I can't make any sense out of buying upgrades for a game that is not released. In fact, in your case, I'd go as far to say that's it's retarded to upgrade now for a game not due til Spring 2011. That's assuming no delays... riiiiight.
Click to expand...

By no means am i upgrading only for that game. But i would like to have a pleasant experience on it when it does come around. Doesn't seem that unrealistic.

Question:

If i do get an additional 8800GT, can i throw a 3rd monitor in the mix for normal desktop work?
 
Main Target said:
By no means am i upgrading only for that game. But i would like to have a pleasant experience on it when it does come around. Doesn't seem that unrealistic.

Question:

If i do get an additional 8800GT, can i throw a 3rd monitor in the mix for normal desktop work?
Click to expand...

I don't think the 3rd monitor would function when SLI is enabled. Worst case you might be in a situation where you have to constantly disable and re-enable SLI going between games and desktop work.
 
Just a note anyways. I dont even have to buy a second 8800GT now. Just was curious if a second 8800GT in SLI is a worthy upgrade.
 
I must have missed the part in any review where they stated that the 5770 was anything other than being an overpriced de-penised 4870 with directx11 support.

don't do either unless you can find a 8800gt for $50 in which case I'd recommend you linking me to it and buying a nice big gallon of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream and eating that instead.

In a games that support SLI which these days is a lot at your res another 8800GT would more than get you through the end of the year, but as I said before over $50 for the upgrade is a waste.
 
Okay thanks guys. I will pick up an 8800GT and throw it in SLI when i feel like I need it.
 
ToR is not due out till next year now. If your focused primarily on that, id say keep to 8800GT till you get closer to release. If you are only gaming lightly @ 1680x1050, that 8800GT should last you a little longer. If you'd like to turn up settings in games now, I'd say go with the 5850 to future proof your system.
 
I'd sell the 8800 GT for $50 or so. With that extra cash, that should bring you closer to GTX 260, 4890 or even 5830 which are all great options at 1680x1050.

As for making sure you get a DX11 card, it's really moot imo since a) most games won't employ it with any real difference for a while and it won't make a huge difference at the settings you'll be able to set for your price range. I'd say go for whatever gives the best performance in DX9 and DX10 for your price range.

Getting another 8800 GT will give you a nice boost, but in my experience, I prefer a powerful single card to a slightly faster SLI/Crossfire setup. If I could give up my dual 5870s for a single card that came close in performance for example, I'd definitely do it.
 
To be perfectly honest, I would wait a month before release date to see how the prices are before purchase. I would save the money you have now and wait. I just recently joined the i7 club from myself :)
 
Main Target said:
Just a note anyways. I dont even have to buy a second 8800GT now. Just was curious if a second 8800GT in SLI is a worthy upgrade.
Click to expand...

For me personally Crossfire/SLI ran great for me in higher resolution. But I did have the microstuttering issue on my old Nvidia card which drove me slightly insane ;) But overall if you get a SLI setup with no microstuttering it is VERY smooth and the framerate don't have their strange drops to the teens then jump to sixty FPS out of the blue. Crossfire/SLI makes those odd low FPS drops pretty much nonexistant.
 
If you only do light gaming I don't see why you can't wait, the game is supposed to come out 2011 which is a whole year away. By that time there will probably be a 6770 which is probably twice as fast and the same price. Also I would not pick up another 8800gt now, it only has 512MB of ram limiting future games. So unless you have a game you need to upgrade for the only right answer is to wait.
 
Like i said I wasnt going to buy a card JUST for ToR in god knows how long. But whatever I buy now I would like to know will have the possibility of running the game reasonably well.

In any case I have already pulled the trigger on a 4870x2 for the same price of a 5770. Heres to hoping that was a good decision :)
 
Main Target said:
Like i said I wasnt going to buy a card JUST for ToR in god knows how long. But whatever I buy now I would like to know will have the possibility of running the game reasonably well.

In any case I have already pulled the trigger on a 4870x2 for the same price of a 5770. Heres to hoping that was a good decision :)
Click to expand...

Great choice on the 4870x2 and don't let anyone else tell you different (e.g., "you should have waited for x, y..."). I had two of them, and if it wasn't for Eyefinity on the 5xxx series, would still have them. That card will (over)kill at 1650x1080 and last you a long while.

I'd reckon you'll easily be able to play ToR at highest settings with a healthy level of AA.

Nice job on finding one that was within you're budget :)
 
If the top end of your budget is $170 you're pretty much painted into the HD 5770 corner. I hate having little choice in a hardware purchase, but that's the way the market stands at the moment. I got a factory OC'd GTX 260 last week for $174, but that was after Bing cash back and a Superbiiz promo code (thats now ended).
 
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