Now that the 8600 is out, it looks like it preforms somewhere between the 7600 and 7800 series. Coming from a 6800, would this be a wise card to buy to last somewhere one and two years? I do like to play a fair amount of games, though next year is college and I'm not sure how much time I'll have to devote to that. Also, I rarely get into games as soon as they come out. I know the standard answer is "get a 8800gts 320!" but I can't afford $250 right now for a video card, whereas I can manage the 8600 GT at below $150 this week at CC. Is it worth picking up as an upgrade? I'll also be going from my current board to an a8n32-sli deluxe, as my budget doesn't allow me to go the e4300/ds3/DDR2 or 3600x2/tforce/DDR2 routes at the moment, but I want pci-e so that when I can upgrade I don't have to spend a huge chunk. Also, are there any coolers compatible with the 8600 as of right now? I know Thermalright has one for the 8800 series, but I haven't seen anything about aftermarket cooling for this card. I'm hoping to be able to squeeze ~GTS speeds from this card, is this realistic?
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Upgrade from 6800
- Thread starter bigjon32
- Start date
Honestly, I'm not impressed with the overall performance of the 8600 series, but I must say, it is pretty impressive in heavy shader games like Stalker and Oblivion, which are definitely a test of things to come. I'm sure you'd be happy with the performance of an 8600GT, but if I were in your boots, as you've probably been using the 6800 for several years now, waiting another month or so to see how the R600 mainstream cards perform would be a wise decision before making your purchase.
ITSTHINKING
[H]ard|Gawd
- Joined
- Mar 1, 2006
- Messages
- 1,260
Honestly, I'm not impressed with the overall performance of the 8600 series, but I must say, it is pretty impressive in heavy shader games like Stalker and Oblivion, which are definitely a test of things to come. I'm sure you'd be happy with the performance of an 8600GT, but if I were in your boots, as you've probably been using the 6800 for several years now, waiting another month or so to see how the R600 mainstream cards perform would be a wise decision before making your purchase.
I agree with Ranari, you should wait it out, but are the normal prices online for the 8600gt 150? If not and you can get one for that price take that into consideration for sure.
CC has the 8600 gt for $150 free shipping/in-store pickup/in-store - $30 rebate, which makes it omgwtfbbq cheap.
edit: wait, isn't the r600 in an entirely different price range though? over $400 isn't even close to an option for a video card, thats close to what i'm looking at to move to pci-e to begin with.
edit: wait, isn't the r600 in an entirely different price range though? over $400 isn't even close to an option for a video card, thats close to what i'm looking at to move to pci-e to begin with.