What Video Card do you recommend?

G

garry26

Gawd
Joined
Jan 8, 2003
Messages
641
I have a new computer in the works and Im wondering what mid-level card I should get under 200$.

CPU: Q6600 w/Artic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Intel
MB: Gigabyte GA-P34=S3G P35
RAM: DDR2 8GBs
Vid Card: ????
HD: 320GB w/fan
Case has a side fan + 2 other fans
600W PSU
Win XP Home Ed

The only question(s) here is what vid card I should get.
Also, should i get an SLI ready motherboard to have the option of going SLI in the future?

I dont do first person shooters, but sometimes Ill indulge in strategy war games, and those pay2play MMOs, some Photoshop, etc
 
I have been extremely happy with my 9600gt. Cool Quiet and bad ass.

You can get them from 110 to 190 just find a card you like and DO IT.
 
I have been extremely happy with my 9600gt. Cool Quiet and bad ass.

You can get them from 110 to 190 just find a card you like and DO IT.
 
8800 GTS 512MB, if you're willing to go under $200 AR. Quieter than the 8800 GT by far, as well as more powerful, and far more powerful than the 9600 GT for not much more cash. I would not build right now with anything less.
 
Im on a CRT, but will get a flat screen soon enough. No hurry though so I can get a bargain somewhere. Im always on the hot deals forum browsing :)

If I forget about being SLI-ready, I can hit the buy button right now. Otherwise, I have to grab another motherbaord and psu before i hit the button.
 
8800 GTS 512s are insanly cheap atm. BIG note. The 8800 GTS 512 is NOT the same as a 8800 GTS 384 or 768 There is a big big diffrence. Make sure you get a 512 MB version. You'll never regret it.
 
Oh, and I wouldn't worry about SLI. Unless your running 24"+ it's not really worth it. And for the budget your looking at it doesn't make sense.
 
Yes Ive decided to get the 8800 GTS 512MB one. Im looking at an MSI one on newegg now. Having issues with the rebate form though. As its not showing a $30 rebate on the msi website, but theres plenty of time to resolve that. Besides, I can always find a deal on a different brand.

I guess ill forget about making the system SLI ready
 
the msi rebate is listed under VGA promotion or something like that.

Just filled one out a few days ago building a 8800gts sli rig for someone.
 
(MIR00097) MSI VGA (4-01-08 - 4-30-08)
followed by
NX8800GTS 512M OC ($30)

Its easy to make a mistake if youre not very careful and then you lose your $30
 
8gbs of ram on a 32bit operating system? you know you cant use it all right? 3gbs is the maximum i believe for a 32bit operating system.

if you take 4gbs off of it then you should have more money left over for a better card.
 
I think its a bit Off Topic so ill make a topic on the OS board.
All i know is the board supports 8GBs and I thought Id fill her up.
 
garry26 said:
I think its a bit Off Topic so ill make a topic on the OS board.
All i know is the board supports 8GBs and I thought Id fill her up.
Click to expand...

The board support 8GB. 32bit OSes only support addressing a total of 4GB of memory. That includes your RAM, address space required by the motherboard, soundcard, and drive/USB/Firewire controllers, etc, as well as your videocard. The end result is an average of around 3.2 of 4GB available under a 32bit OS with a 512MB videocard installed.

You should seriously consider buying a copy of Vista Home Premium 64bit OEM (~$100) if it is within budget, regardless of if you go with 4GB or 8GB.

OCgamer666 said:
4gigs but close
Click to expand...

4GB, minus videocards and other required address space, yes.
 
With DDR2 cheaper than dirt I can't really blame you, but I would recommend looking into Vista 64 as I thought I heard the new photoshop will only support 64 bit OS or something. (I don't use photoshop so just what I thought I read somewhere, my look into it or somethign)
 
Let's keep this on track fellas!

+1 for 8800GTS

The reasons have already been said and they're very good reasons :)

I have seen this in action and it demolishes :)
 
Yes I made a post on the OS forum that sidetracked into the OS issue.

Ive also said that Im going to grab the 8800gts.

That said, thanks to Domini for alerting me to the OS issue that I was unaware of. Saved me a lot of trouble. I wouldve been unpleasantly suprised if not for that warning :)
 
The 8800GTS only has a 2-3 frame advantage over the 8800GT. Has this changed or why is everyone recommending them for the price increase?
 
p8ball4life said:
The 8800GTS only has a 2-3 frame advantage over the 8800GT. Has this changed or why is everyone recommending them for the price increase?
Click to expand...

The 8800 GT runs too damn hot, newer titles will make us of the extra 12 SPs, the 8800 GTS clocks much higher.... I also think you're understating the advantage a good bit, or comparing heavily OCed 8800 GTs to stock clocked 8800 GTSs.

I am not an 8800 GT fan, and I no longer see any reason for anyone to buy one now that the 8800 GTS 512MB prices have come down so much.
 
From tomshardware:

The 8800 GTS is essentially an 8800 GT with a little more firepower. It sports 128 universal shaders compared to the GT's 112. It bests its 8800 GT brother, but not by much, and it's more expensive - in most cases the GT will suffice, but if you have ~$250 to spend, this is your card.
 
p8ball4life said:
From tomshardware:

The 8800 GTS is essentially an 8800 GT with a little more firepower. It sports 128 universal shaders compared to the GT's 112. It bests its 8800 GT brother, but not by much, and it's more expensive - in most cases the GT will suffice, but if you have ~$250 to spend, this is your card.
Click to expand...

The toms hardware review is outdated on price. It is also doesn't take into account the HORRID stock cooler on the GT. If you want a solid review go see [H]ards review, on actual games, not loltimedemos.
 
I'm not sure how 4 days old is 'outdated'

They're prices are fairly accurate, you can get a GTS for about 250 - 30 rebate, and you can get an 8800GT for about 200 - 30 rebate. Either way, the prices are still about 50bucks apart.
 
Replace the stock HSF on the 8800 GT with something that's actually adequate (instead of giving 90C+ load temps regularly) and you're out ~$40. I'd say another 12SPs and higher clocks are worth $10.
 
That's not the point, the point is you guys are downplaying the value of the 8800gt, which is a damn good card. That's fine, but you're stating your opinions like they are facts and that isn't right. Now you're bringing personal warranty opinions into an argument about temperatures and performance.
 
Nuby1Canuby said:
Here's a Gigabyte GeForce 8800GTS 650MHZ 512MB 1.94GHZ for $209.58 USD after rebate.
It has a 3 year warranty vs. MSI's 1 year.
http://secure.ncixus.com/products/27394/GV-NX88S512H-B/Gigabyte/
Click to expand...

Thanks for doing the legwork nuby1canuby. And that really proves the point. It is 10% faster with a better cooler than stock and the price point just isn't there. And obviously if Toms thinks that it is a 250$ card then yes, the review is outdated. Clearly thats 80% of the price Tom's thinks it is. The GT isn't a bad card, but it does have a horrid cooler. With the GTS out there, it is a clear winner.
 
A lot of tom bashers in here. I may be falling on deaf ears, but you can't compare a GTS - the rebate with a GT at regular price. Compare both without the rebate or both with the rebate and it's legit. Toms just compared the regular prices w/out dealing with the millions or rebates. The STOCK price on a GTS is still close to 250, as they listed it. They also listed the GT as being 200 STOCK price. 250-200 = 50 If you account for the rebates it's still a difference of 50 dollars and this includes an aftermarket cooler on the MSI model.

The warranty is a decent concern ,but that's not a GT vs GTS argument.

Cliffs:

Stock GTS = 250 Stock GT = 200 - Delta = 50
Rebate GTS = 200 Rebate GT = 150 - Delta = 50
Rebate GTS = 200 Stock GT = 200 - Delta = 0 <---Not a valid comparison!
 
Let put it this way; 8800GTS is one leg hobble GTX's brother. It's can handle any current games you throw at it, event on hight settings. Of course exept Crysis. 8800GT is a little baby brother of GTS/GTX :D

You can go with 8600GT or 9600GT if you don't game at highest resolutions or DX10 games.
 
Sorry for using 2 posts but wanted to make sure I got that out before you bought it. The 640 MB card is based off old G80 tech. The G92 card (the 512 one) is much much faster. It is one of the dumb things nvidia did was the naming of that card. By far get the 512MB version.
 
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