Which Card Is The Best?

H

Hot Sauce

Limp Gawd
Joined
Oct 10, 2005
Messages
154
Edited: Which of the following cards is the best?

GIGABYTE GEFORCE 8800GT PCI-E 256MB GDDR3 256BIT DUAL DVI HDTV

ASUS GEFORCE 8800GT PCI-E 512MB DDR3 256BIT DUAL DVI HDTV (EN8800GT/G/HTDP/512M)

EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GTS 500MHZ 320MB 1.6GHZ GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDTV HDCP DIRECTX10 Video Card

EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GTS Ssc Crysis 112SP 576MHZ 640MB DDR3 PCI-E DVI-I HDTV DIRECTX10 Video Card

BFG GeForce 8800GT OC 512MB GDDR3 PCI-E Dual DVI-I HDCP HDTV Out DIRECTX10 Video Card

I know they're very similar, but they all differ in prices and I wanted to make sure I would be getting the best one. Also, do some brands perform better than others?

Thanks.
 
From your list the 8800GT it's the most powerful.
The best option for you may vary (resolution, game type, etc. - it depends). :D
 
are you buying a computer, or building? because building will be cheaper...

i won't get into that now, but anyway:

the 8800GT is the best by a fair bit, but the 9600GT is close behind for a cheaper price...

none of the cards require watercooling, its your choice of what cooling you decide to add to it. The stock cooler on the single slot coolers is very noisy, but different people are more sensitive to different levels of sound, so you may decide that it is fine how it is.

there are plenty of aftermarket coolers to choose from, and there is a [H] review of them somewhere, i forget where...
 
Thanks for the quick responses, guys!

@Seb1 - Right now my resolution for games is 1280x1024, and the ones that I want to play (but currently don't have the hardware for) are Call of Duty 4, The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2, and The Sims 2 (I can play the last two).

@soundguy - I'm buying/building one, I think. I've selected a computer package, but all of the components are customizable and optional.

Thanks.
 
With only a 1280 x 1024 resolution, you can easily play all those games at that res with any of the video cards you listed. A 9600GT for the price and performance will be good for you.
 
The 8800gt will be the best of the cards on your list. The 8800gt does not require any special cooling like water but it does not hurt to look around for a better cooler since the 8800gt does run warm with the Nvidia stock cooler.
 
unless the 8800 GTS is g92, then the 8800GT would be the best.
 
cjv4 said:
unless the 8800 GTS is g92, then the 8800GT would be the best.
Click to expand...

It's not. There's the SSC version that's a G80 with 112SPs... but the 8800GTs all have 112SPs and have the cooler running revised G92 core, so there's no reason to get the SSC 8800 GTS unless it's really cheap.

The 8800 GTS 512MB is G92 based and has 128SPs, but I do not see one in the OP's list.

OP, get the cheapest 8800 GT 512MB you can. It will be great at your resolution, and the higher number of Stream Processors (SPs) will mean it will last longer vs. a 9600 GT. The 9600 GT has only 64 SPs. That's enough for today's games, but games are getting more and more shader-intensive, so having a lot of stream processors is very helpful. The 8800 GT has 112 stream processors. As for one company performing better than the others, no, all pretty much the same card. The overclocked versions really aren't worth the price premium, as you can always overclock a stock clocked card yourself. About the only difference between companies is warranty length and coverage. My usual order of preference is XFX, then EVGA, then Gigabyte, then BFG, then ASUS, MSI, PNY, etc.

If you're concerned about heat and noise the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 / S2, Thermaltake DuoOrb, and Thermalright HR-03 GT are all popular replacement coolers for the 8800 GT. You really should not 'need' watercooling.
 
this one

EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GTS Ssc Crysis 112SP 576MHZ 640MB DDR3 PCI-E DVI-I HDTV DIRECTX10 Video Card

this one has the same number of sp's as the gt g92 cards, more memory and a wider data path. get this one unless you can get a gt for a decent amount less.
 
Hot Sauce said:
Thanks for the quick responses, guys!
....and the ones that I want to play (but currently don't have the hardware for) are ....
The Witcher.............

Thanks.
Click to expand...

i've played that games with my current rig, 1152x854, with all eyecandy maxed out plus some forced setting (eg. AA/AF, transparency AA etc.) via nVidia control center, my fps sometimes goes below 30 fps, but still very playable though i'd prefer 45+ all the time.

so i'd suggest go with 8800GT, not 9600GT.
just my opinion.
 
vanilla_guerilla said:
this one

EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GTS Ssc Crysis 112SP 576MHZ 640MB DDR3 PCI-E DVI-I HDTV DIRECTX10 Video Card

this one has the same number of sp's as the gt g92 cards, more memory and a wider data path. get this one unless you can get a gt for a decent amount less.
Click to expand...



I just bit on one of those at NewEgg for $199, which I thought was a decent price, thinking the way you're thinking above.

It's about 1-2 fps slower than an 8800 GT in my tests with the 174.74 driver.... With the exception of SupCom. It scored 100 points higher in the SupComMark test with 4X AA.


I was actually hoping to smooth out the minimum framerate in some of my games, but it didn't help in Crysis. It was still 1-2 fps. lower than the 8800 GT's minimum.


Maybe there would be a benefit if you game above 1680 x 1050.


It's still a damn good card, though. Maybe if it we're 25 dollars cheaper....
 
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