Considering upgrading my graphics card - currently have a 1024Mb 8800GT

majica8 · Jan 7, 2009

I'm happy with my 8800GT but I just feel I could get a lot better.
I use my PC for gaming (Crysis, Fallout 3, CoD5 etc) and photo/video editing. At the moment it's Adobe CS3 Master Collection bit I'm upgrading to CS4 and want to get the most out of it (mainly Photoshop and Premiere Pro)
Currently using Vista Home Premium 32bit but thinking about going to Vista Ultimate 64bit.

Price range: Somewhere around £200, possibly a bit higher. (I'm in the UK so no newegg for prices please. (although comparing the prices between there and where I normally go it seems to be about $300=£200))
Would prefer to stick with nVidia however if there is something else that is a lot better at a similar price I would consider it.

skunksmash · Jan 7, 2009

Hi majica8.....

i was in the EXACT same position as you only a few months ago, i too love my 8800GT but its just not cutting it with newer games @ 1680x1050

if you can stretch another 30 quid you could grab THIS, i & a few ppl here have just bought this card & its immense!!!, comes with lifetime warranty, FarCry 2 & is infact the fastest stock clocked 260 out there, i find myself recommending it all over the place

this will out perform a standard GTX280, it shoots a little below its weight @ 1680x1050 but this will ensure good framerates for a long time..:D

you could also go for the newly released 55nm GTX260 for about the same price, but these (IMO) were just a way for Nvidia to save money, they don't run cooler & they use more power.... :sarc:

..the 65nm version was where they put the build quality...

or you could grab a 9800GTX+ also XFX, for £50 less but it runs a lot hotter & its an older core.
this is still a GREAT performer @1680x1050...

ATI is a lot cheaper for comparable performance, but the driver support always seems to be a looming factor with these cards, while many ppl enjoy no issues & great performance, many are bugged with various problems..

HD4870 1gb

HD4850 1gb

these are great cards at an even greater price

i hope this help in some way.

SK

Everlong · Jan 7, 2009

9800GTX+ is a good card and pretty cheap now. Wouldn't notice a world of difference over an 8800GT, would need to upgrade to a 260 or 280 for that, though the 9800GTX doesn't run that much hotter than a 260. My GTS 512 runs in the 40s at idle and around 55-60C in games with the same core as the 9800.

But I'd also recommend the 260 Skunk has linked.

majica8 · Jan 7, 2009

I had been looking at the XFX GTX 260, I'd be willing to pay the extra I think.
Will that card be good for a while then? I mean, I'm only considering spending this much cause I want a card that will last....I don't want to find myself in this same situation in 6 months time.
How does the 260 compare temperature wise to the 8800GT? If it's about the same it's fine, if it runs hotter then I may have to look into extra cooling (I don't have much in the way of cooling at the moment) My 8800 idles at around 55C.

Also, will my PSU be ok with this card or should I consider upgrading that too?

Everlong · Jan 7, 2009

It should run cooler as the dual slot cards have better cooling than wat single slot 8800s have. 650w should be enough, but make sure your PSU has the power connectors for it, it needs a 6pin and either an 8pin, or a second 6pin.

Edit: Just checked on Nvidia and it does need 2x 6pin PCI-E power connectors.

skunksmash · Jan 7, 2009

majica8 said:
I had been looking at the XFX GTX 260, I'd be willing to pay the extra I think.
Will that card be good for a while then? I mean, I'm only considering spending this much cause I want a card that will last....I don't want to find myself in this same situation in 6 months time.
How does the 260 compare temperature wise to the 8800GT? If it's about the same it's fine, if it runs hotter then I may have to look into extra cooling (I don't have much in the way of cooling at the moment) My 8800 idles at around 55C.

Also, will my PSU be ok with this card or should I consider upgrading that too?

lol..... well lets see

my 8800GT used to idle @ 50c & load @ 85-90c with the fan @ 100%

here's where the GTX260 sits idle :eek::eek:

& with the fan @ only 60% the card never breaks 55c after 4hrs load....

the 65nm GT200 has EXCELLENT COOLING..

SK

majica8 · Jan 7, 2009

Everlong18 said:
It should run cooler as the dual slot cards have better cooling than wat single slot 8800s have. 650w should be enough, but make sure your PSU has the power connectors for it, it needs a 6pin and either an 8pin, or a second 6pin.

Edit: Just checked on Nvidia and it does need 2x 6pin PCI-E power connectors.

I will check that it does.

skunksmash said:
lol..... well lets see

my 8800GT used to idle @ 50c & load @ 85-90c with the fan @ 100%

here's where the GTX260 sits idle :eek::eek:
View attachment 9285

& with the fan @ only 60% the card never breaks 55c after 4hrs load....

the 65nm GT200 has EXCELLENT COOLING..

SK

That's great...and can certainly stretch that little bit extra if I don't need to upgrade the PSU or cooling.
Is it likely to stay at the price for a while? I don't want to rush into buying it only to find it's cheaper a couple of weeks later.

skunksmash · Jan 7, 2009

the deal on scan for the ''black edition GTX260'' is amazing, i done my homework & i was looking to pay about £250+ for this card but scan is practically giving them away...:eek:

a lot of places are still selling a standard GTX260 for more.

unfortunately there is no good time to buy a GFX card any more as a better one gets released every few months

, you could hold off for the release of the GTX295 in a few weeks & see if that drops the 260 prices but i doubt it..

this card is recommended to have upwards of 34A on the 12v but my PSU has a 30A 12v & runs it perfectly, it also does NOT have 2 dedicated 6pin connections, im having to use a molex converter for one of them ..(i do not recommend this)... you may get lucky ...?? as you can see the card will run below recommended power requirements, but be prepared to buy a new PSU if need be.

SK

majica8 · Jan 7, 2009

skunksmash said:
the deal on scan for the ''black edition GTX260'' is amazing, i done my homework & i was looking to pay about £250+ for this card but scan is practically giving them away...:eek:

a lot of places are still selling a standard GTX260 for more.

unfortunately there is no good time to buy a GFX card any more as a better one gets released every few months , you could hold off for the release of the GTX295 in a few weeks & see if that drops the 260 prices but i doubt it..

Well I'm probably going to wait until I'm next paid anyway which is 3 weeks.
I figured there is no real good time to buy one, it's the same with most things like this.

skunksmash said:
this card is recommended to have upwards of 34A on the 12v but my PSU has a 30A 12v & runs it perfectly, it also does NOT have 2 dedicated 6pin connections, im having to use a molex converter for one of them ..(i do not recommend this)... you may get lucky ...?? as you can see the card will run below recommended power requirements, but be prepared to buy a new PSU if need be.

SK

I will check it, but to be honest I don't mind if I do have to upgrade it as I was considering it anyway. My current one seems to be pretty noisy, especially considering all the stuff plastered over the box about how quiet it is.

JimBonzai · Jan 9, 2009

skunksmash said:
Hi majica8.....

i was in the EXACT same position as you only a few months ago, i too love my 8800GT but its just not cutting it with newer games @ 1680x1050

if you can stretch another 30 quid you could grab THIS, i & a few ppl here have just bought this card & its immense!!!, comes with lifetime warranty, FarCry 2 & is infact the fastest stock clocked 260 out there, i find myself recommending it all over the place

this will out perform a standard GTX280, it shoots a little below its weight @ 1680x1050 but this will ensure good framerates for a long time..:D

you could also go for the newly released 55nm GTX260 for about the same price, but these (IMO) were just a way for Nvidia to save money, they don't run cooler & they use more power.... ..the 65nm version was where they put the build quality...

or you could grab a 9800GTX+ also XFX, for £50 less but it runs a lot hotter & its an older core.
this is still a GREAT performer @1680x1050...

ATI is a lot cheaper for comparable performance, but the driver support always seems to be a looming factor with these cards, while many ppl enjoy no issues & great performance, many are bugged with various problems..

HD4870 1gb

HD4850 1gb

these are great cards at an even greater price

i hope this help in some way.

SK

I agree that some ATI cards, particuarly the hd3850 have driver issues.

However, I went and got an ATI HD4850 512mb for £120 and it is an absolute cracker of a card, and if you do a google search and read some of the many reviews, 2 of these in a crossfire outperform a certain nvidia card (cant remember which one), which infact costs over £100 more than buying 2 HD4850's

even with my dated system, AMD64 939 3700+ Overclocked to 2.7ghz and 1gb ram I can play most 2008 games (except crysis, medium is good) at ultra high settings with AA and AF on @ 1680x1050 with ease and no gittering. The likes of cod4 and GRID are set to the absolute highest and im still getting 40+ fps, I jest you not.

Newer games like cod5 plays very well and looks great at higher settings, as does Fallout 3

This card is completely compatible with vista, makesure u use the latest hotfix driver and your away, im also using the HDMI output with my 40" plasma and video looks awesome, especially HD material.

I would recommend buying one of these cards, then in a year when they are practically half price buy another and have in a crossfire.

Just a suggestion

SCSIraidGURU · Jan 9, 2009

I was told to get a 4850x2 for the price vs performance its worth it other than noise.

JimBonzai · Jan 10, 2009

SCSIraidGURU said:
I was told to get a 4850x2 for the price vs performance its worth it other than noise.

ah yes ofcourse, the new 4850x2 are out and ment to be amazing, cant see there being much of a driver issue compared to the standard one as they using same GPUs, be it 2 of them together.......

Not that ive read any reviews with regards to crossfire with these, but 2 4850x2's paired together??? Performace would shurely be amazing.

Only downside is with the 4850's, without 3rd party cooling , a standard saphire card idles at 78-80C :shock:

somehow stays below 90C when playing games tho, and I have 2 fans, one at the front bringing air in and one at back blowing out, even with a good air flow this card burns away. There are versions from other vendors with big copper heatsinks on however which are ment to be way better......

majica8 · Jan 12, 2009

A couple more questions:
How much better (if any) is the 1GB XFX GTX 280
My budget has gone up a bit and I could get that if it's worth it.
How long is the GTX 260? My case isn't huge and I just want to make extra sure it would fit if I went for it.

AstaLaVista · Jan 12, 2009

The GTX260 & 280 are HUGE, I had a hard time installing mine since my EVGA 680I Mobo has some power plugs at the end of the first PCIe slot and the card will take all that space.

Also, make sure your PSU has 2 6 pin PCIe plugs or 8 pin plugs which I think the GTX280 uses.

sygnus21 · Jan 12, 2009

JimBonzai said:
I agree that some ATI cards, particuarly the hd3850 have driver issues.

However, I went and got an ATI HD4850 512mb for £120 and it is an absolute cracker of a card, and if you do a google search and read some of the many reviews, 2 of these in a crossfire outperform a certain nvidia card (cant remember which one), which infact costs over £100 more than buying 2 HD4850's

even with my dated system, AMD64 939 3700+ Overclocked to 2.7ghz and 1gb ram I can play most 2008 games (except crysis, medium is good) at ultra high settings with AA and AF on @ 1680x1050 with ease and no gittering. The likes of cod4 and GRID are set to the absolute highest and im still getting 40+ fps, I jest you not.

Newer games like cod5 plays very well and looks great at higher settings, as does Fallout 3

This card is completely compatible with vista, makesure u use the latest hotfix driver and your away, im also using the HDMI output with my 40" plasma and video looks awesome, especially HD material.

I would recommend buying one of these cards, then in a year when they are practically half price buy another and have in a crossfire.

Just a suggestion

The 4850 is a great card! Thoughts - Rate the 4850 ! - Rage3D Discussion Area

PS. Driver issues are about the same from both manufactures, so...

eggyuk · Jan 15, 2009

I have just bought a 4850 toxic edition which is pre-overclocked and comes with a big 3rd party cooler and fan. Havent had chance to really push it yet but initial impressions are good. Seems pretty quite and flies through COD5. It came with copy of 3DMark Vantage so gonna give that whirl when I get chance.

Edit: In regards to driver issues I haven't come across any yet (touch wood). I downloaded the latest driver from ATI and away I went.

Considering upgrading my graphics card - currently have a 1024Mb 8800GT

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