8800 GTS 640mb or 8800 GT 512mb SLI?

splosher

Power User
Hi

I run a single BFG 8800 GTS 640mb OC2 in my PC at the minute due to using an EVGA 650i Ultra board - which has a single PCI slot - but have just bought a Asus 680i SLI board, so i'm wondering if it may be time to upgrade from my single card to dual cards?

The 8800 GTS i have is fantastic and i don't really see any problems with it: apart from Crysis and the snow levels that is, but i think everyone has problems with that anyway. I know the 8800 GT cards are the next GPU die (G92) and are cheap enough to justify SLI, but will i see a massive increase over what i'm playing with at the minute? I only usually play at 1280x1024 anyway due to burning out my Gainward Golden Sample 7800 GTX whilst running HL2 at 1600x1200 and so it's better to be safe than sorry (and out of pocket £300!).

Also, i'm wondering about power consumption with 2 cards and also the extra heat due to the single slot designs. Any advice would be helpful.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Q6600@stock
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N32-E SLI
    Memory
    4GB Geil DDR2 PC6400 CAS4
    Graphics Card(s)
    1 x BFG 8800 GTS 512mb OC
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80Gb Samsung SATAll in RAID 0
    2 x 80Gb Maxtor SATA1 in RAID 1
    1 x 120Gb Maxtor SATA1 back-up
    Internet Speed
    Bt Broadband, so about same as 56k modem!
Come on - anyone give me some advice please?!
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Q6600@stock
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N32-E SLI
    Memory
    4GB Geil DDR2 PC6400 CAS4
    Graphics Card(s)
    1 x BFG 8800 GTS 512mb OC
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80Gb Samsung SATAll in RAID 0
    2 x 80Gb Maxtor SATA1 in RAID 1
    1 x 120Gb Maxtor SATA1 back-up
    Internet Speed
    Bt Broadband, so about same as 56k modem!
Well, you shouldn't buy the 8800 GTs with the standard single-slot cooling system. During the holidays it was madness here in Romania, you couldn't find ONE 8800GT in stock. The only ones available were Palit standard-frequency 8800GT. After a lot of thinking I bought one and I can say I am super happy. It has a double-slot cooling system, HUGE cooler over the chipset and a HUGE radiator over the VRAM. Even this way, it's super silent. The case fan runs louder.

I recommend you buy 2x8800GT Palit Sonic(factory overclocked). Nice, sturdy and quiet cooling system plus amazing performance. One Sonic GT beats a stock GTX, no questions asked(I mean this from a price point of view). Imagine two...

The resolution wasn't the reason your video card malfunctioned. If you would of used 1280x1024 it would still of malfunctioned. It was doomed from the beggining. Maybe it was OCed too much? Use 1600x1200.

As for the PSU. I reccomend you get a 650W power supply unit. If you think it's to expensive, I recommend an expanding PSU. This should do the trick.

I hope I helped you.
 
Last edited:

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Well i made the decision and bought a BFG 8800 GTS 512mb OC to replace my BFG 8800 GTS 640mb OC2 card and even though i had reservations due to dropping 128mb of video RAM, i can honestly say it's the best decision i've made. Seeing this new card running Crysis is a great improvement over the 640mb card, especially when the snow levels come due to the higher pixel pipelines and i've also been able to raise my resolution in all my games - COD4, Oblivion, STALKER, BF2 & Crysis - from 1280 x 1024 to 1600 x 1200.
To anyone thinking about the upgrade - don't think, just do it! I'm saving now for my 2nd 8800 GTS 512mb to go SLI...
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Q6600@stock
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N32-E SLI
    Memory
    4GB Geil DDR2 PC6400 CAS4
    Graphics Card(s)
    1 x BFG 8800 GTS 512mb OC
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80Gb Samsung SATAll in RAID 0
    2 x 80Gb Maxtor SATA1 in RAID 1
    1 x 120Gb Maxtor SATA1 back-up
    Internet Speed
    Bt Broadband, so about same as 56k modem!
You're going to hate yourself soon; the 9 Series GeForces have been annouced and the 9800 cards are set for release in March :P

I was going to buy a 8800GT for myself (approx. 33000 Yen or $330 USD), but I'm holding off till the new cards come out :D
 

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That would be in a month or two, seeing how fast the GFX cards are released =D

Although I'm not complaining, good time to be young :D:D
 

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I just bought an 8800GT about a month ago. It had to be done though, I couldn't wait. My motherboard fried and it was impossible to find good to better specs with the current 939 socket I was running. Rebuilt the entire system.
 

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I have the evga's 8800 GTS SSC 640Mb playing Crysis...and I'm amazed, well...that's about to change ...ordered BFG's 8800 GTX OC2 768MB card...savin up for SLi combo...wohoohoo
Just get what ever makes you happy:)
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    custom of course...
    CPU
    Intel Quad Q9650 3.00GHz
    Motherboard
    EVGA 790i Ultra 3-way SLi
    Memory
    OCZ NVIDIA SLI Ready 8GB DDR3 1800MHz @1.9V
    Graphics Card(s)
    BFG GeForce 280 GTX OC EditionX2 SLi'd
    Sound Card
    SoundBlaster X-FI Titanium Fatal1ty Pro Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 52" 1080P LCD HDTV (LN52B550)
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    2XWestern Digital WD1001FALS Caviar Black Hard Drive - 1TB
    PSU
    ThermalTake ToughPower 1200watt W0113RU
    Case
    Thermaltake Armor 6000BWS
    Cooling
    ThermalTake MaxOrb CL-P0369
    Keyboard
    Logitech cordless Y-RAJ56A piece of ****
    Mouse
    Logitech G7 Laser Cordless mouse black - niiice:)
    Internet Speed
    10 Mb/sec DL - 1 Mb/sec UL
    Other Info
    D-Link DGL-4500 Extreme N wireless router ...siiick:)
    2XSamsung SH-S223Q/BEBN SATA LightScribe
    1XLG GGW-H20L super-multi Blu-Ray burner
    Belkin UPS F6C1500TWRK
    Pioneer 7.1 Channel HDMI Receiver (VSX-9130TXV-K)
And whatever you can afford! 2 GTX OC2's are touching £600!
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Q6600@stock
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N32-E SLI
    Memory
    4GB Geil DDR2 PC6400 CAS4
    Graphics Card(s)
    1 x BFG 8800 GTS 512mb OC
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80Gb Samsung SATAll in RAID 0
    2 x 80Gb Maxtor SATA1 in RAID 1
    1 x 120Gb Maxtor SATA1 back-up
    Internet Speed
    Bt Broadband, so about same as 56k modem!
I'm still reasonably happy with my 8800 GTS 640. I haven't played Crysis since the demo came out, and pretty much everything else I play doesn't even compare to that level of complexity and strain on the card. Maybe I'll upgrade after the 9-generation stuff calms down some.
 

My Computer

OP should have bought the eVGA Card with the Step-up Program. That way he will be ready for the 9800 GTX.

Very happy with the BFG 8800 GTS 512mb OC at the minute and will be going SLI in a couple of weeks, so no need for a 9800 GTX for at least 12 months. I can run Crysis on high with textures and object detail to very high comfortably at 1280x1024 using the task manager tweak and this is the most demanding game by far, so i am not fretting regarding a new GPU.
Also, have checked out the reviews for the 9800 GX2 and it's nothing special at the minute due to the 512mb per core and phenomenal power supply demands!
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Q6600@stock
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N32-E SLI
    Memory
    4GB Geil DDR2 PC6400 CAS4
    Graphics Card(s)
    1 x BFG 8800 GTS 512mb OC
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80Gb Samsung SATAll in RAID 0
    2 x 80Gb Maxtor SATA1 in RAID 1
    1 x 120Gb Maxtor SATA1 back-up
    Internet Speed
    Bt Broadband, so about same as 56k modem!
Well the GTX won't be coming out for a while. =] Stupid motherboard... I knew I should have gone with a SLI motherboard. My 8800GT is doing fine though. How's Crysis? Got bored with it after a few hours.
 

My Computer

look at it this way. Price up two cards in sli mode. Buy a duel gpu card which will be cheaper than two sli cards.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
    Memory
    4 x 4GB corsair ballistix sport DDR3 1600 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660 TI
    Sound Card
    creative x-fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Primary CiBox 22" Widescreen LCD ,Secondary Dell 22" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    Both 1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500G HD (SATA) 1 x 2TB USB
    PSU
    Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Complient PSU
    Case
    Antec 900 Ultimate Gaming Case
    Cooling
    3 x 80mm tri led front, 120mm side 120mm back, 200mm top
    Keyboard
    Logik
    Mouse
    Technika TKOPTM2
    Internet Speed
    288 / 4000
    Other Info
    Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers
    Trust Graphics Tablet
look at it this way. Price up two cards in sli mode. Buy a duel gpu card which will be cheaper than two sli cards.

No it won't be cheaper with the additional cost of a 750watt or more power supply added on top. I can get a 8800 GTS 512mb card for around £170/ £180 UK pounds, so £350 for 2, ok? A 9800gx2 is over £400 then another £100 for a power supply!

Crysis is brilliant if you can run it around 25fps and accept it isn't as free-roaming as the developer suggested.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    Q6600@stock
    Motherboard
    Asus P5N32-E SLI
    Memory
    4GB Geil DDR2 PC6400 CAS4
    Graphics Card(s)
    1 x BFG 8800 GTS 512mb OC
    Hard Drives
    2 x 80Gb Samsung SATAll in RAID 0
    2 x 80Gb Maxtor SATA1 in RAID 1
    1 x 120Gb Maxtor SATA1 back-up
    Internet Speed
    Bt Broadband, so about same as 56k modem!
What are your system specs at the moment?
How much money are you willing to spend?
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I5 3570K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z77-DS3H
    Memory
    4 x 4GB corsair ballistix sport DDR3 1600 Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte Geforce GTX 660 TI
    Sound Card
    creative x-fi
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Primary CiBox 22" Widescreen LCD ,Secondary Dell 22" Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    Both 1680 x 1050
    Hard Drives
    2 x 500G HD (SATA) 1 x 2TB USB
    PSU
    Corsair HX 620W ATX2.2 Modular SLI Complient PSU
    Case
    Antec 900 Ultimate Gaming Case
    Cooling
    3 x 80mm tri led front, 120mm side 120mm back, 200mm top
    Keyboard
    Logik
    Mouse
    Technika TKOPTM2
    Internet Speed
    288 / 4000
    Other Info
    Creative Inspire 7.1 T7900 Speakers
    Trust Graphics Tablet
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