Lo chaps So last month i upgraded my main componants (mobo,cpu & ram) whilst also moving completly to Vista 64bit. I thought that by changing the main bits that i can get back into gaming on the PC platform but it seems the newer games are tougher than most. I intend to play some newer games whilst keeping some old faves. I will be playing Crysis, GOW, HL2, UT3 and others. It seems that my new hardware is doing a good job but i think my graphics is letting me down. I thought that when i bought my card at the time that it would have no probs lasting for ages but it seems 2yrs of service is as good as it gets now and now my 7800GTX is struggling. Basically im looking for a card where i can play at navive rez (1680x1050) with eye candy turned on. Also the matter of budget is also in question. As im not a true PC gamer i don't want to spend silly amount on hardware i won't always use, so a budget of £100-150($200-300) is in order. Ive been reading all the latest reviews and im still confused at what to get as the mid-range is so good at the moment. Here's a list ive compiled. ATi: 3850 512mb 3870 512mb Nvidia: 8800GT 512mb 9600GT 512mb 8800GTS 512mb (maybe be out of price range) So which one do i go for? I want to save money but i want a card to last for some time. which one do i get?
Wait and see what the 9600 is like. ATI have anounced price drops on the 38xx line which should come into play in the UK soon. Maybe they see the 9600 as a threat?
Yeah i saw the 9600 reviews but the prices are over the 3870's which i believe is faster and also theres about a £20 difference from the 96 to the 8800GT which theres a large difference in performance. I like the 96 but its more expensive than the 38's and priced closely to the 88's and factor in the ATi's price drops. Thats why its so hard for me.
9600GT don't support Dx10.1, so it's just a worse performer than 8800GT. with 8800GT at £150 on Scan, it's a superb deal, im even tempted to get GT as a stepping stone.
Ok so it seems like nobody likes the 9600GT now so thats out of the running. But what about the ATi stuffs? their cards are dirt cheap. How about those?
The 8800GT (512mb) is the fastest card for that price point. The ATI cards just aren't as fast and their price reflects that.
What's your POV card like? they are generally the cheapest good brand i can find, whats their bundle like? also how loud are the 8800GT cards (ref design).
Bundle was minimalistic, but came with all the bits you needed: I would certainly buy another POV card again.
Yes don't be fooled by the 9600GT naming, it's equal to a 8800GS which is about equal to the 3850_512 or 3870, not far off the 8800GT which is the top performing card. Well 8800GTS_512 is faster but it's limited by 256bit memory so not much faster, 8800GTX isn't truly faster either while 8800U are silly priced. If you can afford an 8800GT then that's the clear way to go otherwise bide your time and see what AmdTI & nVidia release later this year. As for brand the main diffs are bundle and warranty, there's less stock cooler choice with the 8800GT's.
http://www.techamok.com/?pid=4110 If the new 9800 is released next month, you can expect a drop in prices for the top lines from both nVidia and ATI.
