Card Evaluation

HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
edited February 2008 in Hardware
Hai all,
I've finally seen the light and I want to replace my old 7600GT with an 8600GT. Here's what I had in mind but I wanted to see if you guys could find any problems with it- I couldn't.
http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(24124)Asus-Extreme-8600GT-256MB-DDR3-OC-Gear-PCIE.aspx


Current card specs:
540MHz clock
712MHz RAM
256 GDDR3
Plays Hi-def video
Came overclocked to the max

If you need anything else I'll supply it :P

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    I don't think the 8600GT will be fast enough to justify the money for the upgrade. The core clock is the most important video card specification. Both cards on the same on that score. If you want to upgrade and have limited funds, you should probably save your money a while longer and spring for and 8800xyz or ATI 38XX.

    I'm not a video card/GPU expert, so of course, please get second opinions.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    I was thinking about an ATi card, but I have an nVidia chipset, nVidia motherboard, SLi supported RAM.. And then I get an ATi card? :P I guess I'll have to put out sime babysitting fliers then :P
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    The motherboard chipsets are only relevant for video card selection if you want to run SLI or Crossfire. Intel -> ATI or Nvidia, Nvidia -> ATI or Nvidia. They are cross compatible except for dual card employment.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    So if I wanted to run two ATi cards I could? Theoretically?
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    As far as I know, a 8600GT is pretty much a 7600GT + DirectX 10 ability. Not literally, but performance-wise.

    Adjusting for the nature of mobile chips, I'd say the 7600GT in my desktop and the 8600GT in my laptop are about equal. If either is faster, it's not noticeable. I run the same settings on my games.

    I'd save up for a 8800GT. That's what I plan on doing for my desktop :thumbsup:
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Harudath wrote:
    So if I wanted to run two ATi cards I could? Theoretically?

    No. But if you're going to be buying one card, NVIDIA is the fastest you can buy for your dollar.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Cool- an 8800GT it is then :D I'll try to persuade my dad to chip in as if I get a new card he goes from a 6200SE to a 7600GT lol :D
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Can't hurt to try. If he's close to agreeing but the answer is no, then come back with an ATI 3840 or 3850 proposal. Very good performance, not quite 8800 territory, but reasonable prices.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    I had a fish around and came across http://www.microdirect.co.uk/(30277)Gigabyte-GF-8800GT-SLI-256MB-DDR3-PCIE-DVI.aspx Only problem is I don't know what the memory, clock or RAMDAC speeds of it are >.< Anyone able to help? They're not listed on the site.
    The same card is here, but again no stats: http://www.komplett.co.uk/k/ki.aspx?sku=345157&view=detailed#ProductTabs
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3538922&body=MAIN#detailspecs

    I have my sights set on this card, cheap, awesomesauce-ish and nice specs, easily overclockable according to reviews... Anyone able to see anything wrong with it? I can't! Professional review would be nice before spending the last of my money on it xD

    EDIT: I just checked my bank book and it turns out I have £110 mo.... $217 dollars MORE than I thought I had, so if anyone would like to make a new reccomendation with a slight budget adjustment... :D I had my eye on http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3514993&CatId=1826
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited January 2008
    The 8800GT is hands-down, the best bang for the buck right now. The GTS 512 is a smidge faster, but not worth the price premium in my opinion. Go with the GT :)
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    lemonlime wrote:
    The 8800GT is hands-down, the best bang for the buck right now. The GTS 512 is a smidge faster, but not worth the price premium in my opinion. Go with the GT :)

    Cool- So I won't have any compatability issues? Although it does seem good for overclockability- I want to go to 720MHz or so, will that be doable with the GT? The GTS can comfortably go to 720+. Although I'd like to mention I'm not criticising your decision, I just want to learn why it's better so I don't have to beg you guys for help in the future AND I may be able to help some noobs of my own one day ;)
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Unless there's a quirk or defect with a motherboard - any motherboard, AMD or Intel, there should be no incompatibilities with running ATI on Intel or Nvidia on ATI. Someone in the past must have misinformed you. SLI or Crossfire is a separate, different issue.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Ah, right. So if I went for either of the latest cards I've linked I'd be safe?
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Yes, any motherboard with a PCI-e 16 slot that is not defective will accept the video cards you are considering.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Motherboard is PCI-E x8... That's bad isn't it? :(
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    It's still not a problem.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited January 2008
    Awesome :D Thanks alot Leo and co :P I'm going to be a very happy gamer til I manage to break something....
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Hai guys- I got my new 8800GTS 512 today, plugged it in, ran 3D mark...

    7600GT: 3444 points
    8800GTS: 12709 points

    I haven't even overclocked yet... Worthwhile investment methinks :D
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Told you your video card was crap. :P
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Haha :D That made me grin from ear to ear :P
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Told you your video card was crap. :P
    Hey, I've got two of those 7600GTs! :mean:

    Oh, wait, it doesn't matter, I'm not a gamer. :rolleyes::cool:
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    I ordered a 8600GT. I will be coming from a 6800GT. I'm hoping I'll see a little bit of a speed bump but not expecting much. I don't game much anyway. Not to mention I couldn't afford the price premium of the 8800.
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    I did a bit of tweaking and overclocking and managed to get a higher 3Dmark score (see signature). I think if I was using a 17" not a 22" I could get 14/5k points- waddya think?
  • mas0nmas0n howdy Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    Harudath wrote:
    I did a bit of tweaking and overclocking and managed to get a higher 3Dmark score (see signature). I think if I was using a 17" not a 22" I could get 14/5k points- waddya think?

    So long as you are running at the standard 3DMark06 resolution of 1280x1024, it would not matter. Just curious, what OC did you get your GTS up to? 13.8K is a very good score!
  • HarudathHarudath Great Britain Icrontian
    edited February 2008
    750MHz with stock cooling
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