Looking to buy a Geforce 8 Series videocard need some advice

LinkinPrime

LinkinPrime

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Sorry to keep bugging you guys with questions like these but as I have stated before, I'll be getting an XPS 410 soon and I will be purchasing a better videocard and I plan on installing it myself. I think I narrowed it down to the Geforce 8600.

There seems to be a lot of versions of this card. I was looking into the BFG 8600 OC, and realized that there's a lot of OC (overclocked) versions of this card. Is there anything I should know before purchasing and OC VC? Do some companies make better OC's than others, should I even go OC or just stick with the Nvidia standard 8600?

Thanks in advance.
 
Here's my advice: don't get it now.

The only advantage the 8600 brings with it is that it's a cheaper DX10 card with good performance but disappointing price. Originally, this card was supposed to be $150 or something but it's going for $200+.

I'd wait until ATI releases their cards at the end of May. By then, you'll have more options and lower prices. Their high end card is said to retail for $400 and should match or beat the 8800GTX in performance (a card that's still $500+ in many places).

I'm sure the 8800GTS will drop in price soon. It was recently on sale for $200, and in a few months, I'll probably retail for around $200. The only problem would be is if your Power Supply can handle it.
 
Thanks for the article. It makes a lot of good points but the main selling point for me for the 8600 is that its DirectX10 and the 7600 is DirectX9. X10 is what the newer games are using so I'd rather have something more current.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']Thanks for the article. It makes a lot of good points but the main selling point for me for the 8600 is that its DirectX10 and the 7600 is DirectX9. X10 is what the newer games are using so I'd rather have something more current.[/QUOTE]

It's your call.:)

Though, as of now... there's like ten DX10 games in development and none of them have been released yet.
 
Yeah I know, but my intention is to buy something that I won't have to replace for atleast a couple years. Thanks for your imput though, its fully noted.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']Thanks for the article. It makes a lot of good points but the main selling point for me for the 8600 is that its DirectX10 and the 7600 is DirectX9. X10 is what the newer games are using so I'd rather have something more current.[/quote]
If you're worried about staying "current" when it comes to gaming, keep in mind that the 8600 will probably have lousy performance with everything released in the next couple of years.
 
[quote name='RaCeR063']just go for the 8800gts 320 mb.its only $50 more and is about 10x the performance[/quote]

Guess I could do that. Now I noticed that 8800GTS requires 550W AC adapter, the PC I'm going to be buying comes with a 325W. Man, this is turning out to be harder than I thought. Thanks for the all the feedback guys.
 
[quote name='LinkinPrime']Guess I could do that. Now I noticed that 8800GTS requires 550W AC adapter, the PC I'm going to be buying comes with a 325W. Man, this is turning out to be harder than I thought. Thanks for the all the feedback guys.[/QUOTE]

And that's why I don't like prebuilt systems... they give you shit for a PS.:p

You might have to go with a 8600GT.

ATI's cards are probably going to be power hungry. As a comparison, the high end Nvidia 8800GTX requires about 140 watts or so. ATI's high end HD 2900XTX is expected to suck up 240 watts.:hot: So there's a good chance ATI's cards, even the mid-range ones, will be too power hungry for that PS but there's no way to tell until we see all of the models.

If you want a mid-range DX10 card with a 325 watt PS, you might have to get a 8600GT.:whistle2:(
 
Ok I actually just looked at a few forums and the 8800GTS will be supported by 375W. Even the Dell specifications, indicate that their power supply is only 375W and yet they offer the option to upgraxe to the 8800GTX, which means that it should not have an issue. I spoke with a Dell rep and he said that Nvidia overexaggerated their specifications.

So now I guess I'm going for a 8800GTS. What are your guys thoughts on this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814122022

Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Core clock: 540MHz
DirectX: DirectX 10
DVI: 2
Memory Clock: 1680MHz
Memory Interface: 320-bit
OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0
Stream Processors: 96
TV-Out: HDTV / S-Video Out
VIVO: No
Model #: PX8800GTS TDH 320M E$269.99 AR

Or this:

EVGA 320-P2-N811-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Core clock: 500MHz
DirectX: DirectX 10
DVI: 2
Memory Clock: 1600MHz
Memory Interface: 320-bit
OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0
Stream Processors: 96
TV-Out: HDTV / S-Video / Composite Out
VIVO: No
Model #: 320-P2-N811-ARItem #: N82E16814130082

$259 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=GeForce%208800GTS&bop=And&Order=PRICE

Trying not to spend more than this...

Also, does overclocking require more cooling/more power? Should I stick with the stock 8800GTS?
 
I still think waiting another month or two could really kill those prices for the Nvidia cards. They currently have no DX10 competition so I'm sure that Nvidia is pricing everything a bit higher.

Overclocking can usually be done with stock volts and cooler but that doesn't always give the best results. Some companies up the power consumption and put in a better cooler.

Factory overclocked cards usually have the same requirements as the stock version. They're just tested to run at the advertised speed (and you can't overclock it anymore) and the manufacturer will cover it under warranty because they OCed it. But it's not always true.

From what I see, the Leadtek is faster and has a better cooler but they recommend a 550 watt PS whereas the EVGA recommends 400 watts.

But I've always considered EVGA the better company. I hear good stuff about them all the time. I don't hear much (good or bad) about Leadtek though.

BTW, Dell upgrades your PS to what you need. Just because you could pick a high end GPU doesn't mean that you'd get the same PS. If you had customized your desktop with a high end graphics card, they'd put in a PS that'll be able to handle everything but not much more.

Oh, and sorry about doing this so much but here's an article that compared 4 different 640MB versions of the 880GTS (careful though, there is a 8800GTX in there). It has some helpful tips on how much different speeds make and also gives warranty info for each company.
http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/02/20/nvidia_geforce_8800_series_round_up/1.html
 
No apologies needed Vinny, you're doing me a favor here. I'm reading all I can to make sure I make a good decision purchase. Thanks. Guess I'll have to wait. I was thinking of hitting up CompUSA since they have closeout prices but they don't have the OC cards.
 
I'm in the same position you're in now. I was originally gonna get a 8600, but realized they sucked. So I'm going with the 8800GTS.
 
I would use a 500W minimum power supply, ESPECIALLY if you are going to game on it.... 375W is nowhere near enough power. I would go with more than what you think you need, just to be safe. I've got a 600W in my PC right now.

Don't listen to Dell at all... I've seen tons of problems on various forums where a cheap, low wattage power supply was the issue.

Building a PC is pretty easy... how good are you at electronics in general? You can do yourself what you will probably pay someone to do.
 
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