7900GT---->8800GTS320

[pak]

should I do it?

--pak

[bryan_d]

What games do you plan on playing? Or will it still be simply be "Built for the sole purpse to play World Of Warcraft and troll OCforums." If WoW is the only game you are wanting to play, then ask yourself, what are you lacking with you current card and Wow?

Sure the GTS is pretty cheap, but how will you feel if it lags in Crysis, UT3, and other "real" DX10 games. Of course those are just speculations, but would like taking those risks. I for one will hold off with my 7900GS until DX10 matures, and actual DX10 games that are worth playing are released.

What ever you choose, good luck.

bryan d

[pak]

I only play wow and play CS:S when the servers are down. My 7900gt performs well, but I want something better. I guess I should ask how much of a gain am I looking at?

--pak

[pak]

oops.

--pak

[bryan_d]

Well answer this first, what refresh rate do you have your monitor running at? And are you already surpassing that refresh rate with your current card in your games?

[pak]

60hz I believe is the standard for LCD's right? I do surpass it when no combat and few things are going on. But when there are multiple things going on, my FPS can get as low as 15. This is of course with all graphics turned all the way up and 1680x1050.

--pak

[dem0lish3r]

well i got the card in my sig. and i plan on holing on the that for as long as i can. there is no real need for dx10 hardware . . yet. i also wouldnt go from 512mb to 320mb. the guy i got this card from had higher frames in games like s.t.a.l.k.e.r. cos it likes to use lots of video ram.

id stick with the 7900gt for a while.

[freeagent]

i went from a 7900gt to a 8800gts 320, and this card makes the 7900 look like a 9600xt lol. i dont have any dx10 games, but the dx9 superiority is definately there. its a good piece of hardware. but if i could do it all over again, id get the 640. maybe..

[TexasOC]

should I do it?

--pak

I've just gone through this. I upgraded from a 21" CRT to a 37" 1080P Westy LCD panel. I found my 7800GT began to struggle with driving the 1920x1080p resolution. I noticed this in the following games:

1) Doom3 (7800GT still playable at 4x AA)
2) Quake4 (7800GT still playable at 4x AA, but felt slow)
3) rFactor Had to reduce to DX7 textures to get playable frame rates
4) IL2 Sturmovik Playable but slow frame rates just flying around.

I was at Frys and they had a decent deal on a 7950GT. The card was underwhelming coming from the 7800GT. Doom and Quake were a little better, and I could run rFactor with DX9 textures with settings a little turned down. IL2 was not noticeably better.

Finally just broke down and got an EVGA 8800 GTS 320 standard card. The differences are nothing short of amazing. The comparisons of the leap provided by the 8800 cards being like the ATI 9700Pro from 5 years ago are true. With the 8800GTS:

1) Doom3 72FPS timedemo demo1 with 16XQ AA -- Solid 60FPS in play
2) Quake4 16XQ AA 30/60FPS smooth in play (VSYNC ON)
3) rFactor DX9 all settings turned up, 16XQ AA, 80FPS+
4) IL2 Strumovik 16XQ AA smooth as silk

This is all on a "powerhouse" gaming rig centered around a 3.8GHz Prescott and 4GB of DDR (not DDR2) memory. No Core Duo needed here.

The only disappointment was the performance of Supersampled transparency AA isn't much better -- but its not big enough to make me regret getting the card.

I absolutely do not care about DX10 games. I consider the card a very nice DX9 board. If had not upgraded the monitor, I'd probably still be using the 7800GT.

So far, I've got the 8800GTS up to 648MHz core/ 2048MHz Memory. Runs hot, but quiet. I paid about $60 more than I did for the 7950GT. The 7950GT is going back. The 7800GT is up for sale.

-Mike

[TexasOC]

Double post

[pak]

Thanks for the replies and suggestions. I think I know what I want to do now.

--pak

[Mathersalan]

Why would you need a $300 card to troll OCforums?

[pak]

Why would you need a $300 card to troll OCforums?


why not?

--pak

[freeagent]

Why would you need a $300 card to troll OCforums?


because if you had one, youd spend more time playing, then trolling heheh. why do you need an overclocked 1400 dollar rig to ask that question?

[fabulouscoops]

Good post Texas.

I have a 7900 GT and just upgraded my monitor from a 19" CRT to a 24" widescreen LCD. The 7900 GT is struggling with 1920x1200 in several games (Oblivion being the major one)
I plan on going to the 8800 GTX now and building a C2D system around it in a month or so.
For the OP, I'd say you don't need a new card to play WOW but these decisions are not based on need alone. You will see a marked difference, but is it worth the $$? That's for you to decide.

[Kuroimaho]

Thanks Texas was very educational, especially the powerhouse rig which fuels that vga.

[Nandro]

The one think I dont like about my GTS 320 is the 320M of mem. Games like Dirt wont let me turn Shadows on ultra saying not enough Vid Mem. Other than that, I dont feel the need for a 640. I can play anything, and by the time I cant the new ones will be out so its a wash. OC'ing to me was always about getting the most for my money, not the best of the best. If you are running super high res, the 640 may be necessary.

[hypertek]

i also have a 7900gt 256.. I know i can still sell it off and get some money back...

I notice 7950 gx2 and 8800gts are about simular price, would the 8800gts still be a better card eventually?

[Nandro]

Not even eventually, the 8800GTS is a better card now.

[Mathersalan]

Don't waste your money on a 7950GX2..Go for the 8800GTS 640mb or the 8800GTX.

[Nandro]

Why are people all hung up on the 640? I know its a good card, but it is $250 for a 320 and $380 for the 640. Basicly $125. I know that NV has updated their drivers so they are pretty much equal. Asside from some real high end shadows, unless you rin real high res, the 640 wont help. I will put my 320 against any 640. Dont get me wrong, if I had loads of money I would get the ultra, but I dont. If I had $120 I would sell my E6600 and get the new dual core E6750 or whatever with the difference. Even my 320 is bottlenecked at 3.6 on my C2D.

[Mathersalan]

Don't waste your money on a 7950GX2..Go for the 8800GTS 640mb 320 mb or the 8800GTX.

^^
Happy now? :D

[ps2cho]

Why are people all hung up on the 640? I know its a good card, but it is $250 for a 320 and $380 for the 640. Basicly $125. I know that NV has updated their drivers so they are pretty much equal. Asside from some real high end shadows, unless you rin real high res, the 640 wont help. I will put my 320 against any 640. Dont get me wrong, if I had loads of money I would get the ultra, but I dont. If I had $120 I would sell my E6600 and get the new dual core E6750 or whatever with the difference. Even my 320 is bottlenecked at 3.6 on my C2D.

Realistically gaming anything much higher than 1440x900 really stresses the card past what it is capable of right now and the smoothness that it will run on the ultra high settings will not be as fast as it should be.

Save the $125 and get the 320mb version. It will be plenty fast enough and with the changing times, the once $380 640mb 8800GTS will now be the mid range card had for $150 by next summer. The key to purchasing the right hardware is to go for midrange cards and upgrade as the once high end become mid range. It still keeps you within capable frame rates for all games and doesn't leave your wallet burned.