8800GT SLI Alternative!!

[necrokiller]

Im not looking to 'upgrade' per say, I want to save some money for other purposes so Im gonna sell my 8800GT SLI. They have been a great purchase from my single X1950 Pro...but really I dont want anything high-end.

Ill be gaming at 1680x1050 native and sometimes ill be hooking it up to my TV for 1080p resolution.

If I go with ATI, I want something better than a mid-range card since Crossfire later on is out of the question IF I decide to get it and HD 4850's cooling is horrible so I want to stay away from it.

What do you people suggest out of these:
- HD 4870
- 9800GTX (GTX+ if I wait for it)
- HD 4850...(will buy it if it really serves the purpose..can get a cooler for it)
- GTX 260 (if its really worth getting over any of the aforementioned cards)

[Badbonji]

Get a HD4870 - cheaper than the GTX260, fastest on your choices and will be suitable even at 1080p

[dribblesnort]

Im not looking to 'upgrade' per say, I want to save some money for other purposes so Im gonna sell my 8800GT SLI. They have been a great purchase from my single X1950 Pro...but really I dont want anything high-end.

Ill be gaming at 1680x1050 native and sometimes ill be hooking it up to my TV for 1080p resolution.

If I go with ATI, I want something better than a mid-range card since Crossfire later on is out of the question IF I decide to get it and HD 4850's cooling is horrible so I want to stay away from it.

What do you people suggest out of these:
- HD 4870
- 9800GTX (GTX+ if I wait for it)
- HD 4850...(will buy it if it really serves the purpose..can get a cooler for it)
- GTX 260 (if its really worth getting over any of the aforementioned cards)

There are a several ways to decrease temps on the 4850s. Hard mod the fan to 100% or create a profile with higher fanspeed or...replace the heatsink with an aftermarket one. Idle and Load temps are about 34° - 50° with an aftermarket Heatsink/Fan.

If you can wait a few weeks there will be dual-slot cooler equipped cards appearing too, so that's yet another route you could go.

If it were me, I wouldn't let the temps scare me off from what, otherwise, is the perfect card for my needs.

[ChinStrap]

but coming from 8800gt SLi? thats not going to be an upgrade - if anything i bet you see less FPS in games @ 1920x1080 res

you say CF is out of the question, i might wait till the 4870x2 is out or have a look at the gtx280. the mem bandwidth that comes with the gtx280 would be nice to have at the large res.

[SAnusha]

4870 all the way

[necrokiller]

There are a several ways to decrease temps on the 4850s. Hard mod the fan to 100% or create a profile with higher fanspeed or...replace the heatsink with an aftermarket one. Idle and Load temps are about 34° - 50° with an aftermarket Heatsink/Fan.

Yes from the looks of it its worse than 8800GT... if theres a suitable aftermarket cooler (i think HR-03 fits it), then I would get it.


If it were me, I wouldn't let the temps scare me off from what, otherwise, is the perfect card for my needs.

Its worse than 8800GT which was 60 Idle...this is 70 C Idle!!! its too much. I dont have any extra fans and a good case so it can get hotter than that.

but coming from 8800gt SLi? thats not going to be an upgrade - if anything i bet you see less FPS in games @ 1920x1080 res
i mentioned im not looking to upgrade...I want to save money and still have a GOOD, if not the best, solution to my gaming needs. I dont mind turning down settings to achieve good FPS at 1080p, but my primary gaming would be done at 1680x1050.

you say CF is out of the question, i might wait till the 4870x2 is out or have a look at the gtx280. the mem bandwidth that comes with the gtx280 would be nice to have at the large res.
Yes it is since I have a nForce chipset! I wonder if even the HD4**** x2 would still work though. Im NEVER in favour of those over-priced flagship cards. GTX 280 is only good for ppl who game at 1920x1200 or above!
Thanks for the input. I wana see what more people think. :)

[SAnusha]

the gtx280 looks aswome

[necrokiller]

the gtx280 looks aswome

But its price doesn't. :screwy:

[SAnusha]

yeh true but i seen it in action and what a card it is i might sell both my 9800gx2 and get one :)

[SAnusha]

but i might wait and see what the 4870x2 is like first

[necrokiller]

yeh true but i seen it in action and what a card it is i might sell both my 9800gx2 and get one :)

I think ONE 9800gx2 best it in alot of benchmarks. Selling both of them is not a good idea.

Hey if you're really looking to sell it Id be willing to buy it if the deal is good. :beer:

[SAnusha]

not sure how much there worth i was given both of them by my father how much would you pay?

[Hardin]

A 9800gx2? I'd say around $450.

[IWasHungry]

What you've got is pretty good already. If you want a change of pace you could get a 4870, but it probably won't perform any better and you'll have to pay for it (Sell both 8800GTs for $200, then the 4870 costs $300 so you need $100 more).

[necrokiller]

What you've got is pretty good already. If you want a change of pace you could get a 4870, but it probably won't perform any better and you'll have to pay for it (Sell both 8800GTs for $200, then the 4870 costs $300 so you need $100 more).

$100 for a single 8800GT? Id rather keep it! Someone is offering me alot more than that.

A 9800gx2? I'd say around $450.
One guy was selling me BFG 9800GX2 for $220, used ofcourse. I turned down the deal thinking something might definitely be wrong with it. It was just too good to be true. The cheapest brand new 9800gx2 in Canada right now is $450. So I dont see why anyone would pay that much for a used one.

[necrokiller]

not sure how much there worth i was given both of them by my father how much would you pay?

Depends. What brand is it? What accessories you will include? The box, 6 to 8 pin adapter? etc etc

[SAnusha]

its xfx and it comes fully boxed with all accessories and the 8 pin adapter and call of duty 4 would sell it for $370

[IWasHungry]

its xfx and it comes fully boxed with all accessories and the 8 pin adapter and call of duty 4 would sell it for $370

Damn dude, sell it to him because you're not gonna get another deal like that again. 8800GT 512MBs are going for about $140 new each. Sell off the cards and get a 4870, IMO.

[necrokiller]

Damn dude, sell it to him because you're not gonna get another deal like that again. 8800GT 512MBs are going for about $140 new each. Sell off the cards and get a 4870, IMO.

Im confused. Are you asking me to sell 8800GT sli and buy HD 4870? Or him to sell 9800gx2 and......do..something.:confused:

[ChinStrap]

Damn dude, sell it to him because you're not gonna get another deal like that again. 8800GT 512MBs are going for about $140 new each. Sell off the cards and get a 4870, IMO.

it comes with call of duty 4 for a reason. 9800gx2 > 4870.

[SAnusha]

Im confused. Are you asking me to sell 8800GT sli and buy HD 4870? Or him to sell 9800gx2 and......do..something.:confused:

im confused aswell

[theELVISCERATOR]

What kind of numbers are you posting with the sli setup you got?


Say 3dmark 06 and crysis benches GPU at your game settings?

[SAnusha]

i get around 20000 with one card and about 22000 with 2 of them

[Vengance_01]

If you want to move back to a single card, a 4850 with after marketing cooling and a pencil mod will be your best bang for the buck.

[Badbonji]

GTX280 has dropped £80 in the UK and $90 in the US, maybe it is cheap enough in Canada?

[IWasHungry]

Im confused. Are you asking me to sell 8800GT sli and buy HD 4870? Or him to sell 9800gx2 and......do..something.:confused:
im confused aswell

:burn:
I retract my previous statement; I thought you two were the same person when I posted that.

$100 for a single 8800GT? Id rather keep it! Someone is offering me alot more than that.
How much? You wouldn't be able to sell a 8800GT for much more in the Classifieds, maybe $110 shipped. So having an ignorant friend who will buy your stuff for more than it's worth is great! :beer:

[necrokiller]

How much? You wouldn't be able to sell a 8800GT for much more in the Classifieds, maybe $110 shipped.
The stock clocked card that im selling is for $220 AFTER taxes and shipping. I dont overclock my SLI. Its hardly few months old. $100 is a STEAL for it in Canada esp.!!!

So having an ignorant friend who will buy your stuff for more than it's worth is great! :beer:

maybe hes not my friend. :beer:

[necrokiller]

What kind of numbers are you posting with the sli setup you got?

Say 3dmark 06 and crysis benches GPU at your game settings?

I don't remember the Crysis benches but 3dmark06 is around 16.3-16.5k with the system in sig.

I don't game at 1080p all the time, only when I can because I have the option to set it up to our TV when its free, and the results are amazing so I would like to have the option to be able to game at that res. But currently 1680x1050 is the primary res. A single 8800GT is handling everything well and Id like to sell the other one before they get even more cheaper, at which point it'll be better just to keep them. I rushed into SLI and even though its awesome for the price I don't like the lack of support for SLi from nvidia and most games.

Should I just keep the SLI or sell it to buy 9800GTX+ and save up to get another one down the road? Just to let you guys know though, it'll be a $30 loss only for a single 8800GT and $70 if I sell both.

Oh and no ATI please. Im not a fanboy but can't do CF. Only option would be 4870x2 but that would be out of budget. Thanks in advance.

[Abu Som3a]

Your 8800GT SLI setup performs almost the same as a 9800GX2. The 9800GX2 is nothing but two 8800GTS 512MB cards running in SLI.
http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQ3NSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

[jokers_greg]

just because there are common misconceptions on Canadian pricing... : http://www.ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=27704&vpn=512-P3-N801-AR&manufacture=eVGA

Who would pay more than $110 used? I don't know....
Anyways back to the OP, its unfortunate that you can't go the 2x 4850 route. In games where SLI scales best, they still are about the same as a GX2, and games where CF scales best, they blow the comptetition out of the water. (The difference in 'Grid' was enormous if I remember correctly... FPS difference was well over 200%)

4850>>8800GT.

[jokers_greg]

I don't remember the Crysis benches but 3dmark06 is around 16.3-16.5k with the system in sig.

I don't game at 1080p all the time, only when I can because I have the option to set it up to our TV when its free, and the results are amazing so I would like to have the option to be able to game at that res. But currently 1680x1050 is the primary res. A single 8800GT is handling everything well and Id like to sell the other one before they get even more cheaper, at which point it'll be better just to keep them. I rushed into SLI and even though its awesome for the price I don't like the lack of support for SLi from nvidia and most games.

Should I just keep the SLI or sell it to buy 9800GTX+ and save up to get another one down the road? Just to let you guys know though, it'll be a $30 loss only for a single 8800GT and $70 if I sell both.

Oh and no ATI please. Im not a fanboy but can't do CF. Only option would be 4870x2 but that would be out of budget. Thanks in advance.

if you want to stay SLI, then it's best to pick up the GTX+ and pick up a second down the road. The die-shrink should in theory increase OCing potential even more compared the original GTX. They'll perform like CF'd 4850s, but again, it depends on the games you play. Those who favor SLI or those who favor CF.

[necrokiller]

if you want to stay SLI, then it's best to pick up the GTX+ and pick up a second down the road. The die-shrink should in theory increase OCing potential even more compared the original GTX. They'll perform like CF'd 4850s, but again, it depends on the games you play. Those who favor SLI or those who favor CF.

Yeah since I have the board for it I think I'll put it to use. But what would you suggest if I want a single card solution?

[jokers_greg]

Yeah since I have the board for it I think I'll put it to use. But what would you suggest if I want a single card solution?

like i said a GTX+ for now and a second later. If you don't want to use SLI, the best single card solution is going to be the 4870X2 without a doubt.

[necrokiller]

thats exactly what i had in mind. thanks.

[jokers_greg]

np man. good luck

[Abu Som3a]

8800GT SLI > 9800GTX+

[jokers_greg]

8800GT SLI > 9800GTX+

one for now and one for the future. 9800GTX+ x 2 >>>> 8800 GT x2

[Abu Som3a]

16 extra shaders and slightly higher clock speeds? Nah, don't think you would see a big difference.

[jokers_greg]

16 extra shaders and slightly higher clock speeds? Nah, don't think you would see a big difference.

16 more stream processors
Texture address/Filtering: 64/64 vs. 56/56
Die shrink = runs cooler, and higher OC potential, needs less power to run
higher core/shader/mem clocks: +138mhz on core, +336mhz on shader, +200mhz mem

Here's a review vs. the 8800GT. http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3340

The smallest increase over the 8800GT was ~6FPS out of the mid 30's that this card runs it at, thats something like 20%. In other games the difference is much greater!

[Blazing fire]

yeh true but i seen it in action and what a card it is i might sell both my 9800gx2 and get one :)

but i might wait and see what the 4870x2 is like first

Oh that's nice. Be sure to get 3 gtx280 or you're paying more for less (at least for now). That's provided your hx620 can handle it...

No, don't go with 4870X2. You can only buy 2 of that. 3 280gtx beats 2 4870X2.

Hope I don't seem offensive.

[jokers_greg]

Oh that's nice. Be sure to get 3 gtx280 or you're paying more for less (at least for now). That's provided your hx620 can handle it...

No, don't go with 4870X2. You can only buy 2 of that. 3 280gtx beats 2 4870X2.

Hope I don't seem offensive.

i dont know if you're being sarcastic... but 2x 4870X2 would spank 3 GTX280's left right and centre.

[necrokiller]

I agree with jokers_greg. GTX+ sli would be much faster than 8800gt SLI. Plus i can't stand the noise of the fan coz the nforce chipset fan already blows like crazy and my OC is limited by the temperatures on stock cooling.

Would 4870x2 work on nForce chipset? Don't you have to enable Crossfire on it like the 9800gx2?

[jokers_greg]

I agree with jokers_greg. GTX+ sli would be much faster than 8800gt SLI. Plus i can't stand the noise of the fan coz the nforce chipset fan already blows like crazy and my OC is limited by the temperatures on stock cooling.

Would 4870x2 work on nForce chipset? Don't you have to enable Crossfire on it like the 9800gx2?

It works a little different. but I dont have an SLI board and Im using a GX2 so it'll work for sure. If I'm not mistaken the 4870X2 is more than just two sandwiched 4870's. It runs as a single card. However if it does require CF, it'll be integrated, so you can run it on any board.

[Blazing fire]

I can't say for certain. IN here (http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTUzMSw1LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==), 3 280gtx will beat 2 4870X2. However, the drivers for ATI is still not optimized.

[jokers_greg]

I can't say for certain. IN here (http://www.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTUzMSw1LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==), 3 280gtx will beat 2 4870X2. However, the drivers for ATI is still not optimized.

considering those are pre-release drivers, I'd disagree. Secondly, I don't see the GTX280s winning anywhere? Even in crysis.. a game optimized for nvidia. Take a look at how these perform in an ATi optimized game: Grid.

[Blazing fire]

very high, 1920 X 1200, no aa, 16x af. 4870X2 X2 = 19. 2 280gtx = 30
high, 1920 X 1200 8x aa 16x af. 4870X2 X2 = 26. 2 280gtx = 27.

Add another 280gtx, it should beat an optimized ati driver, though I can't say for certain.

if you're playing games like grid, I don't see a point in using such high end cards, unless you use 2560 x 1600.

[jokers_greg]

very high, 1920 X 1200, no aa, 16x af. 4870X2 X2 = 19. 2 280gtx = 30
high, 1920 X 1200 8x aa 16x af. 4870X2 X2 = 26. 2 280gtx = 27.

Add another 280gtx, it should beat an optimized ati driver, though I can't say for certain.

if you're playing games like grid, I don't see a point in using such high end cards, unless you use 2560 x 1600.

notice how as AA goes up , the 4870X2 performs better? There's still a lot of headroom there, and once they get that sorted out, they'll run alot better. If I go tri-SLI or CF I would really expect to run all my games on max AA and AF. Doesn't look like the GTX280's are up to snuff when it comes to turning on the eye candy

[SF101]

Doesn't look like the GTX280's are up to snuff when it comes to turning on the eye candy not just the 280's this stems back to the 9600's(ati)days when ATI always performed and looked better on higher settings than Nvidia. keep in mind ive been using both Nvidia and ATI for years and ive always found that the case.

i honestly used to side by side ati vs nvidia pc at my shop and whilst the nvidia card did get a wopping 5-10 fps more it looked like junk. even on lowest setting for both.

its always been FPS(BENCHMARK FPS) VS Quality Performance under Quality Settings
aka Nvidia vs ATI

[jokers_greg]

not just the 280's this stems back to the 9600's(ati)days when ATI always performed and looked better on higher settings than Nvidia. keep in mind ive been using both Nvidia and ATI for years and ive always found that the case.

i honestly used to side by side ati vs nvidia pc at my shop and whilst the nvidia card did get a wopping 5-10 fps more it looked like junk. even on lowest setting for both.

its always been FPS(BENCHMARK FPS) VS Quality Performance under Quality Settings
aka Nvidia vs ATI

thats not true. ATi's HD3xx lineup couldn't run AA if its life depended on it as opposed to the 8800 series.

[SF101]

possibly the 1 exception i can not comment because i was not early to adopt after AMD setback ATI when they bought them. as you can see i bought a Nvidia Card or 2 durring the ATI buy out slump.


and trust me im far from a fanboy i just remember ATI was always better looking and i also remember something about Nvidia puting out low visual quality drivers to drive up FPS for benchmarks.

[Blazing fire]

yes, no doubt I like ati's card. Actually, I will use ati cards. My point is 3 280gtx loosing to 2 4870X2 is riddicules.

[micamica1217]

possibly the 1 exception i can not comment because i was not early to adopt after AMD setback ATI when they bought them. as you can see i bought a Nvidia Card or 2 durring the ATI buy out slump.


and trust me im far from a fanboy i just remember ATI was always better looking and i also remember something about Nvidia puting out low visual quality drivers to drive up FPS for benchmarks.


back in the day of the 9700/9800 and x800, ATI's IQ was better as they did not have problems like brilinear and lack of FSAA that nvidia cards at the time had.
brilinear was bad enough, but when nvidia's next gen card couldn't even do FSAA, it was time for me to buck the trend and get an X800pro.

6800 cards not doing FSAA here...
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=332118&highlight=micamica1217


now we have ATI cards lowering texture quality when tent filters or edge detect are turned on....again, like with the old nvidia cards, no benchmark site is talking about it (besides anandtech).
also, there are alot of bugs in games that are not on the list of heavy benchmark use with the 4850/4870 cards.
yes, newer or updated drivers should fix most of the problems in the future (at least I hope)...but the list of bugs in less popular games is large right now with ATI.

nvidia so far is less buggie in most cases at this time, even for it's new 260/280 cards.
not that they are perfect, just less problems for most.

I realy wish ATI was like it was back before the AMD buyout...drivers just seemed so much better.
as for AA, ATI only seems to do well in the games that it already does great without it...
here are two benchmarks that show nvidia also does well in AA.

http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=756&p=2

http://www.guru3d.com/article/geforce--9800-gtx-sli-review-plus-model/4


as for tri-SLI vs anything...I'll wait till I see it.

mica

[Blazing fire]

There will be a benchmark soon so post there.

[Mr.Guvernment]

didn't read it all

my 4850 sits at sub 50C with 50% fan speed and you can barely hear it.

the cooling is bad, the default fan speed is.

[SF101]

as for tri-SLI vs anything...I'll wait till I see it.

i think ill get me Tri -SLI for xmas tbh. once those cards come out and drop acouple dollars..

the 280b's that is

[necrokiller]

Correct me if Im wrong, but the 280b's or whatever their name is, is just a die shrink like the 9800GTX+ from the original 9800GTX right? and maybe a bit higher clocks?

Ive been reading alot of reviews and though every other forum seems to favor the 4800 series no matter what, GTX 260 is just as good. Both are about the same overall in terms of performance. And in Canada, at the moment, the GTX 260 is cheaper than 4870. In some games 4870 takes the lead while in the other the GTX 260. If im given the choice, Id take nvidia because of better cooling, fan noise and overclocking.

4870 CF does seem to scale better than GTX 260 SLI, but only when its really working. In some games the result is actually SLOWER than a single 4870. This has always been the drawback of CF. When it works, its darn sweet, when it doesn't, it sucks big time. (this was also the case with HD3850 CF in Gears of War...CF was worse than a single card...ATI needs to solve this issue big time)

http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/articles/2008/07/20093047388l.png
http://www.overclock3d.net/gfx/articles/2008/07/20093047157l.png

[Blazing fire]

That's drivers. ATI will get it done. Btw, 280gtx should have some architectural changes.

[necrokiller]

That's drivers. ATI will get it done.
Yeah, so I've been hoping and hearing since forever. ATI card owners better hope so :p

Correction to my previous post; it was 3870 CF...not 3850.
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/3870-XXX/flashers/CFGOW/GOW.jpg
http://www.driverheaven.net/reviews/3870-XXX/flashers/CFTIGERWOODS/tigerwoods.jpg

[Blazing fire]

Oh... I like the image quality of ATI. I don't own an ATI as yet but based on reviews, their AF is wayy better than nvidia. You can see the details that nv lack.

[necrokiller]

Oh... I like the image quality of ATI. I don't own an ATI as yet but based on reviews, their AF is wayy better than nvidia. You can see the details that nv lack.

Honestly, thats way too hard to tell who's image quality is better, at least for me. I sometimes game at 1080p on a 46-inch and I couldn't be more satisfied.

[repilce]

:burn:
How much? You wouldn't be able to sell a 8800GT for much more in the Classifieds, maybe $110 shipped. So having an ignorant friend who will buy your stuff for more than it's worth is great! :beer:

Or neighbors you pretend to like :D who for some reason think your a computer god :attn: