Graphic Cards Graphics Card? Which 1?

A

Aditya

Skilled
Hey guys!

Well, I know this question has been beaten to death, but anyways..

I know, Stupid question, because every1 is going to say the 8800GTX..

Ill be buying it by July First week, from USA. Online stores are cool.

8800GTX/Ultra out of the Question. I just dont want em.

My Budget is below 500$..

Choice are the usual..

GTS 320 or GTS 640 or HD2900XT?

Should I buy the GTS 320 for 300$ and use it and upgrade again in November/December?

Or should I buy a 2900XT/GTS 640mb (430$ vs. 400$)

I was thinking on the 2900XT, and Overclock the b**ch to 875/1000... Or more if possible, since Overclocked, it gives the same performance as a GTX @ Stock (at 150$ lesser, that seems like a great bargain to me) I really dont care about it being a Power hungry beast.

Plus, I think the Catalyst 7.6, should give a good performance boost to it.

Even the 2900XT 1GB GDDR4 version is coming out, sometime in July, If thats around 500$, Should I go for that?

Thanks,

Help Appreciated,

Ad1tya.
 
Ok this is how I think it should work

NV Front :

If you can easily source something better/cheaper in November and donot have the need for a GTX or a 640MB card till then, you know depending on the kind of games you intend on playing and the settings/resolution they will be played on, get yourself a 8800GTS 320MB and upgrade in Dec (It should sell easily enough here at TE)

If however you must have performance now, and maybe even later (with an upgrade in Dec :bleh:) then grab yourself the 8800GTS 640MB, or maybe even an OC'd version of the same which would take the performance near GTX levels.

DAAMIT Front :

Ok this one is tricky, the card performs good and ATI history with drivers tells us that the performance should only get better with time. So a HD 2900XT is not a bad option at all if paired against a 8800 GTS 640.

Summary :

Decide b/w ATI and NV if looking for performance now

OR

Get the 8800 GTS 320 if you can source a better deal in December and can live with OK performance (as compared to the 640MB version or the ATI front)
 
Well, I mainly want to Upgrade again for UT3/Crysis, Coz im sure, even a 8800GTX, wont be able to handle both at Ultra Settings.

Right now, Main game I play is CS Source, I want to be able to play it @ 1280*1024, 2x/4xAA, 16xAF, without the FPS dropping below 100.

Now, thats a tricky situation with a GTS 320, since 320mb, wont be enough for 2x/4x AA @ 1280*1024..

Thus the Dilemma...
 
I am a GTS 640MB fanboi these days- though basically i am an AMD/ATI zombie.:ashamed:

Get one - sell it off when u think the right card for you has arrived in the right way.:p

And you have surprised me once more- u seeking advice/suggestions:O- something is wrong with you for sure- too many surprises.:lol:
 
Well you are correct about Crysis needing a more beefy GPU for all settings at High Res; but then again the new batch of GPU's from NV wont hit the shelves before Jan/Feb and give it atleast 2 months for the prices to stabilize as well as to iron out the bugs.

So if you are looking for a upgrade for the upcoming DX10 games it wont happen till say next year March, which gives you about 8-9 months on the GPU that you get now.

That kinda shifts the weight in the direction of a OC'd 8800GTS 640 or a HD2900XT, take your pick.
 
Well, Bikey, I only ask questions when Im thoroughly confused.

Im not a know-it-all, and this is a Forum, Who said I cant ask for advice? ;)...

More than a GTS 640mb, Id buy a 2900XT, since its OC'ed performance is phenomenal. I know I can make it reach 875+ on the Core, easy, because of the cooling which its going to get.

But then, Should I wait for the 2900XT 1GB GDDR4 Version?

Gah.. All this waiting is what got me into trouble in the first place. I should have just bought a damn GTX/GTS 8 months back :mad:.

Psst. Bikey, I have a few more suprises in store :p.
 
I would suggest you to buy a card on which CSS meets your requirements . Since you are pretty much clear on how u want to play that game and do not intend to settle for anything less , look for the cheapest card that will let you do so and dont upgrade till the time and save for a graphics card on which you can play crysis or any other game that you want at full settings .

i seriously do not know much about gfx but i guess afaik a 7600 gt should suffice for now . a second card would do nicely as well and also cheaper for the time being but its you call in the end .
 
^^ Thing is he wants to play at 1280*1024 with every setting at high and AA and AF on, at 100+ fps, which like he said, even the 8800GTS 320 will be able to handle.

Adi, you have pretty much made up your mind on the ATI HD 2900XT, a good buy IMO as the driver front WILL improve the performance sooner or later, and till then it meets your requirements anyways.

Regarding the 1GB version of the same, dunno much about it but I doubt it'll launch at less the $500, besides waiting is what got you is trouble in the first place right :bleh:.
 
Well, I want a Card that is DX10, capable first off.

Also, the 7600GT is nowhere near capable of Handling CSS @ 1280*1024 @ 4xAA/16xAF.

My Dead X800XL, couldnt go that with much over 80FPS. The 7600GT = X800XL performance. So...

Yep, Im still swayed towards teh HD2900XT.. Which w/ New Drivers / OC to 875, will pwn.
 
Aditya said:
Well, Bikey, I only ask questions when Im thoroughly confused.
Im not a know-it-all, and this is a Forum, Who said I cant ask for advice? ;)...

More than a GTS 640mb, Id buy a 2900XT, since its OC'ed performance is phenomenal. I know I can make it reach 875+ on the Core, easy, because of the cooling which its going to get.

But then, Should I wait for the 2900XT 1GB GDDR4 Version?

Gah.. All this waiting is what got me into trouble in the first place. I should have just bought a damn GTX/GTS 8 months back :mad:.

Psst. Bikey, I have a few more suprises in store :p.
Click to expand...

Aditya said:
Well, I want a Card that is DX10, capable first off.

Also, the 7600GT is nowhere near capable of Handling CSS @ 1280*1024 @ 4xAA/16xAF.

My Dead X800XL, couldnt go that with much over 80FPS. The 7600GT = X800XL performance. So...

Yep, Im still swayed towards teh HD2900XT.. Which w/ New Drivers / OC to 875, will pwn.
Click to expand...
You answered your own query- almost.:p

Lets keep the GTS320 out as it doesnt meet your min requirements.:)

But i guess nothing is crysis proof right now.
So any card u get is only gonna be stop gap.

So SK is so right except on the card part which he did mention he didn't know- even i don't- that's why i ask ppl like u, stormy, funky, ...

Not much of a price difference between the 2900 and GTS640 and you have already listed why the 2900 is more likely to be in yours hands soon.
But if you get the 2900, will you be going for a better card later?

But you have regular access to the US market, so that's why the GTS 640 for CSS now.
it will sell easier than the 2900 i thought, as it seems many are worried about the power hog the 2900 is- especially when we look at most of the Indian user's PSU.:p
Also what if this time the 2900 decides to defy history on the driver thingie.:no:

The right card for you at the right time meant whatever is crysis proof when crysis is out, which one can't be too sure of as yet- at least i am not.:ashamed:

Else you are extremely knowledgeable and wise and i am sure you will get the right one for you.:thumb:
 
Didnt think we wud b talkng abt a DirectX10 mid/hi card unable to handle CSS adequately...I thought it should be able to handle CSS at 100...

Aditya said:
Well, I want a Card that is DX10, capable first off.

My Dead X800XL, couldnt go that with much over 80FPS. The 7600GT = X800XL performance. So...
Click to expand...

The game is CPU intensive aint it...

8800GTS 320 MB is 2 times or more faster than X800XL in a broad range of benchmarks...So one would presume that if the X800XL gave 80fps the GTS shud chunk out quite a bit more.

80fps is good enuf I thought...:S

yep looks like your wait is going to be for about 10 months if you want to play crysis at its full glory and 50+fps...I would suggest GTS320MB as at 1280x1024 and a 8-10 month period of use it shud suffice...

I dont like the 2900XT...A card thats waitng to die...
 
You're partially right, because 60fps looks good if you prefer to run your games with Vsync turned on - I find it a lot smoother so I keep it turned on for all games except Q3. However, some people still prefer higher frames.
 
It all depends on the game. In CSS you really dont want low FPS, CSS at low FPS will be a competitive loss for the player.
 
i aint as good as the gurus here, but heres my lil suggestion.

go for the HD2900xt. ATI has always been way top when it comes to IQ, may be now the drivers are not up to the mark, but in a very short weeks its gonna change, cuz of AMD's pressure the guys are working on some MAGIC with the drivers. and besides if u overclock it and overclock it RIGHT it can catchup with the 8800gtx and maybe go a notch further. and with that massive heatsink on the card it wont be as hot as the earlier gen cards so u decide.
 
For CSS, you need atleast 100FPS. Its simple as that, Since when we play a competitive match, We normally play on "100 Tick" Servers, Tickrate defines the amount of Updates you receive and send to the Server.

If your FPS Drops to 80, your sending only 80, so theoretically, 20% of your shots wont register with the Server. Ofcourse, thats just in theory, and really it makes almost no differece, but its the "almost no" difference, is why we need 100+ FPS.

Pub Servers, range from 33 Tick, to 66 Tick (SSGB ones? :p..lol..)

66 Tick is great, and then theoretically, youd need only 66 FPS, to keep up the Updates. But, well, its a mind thing.

My 8500GT is a good card for 800*600 w/ no AA and no 4x AF. Lol. But still, in Graphics intensive Maps, such as Inferno, the FPS drops to way below 70, with 3-5 people in your Screen. (Now dont tell me, you wont ever have 5 people in your screen at the same time :p, You will if they rush you together)... Even Dust2, sees the FPS drop below 70 sometimes.

So, the 8500GT's GOT TO GO.

Im only confused between..

Save money > 8800GTS 320MB..

Go for it! > HD2900XT..

Also, people really over-rate its power hungryness. It eats 20W more than the GTX, big whoop, your bills arent going to show much of an increase, and your not going to NEED and ub3r l33r PSU to handle it.

Even a Skyhawk (Zebbie 540W/640 or a Powersafe 500W/600W) is enough.

Plus, im not really worried about Power.

IF (big IF) my 700W falls short, Ill just order a Silverstone 1kw or something :p.
 
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