Torn between keeping my 8800 Ultra or going 3870 CF

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: BLHealthy4life
When Penryn is released in a few months, then you guys with DDR2 will be crying with the bottleneck your memory will be giving you...

DDR3 so that we can get 120fps as opposed to 100fps at 800x600? I doubt that for games it will be such a bottleneck. Something like video encoding/editing may see a large difference though. However, right now I don't think the price justifies the price difference. However if you like to try the newest hardware I suppose it would be cool....if you have the money.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: happy medium
Keep the ultra.........:thumbsup:

Seconded. Keep the ultra until there's a new high end card that offers a noticeable performance boost.

 

[BHollis]

I'm putting together a new system, and I've been reading all the forums/news on the hd 3870 and 8800gt for the past couple weeks. For your system, I don't think two 3870s in crossfire would be much of an upgrade. Might work slightly better than your Ultra in some games; worse in others. Since you don't really seem to need a new video card right now, I'd recommend waiting until the new Nvida and ATi high end cards hit the street in the next couple of months. My guess is that by then you'll be much more interested in one or two of them than two 3870s. (And by the way, just so you know I'm not biased against hd 3870, I just bought two 3870s for my new system--but I wouldn't have if I'd already had an Ultra.)

 

[BLHealthy4life]

Originally posted by: BHollis
I'm putting together a new system, and I've been reading all the forums/news on the hd 3870 and 8800gt for the past couple weeks. For your system, I don't think two 3870s in crossfire would be much of an upgrade. Might work slightly better than your Ultra in some games; worse in others. Since you don't really seem to need a new video card right now, I'd recommend waiting until the new Nvida and ATi high end cards hit the street in the next couple of months. My guess is that by then you'll be much more interested in one or two of them than two 3870s. (And by the way, just so you know I'm not biased against hd 3870, I just bought two 3870s for my new system--but I wouldn't have if I'd already had an Ultra.)

Nice post.

Thank you...

I agree with you, I'm going to wait until January and see what both sides have to offer...

BL

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Why the overkill parts ? DDR3 is useless, far to expensive for the negligible performance boost over ddr2 ram. X38, nice I guess, but isn't p35 good enough ? 1000w PSU ? Even for CF/SLI-ed videocards, 10 hd's etc etc, a good 600-700w unit would still suffice. Sell the ultra, and sli 2 8800gt's, or crossfire 2 3870's. Or wait for the 8800gts thats coming in 2 weeks, and SLI those.

marc, did you read the part where he said "I do not need anybody to crap on my hardware please"?

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: BHollis
I'm putting together a new system, and I've been reading all the forums/news on the hd 3870 and 8800gt for the past couple weeks. For your system, I don't think two 3870s in crossfire would be much of an upgrade. Might work slightly better than your Ultra in some games; worse in others. Since you don't really seem to need a new video card right now, I'd recommend waiting until the new Nvida and ATi high end cards hit the street in the next couple of months. My guess is that by then you'll be much more interested in one or two of them than two 3870s. (And by the way, just so you know I'm not biased against hd 3870, I just bought two 3870s for my new system--but I wouldn't have if I'd already had an Ultra.)

QFT. that's a great first post!

 

[Cookie Monster]

Talk about crashing the OPs parade..

Look, if we had the money like the OP i for one would go all out lets say 4Gb of DDR3. Why not if you have the money? I dont see why people should give crap because she or he can afford such products which make every enthusiasts drool or wet.

Id personally keep the Ultra and wait for the high end refresh to complete that system. By pairing up current mid range solutions in a multi GPU setup wont go as far since these are bound to be out classed by the upcoming high end solutions from both IHVs.

 

[Insomniator]

Kids don't understand when people have real jobs 300 vs 100 bucks isnt a big deal.

Anyway.. def keep the single card; i'd hate to have a buggy semi supported high end machine.

 

[pcslookout]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
Talk about crashing the OPs parade..

Look, if we had the money like the OP i for one would go all out lets say 4Gb of DDR3. Why not if you have the money? I dont see why people should give crap because she or he can afford such products which make every enthusiasts drool or wet.

Id personally keep the Ultra and wait for the high end refresh to complete that system. By pairing up current mid range solutions in a multi GPU setup wont go as far since these are bound to be out classed by the upcoming high end solutions from both IHVs.

How well do you think SLI Geforce 8800 Ultras would do ? Been thinking about getting two EVGA Geforce 8800 Ultras for SLI. I would have to buy a new motherboard too but thats ok. I would get EVGA so I could SLI the next high end nvidia card that comes out as well.

 

[n7]

Crossfire is far too buggy to be a valid alternative to your nice 8800 Ultra.

Sure, you might find it wins in a game or two, but overall, the hassle & trouble you'd have with Crossfire would likely not make you terribly happy.

It's really too bad nVidia is so greedy.

They make chipsets for Intel that are crap, so you either choose P35/X38/X48 (good but CF only), or you choose a garbage chipset that does SLI.

 

[bryanW1995]

good call n7.

supposedly the next gen nvidia chipsets for intel will be a lot better. OP's best bet is probably to keep 8800ultra for now and then compare next round of high-end offerings, either r680/g92x2 or r700/g100.

something tells me that r680 and the g92 part that fights it will probably be very weak compared with r700 and g100 unfortunately.

 

[s44]

Sell the ultra, SLI two GTs, step-up to 2x the new high-end.

 

[tuteja1986]

2 x 8800GT if only they come $250 each ~ but currently i only see the 8800GT for $300

2 x 3870 if only $220 each ~

2X 3850 if only $170 each !

better than paying $600 for 8800U.

 

[bryanW1995]

he's already got an 8800U.

the best move for a new gpu/upgrade from older card is dependent upon your mobo imho. if you have 6x0i chipset then 8800gt is a no-brainer. if you have x38 then 3870 is probably your best bet. if you have 975/p35/965 then 3870 is probably a slight favorite if you have the 2nd pci-e x16/8/4 slot and you think that you might go xfire down the road. any other mobo it's a price issue: buy 8800gt if your budget allows and it's within 10-15% of what you can get 3870 for, otherwise get 3870.