Upgrading from a 8800 GT

[DannyLove]

I must admit, I haven't built a new machine since last year. If you look at my signature, that is my last computer rig I built for myself and for my gaming. Note, I bought the 8800 GT when it was first released and I know I overpaid for it cause stock was very limited at the time.

I'm building myself a new rig, I have numerous spare parts lying around that will make up this new machine. Those are:

motherboard: aBit IP35 Pro
memory: G.skill 4GB DDR2 800
PSU: Corsair 550 watt

I also just bought me a Seagate 1.5 TB harddrive so all I really need is a gfx card and a CPU

I can either swap my old 8800 GT to this new rig, then upgrading a more recent gfx card or buy a new gfx card for the 2nd machine.

The 2nd machine will be in my living room hooked up to my big screen tv. It would mainly be used for movie watching, some gaming (FFXI ), and hopefully as a Media Center/HTPC whenever I get around to it. If I swap my old 8800 to this machine, which gfx should I upgrade to? what would you do?

Thanks!

 

[dguy6789]

Radeon HD 4890 or Geforce GTX 275 would be my vote for your main machine. They should provide a very nice performance increase.

 

[DannyLove]

Originally posted by: dguy6789
Radeon HD 4890 or Geforce GTX 275 would be my vote for your main machine. They should provide a very nice performance increase.

Yikes, the 275 card looks like a beast! Hmmmm i noticed its minimum req is a 550 watt, thats exactly what I have, hopefully it will be enough?

I'd need to measure my spacing as I know my current rig had spacing issue with the harddrive rack being too close as is with my 8800 GT.

 

[geokilla]

What resolution are you gaming at?

I think you could go with the NVIDIA GTX260 or ATI 4870/4890. Your Corsair 550W will easily power those GPUs.

 

[dguy6789]

Your Corsair power supply will handle them all just fine. I'm recommending the 4890 or the GTX 275 over the lesser variations because the 8800GT was and is a good card and you'll probably want the most noticeable improvement possible so that you feel the money spent was worth it. I can't imagine a normal GTX 275 having a problem fitting in a case that could hold an 8800GT.

 

[DannyLove]

I believe I game at 1680 x 1050 (16:10) on BF2... honestly, I forget which custom widescreen res I put.

I honestly do not mind the performance of the 8800 GT as I have yet to come across a game that hindered my ability to play. (though Crysis warhead did push it a bit).

I guess I'm looking for a cheap upgrade, or not having to fork out too much for a new gfx card as I thought the 8800 gt would last me years... I would say a budget of $150-$200

 

[SickBeast]

I don't think you should upgrade yet. If you must, the 4890 is a very good deal at $184 at Ewiz, and the 4770 looks good for $100 to me.

 

[vj8usa]

What about just using the 8800GT in your new rig, and then buying a cheap, low power card for accelerating HD video in your HTPC? No need to get a more powerful card if you don't really need one.

 

[rhettdb2005]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
I don't think you should upgrade yet. If you must, the 4890 is a very good deal at $184 at Ewiz, and the 4770 looks good for $100 to me.

I'm in a similar position as the OP, with an 8800GT under which L4Dead now crashes every time I play it. Evidently its a card specific error, based on the posts I've been reading.

Anyhow, I was wondering why you think an upgrade at this time is a bad idea? Too soon? Are there big releases on the horizon or eminent price drops? Thanks!

 

[soccerballtux]

Originally posted by: vj8usa
What about just using the 8800GT in your new rig, and then buying a cheap, low power card for accelerating HD video in your HTPC? No need to get a more powerful card if you don't really need one.

The 8800GT is a very powerful card and as much as I'd like to upgrade mine (9800GT = 8800GT) I can't justify it.

CPU-- q9550. Or, do what I'm considering, and sell these parts and get a Ph2 based rig with Crossfire so you can get one 4770 now, and another for Xfire down the road (or you could do one 4890 now, another down the road). Purpose of doing this is being able to overclock the CPU without stressing the board too much-- our IP35's don't handle quads very well-- high power requirements, they develop vdroop as they age.

 

[DannyLove]

Originally posted by: vj8usa
What about just using the 8800GT in your new rig, and then buying a cheap, low power card for accelerating HD video in your HTPC? No need to get a more powerful card if you don't really need one.

sorry to sound confusing but the new rig would need a video card, so you mean to say stick with my 8800 GT and get a HTPC video card for the new rig...

I guess I have homework to do on HTPC cards

 

[vj8usa]

Originally posted by: DannyLove

Originally posted by: vj8usa
What about just using the 8800GT in your new rig, and then buying a cheap, low power card for accelerating HD video in your HTPC? No need to get a more powerful card if you don't really need one.

sorry to sound confusing but the new rig would need a video card, so you mean to say stick with my 8800 GT and get a HTPC video card for the new rig...

I guess I have homework to do on HTPC cards

Whoops, yeah, that's what I meant. 8800GT for gaming, cheap low power card for HTPC. That should be able to handle light gaming (like FFXI) as well. If you don't plan to do any hardcore gaming, you could get something like an E5xx for the CPU. Saves you some money, and it'll use less power than a quad.

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: rhettdb2005

Originally posted by: SickBeast
I don't think you should upgrade yet. If you must, the 4890 is a very good deal at $184 at Ewiz, and the 4770 looks good for $100 to me.

I'm in a similar position as the OP, with an 8800GT under which L4Dead now crashes every time I play it. Evidently its a card specific error, based on the posts I've been reading.

Anyhow, I was wondering why you think an upgrade at this time is a bad idea? Too soon? Are there big releases on the horizon or eminent price drops? Thanks!

Why bother upgrading if you don't need the performance?

If L4D is having issues there has to be a fix for it whether it be a new driver or a patch.

AMD's new flagship DX11 card is coming out this summer, and NV will have theirs in the fall. Both are apparently 2X as fast as the current high end cards.

 

[james1701]

Download the Cryostasis demo, that will show you how dated the 8800GT is. I can play everything pretty good, but that demo made Crysis performance look tame in comparison. I am in the same situation, and have been thinking about 4770's in sli on my rig.

 

[rhettdb2005]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: rhettdb2005

Originally posted by: SickBeast
I don't think you should upgrade yet. If you must, the 4890 is a very good deal at $184 at Ewiz, and the 4770 looks good for $100 to me.

I'm in a similar position as the OP, with an 8800GT under which L4Dead now crashes every time I play it. Evidently its a card specific error, based on the posts I've been reading.

Anyhow, I was wondering why you think an upgrade at this time is a bad idea? Too soon? Are there big releases on the horizon or eminent price drops? Thanks!

Why bother upgrading if you don't need the performance?

If L4D is having issues there has to be a fix for it whether it be a new driver or a patch.

AMD's new flagship DX11 card is coming out this summer, and NV will have theirs in the fall. Both are apparently 2X as fast as the current high end cards.

Hey appreciate that. Unfortunately Nvidia and Valve aren't really fixing the glitch with L4D. Otherwise I would be right with you-- unfortunately drivers and patches don't fix it, see :http://forums.steampowered.com...howthread.php?t=846415

I would love it if it were that simple to fix. Anyhow, I'll look up when the new DX11 cards are due and try and hold off till then. Thanks for the advice

 

[thilanliyan]

Originally posted by: SickBeast
AMD's new flagship DX11 card is coming out this summer, and NV will have theirs in the fall. Both are apparently 2X as fast as the current high end cards.

All speculation unfortunately.

I agree with some others here. Keep the 8800GT and get something like a 4670, 4770, or 9600GT for the HTPC.

I went from a 8800GT to a 4870 and it wasn't anything groundbreaking. Had I known the 4890/275 were coming out I would have waited for those as those would be a more worthy upgrade.

 

[DannyLove]

Thanks for the suggestions.