Upgrading to 8800gts - Manufacturer Preferences

[dreddfunk]

Although I upgraded from a 9700Pro to an x850xt several months back (and I've been pleased), I'm considering getting an 8800gts. The x850xt does really well in Oblivion for the price but it doesn't really shine compared to the x1900 series or, now, the 8800. I am a big Elder Scrolls fan and I can recall the 'wow' factor I got playing Morrowind after the getting the 9700pro, and I'd love to have that experience with Oblivion again.

Thus, I'm considering the upgrade for three reasons: 1) it will run Oblivion far better, 2) I had a great experience with the 9700pro's longevity (held it five years) and would like to do that again, which the x850xt won't do, and, 3) I can't wait for R600 as this would be a large, combined Christmas gift from a number of family members.

I know the performance number like the back of my hand, so you don't need to link to those articles. The real questions I have revolve around two issues: 1) is the general feeling here that the g80 (and later R600) launch is similar to the 9700pro in terms of the revolution in performance (as so many articles have intimated), and, 2) I have used ATI cards for so long, I would be thankful for any advice or experiences with the major nVidia manufacturers.

Cheers.

 

[Xed]

I'd go with evga or bfg due to the lifetime warranty and good customer service (personal experience). Xfx also has a double lifetime warranty but I've never dealt with them.

Evga also has the step up program, though I'd guess you're unlikely to use it if you're buying now.

I can only guess what r600 will bring, but I do like being able to run games with all the iq turned up and mantain playable (in my opinion) frames at 1920x1200, which I was not able to do with my former card.

 

[dreddfunk]

Thanks Xed. Those three were sort of the ones I was leaning towards. Though I'm not running at such a high resolution right now, I will eventually get a new, higher-res LCD and that is part of the appeal of upgrading to g80--it should be able to handle higher resolutions in games for at least a while (I would hope, the 9700pro sure could for its day).

I think the 8800gts will be a bit of a mismatch with my single core 3700+ Clawhammer but (hopefully!) I'll be upgrading that next Christmas!

 

[Xed]

I used my 8800gtx with my old opteron at 3ghz for awhile. I don't think you will feel held back, especially since you're coming from a x850 =)

edit for spelling

 

[Cynicist]

is the general feeling here that the g80 (and later R600) launch is similar to the 9700pro in terms of the revolution in performance (as so many articles have intimated)

Yes its a completely new architecture. *restrains from link pasting*

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Strictly speaking, there is only one "manufacturer" and that's Asus. They make all these. The other companies get to put their logo sticker on them and provide support.

I say go with whatever is cheapest.

 

[Corporate Thug]

whatever is cheapest between evga/xfx/bfg

 

[Yreka]

EVGA would be my first choice. PNY would be my last.

The cards themselves are going to be exactly the same, the service you receive if you ever have a problem may not be.

 

[Captante]

Go with EVGA only IMO for two very important reasons:

(1) Overclocking won't void your warranty even if it causes the card to fail.

(2) Replacing the factory heatsink/fan won't void your warranty provided you don't do physical damage to the card.

BFG does provide a lifetime warranty, but overclocking isn't covered & you can't change your heatsink & if you need a third choice I'd say go with the Asus card over XFX despite the shorter warranty.

 

[Gstanfor]

Originally posted by: HeroOfPellinor
Strictly speaking, there is only one "manufacturer" and that's Asus. They make all these. The other companies get to put their logo sticker on them and provide support.

I say go with whatever is cheapest.

I don't know why myths like this continue to perpetuate. nvidia has only two reference manufacturers - Flextronics (built all the NV30 board) and Foxconn (built the reference nforce 5xx boards). None of the AIB's do reference manufacturing for nvidia.

 

[dreddfunk]

Cynicist, Hero, Thug, Yeka, Captante & Gstanfor - thanks for the advice (although I hope this thread doesn't turn into a 'dispelling myths about nVidia' thread--I'd long since discovered that the differences between 'manufacturers' as I so poorly put it, were not 'manufacturing' but service & support).

I was very much leaning towards the eVGA card both because of the company's reputation on these boards, the warranty (which includes overclocking), and the fact that it is the cheapest of the cards right now ($429.99 after $20 MIR on the 'egg). I just hope it stays at that price long enough for me to get my family organized with their gift giving! ;-)

The only thing I really wonder is: just how much staying power the GTS will have. The GTX is a beast in most of the benchmarks (topping the current dual-card setups in most benchmarks that I've seen) but the GTS, while fantastic, lags a bit (probably due to its lower memory bandwidth). That's one final reason I'm tempted to go with eVGA: the step-up program. If there is an early G80 refresh (with GDDR4 memory) after R600 is released early next year, I might have just enough of a window to step-up to an improved version of the card for just the difference in prices.

Again, thanks for the input! I should have just waited for Christmas to come rather than getting the x850xt in the summer but my poor 9700Pro had just reached its limits trying to run Oblivion. It could do it, but after playing Morrowind on a 32MB Radeon 7000 card and having butchered graphics all the way through the game (I didn't get the 9700Pro until I'd won the game a couple of times), I didn't want to play through another, fantastic, Elder Scrolls game not being able to appreciate the artwork like it was meant to be.

I suppose I could just ditch the 8800gts idea and get an Xbox 360 but, well, I've never really like the console controllers (mouse and keyboard for me).

 

[Captante]

Theres nothing wrong with the GTS... its faster then any card on the market right now other then the GTX including the X1950XTX which is the only other model I'd even consider in a high-end GPU right now, plus its a lot quieter... go for it, you'll be glad you did.