Which of these 8800GTs is the right card for me?

[broadwayblue]

Just bought an Inspiron 530 Quad 6600. Also picked up a Dell 2408wfp. So while I'm not a hardcore gamer, I'd like to get a video card that can push 1920 x 1200 reasonably well. I'd also like to run everything on the stock 350w ps if possible, so I think I'm limited to the 8800GT series. Assuming what I'm saying makes sense, which of these two cards would be the better choice?

EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready

XFX PVT88PYDF4 GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready

Or should I be looking at something else altogether? Thanks.

 

[imported_dorian]

You could get a Radeon 4850 for not much more. I don't think a 350W PSU could handle either of the cards though..

If you do decide for 8800GT, I personally prefer eVGA, but they're both good brands.

 

[Quiksilver]

Your gonna run into problems using that 350W PSU, you gonna need to step it to a new PSU, or choose a lower gpu model, like 9600GT or 3850.

 

[broadwayblue]

I've heard people say that the 8800GT works ok on the 350w ps. The card is about 105w.

Is the 4850 a significantly faster card?

 

[s44]

FUD FUD FUD -- please stop it.

Dell PSUs are significantly under-rated. The 8800GT should work easily.

The 4850 is another big step up power-wise, however, and I wouldn't try it.

To answer the original question, however, it depends whether you prefer lifetime warranty + step-up (EVGA) or a "double lifetime" warranty -- that is, transferable once (XFX). For the 8800GT, though, I'd seriously consider giving up the lifetime thing and getting a card with a third-party heatsink instead. The stock single-slot cooler (much like the 4850's) really isn't adequate.

 

[Denithor]

s44 +2 (right on both counts)

I would also suggest looking at this MSI 8800GT which features an upgrade cooler and comes with a nice factory overclock and a free copy of The Witcher.

 

[s44]

OK, this is an EVGA with a dual-slot cooler for LESS than the single-slot one you linked. Definitely consider it, along with that MSI and this Asus.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: Denithor
s44 +2 (right on both counts)

I would also suggest looking at this MSI 8800GT which features an upgrade cooler and comes with a nice factory overclock and a free copy of The Witcher.

What the heck are you guys talking about? the 8800gt is 105w, the 4850 is 110w! how is that a "big step up power-wise"? If you're looking to keep the budget low then certainly the 8800gt will be cheaper, but don't ignore it based upon psu fears. In fact, both of those 8800 gt's are $150 after their relatively large mir's, while the 4850 is $199 and all brands come with something (free game, hard drive/cpu/etc discount) as a package too as along as you're shopping at newegg.

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: s44
OK, this is an EVGA with a dual-slot cooler for LESS than the single-slot one you linked. Definitely consider it, along with that MSI and this Asus.

now you're talking, $129.99 with free shipping and the witcher included is pretty cool. I still would normally prefer the dual slot evga for $139, but 8800gt needs to be cheap cheap these days and after the mir is factored in I think that you're creeping up too close to the 4850 on that one.

 

[Quiksilver]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995

Originally posted by: Denithor
s44 +2 (right on both counts)

I would also suggest looking at this MSI 8800GT which features an upgrade cooler and comes with a nice factory overclock and a free copy of The Witcher.

What the heck are you guys talking about? the 8800gt is 105w, the 4850 is 110w! how is that a "big step up power-wise"? If you're looking to keep the budget low then certainly the 8800gt will be cheaper, but don't ignore it based upon psu fears. In fact, both of those 8800 gt's are $150 after their relatively large mir's, while the 4850 is $199 and all brands come with something (free game, hard drive/cpu/etc discount) as a package too as along as you're shopping at newegg.

idk. If your aiming that at me, but I was talking about say if he currently had something lesser than 8800GT/4850 to an 8800GT/4850.

Also, if you account for the rest of his system and an unknown quality PSU....

OP:
Can you list full system spec's of what you bought other than q6600 and psu?
(eg. ram, hard drive count, opticla drives, etc.)

 

[s44]

Originally posted by: Quiksilver
Also, if you account for the rest of his system and an unknown quality PSU....

Dell PSUs are made by Delta. Not unknown, and in fact quite good -- the best of any major prebuilt brand by far.

As for 105W vs 110W, what are you going by, official specs? Look at the AT preview: the 4850 eats over 25W at load more than the 8800GT -- and that's not even accounting for transient loads, which probably increase the difference even more. The 4850 has the equivalent draw of a 9800GTX (and other reviews indicate as much). No way are it and the 8800GT equivalent or interchangeable from a power perspective.

 

[ImDonly1]

I do not see why you would buy the XFX you linked in your original post, when you can have the same one with a Zalman cooler for less (NewEgg is soldout right now). TigerDirect has them though http://www.tigerdirect.com/app...-8842&srkey=PVT88PYSF4

It has the upgraded cooler. Lifetime warranty (remember to register it when you get it or else you will not get the lifetime warranty), and you can transfer the warranty if you sell the card.

As others have mentioned, you can get other cards, but make sure they will fit inside of your case as it is a small case. The 8800GT will fit, but I am unsure of the other larger cards.

 

[broadwayblue]

Originally posted by: Quiksilver

Also, if you account for the rest of his system and an unknown quality PSU....

OP:
Can you list full system spec's of what you bought other than q6600 and psu?
(eg. ram, hard drive count, opticla drives, etc.)

Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium Edition
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo CPU Q6600 (2.40GHz, 1066FSB) w/Quad Core Technology and 8MB cache
Memory: 2GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz - (will upgrade to 4GB)
Video Card: Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Storage: 500GB Serial ATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM) - (will add second 7200RPM HDD)
Drive: 16X DVD+/-RW Drive - (may add second optical drive)
Monitor: 2408wfp

I'm told the Inspiron 530 case can accommodate a 9" card maximum.

Thanks for all the help guys.

 

[broadwayblue]

Does anyone know if using a two slot card will block any of the drive bays? I've read that can be an issue with some systems.

 

[zod96]

At that resolution I'd get a 4850. The GT is perfect for anything at 1680x1050 or lower but what you want to game at, that's pretty graphic intense. And the 4850 would probably handle the high resolution with its better specs, shaders rops etc. Or you could wait for the 4870 which comes out weds for about $299, that card would kill at that res...

 

[Noya]

4850

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: Quiksilver
Also, if you account for the rest of his system and an unknown quality PSU....

Dell PSUs are made by Delta. Not unknown, and in fact quite good -- the best of any major prebuilt brand by far.

As for 105W vs 110W, what are you going by, official specs? Look at the AT preview: the 4850 eats over 25W at load more than the 8800GT -- and that's not even accounting for transient loads, which probably increase the difference even more. The 4850 has the equivalent draw of a 9800GTX (and other reviews indicate as much). No way are it and the 8800GT equivalent or interchangeable from a power perspective.

you are right about the power draw. I went through the official 4xxx review thread and every single review I could find showed the 4850 at 20+W higher at load than 8800gt.

edit: just saw that you're gaming at 19x12. taking that into account, you probably need the 4850. That Q6600 only draws 95w at full load, a high quality 375w psu should be fine for it.

 

[broadwayblue]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995

Originally posted by: s44

Originally posted by: Quiksilver
Also, if you account for the rest of his system and an unknown quality PSU....

Dell PSUs are made by Delta. Not unknown, and in fact quite good -- the best of any major prebuilt brand by far.

As for 105W vs 110W, what are you going by, official specs? Look at the AT preview: the 4850 eats over 25W at load more than the 8800GT -- and that's not even accounting for transient loads, which probably increase the difference even more. The 4850 has the equivalent draw of a 9800GTX (and other reviews indicate as much). No way are it and the 8800GT equivalent or interchangeable from a power perspective.

you are right about the power draw. I went through the official 4xxx review thread and every single review I could find showed the 4850 at 20+W higher at load than 8800gt.

edit: just saw that you're gaming at 19x12. taking that into account, you probably need the 4850. That Q6600 only draws 95w at full load, a high quality 375w psu should be fine for it.

But what about a high quality 350w psu, like the stock supply in my Inspiron 530? So if the 4850 runs 125w and the Q6600 95w, that takes care of 220w, leaving 130w for the rest of the system. How many watts will 2 optical drives and 2 7200rpm HD require? I'd rather not push the psu all the way to the limit.

 

[mect]

One warning on the xfx card, a lot of them were shipping with only power connectors going to the fans, so the speed control wasn't working (I got one). I was able to contact customer support and they sent me a new fan/heatsink that I was able to replace it with, and now it's pretty much silent. But the fan on the xfx card sounds like a jet engine when running at 100%. But it typically only needs to run at 50% and below, even with heavy gaming, where it won't be heard over most case fans. During normal use, I can't hear it at all. I haven't tried overclocking it though.

 

[tvdang7]

buy my 8800gts instead

 

[broadwayblue]

so does anyone know how many watts a hard drive or an optical drive consume?