Video card decision.
- Thread starter Alucrid
- Start date
I agree that the 8800 GT is an excellent card (else I wouldn't be using one on this machine) but it completely depends on what it will be used for. An 8800GT will be more than capable of modern games @ 1280x1024 on high settings and most games @ 1600x1200 with medium/high settings, but you have to take into account the fact that with 800 stream processors instead of 112 the 4850 (now, and even more so when drivers are improved) has technological advantage and will therefore last substantially longer. Not forgetting that the 4850 has more advanced directX 10 and shader model 4 support.
The 8800GT I purchased 6 months ago cost me £160, I can now get it for under £90. The 4850 I purchased a week or so ago cost £120 which is still very respectable considering the hardware improvements.
I am not a gamer at all, and the reason I chose the 4850 was for parallel processing power (prodominantly folding@home when client issues are addressed) and its HDMI output and Video capabilities (used in a media PC).
I hope this gives you the information you need to make your own judgement based on your usage expectations. Bottom line, if you have no intention of having resolution of 1600x1200 in games or if you dont game at all you'd be fine with the 8800GT but if you are worried about long term compatability or general parallel performance and do game then the 4850 will make the experience worth the extra expense.
The 8800GT I purchased 6 months ago cost me £160, I can now get it for under £90. The 4850 I purchased a week or so ago cost £120 which is still very respectable considering the hardware improvements.
I am not a gamer at all, and the reason I chose the 4850 was for parallel processing power (prodominantly folding@home when client issues are addressed) and its HDMI output and Video capabilities (used in a media PC).
I hope this gives you the information you need to make your own judgement based on your usage expectations. Bottom line, if you have no intention of having resolution of 1600x1200 in games or if you dont game at all you'd be fine with the 8800GT but if you are worried about long term compatability or general parallel performance and do game then the 4850 will make the experience worth the extra expense.
ace777
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http://www.tigerdirect.com/applicat...FORM&cm_mmc_o=ZzypR2VCjC-KeCjCdByAFlCjCdByAFl
pny, meh its ok but much faster than all of them.
pny, meh its ok but much faster than all of them.
worshipme
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The HD 4850 is faster than the 9800GTX.
wol-va-rine
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Mal made an excellent post, probably the most useful original topic related post in the thread, kudos Mal, well done...
a few more variables should be factored in before deciding...
one variable that hasn't been introduced into the discussion is the OP's psu, can it handle the extra power required to rub a 9800GTX...? does the card that he's thinking of buying use just one PCI-E connector (all the cards listed except one) or two (the 9800GTX)...? also, is the PCI-Ex16 slot next to a vacant slot...? I know at least one of the cards takes up two slots because of the cooler (the ASUS 9600GT)...
IMO, the best card out of the bunch is the 4850, it costs about $30 more once rebates are factored in, but as Mal mentioned, it is more future proof and will probably see even better performance once the drivers are tweaked a bit, if he wants Nvidia no matter what, the best choice is probably the Zotac 512MB 8800GTS for $125 after MIR that I've been posting about, it beats all three of the cards in the original post in performance and even though the price is back up to $149+SH after rebate, I bet it drops to $119+SH again by Thursday or Friday, they have 60+ units left in stock and there's no way they sell all of them unless they keep dropping the price intermittently...
a few more variables should be factored in before deciding...
one variable that hasn't been introduced into the discussion is the OP's psu, can it handle the extra power required to rub a 9800GTX...? does the card that he's thinking of buying use just one PCI-E connector (all the cards listed except one) or two (the 9800GTX)...? also, is the PCI-Ex16 slot next to a vacant slot...? I know at least one of the cards takes up two slots because of the cooler (the ASUS 9600GT)...
IMO, the best card out of the bunch is the 4850, it costs about $30 more once rebates are factored in, but as Mal mentioned, it is more future proof and will probably see even better performance once the drivers are tweaked a bit, if he wants Nvidia no matter what, the best choice is probably the Zotac 512MB 8800GTS for $125 after MIR that I've been posting about, it beats all three of the cards in the original post in performance and even though the price is back up to $149+SH after rebate, I bet it drops to $119+SH again by Thursday or Friday, they have 60+ units left in stock and there's no way they sell all of them unless they keep dropping the price intermittently...
