Which one of these 8800's would you buy? (a bit of a poll)

Printable View

07-05-2007, 08:48 PM
poindextermatic

Which one of these 8800's would you buy? (a bit of a poll)

I'm having a real hard time choosing what 8800 to buy here... basically the only difference I can see between the ones I can afford on SCAN is:

1) Clock/mem speeds - important
2) Manufacturer - pretty important (possibly more than 1?)
3) A slight cost difference - not so important

I've been reading forums like the one below, if you can ignore all the petty arguing in it, there is some interesting stuff regarding the importance manufacturers:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1183654

But anyway... here are the ones I have narrowed it down to, please tell me which one you would choose? You can ignore price, but let me know why you would pick that one in particular, (assuming you were going to use a single card)

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Compa...690&CPID=19687

Thanks guys,
07-05-2007, 08:52 PM
redddraggon

I'd probably go for the EVGA one, cheapest aswell.

EVGA seem to have a goodish rep
07-05-2007, 09:02 PM
Clunk

Theres an 8800gts on the bargain forums for 159 from ebuyer, I would go with that, especially as you are using a 17" screen :)
08-05-2007, 01:44 AM
graysky

...might wanna wait for the R600s which are due out at the end of May... at least in the 'States. They should help drive prices down if you have your heart set on an nvidia. Otherwise, they actually have some pretty impressive specs.
08-05-2007, 06:54 AM
lanceuppercut

the leadtek, cos its a 640mb and the rest are 320's :) well actually it depends if you game at a high enough res to need that over the 320mb?

im not going to pay the manufacturer to overclock a gfx card for me! ffs i'm not that lazy i'll do that myself, although i dont feel the need to o/c mine, it can handle pretty much anything i throw at it using 1920x1200.
08-05-2007, 10:17 AM
wja96

EVGA for the trade-up programme. If a better card comes in inside the next 3 months you can swap for just the cost difference.

I actually have the BFG OC (not OC2) 320Mb card and it's very, very fast. Much faster than the stock POV 320Mb GTS card in my wife's machine.

Also EVGA are doing sterling support for their 680i motherboards - they're RMAing them all free of charge because they don't currently overclock quad-cores and they think they should. I had mine done and I reckon EVGA deserve a bit of a plug for that.
08-05-2007, 10:34 AM
staffsMike

Quote:

Originally Posted by wja96

Also EVGA are doing sterling support for their 680i motherboards - they're RMAing them all free of charge because they don't currently overclock quad-cores and they think they should. I had mine done and I reckon EVGA deserve a bit of a plug for that.

Hmmm might have to do that with mine..
08-05-2007, 10:58 AM
Biscuit

Quote:

Originally Posted by wja96

EVGA for the trade-up programme. If a better card comes in inside the next 3 months you can swap for just the cost difference.

I actually have the BFG OC (not OC2) 320Mb card and it's very, very fast. Much faster than the stock POV 320Mb GTS card in my wife's machine.

Also EVGA are doing sterling support for their 680i motherboards - they're RMAing them all free of charge because they don't currently overclock quad-cores and they think they should. I had mine done and I reckon EVGA deserve a bit of a plug for that.

im similaly impressed by my BFG & they also have an excellent warrenty service :thumbsup:
08-05-2007, 06:31 PM
danroyle

i like my gainward 320 paid less then £200 for it and it has a healthy overclock plus gainward always use good memory modules so normally good oveclockers
08-05-2007, 08:22 PM
poindextermatic

Thanks for response guys!

Am not fond of overclocking tbh, I'd rather just pay another 20-30 for the faster model. I can't see me using anything but my 17incher over the next 12 months so no point in getting a 640 - unless they were quicker all round which they aren't according to reviews I have read, I may as well stick with 320 and upgrade in 12-24months.

RMA'ing and step ups I'm not interested in, nice idea though, shame it's only 3 months. They should do some sort of loyalty prog for gfx buyers e.g stick with Nvidia and get 30% off your next card when u trade in or somthing. A 6-12 month step would be cool.

POV I've never heard of, don't fancy that...

Can't wait till the end of may for a ATI card to come along... I need to build it this coming weekend!

Based on manufacturer and speed I have narrowed it down
to these...

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Compa...952&CPID=19687

What would you get?

Thanks again for your response guys, I've been collecting bits for my PC for a few months now and your help has just been great, you have totally influenced my PC design.
08-05-2007, 08:40 PM
Biscuit

EVGA seems best bang for buck
08-05-2007, 08:45 PM
poindextermatic

That's what I was thinking, not much in it really apart from price...

But you do get a trendy T-shirt with the BFG... not sure I would be seen outside the house in it though :crazy:
08-05-2007, 08:46 PM
Biscuit

lol yeah my girlfriend took mine to sleep in cuz it was maaaassssiiiiiivvveeee

ps. u do get some cool stickers though :mrgreen:
08-05-2007, 08:46 PM
Iain M

yup, the EVGA looks like the best choice

[edit]
oops, a bit slow... lol

yup the BFG t-shirt I got was an XL size
08-05-2007, 09:12 PM
poindextermatic

Hmmm, £12 more for a shirt and stickers and 4mhz more on the gpu clock....

When my gf finds out how much I have spent on my PC she will most likely kill me a little less if I get the EVGA... :)
08-05-2007, 09:38 PM
Biscuit

haha yeah i got a bit of a beating for mine, i then bought a new amp & speakers and she had to feed me for the rest of term xD
08-05-2007, 10:02 PM
poindextermatic

Quote:

Originally Posted by Biscuit

haha yeah i got a bit of a beating for mine, i then bought a new amp & speakers and she had to feed me for the rest of term xD

I think you need some upgrades tbh mate...

:)
08-05-2007, 10:08 PM
nvening

Evga Xd
09-05-2007, 06:00 PM
poindextermatic

Well I went for the EVGA and a black Zen case... FINALLY GOT ALL MY PARTS!!

Will have fun building on Saturday - wohoo...

(just hope the gf don't find out how much I've spent!)

:whip: <<< gf whipping my ass
09-05-2007, 08:41 PM
Biscuit

well good luck with both mate!
09-05-2007, 08:55 PM
Supershanks

i got XFX 8800GTS XXX a few weks ago it's superb, overclocks further than it specification, currently running at 630, memory 2000

may have been a few £+ to the others but it oozes class. best gfx card yet.3dmark06

luck:)
09-05-2007, 10:25 PM
poindextermatic

Check this out, they have got really high clocks here...

http://www.hardwarelogic.com/news/61...007-03-26.html

''we pressed on all the way to 660MHz (core) and 2070MHz''
09-05-2007, 10:28 PM
Iain M

Quote:

Originally Posted by poindextermatic

Check this out, they have got really high clocks here...

http://www.hardwarelogic.com/news/61...007-03-26.html

''we pressed on all the way to 660MHz (core) and 2070MHz''

very nice :cool:
09-05-2007, 10:37 PM
Supershanks

Heh:D thanks for that i'll see what more i can get from mine then.MwwwwwuuuuuuuuuUUUUUUU:crazy:
09-05-2007, 10:44 PM
d19z

Personally, I've always been a bit of modder, and would love it if they sold an underclocked 8800GTX, ie the ones that did not yeild well, but since that isnt going to happen anytime soon, I would steer away from the preoverclocked versions as any noob can attain them borderline overclocks, I haven't read too much about the G80, but EVGA, XFX, and inno3d, POV, are amongst the ones I'm likely to choose from, provided they give me decent after sales support, but thats something I don't want to pay too much of a premium for so I'd hard bargain myself into an EVGA, looking for deals on the web becuase they do overclock fantastic.
10-05-2007, 03:54 PM
acrobat

Get the cheapest 8800GTX you can find, reguardless of brand.

Heres my reasons:

1) They are all based on the exact same reference board from Nvidia, and also, they are all (evidently) made in the exact same factory. Apart from the water cooled ones, and the newer ones which Nvidia allowed to be overclocked to high speeds, they are all the exact same card with a different sticker on for different manufacturers.

2) The only real difference is the software you get, and considering you will just be downloading and installing the latest driver from nvidia.com anyway... the software you get is pretty much redundent. Unless you actually need some applications (or perhaps a game) that comes with a particular brand, you will just end up using the same driver as everyone else anyway, and the driver is the most important thing.

3) I personally wouldn't get an 8800GTS unless I really needed a better bargain card. It just lacks the power compared to the GTX. The GTX will run almost everything perfectly, cranked to maximum. And the few things that it still struggles with... would struggle like hell on a GTS. It all depends on your philosophy though, and how much you can afford. But I personally think its worth stretching to a GTX (but get a cheap brand one. Dont assume some unknown crappy brand or one that isn't in the "top-5-best-graphics-card-brands" is going to give you a crappy card, because it won't. Not with the 8800GTX anyway.

If you where considering which higher end version to get though (the ones with higher overclocks), I couldn't help you. Although, I doubt anyone could. Because with those cards, its the same as all the older geforce cards. Some people swear by some brands, and some people sware by others. Some people say I had one of those and it died after a week, and yet a zillion other people bought the exact same card and are still using it happily 7 years later. Etc..etc...etc.. In other words, I personally don't give much credit to the brands thing when it comes to graphics cards. But the 8800gtx is exempt from that anyway.
10-05-2007, 09:56 PM
poindextermatic

The only reason I got a 320 version is that I only have a 17incher (my gf don't think so, but what does she know!) From what I've read my low rez gaming will not need the double mem.

I have a vanilla 6800 at the mo and it still plays most new/decent games at a reasonable rate, I've had a good 2 and half years out of it. I expect this card to give me the same longevity, it will play the newest games over the next 12 months at a real good rate and after that it will start to struggle... but for £200, you can't grumble... I think paying insane amounts on a GFX card is just not worth it, they don't last long enough.

I could probably sell this on Ebay in 12 months, get £80 for it and put that towards an upgrade...
10-05-2007, 10:28 PM
Recoil

EVGA - has pretty good support - but the best thing about them is the step-up programme - so if it isnt as good as you hoped - save a few more £££ and go get a higher spec'd card :)
10-05-2007, 11:26 PM
acrobat

Quote:

Originally Posted by Recoil

EVGA - has pretty good support - but the best thing about them is the step-up programme - so if it isnt as good as you hoped - save a few more £££ and go get a higher spec'd card :)

I'm not sure that is available in Europe by the way. Infact, I'm pretty sure I read that it was only available to US (and Canada I think).

If it was available in Europe, I probably would have spent more for an EVGA.
10-05-2007, 11:30 PM
acrobat

Quote:

Originally Posted by poindextermatic

The only reason I got a 320 version is that I only have a 17incher

The GTS is a sweet card, and using lower resolutions would really help it. I was moments away from buying one infact, but I was determined to get the GTX, mainly because I have never owned a top of the line anything before, so I thought I would treat myself once in my life :) I would definitely suggest getting one if you can stretch to it though. But like I said, I personally wouldn't even spare 2 seconds thinking about brands. The only exception is if you want one of the pre-overclocked ones, or you live in the US (and canada?) and would therefore be eligable for the EVGA step up program.
11-05-2007, 12:01 AM
redddraggon

I bought the cheapest 8800GTS I could get a couple of months ago and I haven't regretted it, was planning on upgrading my GFX with the CPU in a year anyway when I had the money.