New Graphics card complicated fucking shit grrr

[friznit]

Ok. So I have a reasonably quick dual core thingamy CPU and 2 GB of stuffage and SATA drives and PCI-E and a PSU that could power Manhattan. Soundcard is weak but livable with and my 6800 is getting a little long in the tooth. All things considered I think a GPU upgrade is in order soonish, so I toddled of to Today Only on Scan and saw a pretty pic of an 8800...hmm, seem to be popular cards and reading about a bit they don't look like they about to be superceded by the NEXT BIG THING like, in a 2 day's time.

But WTF is all this shit about? Why can't they just do 3 simple releases: Cheap and Cheary, Goodenuff for Most, and zOMG MACHINE OF DEATH™ (P.S. You Rich Bastard). Noooo, instead they have to release hundred of different types of the SAME FUCKING GRAPHICS CARD with unintelligable gibberish that means nothing to even a self-proclaimed uber geek. Can any of you chaps help me out here? Important factors are stability, no gimmicks and above all it does what it says on the godamn tin. I can't stand it when you get a shiny box promising Gouraud Shading (eep, showing my age there) only to find it's not bloody supported cos that's only availble on the super-platinum gold plated arse bandit version. 200 quid ono. GO!

nVidia Powered - PCI-Express - 8800GTS

320MB Leadtek 8800GTS PCI-E (x16), Mem 1600MHz, GPU 500MHz, 96 Streams, 2x Dual Link DVI/HDTV £155.88 £183.16

320MB EVGA 8800GTS, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1600MHz, GPU 500MHz, 96 Streams, 2x Dual Link DVI-I/HDTV £162.88 £191.38

320MB EVGA 8800GTS Superclocked, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1700MHz, GPU 576MHz, 96 Streams, 2x DVI/HDTV £172.88 £203.13

320MB XFX 8800GTS XXX, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1800MHz, GPU 580MHz, 96 Streams, 2x Dual Link DVI/HDTV £187.88 £220.76

320MB Foxconn 8800GTS OverClocked PCI-E (x16), Mem 1800MHz, GPU 575MHz, 96 Streams, Dual Link/DVI-I £182.88 £214.88

640MB EVGA 8800GTS KOSuperclocked, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1700MHz, GPU 576MHz, 96 Streams, Dual DVI-I/HDTV £235.88 £277.16

640MB XFX 8800GTS Extreme XXX, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1800 MHz, GPU 550 MHz, Dual DVI/HDTV £262.88 £308.88

640MB EVGA 8800GTS PCI-E(x16), Mem 1700MHz, GPU 580MHz 96Streams Dual DVI-I/HDTV ACS3 Silent Cooling £239.88 £281.86 <-- This one?

nVidia Powered - PCI-Express - 8800GTX

768MB BFG Technology 8800GTX Overclocked PCI-E(x16) Mem 1800MHz GPU 600MHz 128 Stream HDTV/2 x DVI-I £299.88 £352.36

768MB EVGA GF8800GTX ACS3 575 £359.88 £422.86

[mrbobbins]

If you're after stability you might want to look at the BFG cards as they have a lifetime warranty

You're basically looking at 3(ish) types

8800 GTX - The daddy
8800 GTS 640 mb - Step down from the GTX, less powar, still a lot of memory if you use high resolutions

8800 GTS 320 mb - As above but cheaper cos it's half the memory, for 'normal' resolutions this is more than adequate (currently)

Some variants are overclocked slightly but wont make a hueg difference

[FatherJack]

The EVGA ones have a faster clock speed, and so are a bit, er...faster. The one you've highlighted is probably what I'd choose.

[Hehulk]

First parts easy. 320MB is the amount of on-board memory. Then it's the name of the manufacturer. 8800GTS is series number and something akin to a ranking system (GTX is more powerful that GTS, but of course costs more). PCI-E is the type of interface it's designed for, then you've got memory clock speeds, graphical core clock speeds, fucked if I know about the streams bit and finially type of output ports. DVI iirc is the kind you get wth flat screen monitors, but I'm sure berk'll be in here to correct me if I'm wrong.#

EDIT: Christ, you speedy buggers

[friznit]

Thanks Hulk. Oddly enough I know what all this means cos I went and read up about it years ago when nVidia started making thousands of different versions of the same card, it just pisses me off that I'm expected too. However, that doesn't mean I know what it actually means... to me, as a gamer, and why I should be paying fuck loads more for for something with an X instead of an S in the random acronym they chose. Looks like Bobbinseses has summed it up nicely though. Presumably if I have 2 x 19" TFT's running at 1280x1024 (iirc) then the 640mb version should do the trick. Overclocking makes me nervous so I can narrow it down to a choice of two:

640MB XFX 8800GTS Extreme XXX, PCI-E (x16), Mem 1800 MHz, GPU 550 MHz, Dual DVI/HDTV £262.88 £308.88

640MB EVGA 8800GTS PCI-E(x16), Mem 1700MHz, GPU 580MHz 96Streams Dual DVI-I/HDTV ACS3 Silent Cooling £239.88 £281.86

So I guess it comes down to, which manufacturer and whether to have slightly faster GPU or Mem as a priority (though I don't suppose there'd be a discernable difference).

Flipside, if I post my system stats up later (if I can find them, I built this machine last year and can't for the life of me remember what I put in it), could one of you whizzkids tell be if I'm totally barking up the incorrect arborial feature on the upgrade front?

[FatherJack]

Works out at a 5.4% faster clock speed or 5.9% faster memory.

Some recent tests berk linked to indicate the clock speed has more of an effect than memory speeed, although the specific cards you mention weren't tested, only the 768M and 320M ones.

Link is here: http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/2007/0 ... _up/1.html

In some tests the EVGA cards come out 20% better than the XFX ones.

[Chickenz]

Just buy the one that says GTX at the end.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

But WTF is all this shit about? Why can't they just do 3 simple releases: Cheap and Cheary, Goodenuff for Most, and zOMG MACHINE OF DEATH™ (P.S. You Rich Bastard). Noooo, instead they have to release hundred of different types of the SAME FUCKING GRAPHICS CARD with unintelligable gibberish that means nothing to even a self-proclaimed uber geek. Can any of you chaps help me out here? Important factors are stability, no gimmicks and above all it does what it says on the godamn tin.

200 quid ono.

mrbobbins summed it up well.

Deciding factors: how big is your monitor (and what resolution) and how many watts is your PSU?

For most people the 8800gtss are fine, the 320mb one will do everything pretty well.

the 640mb version will do everything pretty well, but will have more space for prettier textures/bigger monitors.

the 8800gtxs are the dog's bollocks, but a shitload of money.

[deject]

also, stop calling yourself an uber-geek if you can't figure this out on your own

[friznit]

also, stop calling yourself an uber-geek if you can't figure this out on your own

OK. Fucking lazy uber-geek. Content?

Edit: besides it's nice to have stuff confirmed by all you uber-geeks too

640MB EVGA 8800GTS PCI-E(x16), Mem 1700MHz, GPU 580MHz 96Streams Dual DVI-I/HDTV ACS3 Silent Cooling £239.88 £281.86


Winnah! /orders...ah fuckit, preorder only. Next one down then.

Guess that makes me an 8800 cupcake as well...darn. Anyone want an old 6800?

[Lateralus]

How much do you want for it? £20 sound ok? Just want something that won't heat up to boiling point when playing games until I can afford to join the 8800 cupcake club. How about a 3-month loan of spare card?

[friznit]

How much do you want for it? £20 sound ok? Just want something that won't heat up to boiling point when playing games until I can afford to join the 8800 Berk club. How about a 3-month loan of spare card?

I'll found out exactly what it is later and let you know. But I don't suppose it's worth much more than that if you pay postage as well.

[Lateralus]

iirc CCleaner tells you info like what your GPU is when you open it up. Not sure why it does, but it does. I'm not really sure on the going price either to be honest, but let me know what you want to do with it.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

they go for £50-70 new at the moment, so that seems a pretty fair price.

[Dr. kitteny berk]

iirc CCleaner tells you info like what your GPU is

so does the settings tab on the display properties thing (right clicky desktop one)

[friznit]

zOMG comepetition....it appears you're not the only one who wants my old card Anyways, it's not going anywhere until the new one is in, settled down and I've confirmed the system is running stable. For some reason upgrading Gfx cards is the most awkward bloody thing ever, even when they're the same manufacturer and use the same generic drivers so we'll just have to wait and see.

[FatherJack]

Is it a PCI-e 6800? And will that fit it whoever was asking for it's machine?

[Lateralus]

Good point, its only any good to me if it is PCI-E, but I think 8800s are only PCI-E and since no mobo change was mentioned I'm assuming its ok. Also I reckon just about any card will fit in my machine as it is a geet big tower jobbie. Current card has a mahoosive (and useless) cooler attached too. Anyway - I asked first!

[Chickenz]

Just remember though the 8800's are longer than any previous generation card. Its all about lefty to righty space now, not uppy and downy.

[FatherJack]

Just remember though the 8800's are longer than any previous generation card.

Except possibly MCA.