Which would be better?

[paladin]

So, Christmas is just a small step away, and I anticipate that I will receive a decent sum of money from my relatives. The only component to my current rig that I am not 100% satisfied is my GPU. Now, I have a GeForce 8600 GTS 512; it's not the worst card in the word, but it cannot run all of my games at full specs on my screen. So I have been looking at two cards really, the 8800 Ultra 768 and the 8800GTS 640. If I go with the 8800GTS, I will most likely buy two, and run them in Sli. As for the Ultra, I will only be able to afford 1. So my question to you is, which card should I go with?

There is one other alternative, wait until February for the 9 series, but will those card be a PCI-E 2.0?

Also, does anyone have and recommendations for SILENT 80mm and 120mm case fans. I have a 5 80mm and 1 120mm case fans but they are stock and an extra el-cheapo one I bought with the case. Now that my rig is near complete, I want it SILENT. Along with good fans, I have seen silicone gaskets to place between the fan and the case, but have read some bad reviews about them. Does anyone have any experience with them, or know of another, similar product?

[InnerGoat]

9 series will be PCIe 2.0 and will work with pretty much any board out now... Or get two G92 GTS.

[Snowy]

Ok... honestly, it's not really a good idea to pay attention to rumors regarding "wait until February". Anybody remember the rumer last year, the rumor last year was R600 was going to be released in February. Guess what.. it wasn't! :o

If I were to take my best guess, I would suspect that Nvidia's dual GPU solutions would be the chip that's "going to be released" in February. I would highly, highly doubt that the "9 series" would be ready to go in February, though I'm not ruling anything out, don't get your hopes up.

For the first time in a while, software is developing faster than hardware. (at least on the GPU side of things)

edit
Honestly, I don't think it'd be smart to go with either of your poll choices. The 8800GTS's are being EOL'd. An 8800Ultra just isn't worth it. I'd be considering either an 8800GT or 8800GTS. Perhaps even a HD 3870 or 3850 and going crossfire if you can get a good deal on them. You may want to check out this (http://www.hardocp.com/news.html?news=Mjk3NTEsLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdCwsLDE=), a deal BFG is offering on their new 8800GTS.

[343guiltymc]

Wouldn't two 8800 GT in SLI be better than a 8800 ultra?

[paladin]

9 series will be PCIe 2.0 and will work with pretty much any board out now... Or get two G92 GTS.

Whats the sole difference in the G92's? Just that it's pci-e 2.0?


Wouldn't two 8800 GT in SLI be better than a 8800 ultra?

Not necessarily. 8800 GT is 256 bit memory interface, as the Ultra is 384 bit.


What would the differences be between: 2 8800GTS 640's in SLi and 2 8800GTS 512 (G92) in SLi?

[Mr Buckshot]

The Ultra. Because of the high status it reflects. I'm serious - it's like buying an expensive car to show off wealth.

About fans, are they really that loud? I would assume that the gunfire from your games would drown out the sound of the fans, especially if you wear headphones. If I were you I'd save my cash and stick with the case fans.

[InnerGoat]

Whats the sole difference in the G92's? Just that it's pci-e 2.0?

G92 is made on a smaller process and has a higher shader clock, with 256bit memory in a 512mb or 1024mb config.

Not necessarily. 8800 GT is 256 bit memory interface, as the Ultra is 384 bit.

It depends on the game, resolution, and level of AA you throw on. The 256bit memory really doesn't become a problem until you run high resolutions with AA.

What would the differences be between: 2 8800GTS 640's in SLi and 2 8800GTS 512 (G92) in SLi?

A faster game, sometimes by a lot:eyesroll:

[Patrickssj6]

I'd go with SLI...cheaper and more effective.

[alby]

I'd go with SLI...cheaper and more effective.

Only on high resolutions.

[paladin]

Which set would be faster InnerGoat?


The Ultra. Because of the high status it reflects. I'm serious - it's like buying an expensive car to show off wealth.

About fans, are they really that loud? I would assume that the gunfire from your games would drown out the sound of the fans, especially if you wear headphones. If I were you I'd save my cash and stick with the case fans.

I don't care if it reflects wealth, I want the best performance. I want silent fans so I can leave my computer on over night without being too loud.

[Zeph]

Hold on to your 8600 and save up for a 9-series card. Yeah, you'll see a noticeable difference by getting an 8800, but your games are playable now. The 9-series will be ridiculously better and is only a short while away.

[paladin]

What about picking up another 8600 ($119.00 @ fry's). Also, for using SLi on the high-end GPU's, how powerful of a power supply should I be using? Like 750watt?

[Zeph]

Do you have any benches showing how SLI'd 8600s compare against 8800s?

[paladin]

http://xtreview.com/review202.htm

The closest I could find. If I buy another 8600, it will be temporary until February. I need more graphics power, I really want to play some game at decent specs.

[Mr Buckshot]

SLI, IMO, is not worth the price because the performance is only increased by 30%-50%. I don't see the point of paying double the price just to get a few more frames if one card can do a reasonable job already.

If you're really economical, get a single GTS or even a GT. If you want the best power, I suppose SLI'ed GTS cards are great (SLI'ed GTX cards are even greater), but save your money.

Finally, what's your monitor resolution? Most people here have a 1280x1024 resolution and the 8800GT can handle all games except Crysis on high at that resolution.

[alby]

According to current plans, Nvidia plans to introduce its Geforce 9 series high end part codenamed G100 around march 2008.

We don’t know many details, but we do know that the chipset should end up faster than two G92 D8E dual PCB card which is scheduled for launch in late January.

It will be on time to launch with G96, which is a mainstream part.It's your choose if you want to spend the money on another 8600 or wait for new cards between January and March. If you have the money to buy a new 8600 then do it, and then upgrade to the newer cards later. 750 or 850 is fine for 2 high end cards.

[paladin]

1650x1050 22" Lg Flatron

[Zeph]

SLIing them would be worth your money, but if you do that it wouldn't be something I'd call temporary. I still stand by my call to wait a couple of months and get a high-end 9 series card.

[paladin]

K thanks for the information. UrAbiggg help.

[Mr Buckshot]

SLIing them would be worth your money, but if you do that it wouldn't be something I'd call temporary. I still stand by my call to wait a couple of months and get a high-end 9 series card.

I second that, but if you really can't wait (the winter break is here, after all - that equates to more gaming time), I recommend the 8800 GTS (make sure to get the updated version, of course).

[paladin]

I bought another 8600 yesterday, haven't had time to shut down my rig yet and install it though.