[Compiler]

Lifetime... can mean many things... such as: As long as the product is in production... only the ORG owner (typical) etc...

Because... they Cannot replace a GF 7900 in 2012 because the GF7 line will be long gone.

I'd say, when possible - get a GeForce or ATI card with a well made heatpipe system.

Like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125063
(8600GTS - a good deal, since it includes a $40 game)

[savio21]

hmm compiler u just through a wrench into my plans lol

so if i was lookin for a video card thatll allow me to say play fable and oblivion and some of the newer games without losing too much on graphics or gameplay and speed what would be a good video card to for in the range of $150 to $250 (Canadian). Also what would be the better brand from what im seeing you guys post it seems like its between the BFG and eVGA. and i hopin the card i get will atleast last me a couple of years before it becomes obselete because right now i have a GeForce 4 MX440 and it seems like most games wont even run on the MX series

[savio21]

bump

[Compiler]

MX440.... I kinda feel your pain... its actually a GF2 card, with a new name.

Well... the 8800GTS from Newegg that I pointed out, includes 2 games. Supreme Commander is well worth $40. It may make it easier for you to chew on.

But for Oblicion... MAX details... it won't do it. There are games coming out this year with Latest tech - that'll bring an 8800GTX to 50fps. (Depending on res of course).

But if YOU are using a 440mx now... none of the cards will work on your system.
GF4 = AGP (some PCI)
Todays latest video cards are PCIe (express) - None of the GF8x00 or ATI HD2x00 cards are coming out for AGP.

Best card for AGP is the 1950Pro... And if your CPU is not top-end, it won't help that much.

[savio21]

haha yea my comp cant handle it thats y im tryin to learn as much about what im gonna need so i wont have to buy a new computer for a few years, im lookin for a decent build thatll cost me less than $700

so once i figure out the video card and cpu im gonna figure what motherboard i need and so on and if you guys have input it would be greatly appreciated

[savio21]

bump

[Compiler]

No need to bump...

For $700 - does that include the video card. And do you want to buy name brand or build it yourself?

[savio21]

I want to build it myself, maybe get a barebone system that has the CPU and Mobo installed but the rest I think i can handle putting together. And yea it the $700 includes the Video Card but not the RAM or the Harddrive as I already have them ready to go.

[Vanqu1sh]

Originally Posted by Compiler

Why the GeForce 8600 line blows:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2975&p=3
(Look on 2nd chart with AA enabled)

$150 = 7900gs
$200 = 8600gts... and its slower...
$150 = 8600gt

Why SLI two weak cards... total price would be $400~440.

Or: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2970&p=8

For about $80 over the 8600gts, the 8800gts/320 can be had... and its twice the card.

For the 8600 series to get respect, it needs a price adjustment.
$180~200 = 8600GTX (Not out yet, if ever) that is FASTER than any single GF79xx card.
$140~160 = 8600gts
$100~120 = 8600gt

(The above, based on US Dollars, and within current market pricing) - a year from now, the 8600 will be a lot cheaper.

The reason to SLI is that he has a limited ammount of money here....if he wants to get 2x the preformance later on instead of buying a new card he can SLI them. Some ppl just dont have to options we do.

[Vanqu1sh]

Ohh boy I've got some catching up to do :P

Well, if your going to build a system for $700 with a new card, new mobo, new cpu and such, your going to be looking at a ram upgrade aswell"supposing you are running DDR," DDR doesnt cut it anymore, DDR2 is now used more, and later this year DDR3 is comming out on the consumer market. So, this sheds new light onto your situation. I personaly cannot suggest anything for your new build if it is atleast a year away because by then quad-core is going to be mainstream with octo-core behind, much like duel and quad are now, ddr3 will be out, dx10 will be in its niche. Finaly more and more motherboard companys are dropping IDE harddrive support, and technology is moving sooo fast these days I dont dare make any suggestions for next year! Hope you understand.

[savio21]

I think there might have been a little bit of a confusion, I was hoping to get the new build within the end of the month. As for the RAM I am going to go with the DDR2 my friend has an extra 1GB stick which he says he will give me and i have my current 250GB IDE hard drive which i still want to transfer to the new build. Im looking for pretty much a decent cpu, doesnt necessarily have to be duo core but id prefer it, a MOBO and good power supply, video card, and a DVD burner which i hope could fit under $700 maybe even less hopefully.

[Compiler]

Originally Posted by Vanqu1sh

The reason to SLI is that he has a limited ammount of money here....if he wants to get 2x the preformance later on instead of buying a new card he can SLI them. Some ppl just dont have to options we do.

SLI doesn't offer 2x the performance. Not even 50% performance... SLI adds 0~35% more frame rate, usually about 15~20%...

The extra money spent on SLI could be used for a better card in the future or a higher end single card. 2x 8600GTS at $200 each ($400) won't touch a $285 8800GTS.

[Vanqu1sh]

Ok, not silly little SLI, crossfire however does increase preformance x2, that is a fact.

Now, there is no way I could help you find anything because I am on dial up and between editing video for church, graphic design, and being on Fevergaming forums I just cant help, sorry, and good luck.

[Vanqu1sh]

BTW, why hasnt ATI/AMD come into the picture here, I only use ATI and my cards can out preform 2x 8800GTX's, with over a 10fps gap! And they are almost $300 cheaper than the SLI set-up.

[Compiler]

Uh... CF doesn't offer x2 performance.

1 - HL2 1600x1200: X1950XTX (single = 78fps / CF = 73fps) a single 8800gts = 102fps
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...=586&chart=199 (CF is actually slower, and both are slower than a $300~400 8800gts)

2 - Prey 1600x1200: X1950XTX CF = 109fps, Single = 60fps. (42% increase)
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...=586&chart=215

3 - Oblivion 1600x1200: X1950XTX CF = 74fps, single = 82fps (CF = slower) A single 8800gts = 100fps. Once the 8800s cames out, nobody buys the 19x0XT/XTXs at ($500~600 a pop)
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...=586&chart=211

3B - To be air on this one. GF 7900GTX SLI = 91fps, single = 79fps. (about 8% faster)

4 - in 3DMark06, X1950XTX CF = 2721, single = 1559. This is the ONLY test that the CF is almost twice as fast. (45%faster) same with most SLI setups (40~45% faster) but 3DMark is NOT a game.
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...=586&chart=231

5 - Quake4 1600x1200 X1900XTX CF = 82fps, single = 73fps (7% faster), GF 7800GT in SLI = 80fps, Siingle = 71fps (7% faster)
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphi...=282&chart=102

In most games, the 8800GTS-320 and 640mb versions perform almost the same (the 320mb version about 1-5fps slower)
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2926&p=7

In the 8800 cards don't double up in performance. HL2 25 x 16 8800GTX SLI = 140fps, Single = 78fps... but they seem to do a bit better.

With these performance numbers, presented by PROS in a controlled enviroment, there is little reason for a dual-card setup. Again, a PROPER dual card setup SHOULD offer double the performance, considering they cost more than double the price in hardware.

I think its silly to spend hundreds of dollars extra for bragging rights in that YOU blew $3000~4000 on a Dell with SLI 8800GTX to show x2 performance in 3DMark... when in the real world, the difference is -10% slower to about 10% faster.

How SLI costs more:
$25~400 = 700~1200watt PSUs. When a good 480~550watt PSU will handle an 8800GTX.
$20~200 = SLI motherboard.
$200~750 = for a second video card. (8800Ultra = $720~750, only 5fps faster than the $550 8800GTX)

SLI/CF adds $250~1400 to the cost of the computer... for an AVG 10% increase in performance... when a person could wait about 6~9 months to BUY something new and faster and sell their OLD card... that is SMART.



Some people spend over $2000 for a video card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814133189
(But this is a rendering Nvidia card and plays games very fast as well)