7800GTX Worth a NEW Buy??

[KaosFaction]

I can see a lot of people are in doubt of whether or not to upgrade their 6series or their ATi X800, but im in a slightly different situation and Im hoping for somet advice.

I've gotten back into the wrap of technology since if decided to do my 1st computer build, and this will be my first computer purchase since my AMD Athlon 900Mhz and 8mb nVidia Vanta vid card.

Anyways, my system currently looks like this:
AMD 4400+
2x512 Crucial Ballistix PC3200 (2-2-2-5)
250GB Seagate 7000.2
Enermax 600watt Noisetaker SLi-Certified
16x DVD+-R/RW & DVD-ROM

Im unsure now of motherboard and graphics card choice. I was thinking of going with 6800Ultras like literally less then a week ago. Pairing them with either an ASUS A8N-SLi Premium or Gigabyte GA-K8NXP-SLI.
Now Im trying to decide if I should go with a single 7800GTX for now, couple it with an NF4 Ultra motherboard just for time...and when im ready, move to the best SLi mobo at the time and run a second 7800GTX.

What do you think I should do? **BTW, all card models will be the BFG version**

 

[ryanv12]

I would get the 7800GTX. What monitor are you going to be running this on?

The reason people don't see a need to upgrade from a 6800-type card is because while the performance of the 7800GTX is really good, it's not good enough to spend $600 if you have a 6800 already. Since you're building brand new and you seem to have a high budget, there's no reason not to go with the GTX. Get a nice, big monitor while you're at it so you can run that sucker at high resolutions. Just my take

 

[SynthDude2001]

If you're building a new system and were already considering dual 6800U's, then I'd definitely recommend going for the 7800GTX. Cheaper (than two cards) and generally performs as well or better than 6800GT/U SLI, from the numbers I've seen.

 

[KaosFaction]

19LCD with a sub-15ms refresh on it. Not sure exactly

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: KaosFaction
19LCD with a sub-15ms refresh on it. Not sure exactly

I personally think that a 7800GTX or 6800U SLI (and maybe even a single 6800U, it might be argued) would be overkill for a 1280x1024 monitor.

 

[jasonja]

With a 19 LCD the max resolution you're going to do is 1280x1024. So looking at benchmarks of games at 16x12 and up don't concern you. Find the card that can run the game you want to at 1280x1024 with all the bells and whistles you want on and that's the card to buy. You most likely don't need 2 6800's SLI or even a 7800 to do this. One 6800 or X800 will do the trick (it does for me on my 19" LCD).

 

[KaosFaction]

ok...say I did go bigger.

 

[MDE]

If you went with a 1600x1200 capable LCD then a 7800GTX would make more sense.

 

[BobDaMenkey]

Since this is your first build in like forever, and you're probably going to go forever again until you upgrade, you might as well get a 7800GTX to future proof it some more. But if you're going to be doing 12x10 gaming, you're really only going to need something like a 6800GT for all the bells and whistles with that system.

 

[Xed]

Since cost doesn't seem to matter to you I'd go ahead and get one 7800gtx and after you get a new monitor see if you need another

 

[jdogg707]

Get a 2405FPW and a 7800GTX, pure sweetness....

 

[bagukiri]

If I had to choose between 6800Ultra SLI vs. 7800GTX at this time. I would choose the 7800GTX. The price difference is small considering your budget. And you still will have a slot free for the future.

Also why did you chose BFG? (Because of the warranty?)

 

[imported_X]

BFG comes overclocked, I believe at 450, for the same price. Definitely would be my choice as well.

 

[Xed]

warranty and factory oc 460/1300 instead of 430/1200 would be my guess (and why I picked bfg)

 

[Xentropy]

BFG here for the overclock. The warranty doesn't matter much since lifetime vs. 3 years is almost meaningless when a video card will be worth <$100 in 3 years anyway. In a way the core overclock isn't important, either, since almost any card will be able to go to at least 460. The memory overclock, though, wouldn't be guaranteed on any other card but the BFG.

The eVGA would be a decent choice at this time, too, for those who must have the latest and greatest and believe a 7800 Ultra might come out within the next 90 days to compete with the R520. If all that occurs within 90 days you could then trade up, and if the GTX drops to $500 and the Ultra intros at $600 at that point, you could trade up for free at that.

 

[IamTHEsnake]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: KaosFaction
19LCD with a sub-15ms refresh on it. Not sure exactly

I personally think that a 7800GTX or 6800U SLI (and maybe even a single 6800U, it might be argued) would be overkill for a 1280x1024 monitor.

For the current games, I whole-heartedly agree, but this is a fine example of a more future proof product for those that do not upgrade often.

 

[fstime]

If you dont run 1600x or 1920x 4aa/8af it is going to be bottlenecked, not running at its potential.


Get the dell 2405 or 2005 if you want to take advantage of this card.

the 2005 is excellent for gaming, havnt heard much about the 2405 but im sure its good.

 

[BroadbandGamer]

Why do you guys keep saying you NEED a 1600x1200 LCD to benefit from the 7800 GTX?

I'm pretty sure after cranking up AA and AF to the highest possible settings, and setting all in game settings to the highest at 1280x1024 you're going to give that 7800 GTX quite a workout. You may not even get 60fps at those settings.

So why would someone who likes to use the highest AA and AF settings and everything else like dynamic lights/shadows set to the highest possible settings need a 1600x1200 screen to benefit?

I wish someone would do benchmarks at 1280x1024 with the highest possible settings so that we can actually see the benefits at that res.

BTW, if you're building a new system then yes you should get the GTX along with a SLI mobo like the A8N-SLI even if you never plan on using SLI because you never know when you might change your mind and decide you'd like a little more power.

 

[imported_X]

Those saying you need 1600x1200 to enjoy the 7800 obviously haven't played EQ2 on high settings yet

 

[Ackmed]

Originally posted by: X
BFG comes overclocked, I believe at 450, for the same price. Definitely would be my choice as well.

460/1300.

Some are 450/1250, 430/1200, or the Asus has a 470 core. Little annoying they vary so much, but not that bad. Just makes it hard to get the BFG version, as it seems to be the hottest.

 

[Emultra]

7800GTX over SLi'd 6800 Ultras for sure, if those are your considered options. The latter is much more expensive than the former, and won't have the performance to motivate it.
Plus, you can always SLi your GTX if you feel like turning your Bugatti into the Batmobile.

 

[aatf510]

Originally posted by: BroadbandGamer
Why do you guys keep saying you NEED a 1600x1200 LCD to benefit from the 7800 GTX?

I'm pretty sure after cranking up AA and AF to the highest possible settings, and setting all in game settings to the highest at 1280x1024 you're going to give that 7800 GTX quite a workout. You may not even get 60fps at those settings.

So why would someone who likes to use the highest AA and AF settings and everything else like dynamic lights/shadows set to the highest possible settings need a 1600x1200 screen to benefit?

I wish someone would do benchmarks at 1280x1024 with the highest possible settings so that we can actually see the benefits at that res.

BTW, if you're building a new system then yes you should get the GTX along with a SLI mobo like the A8N-SLI even if you never plan on using SLI because you never know when you might change your mind and decide you'd like a little more power.

According to the benchmark, 1280x1024 is CPU bottlenecked.

 

[KaosFaction]

Originally posted by: Xentropy
BFG here for the overclock. The warranty doesn't matter much since lifetime vs. 3 years is almost meaningless when a video card will be worth <$100 in 3 years anyway. In a way the core overclock isn't important, either, since almost any card will be able to go to at least 460. The memory overclock, though, wouldn't be guaranteed on any other card but the BFG.

The eVGA would be a decent choice at this time, too, for those who must have the latest and greatest and believe a 7800 Ultra might come out within the next 90 days to compete with the R520. If all that occurs within 90 days you could then trade up, and if the GTX drops to $500 and the Ultra intros at $600 at that point, you could trade up for free at that.

What you talking about Willis? eVGA cards can be traded in? huh?
Also, whats better: the Asus with a core of 470 and memory of 1.2ghz OR the BFG with core of 460 and memory of 1.3ghz?

 

[Xentropy]

Originally posted by: KaosFaction

Originally posted by: Xentropy
BFG here for the overclock. The warranty doesn't matter much since lifetime vs. 3 years is almost meaningless when a video card will be worth <$100 in 3 years anyway. In a way the core overclock isn't important, either, since almost any card will be able to go to at least 460. The memory overclock, though, wouldn't be guaranteed on any other card but the BFG.

The eVGA would be a decent choice at this time, too, for those who must have the latest and greatest and believe a 7800 Ultra might come out within the next 90 days to compete with the R520. If all that occurs within 90 days you could then trade up, and if the GTX drops to $500 and the Ultra intros at $600 at that point, you could trade up for free at that.

What you talking about Willis? eVGA cards can be traded in? huh?

eVGA Step-Up Program

Also, whats better: the Asus with a core of 470 and memory of 1.2ghz OR the BFG with core of 460 and memory of 1.3ghz?

Personally, I would (and did) choose the BFG. Given the variety of core timings on these cards, the cores appear to overclock very easily. My guess is almost any card/brand you buy will OC to 470-480 at the very least. Now granted they don't come factory clocked that way so you could be voiding your warranty, but those clocks are probably stable.

The memory, on the other hand, may not overclock so easily, and since the BFG's come factory clocked at 1300Mhz, I suspect they may use RAM with faster timings. Even if they don't, they at least guarantee a better RAM OC than you may get with other cards.

This is all my opinion. There hasn't been enough empirical evidence from end users yet to show how OCable these cards will be. Just based on manufacturer settings, though, the cores look easy to OC and the memory not so much.

 

[Aisengard]

I don't see the appeal in the BFG when you will probably simply overclock it further, thereby eliminating that oh-so wonderful lifetime warranty. Unless BFG's warranty has some special rules to it. Their overclock is really pretty moderate. I'd say go with the eVGA, especially if it costs less.