Help picking new gpu

[poncherelli2]

My old 6800gt bit the dust recently (sort of) and I can only run windows using default vga drivers, any attempt to use real drivers won't load, so I'd like to get a replacement fairly quickly. Right now I'm eyeing either the evga superclocked 8600GT for 90 bucks or the evga 8600GTS for 150.

My current system is an amd 3000+ (oc'd to 2400mhz) with 2 gb of cheap DDR ram. Will the GTS be overkill or is the system fast enough to keep up. I haven't gamed much in recent years, but I did pick up orange box the other day and would like to continue playing. Before the 6800gt died, i ran it at pretty terrible settings, so I'm just looking to run at 1280x1024 with some details on the new card.

Also, I'll probably acquire an hdtv later this year and would like to be able to play and output hd content, will both cards capably do this?

I've heard these cards have pretty low power requirements and not too much heat output, which is appealing to me and why I'm considering them over the comparable ati cards. Does anyone have any input or recommendations? Thanks.

 

[QuixoticOne]

Don't even think about the 8600GTS for $150.
$90 is too much IMHO for the 8600GT.

Your CPU is fast enough and RAM plentiful enough in my opinion to deliver
reasonably good gaming performance at 1280x1024 with the amounts of
effects and high video quality options being limited significantly by the
video card.

I think it's a bit more of an investment, but will deliver superior value to look
at getting the $200 MSRP 8800GT sometime after 29 October (when it goes
on sale for the first time). The 8600's just can't compete in ANY way with the
8800GT, and the $90 8600GT is almost half the price of the 8800GT-256,
while the performance would be WAY less than half.

I'm sure after a small bit of time you'll be able to see the 8800GT's selling at or
below $200 MSRP without any significant inflation due to supply shortage.

Another option -- check the "hot deals" forum here at AnandTech, and
the similar one at Fat wallet dot com -- there are some 8600GT's on sale
for less than $150 already.

Personally I'd be looking at XFX, BFG, or EVGA brands though, since they
often offer lifetime warranties for registered cards purchased from authorized
dealers (check the individual detals on the model and retailer you like).

The nice thing about either the 8600GT or the newer 8800GTs will be better
HDTV decoding performance than older card models had. It's CONCEIVABLE
that the 8800GT will have even better HD video decoding capabilities than
the 8600GT/8600GTS *IF* they added "PV3" decoding to the 8800GT
to support better HD video VC1 and MPEG-2 codec formats decoding than
the 8600 series have. As it is the 8600 series has only H.264 codec type
HD video decoding.

Also -- FEW 8600GT and only SOME 8600GTS cards have HDCP enabled;
even some of the ones that are LABELED something like "HDCP capable"
don't REALLY support that feature. For HD DVD / Blue-Ray et. al. play back
you will want to ENSURE the card model you pick has HDCP support or
you may have problems in the future due to DRM on the video making you
unable to see the HD video at full quality of your monitor/TV.

I HOPE they've improved that situation in the 8800GT; time will tell.




Foxconn 8600GTS-256 GeForce 8600GTS 256MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail $118 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814186022

Originally posted by: poncherelli2
My old 6800gt bit the dust recently (sort of) and I can only run windows using default vga drivers, any attempt to use real drivers won't load, so I'd like to get a replacement fairly quickly. Right now I'm eyeing either the evga superclocked 8600GT for 90 bucks or the evga 8600GTS for 150.

My current system is an amd 3000+ (oc'd to 2400mhz) with 2 gb of cheap DDR ram. Will the GTS be overkill or is the system fast enough to keep up. I haven't gamed much in recent years, but I did pick up orange box the other day and would like to continue playing. Before the 6800gt died, i ran it at pretty terrible settings, so I'm just looking to run at 1280x1024 with some details on the new card.

Also, I'll probably acquire an hdtv later this year and would like to be able to play and output hd content, will both cards capably do this?

I've heard these cards have pretty low power requirements and not too much heat output, which is appealing to me and why I'm considering them over the comparable ati cards. Does anyone have any input or recommendations? Thanks.

 

[QuixoticOne]

Some relative reviews / benchmarks.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2970&p=2

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=197188

 

[AzN]

Get the one you eyeing.

 

[BernardP]

If you are looking at 8600GT, it is probably because you want to stay within a given budget. The 8600GT is a faster card than the 6800GT so, although far from being as fast as a 8800GT, it will give you improved gaming performance.

It is not worth spending the extra money for the 8600GTS according to many reviews I have read, as there is only about a 20% performance difference between the GT and GTS.

The GT and GTS both have the same HD video processing features

The 8600GT is an affordable, low-power-consumption card that can tide you over until your next full-system upgrade if you are ready to accept reasonnable picture-quality compromises in demanding games.

Here is the 8600GT page on GPU Review, including links to independent reviews

The 8600GT I like most is This one from Asus, because of its superior-quality, quiet cooler (takes more than one slot though)

I am planning on getting a 8600GT soon.

 

[s44]

If you're going to spend that much on a GT, why not get the Foxconn GTS at the same price AR?

 

[poncherelli2]

Originally posted by: s44
If you're going to spend that much on a GT, why not get the Foxconn GTS at the same price AR?

How reputable is Foxconn? My last cards were evga and bfg, so I'm comfortable with them. Also, the Foxconn will come out to 121 shipped. I'm still trying to decide if thats worth the premium over the evga 8600gt for 90 bucks

 

[rmed64]

helllllllllll no to any 8600 cards.

 

[Cheex]

Save a little more and get the new 8800GT 512MB for $250.

 

[poncherelli2]

Sorry, but 250 is way out of my price range. I'm having a hard time justifying 150 for a card.
I basically want to finish playing orange box at medium-low settings, play some occasional total war, and be able to easily play HD hooked up to a tv when I buy one.

I'm having trouble determining which cards are HDCP enabled though, I see alot of conflicting information

EDIT: I see new cards are being released next week. Any ideas on what the price effects will be and what cards will shift into the 100-150 range?

 

[BernardP]

Originally posted by: poncherelli2
I'm having trouble determining which cards are HDCP enabled though, I see alot of conflicting information

I see new cards are being released next week. Any ideas on what the price effects will be and what cards will shift into the 100-150 range?

Usually, going to the manufacturer web site and checking the specs and full model number will tell you if a given card is HDCP-enabled. The manufacturer "Global" web site is usually the most exhaustive. For example, there are a number of similar-looking Asus 8600GT's, and some have HDCP, but others not. There is even a new Asus 8600GTS with that nice cooler I like so much,

Also, NVidia will be coming with a refresh of the 8600 Series on 65nm fabrication process. The timetable is not known, but it should be a matter of months. The rumored name is 8650GT. Searching for this on Google leads to asian web sites claiming the card will have 700/1600 clocks. This should provide a performance level very close to the 8600GTS on a card requiring no more power than the 8600GT (thus no external connector)

My own guess, based on what I have read on Fudzilla.com, is that the 8600GT and 8600GTS will disappear and the new 8650GT will be the next low-midrange. Then, a new 8800GS (high-midrange) will slot between that and the soon-to-be-released 8800GT.