Need help deciding Graphics Card!

[Tangman85]

Hey guys!
I have the following dilemma, I play games in 1280 * 1024 for now and probably will for a long time to come, now I have few cards in my mind, this is where I don't know what to do.

I have been told that 320MB cards can outperform 640MB cards at lower resolutions, in my case the 1280 * 1024, however I do not know much about this situation.
I would like a "future safe" card, so does the extra memory of the card benefit me in the future still at lower resolutions? Say it requires GTX 9200 to run at 1600 * 1200 flawlessly, does the extra memory make the game run at 1280 * 1024 without any problems? I don't know if I am explaining this correctly, my point is if I buy a GTX 768 or GTS 640, does that memory become beneficial in the future at lower resolutions? (I'm talking out of the theory I was told that the extra memory is useless at lower resolution)

Now, on to them graphics cards!

Name - GPU/Memory Frequency

1. MSI GeForce 8800GTX OC - 600/1900MHz 768MB DDR3 TV-out HDTV DUAL DVI SLI-ready RETAIL PCI Express

2. MSI GeForce 8800GTS OC - 575/1700MHz 640MB DDR3 TV-out HDTV DUAL DVI SLI-ready RETAIL PCI Express

3. MSI GeForce 8800GTS OC - 575/1700MHz 320MB DDR3 TV-out HDTV DUAL DVI SLI-ready RETAIL PCI Express

I could take suggestions for other cards, perhaps some other overclocks by other manufacturers or just different cards, I don't however want ATi cards.

 

[MarcVenice]

Why do you not want ATI cards? Don't be a thief of your own wallet and consider all options. First of all I would wait till the 8800gt and the 2950oro hit the market. At your resolution, a 8800gtx is somewhat overkill. A 8800gts 320mb should be able to run all games flawlessly at the highest settings. Right now, my 8800gts 320mb is running all games just fine at 1680*1050, save STALKER, which is a poorly optimized game if you ask me. So right now, I would suggest you buy a 8800gts 320mb. But, it might be worth waiting for the 8800gts 512mb, which will probably be faster and will be cheaper. Depending on how the 2950pro performs, that one might be worth waiting for as well.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: MarcVenice
Why do you not want ATI cards? Don't be a thief of your own wallet and consider all options. First of all I would wait till the 8800gt and the 2950oro hit the market. At your resolution, a 8800gtx is somewhat overkill. A 8800gts 320mb should be able to run all games flawlessly at the highest settings. Right now, my 8800gts 320mb is running all games just fine at 1680*1050, save STALKER, which is a poorly optimized game if you ask me. So right now, I would suggest you buy a 8800gts 320mb. But, it might be worth waiting for the 8800gts 512mb, which will probably be faster and will be cheaper. Depending on how the 2950pro performs, that one might be worth waiting for as well.

I agree. These parts are going to be cheaper than the 8800GTS is currently. I'd wait and see how these perform in some games.

 

[Tangman85]

That is the problem, I can't wait I am building this machine in a week or two, I want it to be built and ready for gaming. I'm not aiming on playing "super hardcore" games.
I play World of Warcraft & Neverwinter Nights 2, I will play Crysis and probably the new UT, which all should be ran perfectly fine with the cards mentioned, no?

Could someone also comment if the tons of extra memory will be a "future" safe bet at my resolution too?

As for why I dislike ATi cards, too hot I have had very bad experience with ATi cards, my 9800pro broke, x850pro broke and I am using my second 850pro atm (AGP structure cards) - Where as my Nvidia Ti4800SE is still fighting for its life in my second machine 8years later or so

 

[MarcVenice]

No, the tons of extra memory will not be a future save bet. Look at this review for example: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3122

They kept it playable all the way to the lowest end possible in terms of videocards/cpu's. The textures and the resolution you play at, which are the most important aspects for needing more memory or not, aren't going to change all of a sudden. First of all because you said you don't see yourself buying a new, higher res monitor anytime soon, and second because the textures in games aren't going to become ultra high-res all of a sudden warranting the need for 1gb of memory. Look at the 2900xt 1gb for example, it's a frigging useless card coz you need 2500*1600 resolutions to use all that memory.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Tangman85
That is the problem, I can't wait I am building this machine in a week or two, I want it to be built and ready for gaming. I'm not aiming on playing "super hardcore" games.
I play World of Warcraft & Neverwinter Nights 2, I will play Crysis and probably the new UT, which all should be ran perfectly fine with the cards mentioned, no?

Could someone also comment if the tons of extra memory will be a "future" safe bet at my resolution too?

As for why I dislike ATi cards, too hot I have had very bad experience with ATi cards, my 9800pro broke, x850pro broke and I am using my second 850pro atm (AGP structure cards) - Where as my Nvidia Ti4800SE is still fighting for its life in my second machine 8years later or so

first, what is the rest of you machine like ? Very important!

Secondly NWN2 is a HOGG at maxed settings Crysis will be much more demanding then WoW. And DX10 games strain the GTX now at 12x10.

my rule of thumb ... get the best you can afford if you want "future-proofing" ... that is a GTX ... at this moment in time.

 

[AzN]

In 2 weeks 8800gt should be out. It's supposed to come end of the month. You could wait till then?

Crysis is supposed to be video cards killer. A 8800gts will not let you play comfortably.

 

[JustaGeek]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Tangman85
That is the problem, I can't wait I am building this machine in a week or two, I want it to be built and ready for gaming. I'm not aiming on playing "super hardcore" games.
I play World of Warcraft & Neverwinter Nights 2, I will play Crysis and probably the new UT, which all should be ran perfectly fine with the cards mentioned, no?

Could someone also comment if the tons of extra memory will be a "future" safe bet at my resolution too?

As for why I dislike ATi cards, too hot I have had very bad experience with ATi cards, my 9800pro broke, x850pro broke and I am using my second 850pro atm (AGP structure cards) - Where as my Nvidia Ti4800SE is still fighting for its life in my second machine 8years later or so

first, what is the rest of you machine like ? Very important!

Secondly NWN2 is a HOGG at maxed settings Crysis will be much more demanding then WoW. And DX10 games strain the GTX now at 12x10.

my rule of thumb ... get the best you can afford if you want "future-proofing" ... that is a GTX ... at this moment in time.

Seconded - if you can't wait for the new GPU's.

If you want a good compromise - 640MB GTS.

I would not go for a 320MB card at this time, especially just before the Crysis release...

As I've said many times here at AT, some games (Quake 4, Doom 3) will not play at Ultra Quality settings without the minimum of 512MB of Video Memory, regardless of the resolution.

 

[MarcVenice]

And the qaulity increase from high to ultra in qauke 4 and doom 3 is neglible. I've said it many times before here at AT, in response of your posts, but spending 200$ extra so you can play on ultra high instead of high is NOT worth it, it's not even worth 100$ extra. You are better of spending 200-300$ now, and 200-300$ again in 1 year then spending 500-600$ right now. The only game that could give trouble is Crysis, is that worth 200-300$ extra to you? And that's a possibility, for all we know Crysis will run in dx10 mode at high @ 2500*1600 on a 8500gt -_-

 

[onlyCOpunk]

Yeah there's no point in going " big" right now because when the time when you would actually utilize the rest of that RAM, the card it self will probably be too obsolete to run the game you want to.

 

[postmortemIA]

those ati users want you to share their pain with ati issues...

..see topic below this one (spam)

 

[Tangman85]

I will be getting:
Kingston 2x1024MB (tot. 2048MB) DDR2 PC6400/800MHz CL5
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz 4MB FSB1333 Boxed Socket 775
Abit IP35-E iP35 4DDR2-DIMM 3PCI 3PCIe SATA Raid Audio GB-LAN Socket775 ATX

So, from what I understand it is the best to get the 320MB GTS then upgrade later down the road again? I really do want to have Crysis running flawlessly, could 640 be worth it there? or is the memory overkill and won't be used?
Also, crysis requirements are out, theoretically a GTS 8800 should be able to run it fine?

 

[alcoholbob]

Yeah, NWN2 was pretty badly optimized. At medium settings (which is really max detail but medium shadows) 1600x1200 you only get 40fps on a 8800GTX and C2D, and 31fps on an 8800GTS. On max shadows you lose about 15% more performance.

It's pretty much like Oblivion in that matter, except the map sizes are a lot smaller in NWN2 in comparison.

 

[JustaGeek]

Originally posted by: Tangman85
I will be getting:
Kingston 2x1024MB (tot. 2048MB) DDR2 PC6400/800MHz CL5
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz 4MB FSB1333 Boxed Socket 775
Abit IP35-E iP35 4DDR2-DIMM 3PCI 3PCIe SATA Raid Audio GB-LAN Socket775 ATX

So, from what I understand it is the best to get the 320MB GTS then upgrade later down the road again? I really do want to have Crysis running flawlessly, could 640 be worth it there? or is the memory overkill and won't be used?
Also, crysis requirements are out, theoretically a GTS 8800 should be able to run it fine?

This is a pretty nice setup.

But I would go with the CL4 800MHz memory, with the minimum timings of 4-4-4-12, and voltage of 2.0 - 2.1V. 2GB of RAM is actually today's minimum for comfortable gaming.

And I would definitely go for the 640MB Video Card. I can see the difference between the High and Ultra Quality settings in Quake 4 at 1680x1050. The image quality is absolutely mind-blowing!

And even if you don't have a 22" LCD today, what if you decide to go for the 24" next year...?

Don't limit yourself. Go as high as you can afford today if you want to have a system good for the next few years.

 

[Tangman85]

Problem is, I dislike very high resolutions, 1280*1024 is good for me, stuff is medium big and easy to spot and see.
What keeps me back is the fact that too much memory on a 640 I can't utilize is wasted money.

As far as memory goes CL4/CL5 is really the same I guess + I got some feedback from the Motherboards IP35-E that I should just go for the asus 100% premade for that motherboard memory kits, which is what I am doing

 

[JustaGeek]

Well, you are the only one that knows exactly what is required for your needs.

All that anyone here can do is to present their recommendations based on their personal experiences.

Don't worry, you will make the right decision in the end. It's easier to do it when you see the others recommending things that you will never use, and the ones that just confirm your initial instincts.

Good luck!

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Tangman85
Problem is, I dislike very high resolutions, 1280*1024 is good for me, stuff is medium big and easy to spot and see.
What keeps me back is the fact that too much memory on a 640 I can't utilize is wasted money.

As far as memory goes CL4/CL5 is really the same I guess + I got some feedback from the Motherboards IP35-E that I should just go for the asus 100% premade for that motherboard memory kits, which is what I am doing

that will be a nice system ... if you intend no further upgrades for awhile, the GTX is for you

What you don't realize is that current DX10 games make your GTX cry at 12x10
--You may not even get full details with 4xAA/16xAF ... if you don't care about DX10 games [why, i can't imagine] or plan to upgrade your GPU in a year or two then think cheaper.

 

[AzN]

Originally posted by: JustaGeek

Originally posted by: Tangman85
I will be getting:
Kingston 2x1024MB (tot. 2048MB) DDR2 PC6400/800MHz CL5
Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 3.0GHz 4MB FSB1333 Boxed Socket 775
Abit IP35-E iP35 4DDR2-DIMM 3PCI 3PCIe SATA Raid Audio GB-LAN Socket775 ATX

So, from what I understand it is the best to get the 320MB GTS then upgrade later down the road again? I really do want to have Crysis running flawlessly, could 640 be worth it there? or is the memory overkill and won't be used?
Also, crysis requirements are out, theoretically a GTS 8800 should be able to run it fine?

This is a pretty nice setup.

But I would go with the CL4 800MHz memory, with the minimum timings of 4-4-4-12, and voltage of 2.0 - 2.1V. 2GB of RAM is actually today's minimum for comfortable gaming.

And I would definitely go for the 640MB Video Card. I can see the difference between the High and Ultra Quality settings in Quake 4 at 1680x1050. The image quality is absolutely mind-blowing!

And even if you don't have a 22" LCD today, what if you decide to go for the 24" next year...?

Don't limit yourself. Go as high as you can afford today if you want to have a system good for the next few years.

Cas 4 vs cas 5 makes makes little difference. Whatever cheaper is better honestly.

But yeah I agree you should get the 640meg version on these high end cards. I would wait like 2 more weeks though since 8800gt is supposed to come out by then. You will save like $100 by waiting.

 

[bryanW1995]

that is terrible feedback on the memory. you can buy corsair ddr2 800 4-4-4-12 for $60 AR right now at the egg. that will be great for your mobo, and give you a little bit more headroom for overclocking or at least better memory performance.

 

[Tangman85]

But then I have to do a lot of messing about to make it run at 800MHz + change the FSB:Memory ratio (1:1.20) I'm not very good at this overclocking stuff. I was told it would automatically set itself to the right parameters because it is 1.8V and SPD? programmed that way.

2x (Corsair XMS2-6400 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 4-4-4-12 Xtreme 2x1024MB (tot. 2GB) DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz with Heatsink) Is what you are recomending?
Would that be a lot of complexity to make it work at 800Mhz though? Since as I said, I'm very bad with these things.

 

[bryanW1995]

shoot, sorry, it's up to $62 AR now... http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145034

you don't have to run it at 800 if you don't want to! just leave it like it is if it's too complicated. I have an ip 35 pro, however, and I can tell you that is unbelievably easy to change the settings if you so desire. Change the multiplier in the bios and it will show you the new fsb. simple.

 

[nyker96]

I think at 1000x1000 or so, 320MB version will do nicely however, 8800GT/GTX has much faster core with more computing power so it will be a big jump to them going from GTS versions. If you want to keep your card longer probbaly one of GTX/GT(coming out) will be better, if just for now, I think your choice of 320 GTS will do nicely for current games.

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: postmortemIA
those ati users want you to share their pain with ati issues...

..see topic below this one (spam)

what issues?

 

[cmdrdredd]

Originally posted by: Tangman85
But then I have to do a lot of messing about to make it run at 800MHz + change the FSB:Memory ratio (1:1.20) I'm not very good at this overclocking stuff. I was told it would automatically set itself to the right parameters because it is 1.8V and SPD? programmed that way.

2x (Corsair XMS2-6400 TWIN2X2048-6400C4 4-4-4-12 Xtreme 2x1024MB (tot. 2GB) DDR2 PC2-6400 800MHz with Heatsink) Is what you are recomending?
Would that be a lot of complexity to make it work at 800Mhz though? Since as I said, I'm very bad with these things.

you don't need to overclock. Just set the BIOS to run DDR2-800 and you're done.

 

[MarcVenice]

Personaly I'd go with 2x1gb of the 4-4-4-12 crucial ballistix for 60$ AR. As for the videocard, who in their right mind would spend 500$ on a videocard right now, to game at 1280*1024? Yes dx10 games are poorly optimized and current dx10 cards can't run them for shit, so pay 250$ now for a 8800gt, and pay 250$ in a year or so for a 9800gts or whatever nvidia brings out by then. You will get good performance for now, and good performance again in a year. With a 8800gtx you are going to cry when all games being released will be full fledged dx10 games and there are videocards that cost 250$ that completely destroy your expensivve gtx.