NVIDIA's 7950 vs. 7900

[OSUCowboy]

Article

I'm going to be picking up a C2D 6600 gaming computer from Dell and I'm curious about potential video cards. The 7950GX2 has 1GB memory and the 7900GS (single GPU) has 256MB memory. So, I assumed that the 7950 is the better card for gaming, having more memory and a second GPU, but the article above makes me think. It says that the 7900GS would be better "in games that are heavily CPU bound or don?t support multi-GPU rendering modes, the lower clock speeds of the 7950 GX2 will mean it will run slightly slower than the 7900 GTX and more inline with the 7900 GT."

My question: which is better for what I want to do? I would be playing WoW and many of the newer games. I want a computer that would be strong for some time. The 8800 is a bit out of my price range right now, and most games won't make full use of new DX10 technology for a couple years.

Thanks in advance

 

[40sTheme]

Get the 7950GX2, no contest. CPU bound is not an issue in newer games.

 

[Kromis]

Whoa, whoa, whoa...the 8800 is out of your price range? How can you get a 7950GX2 then? It costs roughly as much as an 8800GTS! WTF?

 

[OSUCowboy]

Originally posted by: Kromis
Whoa, whoa, whoa...the 8800 is out of your price range? How can you get a 7950GX2 then? It costs roughly as much as an 8800GTS! WTF?

Ok, maybe not out of my price range, just not offered by Dell yet. The 7950GX2 is the best video card for the XPS 410.

 

[Kromis]

Originally posted by: OSUCowboy

Originally posted by: Kromis
Whoa, whoa, whoa...the 8800 is out of your price range? How can you get a 7950GX2 then? It costs roughly as much as an 8800GTS! WTF?

Ok, maybe not out of my price range, just not offered by Dell yet. The 7950GX2 is the best video card for the XPS 410.

Well, the 8800GTX/GTS is currently overpriced at the site. So...

How much does a 7950GX2 add to the cost of the PC at Dell?

 

[OSUCowboy]

Originally posted by: Kromis

Originally posted by: OSUCowboy

Originally posted by: Kromis
Whoa, whoa, whoa...the 8800 is out of your price range? How can you get a 7950GX2 then? It costs roughly as much as an 8800GTS! WTF?

Ok, maybe not out of my price range, just not offered by Dell yet. The 7950GX2 is the best video card for the XPS 410.

Well, the 8800GTX/GTS is currently overpriced at the site. So...

How much does a 7950GX2 add to the cost of the PC at Dell?

$650 above the stock card (256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache). I figure, with a C2D 6600, 2GB RAM, and the 7950GX2, gaming will be smooth.

 

[Keysplayr]

Originally posted by: OSUCowboy

Originally posted by: Kromis

Originally posted by: OSUCowboy

Originally posted by: Kromis
Whoa, whoa, whoa...the 8800 is out of your price range? How can you get a 7950GX2 then? It costs roughly as much as an 8800GTS! WTF?

Ok, maybe not out of my price range, just not offered by Dell yet. The 7950GX2 is the best video card for the XPS 410.

Well, the 8800GTX/GTS is currently overpriced at the site. So...

How much does a 7950GX2 add to the cost of the PC at Dell?

$650 above the stock card (256MB nVidia Geforce 7300LE TurboCache). I figure, with a C2D 6600, 2GB RAM, and the 7950GX2, gaming will be smooth.

OMFGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOD> 650 over the 7300LE. Order the system with the 7300, and purchase an 8800GTS/GTX from a reputable online vendor with a good rep. Newegg, ZZF, like that. Good to have the 7300 as a spare.

 

[OSUCowboy]

OMFGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOD> 650 over the 7300LE. Order the system with the 7300, and purchase an 8800GTS/GTX from a reputable online vendor with a good rep. Newegg, ZZF, like that. Good to have the 7300 as a spare.

I've considered that, but I'm not sure what the power usage and heat given off by the 8800. I'd hesitate only because I'm not sure if the stock cooler and PSU can support such a powerful card.

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: OSUCowboy

OMFGGGGGGGGGGGOOOOOOD> 650 over the 7300LE. Order the system with the 7300, and purchase an 8800GTS/GTX from a reputable online vendor with a good rep. Newegg, ZZF, like that. Good to have the 7300 as a spare.

I've considered that, but I'm not sure what the power usage and heat given off by the 8800. I'd hesitate only because I'm not sure if the stock cooler and PSU can support such a powerful card.

Your kidding right?
The 8800GTS uses LESS power then the X1950XTX (IIRC).

Get the cheapo card then get an 8800GTS off of Newegg or something.

It's just silly to get a 7950GX2 now. 8800GTS has better IQ, better performance in shader heavy games, HDR+AA, and it's faster then the 7950GX2 when you OC it (if you don't, it performs roughly the same.

And besides, the 7950GX2 is a SLI solution. 8800GTS is a single card solution.
Single more powerful card>SLI.
No brainier here.

 

[VERTIGGO]

have you considered building? you would save a lot of money off of an XPS solution. I was configuring an XPS laptop, and then since they wouldn't ship to military addresses, I had to go elsewhere (hypersonic pcs) and the same but with some better parts for $400 less. If you're configuring a desktop its even better to build since they rip you off with (like the previous guys said) $650 to "step-up" from one part to another

 

[Kromis]

Originally posted by: VERTIGGO
have you considered building? you would save a lot of money off of an XPS solution. I was configuring an XPS laptop, and then since they wouldn't ship to military addresses, I had to go elsewhere (hypersonic pcs) and the same but with some better parts for $400 less. If you're configuring a desktop its even better to build since they rip you off with (like the previous guys said) $650 to "step-up" from one part to another

Yep. Building is *much* more cost effective.

 

[OSUCowboy]

Originally posted by: Kromis

Originally posted by: VERTIGGO
have you considered building? you would save a lot of money off of an XPS solution. I was configuring an XPS laptop, and then since they wouldn't ship to military addresses, I had to go elsewhere (hypersonic pcs) and the same but with some better parts for $400 less. If you're configuring a desktop its even better to build since they rip you off with (like the previous guys said) $650 to "step-up" from one part to another

Yep. Building is *much* more cost effective.

I've considered it, yes, but I'm not sure if I have the knowledge yet to build my own computer. I agree, however, that upward of $2,000 and more is a lot to trust to Dell, but, in this case, I trust them more than I trust myself.

Also, what's this I hear about the 8800 with Vista not working or something? I want to get Vista and I want to make sure, if I get the 8800, that everything will work properly. Any insight?

 

[AFurryReptile]

What you have probably heard is that the 8800 requires Vista to utilize its full potential, since Vista is all that will support dx10. The 7950gx2 will not support dx10 in any game, like the 8800 will, and certainly won't stay a high end card for two years.

 

[OSUCowboy]

Something about the drivers?

 

[tuteja1986]

Dude just build your own PC ... its cheaper , faster and better.

 

[OSUCowboy]

I'm seriously considering.

 

[tuteja1986]

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 $318
MSI NX8800GTS-T2D640E GDDR3 PCI Express x16 $419 or $390 after rebate
G.SKILL 2GB 4.4.4.12 6400 F2-6400CL4D-2GBPK $230
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 motherboard $145
OCZ GameXStream OCZ600GXSSLI ATX12V 600W Power Supply $135
GIGABYTE 3D AURORA case $130
Samsung SH-S182M/BEBN DVDRW $33
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200KS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb $90
Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 4 $76

 

[mazeroth]

I was about to offer to build your computer for you, seeing your name is OSUCowboy. Then I saw you were from Oklahoma and not Ohio, so that's not going to work!

Does anyone live near OSUCowboy that would be willing to help a newbie out? Seriously, build your own. It's so easy someone could probably walk you through it on the phone in under an hour.

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: AFurryReptile
What you have probably heard is that the 8800 requires Vista to utilize its full potential, since Vista is all that will support dx10. The 7950gx2 will not support dx10 in any game, like the 8800 will, and certainly won't stay a high end card for two years.

Right now theres no Vista drivers, but consider these facts: (1) Vista has yet to be released to the genral public (2) The 8800GTX will smoke a 7950GX2 in XP right now & the GTS will at worst match it without SLI-related issues (3) Even when Vista is released, its going to be quite awhile before DX10 games that require it are released.

Although the 8800's are DX10 compatible, buying them for their great DX9 performance in XP is a perfectly reasonable choice ... if you want to save some money the only card to buy right now is the ATI X1950XT which owns the mid-range at approx $249 ... all the options between it & the 8800GTS arn't really worth the extra money IMO ... the only Nvidia mid-range card I'd even consider is the passive-cooled XFX 7950GT for a silent build.

 

[Vinnybcfc]

Originally posted by: OSUCowboy
I'm going to be picking up a C2D 6600 gaming computer from Dell

My advice is to pick up some books on how to build a computer and ask people on the forums etc

I recently built a friend a high end system which saved around £700/$1400 over going to Dell

Or do what other people have said and buy a 7300 with it and then buy a card seperately

I wouldnt go for a 7950GX2 either, I would look at a 8800, 7900GTX or a X1950XT

Originally posted by: OSUCowboy
Something about the drivers?

The drivers dont work in Vista yet, January 30th is the approx release date for the new drivers.

I would stick with XP until you have to move to get DX10

 

[OSUCowboy]

Thanks for all the advice, guys. I have some things to think about.