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7800GS - So Whos Getting One?

Yeah, I agree with you Tooks.
Its a nice option for those with AGP rigs who can't/don't need to upgrade the rest of their system yet.

I thought about getting one myself to replace my old AGP card, but then remembered I have a Dual Sata II mobo, so its a non issue! :p
 
Tooks said:
For P4 users such as myself, and as I've said on another thread, upgrading my system to PCI E would cost me much much more than £200 as I would need a new Processor, a Case (Mines MATX and modded, which I appreciate won't be the same for everybody), a Decent AMD Heatsink (One which I'd like to look at!), plus the PCI E graphics card itself of course. All this last time I looked totalled £700 or so for comparable components to my AGP setup.
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You can buy socket 478 PCI-e boards, if it is 423 you could do with an upgrade anyway.
 
Raikiri said:
You can buy socket 478 PCI-e boards, if it is 423 you could do with an upgrade anyway.
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My reason for buying this card rather than going PCIe/939?

I don't want to go 939, would rather wait for AM2. Socket 754 CPUs still have easily enough performance to keep the latest games happy.

I didn't swap my mobo for two reasons. Firstly, I have a DTR CPU, which is a struggle to get BIOSes for. I had trouble at first getting it to POST on the DFI, which in the end required a custom BIOS. Now it's going happily, i'd rather not run the risk of another board which may or may not recognise it.
Secondly, the DFI nF3 is a stonker of a board, it's fast, overclockable, and has more options than anybody would ever need. It's also really stable, many have reported 300+FSB's using it.

Too all those thinking of upgrading to PCIe, if you have a good reason to stay with AGP, then stay. This is a good card, and will give good results even with the latest games.
 
Raikiri, yes, I'd been looking at some S478 PCI E boards, but I was a bit underwhelmed with the chipsets on offer.

Just been having another look around OCUK and noticed some nforce4 chipset MATX PCIE AMD boards too. Mmmm, got me thinking, buying one of those along with a 3500 AMD Skt 939, AC Cooler and a 7800GT PCI E card would be about £450...

Only £200 or so above a 7800GS... Stop it you guys, you've got me thinking now!!! And, if I could sell my P4 and Mobo, along with the 6800GS, then it's less than a £100.... Doh!!

Would the above rig be a swift performer you think?

:confused:
 
Yes but go for the A64 3700+ over the 3500+. It's only a fraction more, clocks far better and it's a fair amount quicker due to the extra cache
 
Tute said:
Right sir. It's here, it's in the case, the drivers are installed, and i've started playing.

First thing I notice in Painkiller and Quake 4 - the frame rates are smooth. By that, I mean my X800XT had a frame rate range of 10-70. The 7800GS has a range of more like 30-60. Not as fast, but the card never gets really slow (got FRAPS running).

IQ, as far as I can see, is pretty close to the X800XT PE. Looks good at 1280x1024 on High/Ultra settings, 4xAA/4xAF.

Just gonna give it some more games to really test the card, but before that i'm going to clock it and see what max core/mem I get.

The biggest difference between this and my old card is the noise. Towards the end of it's life, my X800 started sounding like a hoover. I just thought this was normal and carried on. But the 7800GS is whisper quiet. I can barely hear it spin up at POST, let alone idling. And it makes no more noise under load.

Initial impressions are VERY GOOD. Worth every penny. :)

[I'll post back later with clock results and some screenies.]
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Thanks for that

That's what I'm hoping - with Quake IV it's fine most of the time with 4xAA but it almost grinds to a halt in places.

I'll have to start having a serious think!

The fact that the card is proving to be a good clocker is promising too, as is the noise level! (Gone to some extent to quieten my PC. The stock X800Pro HSF was OK but replaced it with a Zalman VF700. The stock 6800GT HSF is far too noisy for me!)
 
yes oh yes indeedy! my poor old 9800xt is now looking at being draw bound :p

one question before i sign on the dotted line, why does this card appear (OC UK website) to have 40gb/sec memory bandwidth but the 7800gt pci e has 33.something gb/sec mem bandwidth, and the 7800gtx has 38.something gb/sec, but from all reviews it performs slighty lower than the gt? seems rather puzzling have I missed something or is it a typo?
 
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What's the best option for me? 7800GS and upgrade next year to Vista/DX10 card or £600 on a new PCI-Express Rig and 7800GT? I want to play Oblivion come end of March.

G
 
galadial said:
What's the best option for me? 7800GS and upgrade next year to Vista/DX10 card or £600 on a new PCI-Express Rig and 7800GT? I want to play Oblivion come end of March.

G
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Your Athlon XP @ 2.3Ghz is still a pretty good chip.

The 7800GS offers a decent boost over the 6600GT, especially when overclocked. I feel that if you don't want to spend a lot of money on a complete system overhall then the 7800GS should do a lot to keep your machine playing games with the eye candy on until next year
 
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