8800GTX/GTS VS 7900GTX SLI

Combat squirrel · 19 Dec 2006 at 12:18

Any reviews of thread title ? Iv been hunting around, carnt seem to find any

any help would be much appreciated if you could point me in the right direction (even googled it and it didnt turn up anything of great use !

)

Tute · 19 Dec 2006 at 12:28

It's going to be almost neck and neck in performance, however, you'd be quite mad to buy a pair of 7900GTX's at their current price.

When the 8800GTX launched it was worthwhile going 7900 SLi, but with the prices what they are now, it's really not. Unless you can pick them up quite cheap, it would save a lot of time and hassle if you just got the GTX.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2870

That Anandtech review above compares the 8800 cards to a variety of last-gen setups, including the X1950XTX CF and 7900GTX SLi. As you can see, the performance is near neck and neck. However, the IQ is a LOT better, and a single 8800 doesn't need you to fiddle with SLi profiles either.

Unless the prices change a lot, i'm going to say it's 8800GTX all-the-way.

[Edit] Also note that the BFG 8800GTX price appears to be a "this week only" offer!

SnoozE · 19 Dec 2006 at 12:43

Depends what games your playing at mo

I pley CS mostly and bought a machine for what i thought would own CS Source but the 8800 appear to have major problems playing most games that run with the source/hl2 engine.

No doubt they will release some fixed drivers soon, so i would wait a little before you jump in and expect to play games from steam that need the source engine

Combat squirrel · 19 Dec 2006 at 12:46

Nah tis cool, i ALREADY have 2x7900GTX cards in SLI, so was wondering the performance increase to 8800, some stuff its good, some its not, so think ill leave it for abit unless I could get a good price for my 7900 cards, 150/160 each Is what id want for them, however I Dont think a 8800GTX would actually fit in my case, the 7900's are already touching the harddrives as it is

[ui]ICEMAN · 19 Dec 2006 at 12:50

I went from 7900GTX SLI to 8800GTX SLI. Even one 8800GTX was better than my 7900's @2560x1600, significant performance increase in 2142, Oblivion and many others. Don't be fooled by the fact that your SLI setup will be scoring higher than a single 8800 in 06.

SnoozE · 19 Dec 2006 at 12:55

Dont get me wrong, these cards are bloody amazing BF2 and COD2 are absolutely fantastic with these cards. Its just that I play Source engine games mostly so I am patiently waiting for Nvidia to release some better drivers for the source engine.

Thats why i was asking what games you play

Gibbo · 19 Dec 2006 at 12:56

[ui]ICEMAN said:
I went from 7900GTX SLI to 8800GTX SLI. Even one 8800GTX was better than my 7900's @2560x1600, significant performance increase in 2142, Oblivion and many others. Don't be fooled by the fact that your SLI setup will be scoring higher than a single 8800 in 06.

Hi m8

You are spot on!

Just one single 8800 GTX is quicker than a 7900 GTX SLi setup in actual games performance. Plus image quality on the 8800 GTX is far to superior.

Nelly · 19 Dec 2006 at 13:01

Gibbo said:
Hi m8

You are spot on!

Just one single 8800 GTX is quicker than a 7900 GTX SLi setup in actual games performance. Plus image quality on the 8800 GTX is far to superior.

Would you say on par with X1900 XTX image quality or better? I keep asking this because its the only thing thats ever put me off purchasing an Nvidia card for the last 3-4 years!

Combat squirrel · 19 Dec 2006 at 13:02

Gibbo said:
Hi m8

You are spot on!

Just one single 8800 GTX is quicker than a 7900 GTX SLi setup in actual games performance. Plus image quality on the 8800 GTX is far to superior.

Maybe so, but it wont fit in my case anyways and I carnt afford shell out for another case, if you wanna bundle me 2 external HD cases or brackets for 2x 5.25" bays with the card then got yourself a deal gibbo

[ui]ICEMAN · 19 Dec 2006 at 13:08

Nelly said:
Would you say on par with X1900 XTX image quality or better? I keep asking this because its the only thing thats ever put me off purchasing an Nvidia card for the last 3-4 years!

8800's blow any previous card NV or ATI out of the water for IQ, there's simply no comparison.

Here's a screenie I posted here on release day. Pay particular attention to how clear the walkway texture is even into the distance despite being at an angle.

Gibbo · 19 Dec 2006 at 13:30

Nelly said:
Would you say on par with X1900 XTX image quality or better? I keep asking this because its the only thing thats ever put me off purchasing an Nvidia card for the last 3-4 years!

Hi there

I've always preferred ATI image quality but now NVIDIA have taken that crown too. The 8800 series really is something else. Quickest and visually stunning most impressive card on the market.

KWJay · 19 Dec 2006 at 14:08

SnoozE said:
Dont get me wrong, these cards are bloody amazing BF2 and COD2 are absolutely fantastic with these cards. Its just that I play Source engine games mostly so I am patiently waiting for Nvidia to release some better drivers for the source engine.

Thats why i was asking what games you play

I don't see what the problem is there mate, im on an 8800GTS and the source engine seems to run fine on mine. Tried it with HL2 and HL2EP1 and it flies. I'm running the 97.44's at the moment. Not had a problem with a single game yet.

easyrider · 19 Dec 2006 at 14:28

Combat squirrel said:
Any reviews of thread title ? Iv been hunting around, carnt seem to find any any help would be much appreciated if you could point me in the right direction (even googled it and it didnt turn up anything of great use ! )

Like our converstation before.

Get a 8800 GTX

Combat squirrel · 19 Dec 2006 at 14:45

easyrider said:
Like our converstation before.

Get a 8800 GTX

As said ! wont fit in !, harddrives in the way ! waiting see if gibbo will give me free brackets to put the harddrives in the 5.25" drive bays

lol

Tute · 19 Dec 2006 at 14:53

I just have to add about the IQ, yes it is better than the X1900/1950 series, but to most people it won't be *that* noticeable.

You're far better off justifying the purchase by thinking "This card is fast, and cheap, on this week only, and other cards don't seem to be getting cheaper at all!" rather than thinking it's going to give you a gigantic boost to IQ, which it isn't.

[ui]ICEMAN · 19 Dec 2006 at 15:02

Actually this is the first card I've seen that you really see the difference. I've been reviewing hardware for many many years and I agree that for the most part you have to look incredibly hard to see any differences in IQ, this time its actually pretty obvious even to the untrained eye.

gt_junkie · 19 Dec 2006 at 15:04

[ui]ICEMAN said:
8800's blow any previous card NV or ATI out of the water for IQ, there's simply no comparison.

Here's a screenie I posted here on release day. Pay particular attention to how clear the walkway texture is even into the distance despite being at an angle.

[ui]ICEMAN - what fps performance do you get in Oblivion at 2560x1600. I only ask as i have a friend who uses a Dell 30" with a 1900xt 512mb (@xtx speeds).

Cheers in advance!

gt

Tute · 19 Dec 2006 at 15:09

[ui]ICEMAN said:
Actually this is the first card I've seen that you really see the difference. I've been reviewing hardware for many many years and I agree that for the most part you have to look incredibly hard to see any differences in IQ, this time its actually pretty obvious even to the untrained eye.

There was a thread about 8800 IQ, and from the screenshots posted, there looked to be a bigger jump from 7800 -> X1800 than there was from X1800 -> 8800.

Either that or the person with the 7800 had the gamma turned up too far!

Also, while you can notice it, the average user might well not be able to see the difference. I know graphics detail adds to the immersiveness of a game but at the same time if you're ramming your shotgun down a zombie's throat you're hardly going to stop to admire his "pearly white" teeth are you?

Nelly · 19 Dec 2006 at 15:18

Well thats settled then, going to go for a single 8800XTX. Will my Tagan 580W Easycon PSU be able to run a rig involving a E6600 setup?

Tute · 19 Dec 2006 at 15:18

Easily.

Enjoy, and make sure you order before Thursday!