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adding anothe g-card

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Joined
16 Aug 2008
Posts
66
:DHi all, i currently have a bfg 8800 gts 640mb special edition card, would it be worth my while adding another card, would it imrove my graphics or is it a waste of time, if it is worth the touble, im not sure how to go about this anyway, so any help is much appreciated, here is my current spec,

amd phenom II 940 black edition 3.3ghz
asus m3a32-mvp wifi deluxe
8gb ocz reaper 1066mhz
zalamn 9500
BFG gfeorce 8800 gts 640mb special edition
corsair tx 650 power supply
antec 1200 case
vista 64 premium

kind regards:D.
 
Hi m8, if i buy another 8800gts, probably around 100 it will cost me, but since i cant put another card in then, will i have to remove my currnet one and buy a better card?.
 
Or a 4850, little bit more than your £100, but it will allow you to go Crossfire later on should you choose to do so.

A 4850 will be a good jump up from the 8800GTS 640MB.

Of course all this upgrade business depends what games you're running and at what resolution.
For all we know you might be playing DiabloII (and to be fair who isn't) on a 1024x768 monitor, but I think that's unlikely based on your system :p
 
setter, i was looking at the bfg version of the 9800 gtx, a little more expensive but something to take into comsideration i think, i have never used an ati card tibbsey so not sure about it, are they good cards?, and can you please update me about crossfire, im not sure what it is ir how it works, i take it ati cards can only be used via crossfire?, thx guys.
 
The latest ATI cards (4xxx series) have really brought a revival of ATI after having been virtually dominated by Nvidia's 8xxx series.

I've got an ATI 4870x2 and absolutely love it (upgraded from a 8800GTX).

Crossfire is ATI's version of SLi, that is, using 2 or more graphics cards together to process graphics. They are plugged into the motherboard PCI-E slots then linked using a special cable (provided with the graphics card or the motherboard).
The two cards then work together to share the processing workload, so increasing the FPS achieved.**


According to the Guru3D Graphics comparison chart, the 4850 is slightly ahead of the 9800GTX+ in some games, and slightly behind it in others. The 4850 appears to retain slightly higher FPS as the screen resolution increases.

Having just looked at the prices for both the 4850 and the 9800GTX+ again, the 4850 can be had for as little as £112, and the 9800GTX+ for £114.
Not really much difference.

The main reason I suggested it as an alternative for the Nvidia card is that should you wish to, you can purchase another ATI card and use them together in Crossfire, whereas if you bought a Nvidia card you would not be able to get another and use them together (you would have to replace it and just have 1 card) in your current system as AMD motherboards do not support Nvidia's SLi.

Hope some of this helps.

:)



** This may not be technically accurate and is my best understanding of the technology.
 
You could also sell your current graphics card and add it to your budget.

4850 is a very good card if you can stretch to it.
 
I wouldn't bother upgrading to an 9800GTX or HD4850, those cards are barely any faster.
Buy a 4780 or GTX260 if you want a real upgrade.

A 2nd card would be pointless too, personally I'd sell my card and grab a single HD4870.

98vs45vs88.jpg



See? Barely 20% boost on average...
 
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Still very mediocre upgrade, a downgrade in some cases like mass effect and most prolly other UE3 engined games. I wouldn't waste my time and money personally unless I'd get at least a 50% boost. Really, save up for a HD4870, once you have it you won't regret it.
No point buying a G92 based chip now or a 4850 which is meant to compete with it. Do you really want to spend 100 quid on an upgrade for a -10 to +20 % performance difference depending on game ?

Sell the 8800GTS for 65 quid, add 100 quid, and buy a HD4870.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-091-PC

that is a good upgrade.
A 4850 or 9800GTX is not a good upgrade, it's a waste of time.
 
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Still very mediocre upgrade, a downgrade in some cases like mass effect and most prolly other UE3 engined games. I wouldn't waste my time and money personally unless I'd get at least a 50% boost. Really, save up for a HD4870, once you have it you won't regret it.
No point buying a G92 based chip now or a 4850 which is meant to compete with it. Do you really want to spend 100 quid on an upgrade for a -10 to +20 % performance difference depending on game ?

Sell the 8800GTS for 65 quid, add 100 quid, and buy a HD4870.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-091-PC

that is a good upgrade.
A 4850 or 9800GTX is not a good upgrade, it's a waste of time.

+1
'High' end cards are 1gig or thereabouts, cards like the 48701gb / 260 (216sp).
 
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