8800 GTX or overclocked GT?

[firefly]

I've got four 8800's - two GTX's, two gt's.

I'm going to sell three and keep one for my new rig.

One of the GT's has a nice factory overclock (660mhz and 1900mhz memory) and a zalman cooler - I like the idea of a quiet pc (after my existing hoover).

Which would you keep - a GTX or the zalman cooled oc GT?

http://www.cpu3d.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3438&Itemid=53&limit=1

Is a GTX fairly quiet and how does it compare with an overclocked GT?

I also have two sli mobo's - asus p5n32-e sli - so I could run two GTX's in sli.

Or I could sell the spare GTX and use the proceeds to buy something useful - like a cpu - and base the build on a P35 board (I've also got an MSI p35 platinum).

My feeling is to go with a GTX on the p35 board and sell the rest.

What do people think?

And any ideas on how I can test the kit while I haven't got a working build to test it on?

 

[The Computer Council]

I'd keep a GTX.

But, it depends really - what resolution do you game at?

There's not a huge amount of performance difference at lower resolutions/lower AA levels, but there can be a massive performance difference at higher resolutions/higher AA.

Here's an example:

We did a 3D Graphics test using "rthdribl" on a 26" Samsung Panel (1920x1200) with x16AA.

We ran the following rig with a 8800GTX and then an 8800GT:

Q6600 Overclocked at 3.4Ghz

2GB Crucial DDR2 PC8500 RAM

Abit IP35 Pro Motherboard

500GB WD SATA

rthdribl Skull Demo

Average FPS 8800GT: 5FPS

Average FPS 8800GTX: 35FPS

Big difference between the two. The GTX is still the daddy (barring the new GX2s) and although you're unlikely to game with such high levels of AA, I'd still recommend keeping your GTX.

My feeling is to go with a GTX on the p35 board and sell the rest.

I'd agree with this.

 

[firefly]

Thanks. I'll be gaming at 1600 x 1200 at least - I've got a mitsubishi dpro 2070 and it can go up to fairly high resolutions (well above what you tested at - tho' I doubt much aa would be needed then)

 

[The Computer Council]

At those resolutions, stick with the GTX.

I'd probably recommend people to buy a GT if they were looking at a new card on a budget since it offers a great value for money/performance combination.

However if it's a flip up between the two that you already have then stay with the GTX.

 

[firefly]

Thanks.

I'll have a look at your site as I need some stuff.

 

[FarFarAway]

In fairness if you look at the reviews we've got graphs detailing performance on all of the latest 8 series cards....

 

[firefly]

Thanks Kempez, and I've been looking through them.

It would be nice if there were some simple comparison graphs separate from the reviews. (Of course, I realise that graphs don't tell the whole story).

Anyway, which would you keep, seeing as you own a GTX and you've tried all these other cards?

 

[FarFarAway]

A Gtx

 

[NobodyNowhereNothing]

I would keep the GTX ... For the following reasons:

1- Its a GTX!!

2- You will play at high resoulation ... The memory will help.

3- Its future proof .. I mean anytime you can put a better cooling on it and overclock!

Keep the GTX my friend!

 

[firefly]

Thanks folks.

GTX it is.

Now, about SLI....

 

[NobodyNowhereNothing]

Thanks folks.

GTX it is.

Now, about SLI....

Well, Thats really upto you, I mean your the best who knows if you need SLI or not ... I was in the same boat as you .. My situation was, I had about 3000 to build a New system So i had the money to get a 790i board and get 2 Ultra's and have them in SLI But i sat down and thought about it and decided to go with a P35 board ( IP35 Pro ) and get a GTX ... I spent the rest of the money on a 24inch HD monitor ... 4 -

640GB Sata drives and a PDA and most importantly on a Great watercooling setup ( Costing me about 300 pounds ) ... The reason was, I only play games %10 of times, So im not exactly a Gamer! and a overclocked GTX plays really nicely for me, for now!

Have fun deciding,

 

[The Computer Council]

Q6600 at 3.0Ghz on an EVGA 780i board with 8800GTXs at stock, Vista Ultimate x64.

3DMark06 scores:

1 card: 12448

2 cards in SLI: 14961

Crysis 1280x1024 Very High:

1 card: 18.74FPS

2 cards in SLI: 24.50FPS

SLI would probably help even more at higher resolutions so the info there may be of use if you're wondering whether to go SLI.

 

[firefly]

Thanks - I presume the 9xxx cards would scale better than that?

Where are you based (the computer council) by the way?

Kempez.

I've noticed that in some of your reviews the gt scores higher than the gtx in certain tests - is this mainly a low res thing and something to do with the way 3dmark 06 is set up, or nvidia's drivers?

 

[Ham]

If your referring to the XFX alpha dog review its factory overclocked pretty far.

 

[firefly]

No it's the MSI NX8800gt zilent (t2d512e) - where do they get these b*ll***t numbers from?

Clocked at 660mhz, 1900 memory, shader clock 1650mhz.

With a zalman vf1000 cooler, so there's probably still a bit of head room for more overclocking.

With the cooler it takes up 2 slots.

http://www.cpu3d.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3438&Itemid=53&limit=1

 

[FarFarAway]

Depending on your res the GT may score higher, but I've found Crysis the GTX plays smoother...

 

[firefly]

Thanks - what is it with 3dmark 06? Have nvidia tuned the drivers to give the g92 cards better scores?

Wouldn't be the first time.

 

[The Computer Council]

Where are you based (the computer council) by the way?

We're just outside Uttoxeter, Staffs though we only actually trade online.

I have a decent cooler on my GT and load temps rarely get above 40'c - temperatures aren't the limiting factor; the card's just at its limit with a hefty overclock - I get just over 15K in 3DMark06 with it, but I'd still swap it out for a GTX if a free one came along.

It'll be interesting to see how the 9800GX2 fairs up in Quad SLI (two cards) which we should be testing as soon as we get hold of the drivers.

The single card did great in the Crysis benchmark but not so well in 3dMark06 - it didn't seem to recognise both cores for us in that. Be good to compare it to ATIs X2 crossfire that we're testing at the moment.