need a little help... decision making

[SuB]

ok to set the scene.. i think my lovely 8800GTS 640mb... has had it :S

(skip if you like)

I'm pretty sure the stream processors are up the duff...

i first played crysis and it was 'reasonable' after the whole ending water scene that totally killed everything.. i thought ok.. i'll try an overclock.

anyway after some tweaking of all speeds in rivatuner it sort of hit a point where it just got worse?

anyway even at stock now.. whenever i look at 'water' in crysis it completely kills the fps.. i mean like.. VERY badly asif the shaders are b0rked or something.

also playing CoH.. full screen it stutters ALOT, then windowed at the same resolution its suddenly fine.. but still a little sketchy i guess :S which seems odd..

also crashes alot deffinately video card crashes as the pc is still sorta running.. but there is a black screen.

the long and the short of it is.

what should i go for?

say a budget of around £200~£250

8800gt? another 8800gts? an 8800gtx or push into the 9800 series?

(i don't want anything involving x2 or sli) just want to play my games at 1920x1200 (if possible)

also i'd like to include it in a 1/2" ID watercooled setup so waterblock availability is a must really..

cheers guys just can't decided what to get.

SuB

 

[w3bbo]

8800gtx at that res. The 9800gtx is just a revised 8800gtx (but with higher clocks). There are plenty of blocks around that fit the gtx too.

 

[Mr. Smith]

What games do you want to play at that res? I see you have vista so dx10 goodness? Obviously nothing can play crysis at that res smoothly bar gx2's in sli.

The new 99 series are out in July... It seems like a bad idea dropping money on soon to be old tech.

Suppose you could get the 98gtx and sell it when the new stuff arrives.

 

[SuB]

all latest stuff tbh, crysis obviously, all hl2 based stuff (i know that doesn't need the power)

supcom, coh, ut3, etc pretty much any/all latest games really

any thoughts on which models? eg ram etc? or just go for the highest i can afford?

 

[Rastalovich]

9800GTX if I`m buying right now. Performance vS price vS any hastles vS newer tech and relevant newer drivers.

If I`m looking for a cheapy temp card, 8800GT.

July for the 9900 ? Sounds nicer than Q3/Q4. Sounds closer too.

Btw, strip the cooler (think u done that anyway with wc) and whatever off the GTS if u think it`s 100% knackered and can`t rma it. Even if the rma took ages, once it comes back u could sell it

 

[SuB]

its a gainward and after reading their site for what disqualifies the warranty... one of which is different cooling paste/pads lol thus being water cooled... not so good!

 

[Rastalovich]

Gainward can`t consider themselves a supplier to the enthusiast then imo.

 

[SuB]

exactly if ya pop on the site n just have a look at all the things that disqualify you from rma... some i can understand. such as burnt things from overvolting and such.. but the whole heat paste thing is a joke! the tim supplied is 9 times out of 10 a load of rubbish i've often swapped just the cooling paste to AS5 to help temps on stock coolers.. tis a shame

not really sure where to take it tbh. i think i'll save enough to get either a new gts, or as much as i can afford on the gtx range and ignore the 9 series to be honest.. from what i've been reading in custompc today they don't seem all that wow really..

 

[Mr. Smith]

SAY WHAAAAAAA!

The 9 series is going to rock. More SP's, more ROPS... It will be a worthy upgrade. Not to mention the r770.

THis summer is going to be the battle of the gpus, I suggest you read around a few more places!

If I were you and had your budget I'd try find a super cheap 2nd hand 88gt to tide you over, save up for whichever is better gt200/r770

 

[SuB]

hrm perhaps i'll go with a 88gt then?

aren't there numerous driver problems with those? i wouldn't mind trying one of the new gts' i can't / won't be able to afford the uber new tech anyway so something reasonable at around my budget would be cool i guess lol

 

[!TIMMY!]

BFG 8800GT OC 512mb

Not bad @ £113.85. I got a stock Asus when they were £165 back in December.