9800GT or 9800GTX Plus?

DRS wrote:
Current System:

XFX o/c 8600GTS, S939 X2 4200 @2.6Ghz (=FX61), 2G DDR400.

FX61? Nah..but you do need to get past 2.6GHz. There is no reason at all
you can't hit 2.8GHz, and if you are lucky with good RAM 2.95Ghz.

225 MHz x 13 (Cpu multi) = 2,925 Gz.


When I built this system I had an XFX o/c 7800GT but it died under warranty
and was replaced with the o/c 8600GTS. Its DX9 performance is in the same
ballpark as the 7800GT but its relative lack of bandwidth means it suffers
at resolutions like 1600x1200 even on older games like CoD2 so I figured I
would replace it in the near future.

At current street prices I could get an XFX 9800GT for AU$205 or an XFX
9800GTX Plus for AU$289. Even the 9800GT would be a big jump over what I
have now but I'm not sure the 9800GTX Plus wouldn't be overkill for the rest
of the system (which is why I'm not considering a GTX260 or 280).

Opinions, please.

CoD2 will run just dandy with an 8600GTS 1600x1200 with the right
settings. So you shouldn't get a new card for CoD2.

But in your price points of 205 -- 289 AUD I think every model but the
two most expensive on the market are available to you, so you should
focus on the games you want to play and then get the hardware best
suited for those games.

Also, as I am big fan of the s939 socket here's a link to CPU
performance scaling in games, across different resolutions as well, so
you can how your platform performs against the state of the art:

http://www.guru3d.com/article/cpu-sc...re-processors/

Here's a CoD 4 spoiler to those who can't wait:

At (1600 x 120)0 the slowest CPU tested - the Athlon X2 4850e @ 2.5GHz -
had a result of 53FPS and the fast Quad Core Intel QX9770 @ 3.2Ghz had
55 FPS. Which is within the margin of error for the test.

However, if you are a GRAW2 fan, you get about two-thirds more FPS from
50 to 86 at 1600x1200. But if you are a GRAW fan, you know AMD gets beat
in that game and you also know that there is no real antialiasing in
GRAW, so your 50 FPS is a sustained 50 FPS in even cluttered conditions.

Point being, your choice(s) of game(s) should guide your hardware
purchasing as results vary.

"Mr.E Solved!" wrote in message
news
DRS wrote:
Current System:

XFX o/c 8600GTS, S939 X2 4200 @2.6Ghz (=FX61), 2G DDR400.

FX61? Nah..

Maybe it was the FX60. Check out Tom's CPU charts.

but you do need to get past 2.6GHz. There is no reason at
all you can't hit 2.8GHz, and if you are lucky with good RAM 2.95Ghz.

I had trouble getting my system stable at 2.7Ghz without ramping the voltage
up way past the recommended range. I have an Arctic Cooler 64 on the CPU so
heat has never been a problem. The RAM (2 * Corsair TWINX1024C2 = 4 *
512MB) I dropped back to DDR333 and let the increased base frequency bring
it back up to DDR398. It had issues with DDR480 (it was stable but
PCMark06's memory access time tests showed it was actually slower than at
DDR400).

[...]

CoD2 will run just dandy with an 8600GTS 1600x1200 with the right
settings. So you shouldn't get a new card for CoD2.

I'm not, but the fact CoD2 won't run perfectly at max settings at 1600x1200
with the 8600GTS but would with the 7800GT tells me there's an issue. Given
I can more than double my DX9 performance for fairly small money suggests I
should do it and thereby extend my system's lifespan by a year or two. I've
spotted a 9800GTX+ for AU$245, so if they continue to drop in the near
future I may grab one. The HD4850 is tempting but I'm a bit worried about
its heat triggering the apparently noisy fan as my system now is virtually
silent. I've used the front and read 120mm case fan slots so I've got no
more case cooling options.

"First of One" wrote in message

"DRS" wrote in message
...
So, the HD4850 is competitive with the 9800GTX+, draws slightly less
power but runs hotter and is a bit noisier. I'll have a think.

Yep, that about sums it up. Just keep in mind the 4850 is almost
AUD$100 cheaper.

I walked into the store yesterday expecting to stay green and walked out
red. I have officially gone over to the Dark Side.

I was sufficiently concerned about the heat issues of the 4850 that I was
prepared to pay AU$265 for the ASUS 9800GTX+. However, I went for a browse
and found the ASUS EAH4850 which has a huge Zalman-type cooler so I took a
punt on that instead for AU$215. Unlike the reference card it's a 2-slot
setup even though there's no rear exhaust like the Nvidia's have. Since my
Arctic Cooler 64 blows air across the CPU's heatsink towards the rear
exhaust fan I have really good air flow just above the video card so it's
fine.

At the default ASUS fan speed (50%), ambient temperature 19C, the card idles
at about 45C according to GPU-Z. That compares very favourably with the XFX
o/c 8600GTS at 57C. I don't have peak temperatures for it yet, partly
because I have to find a tool to replace NVTempLog, but I'm not concerned
(for the record, the 8600GTS peaked at 84C). At 50% fan speed the noise is
modest but subjectively higher than for the 8600GTS, so I may tweak that
down a fraction since it seems I now have some wriggle room.

The upside, of course, is the vast DX9 improvement. The FEAR benchmark went
from an average 41fps at mostly medium settings @1280x960 to an average
88fps with everything maxed (including soft shadows, etc., turned on)
@1600x1200.

The downside is that despite doing a full cleanout of the Nvidia drivers (DC
Pro, etc), I'm having issues like 3DMark06 for some reason not getting past
the splash screen, and with some games like FEAR not shutting down properly.
I can see a full system rebuild coming on when I get time in a few weeks.
As my partner has an 8800GTX I'll continue to monitor this forum but I'll
have to go over to the ATI forum to whinge now.

Try reinstalling 3DMark and the games (without re-using saved config files).

--
"War is the continuation of politics by other means.
It can therefore be said that politics is war without
bloodshed while war is politics with bloodshed."


"DRS" wrote in message
...
The downside is that despite doing a full cleanout of the Nvidia drivers
(DC Pro, etc), I'm having issues like 3DMark06 for some reason not getting
past the splash screen, and with some games like FEAR not shutting down
properly. I can see a full system rebuild coming on when I get time in a
few weeks. As my partner has an 8800GTX I'll continue to monitor this
forum but I'll have to go over to the ATI forum to whinge now.

"First of One" wrote in message

"DRS" wrote in message
...
The downside is that despite doing a full cleanout of the Nvidia
drivers (DC Pro, etc), I'm having issues like 3DMark06 for some
reason not getting past the splash screen, and with some games like
FEAR not shutting down properly. I can see a full system rebuild
coming on when I get time in a few weeks. As my partner has an
8800GTX I'll continue to monitor this forum but I'll have to go over
to the ATI forum to whinge now.

Try reinstalling 3DMark and the games (without re-using saved config
files).

It turns out 3DMark06 needed the Feb 08 hotfix, and I've got FEAR working (I
killed a couple of config files). For the record, the EAH4850 @50% fan
peaked at 63C running 3DMark06 according to HWMonitor (ambient 19C).

DRS wrote:
"First of One" wrote in message

"DRS" wrote in message
...
The downside is that despite doing a full cleanout of the Nvidia
drivers (DC Pro, etc), I'm having issues like 3DMark06 for some
reason not getting past the splash screen, and with some games like
FEAR not shutting down properly. I can see a full system rebuild
coming on when I get time in a few weeks. As my partner has an
8800GTX I'll continue to monitor this forum but I'll have to go over
to the ATI forum to whinge now.

Try reinstalling 3DMark and the games (without re-using saved config
files).

It turns out 3DMark06 needed the Feb 08 hotfix, and I've got FEAR
working (I killed a couple of config files). For the record, the
EAH4850 @50% fan peaked at 63C running 3DMark06 according to
HWMonitor (ambient 19C).

Sounds great.