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Nicky Rostu
Fading Star Heavy Industries
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Posted - 2008.06.06 12:10:00 -
[1]
I got hold of Mass Effect recently, and it's a little clunky on my PC. My video card is the bottleneck, since I've got a quad-core processor and decent memory. The card I've got at the moment is a Geforce 7900GS. I'm considering upgrading it but I don't have a huge budget at the moment. I know with the Geforce series the second number can be more important than the first, but would an 8600 be an upgrade for me? I'm thinking of something like this.
Would that card run Mass Effect smoothly at medium-ish settings? Is there an ATi alternative which is better value?
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Nicky Rostu
Fading Star Heavy Industries
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Posted - 2008.06.06 12:10:00 -
[2]
I got hold of Mass Effect recently, and it's a little clunky on my PC. My video card is the bottleneck, since I've got a quad-core processor and decent memory. The card I've got at the moment is a Geforce 7900GS. I'm considering upgrading it but I don't have a huge budget at the moment. I know with the Geforce series the second number can be more important than the first, but would an 8600 be an upgrade for me? I'm thinking of something like this.
Would that card run Mass Effect smoothly at medium-ish settings? Is there an ATi alternative which is better value?
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Erotic Irony
0bsession
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Posted - 2008.06.06 12:15:00 -
[3]
I thought the standard mid range, jack of all cards was some species of 8800x.x.
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Eve Players are not very smart.
Support Killmail Overhaul
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Erotic Irony
0bsession
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Posted - 2008.06.06 12:15:00 -
[4]
I thought the standard mid range, jack of all cards was some species of 8800x.x.
___
Eve Players are not very smart.
Support Killmail Overhaul
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Kyanzes
Utopian Research I.E.L.
The ENTITY.
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Posted - 2008.06.06 12:16:00 -
[5]
Linkage
That's at 1024 ofc.
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GET TO THE CHOPPA!!!
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. |
Kyanzes
Utopian Research I.E.L.
The ENTITY.
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Posted - 2008.06.06 12:16:00 -
[6]
Linkage
That's at 1024 ofc.
---------------------------------------------
GET TO THE CHOPPA!!!
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese. |
Nicky Rostu
Fading Star Heavy Industries
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Posted - 2008.06.06 12:40:00 -
[7]
 Impressive! Thanks!
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Imperator Jora'h
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Posted - 2008.06.06 13:36:00 -
[8]
Nvidia and ATI are releasing their next generation of cards June 18 (for Nvidia...very close to that for ATI).
Of course those cards will be expensive, top end stuff but they should pull the prices of what is already out down.
Consider waiting two weeks for your purchase if you want to save some cash.
FWIW I play Mass Effect at 1920x1200 on a Core2 Duo and 8800GTX with everything buffed and it runs fine. Looks nice although frankly it feels a tad behind the times likely due to its console roots.
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"Of course," said my grandfather, pulling a gun from his belt as he stepped from the Time Machine, "there's no paradox if I shoot you!"
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ReaperOfSly
Lyrus Associates
The Star Fraction
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Posted - 2008.06.06 14:48:00 -
[9]
I have high hopes for the ATI Raden 4850. I hear it will be very close in price to the 8800GT and have far superior performance.
I really hope ATI come out on top this time. nVidia have been getting lazy and complacent, and their 9*** series was a joke. Basically overclocked 8800s. So we need some competition in the market.
__________________________
 Quote:
...bored, skint, no charter, and a ship that looks like an explosion in a girder factory...
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Nicky Rostu
Fading Star Heavy Industries
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Posted - 2008.06.06 15:08:00 -
[10]
Originally by: Imperator Jora'h
Nvidia and ATI are releasing their next generation of cards June 18 (for Nvidia...very close to that for ATI).
Of course those cards will be expensive, top end stuff but they should pull the prices of what is already out down.
Consider waiting two weeks for your purchase if you want to save some cash.
FWIW I play Mass Effect at 1920x1200 on a Core2 Duo and 8800GTX with everything buffed and it runs fine. Looks nice although frankly it feels a tad behind the times likely due to its console roots.
Isn't it Unreal 3 powered? That's already behind the times? I feel so old
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Eternal Error
Exitus Acta Probant
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Posted - 2008.06.06 17:08:00 -
[11]
8600GT is old technology... Try the 9600 GT, it offers something like double the performance for only 50% more or so (looking at U.S. prices). If that's too expensive, try the 8800GS/9600GSO... they perform better than the 8600GT for not much more at all.
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Victor Valka
Kissaki Corporation
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Posted - 2008.06.06 17:16:00 -
[12]
Originally by: Eternal Error
8600GT is old technology... Try the 9600 GT, it offers something like double the performance for only 50% more or so (looking at U.S. prices). If that's too expensive, try the 8800GS/9600GSO... they perform better than the 8600GT for not much more at all.
KILL 9600GT WITH FIRE!
It's worse then 8800GT if only a wee bit cheaper. Unless you didn't notice, it only has half the 8800GT's stream processors and they both have them same max bandwidth.
9 series are fail.
Originally by: Roxanna Kell
You are insane.
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ReaperOfSly
Lyrus Associates
The Star Fraction
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Posted - 2008.06.06 17:29:00 -
[13]
Originally by: Victor Valka
Originally by: Eternal Error
8600GT is old technology... Try the 9600 GT, it offers something like double the performance for only 50% more or so (looking at U.S. prices). If that's too expensive, try the 8800GS/9600GSO... they perform better than the 8600GT for not much more at all.
KILL 9600GT WITH FIRE!
It's worse then 8800GT if only a wee bit cheaper. Unless you didn't notice, it only has half the 8800GT's stream processors and they both have them same max bandwidth.
9 series are fail.
This is true. I believe the 9600 uses the old G80 core found in the 8600GT and the 320MB and 640MB versions of the 8800GTS cards. It does at least have the redeeming quality of being cheap(ish). The 8800GT will deliver more performance per penny spent.
The 9800 series use the G92 core found on the 8800GT. They're basically overclocked 8800GT's with bigger heatsinks.
__________________________
Quote:
...bored, skint, no charter, and a ship that looks like an explosion in a girder factory...
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Victor Valka
Kissaki Corporation
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Posted - 2008.06.06 17:34:00 -
[14]
Originally by: ReaperOfSly
This is true. I believe the 9600 uses the old G80 core found in the 8600GT and the 320MB and 640MB versions of the 8800GTS cards. It does at least have the redeeming quality of being cheap(ish). The 8800GT will deliver more performance per penny spent.
The 9800 series use the G92 core found on the 8800GT. They're basically overclocked 8800GT's with bigger heatsinks.
On an unrelated note, when did SF gain another corp?
Originally by: Roxanna Kell
You are insane.
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ReaperOfSly
Lyrus Associates
The Star Fraction
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Posted - 2008.06.06 17:56:00 -
[15]
Originally by: Victor Valka
Originally by: ReaperOfSly
This is true. I believe the 9600 uses the old G80 core found in the 8600GT and the 320MB and 640MB versions of the 8800GTS cards. It does at least have the redeeming quality of being cheap(ish). The 8800GT will deliver more performance per penny spent.
The 9800 series use the G92 core found on the 8800GT. They're basically overclocked 8800GT's with bigger heatsinks.
On an unrelated note, when did SF gain another corp?
A few days ago 
__________________________
Quote:
...bored, skint, no charter, and a ship that looks like an explosion in a girder factory...
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Victor Valka
Kissaki Corporation
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Posted - 2008.06.06 17:58:00 -
[16]
Originally by: ReaperOfSly
A few days ago
Congratulations, then! 
Originally by: Roxanna Kell
You are insane.
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Imperator Jora'h
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Posted - 2008.06.06 18:47:00 -
[17]
Originally by: ReaperOfSly
I have high hopes for the ATI Raden 4850. I hear it will be very close in price to the 8800GT and have far superior performance.
I really hope ATI come out on top this time. nVidia have been getting lazy and complacent, and their 9*** series was a joke. Basically overclocked 8800s. So we need some competition in the market.
I'm not so sure. That new Nvidia card is looking to be a killer near as anyone can tell (mostly educated rumor based on some leaks). The biggest difference is the new high-end card will have a 512-bit memory bandwidth and 240 stream processors. This site claims it is 3x faster than a Radeon 3870.
Only downsides I see is this is a single core GPU (supposedly Nvidias last one) and is a 65nm core (they are rumors later they may release the same card with a new 55nm core. As a result this thing has a whopping 236W TDP!! Thing is going to be freaking HOT! Not to mention a power hog.
The Radeon 4870 looks to have double the stream processors of the Nvidia but a 256-bit bus. Chances are the faster bus of the Nvidia will win. Good points of the Radeon is a 55nm core and much lower TDP (157W) and, supposedly a markedly lower price. Bang for your buck likely the better option.
Of course we will need to wait till they hit the street and see the benchmarks to know for sure.
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"Of course," said my grandfather, pulling a gun from his belt as he stepped from the Time Machine, "there's no paradox if I shoot you!"
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Nicky Rostu
Fading Star Heavy Industries
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Posted - 2008.06.06 18:50:00 -
[18]
Edited by: Nicky Rostu on 06/06/2008 18:51:13
Hmm... I've been looking around and it looks like there's a lot of things to consider. There's some cheaper 8600s which claim to have DDR2 memory, while other models (and my current card) have GDDR3. Is there a big difference, and if there is why do some newer graphics cards have older technology than the last wave? Also, how important should memory/processor speeds and the other random numbers on the box be to my decision?
EDIT: this is about my shoestring student budget, stop talking about things I will never be able to afford 
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ReaperOfSly
Lyrus Associates
The Star Fraction
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Posted - 2008.06.06 19:09:00 -
[19]
Try a Radeon HD2600 Pro. It'll run Mass Effect fairly well at medium settings and will set you back about 40 quid. For ~90 quid, you could get a Radeon HD3850 Pro which has comparable performance to the 8800GT. It'll run every game I throw at it at high settings and with all the bells and whistles at 1680x1050.
Both of these are cards I have personally used.
__________________________
Quote:
...bored, skint, no charter, and a ship that looks like an explosion in a girder factory...
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Imperator Jora'h
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Posted - 2008.06.06 19:25:00 -
[20]
Originally by: Nicky Rostu
Is there a big difference, and if there is why do some newer graphics cards have older technology than the last wave? Also, how important should memory/processor speeds and the other random numbers on the box be to my decision?
DDR3 has a higher bandwidth than DDR2. Think a 4-lane road vs a 2-lane road for bandwidth.
DDR2 has faster timings than DDR3. Think on that road the DDR2 has fewer stoplights.
Which is better really depends on implementation and what you want to do with it. In general faster beats more bandwidth. In theory the bandwidth should win but as the debacle with RAMBUS showed ages ago it is rare to saturate even a DDR2 pipe so the faster speed of DDR2 wins.
Again though it also depends on what you are doing. In some cases like video editing more bandwidth has greater benefit. In a graphics card they are trying to optimize everything so it needs to be evaluated as a total package and not on the basis of one number (and frankly they benefit both from speed and bandwidth improvements). Just like a car's speed cannot be evaluated looking at horsepower alone...lots of things impact overall performance.
Since you are on a budget I'd pick a max price you are willing to spend then shop and see which cards fall just within that mark. With that list in hand look at reviews of those few cards and make your choice. It can also matter if you have a Crossfire (ATI) or SLI (Nvidia) chipset on your motherboard. If you ever want to go dual cards you will want to stick with the same manufacturer. Note your mobo may be neither then it does not matter. For a single card it does not matter either.
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"Of course," said my grandfather, pulling a gun from his belt as he stepped from the Time Machine, "there's no paradox if I shoot you!"
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Byron Mollari
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Posted - 2008.06.07 12:01:00 -
[21]
im looking for a card that will support duel output and obv max performance at around the ú150 mark.
Any pointers?
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ReaperOfSly
Lyrus Associates
The Star Fraction
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Posted - 2008.06.07 13:14:00 -
[22]
Edited by: ReaperOfSly on 07/06/2008 13:14:08
Originally by: Byron Mollari
im looking for a card that will support duel output and obv max performance at around the ú150 mark.
Any pointers?
This one.
__________________________
Quote:
...bored, skint, no charter, and a ship that looks like an explosion in a girder factory...
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Victor Valka
Kissaki Corporation
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Posted - 2008.06.07 13:52:00 -
[23]
Originally by: ReaperOfSly
Edited by: ReaperOfSly on 07/06/2008 13:14:08
Originally by: Byron Mollari
im looking for a card that will support duel output and obv max performance at around the ú150 mark.
Any pointers?
This one.
I can second this.
Altho, I have never used OcUK brand cards. So I'd probably go with BFG's make.
Originally by: Roxanna Kell
You are insane.
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Eternal Error
Exitus Acta Probant
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Posted - 2008.06.07 18:08:00 -
[24]
Edited by: Eternal Error on 07/06/2008 18:08:24
Yes, the 9600GT sucks compared to the 8800GT, but the OP did not specify a price range.. seemed to me that if he was looking at an 8600GT then 8800GT/GTS would be out of his range. If you can, spring for the 8800GTS 512 (the one that someone just posted). Also, to a few of the previous posters, the 9600GT is G94 (not that it matters), and GDDR3/GDDR2/ GDDRanything are vastly different from DDR2 and DDR3; they are completely different technologies. Also, while I don't remember about GDDR2 vs. GDDR3, I believe that GDDR3 vs. GDDR4 is moot because not all the memory bandwith is used anyway. Those aren't the stats you want to be looking at.
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Imperator Jora'h
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Posted - 2008.06.07 18:59:00 -
[25]
Edited by: Imperator Jora''h on 07/06/2008 18:58:59
Originally by: Eternal Error
...and GDDR3/GDDR2/ GDDRanything are vastly different from DDR2 and DDR3; they are completely different technologies.
I think "vastly different" overstates it a fair bit. They are more alike than different. Although I have lost track and they are up to GDDR5 now. IIRC there is no JDEC standard on this so I can't say how far they have drifted from the DDR specs. Still, while GDDR is tweaked for the needs of graphics cards at the root of it all the technology is very similar.
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"Of course," said my grandfather, pulling a gun from his belt as he stepped from the Time Machine, "there's no paradox if I shoot you!"
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mercyonman
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Posted - 2008.06.07 19:51:00 -
[26]
ok any thing 8800 and above would run mass affect just fine
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Micia
Thrace Inc
Ushra'Khan
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Posted - 2008.06.21 00:29:00 -
[27]
Is this a good price?
linkage
Just going to be playing EVE. |
Eternal Error
Exitus Acta Probant
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Posted - 2008.06.21 02:11:00 -
[28]
That price is fine, if you're looking for a factory OCed card. Personally, I'd buy the base version for cheaper and OC it myself. Less money, and while reaching those clocks isn't guaranteed, it ought to happen.
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Imperator Jora'h
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Posted - 2008.06.21 02:17:00 -
[29]
Originally by: Eternal Error
That price is fine, if you're looking for a factory OCed card. Personally, I'd buy the base version for cheaper and OC it myself. Less money, and while reaching those clocks isn't guaranteed, it ought to happen.
Not to mention if the card is only meant to play EVE then you do not even need to OC it. EVE will run beautifully on that unless you are trying to max shadows, run 16x supersampling AA and hack it to do HDR at the same time. Even OCd that'd kill the card.
So yeah, money wise get the lower clocked card if all you ever play is EVE.
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"Of course," said my grandfather, pulling a gun from his belt as he stepped from the Time Machine, "there's no paradox if I shoot you!"
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Shinnen
Northern Intelligence
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Posted - 2008.06.21 06:51:00 -
[30]
A stock ATI HD3850 should be fine for running eve at max settings. Will be cheaper than the 8800.
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Banned since 2005, back by popular demand! They said it wouldn't happen!! |
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