I finally narrowed down my search for a GFX card to two cards which fit my Dell Case are within my price range. 1- A GeForce 8600GTS with 256/512MB DD3 2- Radeon 3850HD Money is not an issue since both have similar prices but which one performs better with CoD-4, BioShock, CS:S, etc...(Not Crysis pl0x) Thanks.
im pretty sure that one will 1- A GeForce 8600GTS with 256/512MB DD3 cuz when i was looking for a Graphics Card everyone said GeForce 8600/8800 so....thats my opinion
3850 it's nearly twice as fast(after both are overclocked) the 8600 IS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE in a majority of cases, the x950pro is CHEAPER than the 8600GTS and out performs it. Same goes for the 7900GS I would HIGHLY advise against listening to those advising the 8600. unless your system has a pathetic PSU(the 8600s have low power draws), there is no reason for one. The 8800s on the other hand are different, those are the current performance leaders. They contain around three times or four as many functional units as the 8600s(depending on the variety of 8800) http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_200...4&chart=318
Well, if you've narrowed it down to two cards, the best thing you could do would be google "8600GT vs HD3850" and read some comparisons. Check this out http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?ca...3&card2=546 That places the specs of the 3850 well above the 8600GT. And so it should, as the HD 3850 is a generation ahead, it uses a 256mb memory bus, as opposed to the limiting 128mb one of the 8600GT, and it uses a 55nm core as opposed to the 80nm core of the 8600GT. The smaller the core's die is, the less heat and power it should, theoretically, consume. However, it does appear the HD3850 does consume more power, but also should be more overclockable. EDIT: Argh, Xlink. You got in quicker than me.
well the R600 architecture and derivatives(R670 aka 3850 and 3870) are rather power hungry in general. but performance/watt wise, the 3850s supersede the 8600s FYI the 3850s DO play crysis reasonably well. Not maxed out, but at settings that make it look great while maintaining good playability.
So a 3850 256MB will be enough? Or should I spend a little more and get the 512MB? +Rep for both btw. Thanks
depends on what you want to do. I assume you're referring to crysis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpJ1xT3UeM0...feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eNAwFyN5b8...feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZC-TbJPho4...feature=related expect roughly that in terms of frame rate and the like, depends on personal preference for how you tweek basically 1680*1050 on medium or roughly 1024*768 on high and very high. with some overclocking(and the 3850s have A LOT of eadroom in that regard) expect 1280*1024/1440*900 on high/vhigh, or perhaps 1600*900 on high
I have an 8600GT that is overclocked, and I find that I can play crysis and bioshock reasonably well on Medium @ 1680x1050. 8600GTS can be overclocked well to my experience, and I recommend you go for that. But the ultimate choice would be to stretch your budget a bit and go for the 8800GT, you cant go wrong with that puppy =]
somewhat debatable bang/$ the 3800s and 8800GT come really close. TBH if I were in the market for a card right now I'd have a hard time choosing. I'd probably end up with dual 3850 512mb though since I'm on a a crossfire board. for the time being however I'm a cheep SOB and am too lazy to do such
Why do people recommend a card I just provided hard evidence was inferior to the alternative option, and Xlink, who is definately the most knowledgable person on this forum has recommended against?
actually I'd say you're more knowledgeable than I, or at the very least in the field of upper tired overclocking. I've never even touched a water cooled system yet alone DICE/other subzero. I guess I'm a bit more of a hardware-theory guy. That and the fact that I only really care about 24/7 usability, pretty much a matter of pragmaticism in that regard as to why... I'm willing to bet it's because nVidia has a rather good marketing department. AMD and ATi have always had oen thing in common - THEY SUCK at marketting. That and that they've usually been late to market and struggling to keep up and depending on price/performance to be competative. Admittedly the last 5 years or so were good to AMD and ATi, ATi was kicking nVidia hard for the Radeon 9800/GeForce 5950 generation, the x800/6800 gen was also slanted in their favor... as was the x1900/7900 generation. On the AMD side, intel got it's ass kicked on the PIII, and P4 and that lasted more or less for 6 whole years aside from the brief golden age of northwood.
I suppose you're right. Marketing is really where the ignorant base their decisions. Some people I've talked to actually didn't realise that there was such a company as ATi, and though that ATi Radeon was just another product line of nVidia's. As far as high end overclocking goes, in order to go past watercooling, you really either need to work in the industry (the guy who taught me to DIce/LN2 overclock worked as a refrigerator and air-conditioner repairman, meaning he had access to refrigerant, pumps, and the rest of the tools and knowledge needed) or know people who do it. Many people I've talked to have asked me to bring round my Phase cooler (which isn't even mine ) and hook it up to their PC so they can learn to overclock at sub-zero, thinking that me being there will guarantee them positions in the World SPi rankings. they're real keen until i tell them they'll need to spend hours insulating their motherboard, video cards, and i'll need to gut their CPU cooler to make the CPU block bracket. Once you get started, however, it's addictive. I've gone through many a hundred dollars worth of LN2 in my time.
ehh I'm lazy and cheep if I ever did sub zero I'd probably just buy bulk dice and run a cheap PCI card(plus lower bus utilization means more FSB) but yeh you're right, noone around here that I know of has done anything exotic. IF I ever did go that route, I'd likely be doing it from reading. That said I have a lot of engineers and pseudo engineers in the family so I have my share of equipment, just no pots or dewars. and sorry to hijack the thread. as was said however, the 3850 slaughters the 8600. At stock it's over 50% faster in mot things, and when you start overclocking it gets closer to 100% faster.
#2 Forsure. Even though I'm not a genius I can tell its better. The higher number doesn't mean its the better card. Also the "HD" gives it away a bit goood no more of my childish antics now, 3850 >>>> 8600
