New video card

[smokey23]

Ok guys im wanting to upgrade from my nividia 8500gt to a 8800 but i need a non-bias opinion what would give the best frame rates the GT , GTS , GTX keep in mind IM NOT RICH by any stretch of the imagination. So keep that in mind when you make youre suggeations. thanks 

[MrRiplEy[H]]

If you're not rich I would recommend a 9600GT. It's close to 8800 GTX older version in speed.

If you insist on getting a 8800 series then the 8800GT gives best bang for the buck. Please note that the older 640 or 320mb versions are 40-45% SLOWER than the new versions with 512mb ram. So make sure you get the 512mb version.

[Caz1]

I agree with MrRipley, Smokey.  All of them should give you a nice performance boost as compared to your old 8500GT, so the real question is one of cost.  Of the three cards you listed, I'd say the 8800GT is probably the best overall value, dollar-for-dollar.  However, the way you play may change the equation slightly.  Questions that could potentially affect the way you might go:

1.)  Do you typically play at higher resolutions (say 1280 X 1024) or above?
2.)  Does your motherboard support SLI, and do you plan to ever use it?

If you never play at higher resolutions, I think the 9600GT would be the absolute best bang for your buck option, since they are currently running in the ~ $175 range right now.  If you intend to go SLI, but want to keep it as cheep as possible, this is probably another reason to get the 9600GT.

However, if you don't mind paying the extra $30 - $40 or so for the 8800GT, it'll probably do you right.  Especially if you crank the resolution up, turn on the AA, etc., etc.

One last thought - if your board does support SLI, and you are flirting with the notion of using it now, or down the road - be sure to give the size of the new video card's cooling solution some thought.  Most of the 8800GT, and 9600GT cards use a single-slot cooling solution, whereas the 8800GTS & 8800GTX cards typically have dual-slot cooling solutions.  Depending on how your motherboard's slots are configured this could potentially be an issue - because the cooling fan on your first video card could block slots when you decide to add another card in later.

[smokey23]

Im running 1024 X 768 in the game this 8500 im useing now works ok just runs low frame rates at about 15fps to 20fps on a good day and some lag,  the 8800 and 9600 i would hazard to guess would help me out in these areas. Thanks for the tips guys 

[MrRiplEy[H]]

A $139 9600GT (after rebate) can be found for example here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133216

[Fulmar]

If you insist on getting a 8800 series then the 8800GT gives best bang for the buck. Please note that the older 640 or 320mb versions are 40-45% SLOWER than the new versions with 512mb ram. So make sure you get the 512mb version.

Hi?  What numbers are you pulling this from?

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Through reading reviews. No personal experience.

The 512Mb GTS is similar to the older 640Mb GTX in performance and has clockspeeds higher than 8800ultra.

[smokey23]

while i wait for my superclocked 9600gt I decided to overclock this 8500gt and it was my first overclock wasnt sure if i was capable. Ive read everthing i could read on overclocking and thought i had a decent understanding of it famous last words!!!!

Anyway i used Riva tuner to do the overclock i went from default 400mhz to overclock 668mhz core clock speed
and went from default 400mhz to overclocked 421 mem. clock speed.
I used 3Dmark05 to do the benchmark it ran stable the whole time seem to really help my frame rates.

 before overclock
   15fps to 30fps

after overclock
   95fps to 126fps

its not perfect but it helps some, cant wait to get my new one.
It has almost eliminated all lag and AH runs alot smoother, 

[alskahawk]

 If your primary game is AH your 8500 should be just fine. 8800's are down to under $400 but they are last years news. I ran 40-60 FPS with my agp 7800GT card so I would think your 8500 should be able to do better.
Look at some new cards.

 If its frame rate your after. Do you have a sound card? A sound card will give a few more frames per second. Do you have 2 gig ram? Have you done a defrag lately? Is your hard drive nearly full? Is your video card running hot?

[Krusty]

8500 is a pretty low-end card. I'm pretty sure the 7800 is way better.

Keep in mind everything below the 8600 is a stripped down budget card, and that many reviews are saying the 8600's are such POS cards that you're better off sticking with 7600s instead.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

8500 is a pretty low-end card. I'm pretty sure the 7800 is way better.

Keep in mind everything below the 8600 is a stripped down budget card, and that many reviews are saying the 8600's are such POS cards that you're better off sticking with 7600s instead.

Remember that there are two different versions of 8600 - the one with slower ram is worthless.

[SD67]

I got an ASUS 512Mb 8600GT as the result of a misunderstanding but it works a treat! It's not strapped for cooling by any means and my FPS stays pegged at 60FPS (LCD DISPLAY) with everything maxed out regardless of whether I'm flying alone or in a 100plane furball. So far I've been unable to fault it.
The only area where I've been let down is in my computers' RAM, I really need to get some more RAM. I'm currently running 1Gig and when I load big sceneries in X-Plane it slows it down a bit.

[alskahawk]

8500 is a pretty low-end card. I'm pretty sure the 7800 is way better.

Keep in mind everything below the 8600 is a stripped down budget card, and that many reviews are saying the 8600's are such POS cards that you're better off sticking with 7600s instead.

 Did not know that about the 8600s.

[warsawnorton]

I think my ATI video card went south during play tonite. Everything went white and I could hardly dee the screen. Tried to log back on after " Ctrl- Alt-Delete, but screen was white and could barely make out log on screen. Can you help??----warsawnorton@aol.com

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I think my ATI video card went south during play tonite. Everything went white and I could hardly dee the screen. Tried to log back on after " Ctrl- Alt-Delete, but screen was white and could barely make out log on screen. Can you help??----warsawnorton@aol.com

Before you dump the card check ATI display properties and overlay settings. Sometimes the driver glitch and set your gamma / brightness / contrast settings to maximum. I used to have that a lot with older nvidia drivers.

I would also check the VGA cable - is it properly connected and does moving it make the picture change. If it changes your cable is broken.