Nvidia 8800GT

[toadkill]

Wide:

  I have the same card as toadkill,the GT will run AH no probs but depending on the price I'd get the GTS.If you opt for GTS,make sure you check the clockspeed,as they differ slightly.

 Personally I went for the 512mb version with the higher clockspeed,total overkill for AH,but
you should see how some of the latest games look on it.

 I do have a question though??? why the AMD cpu??? I'd grab an E8400,saw some for 150 to 175$$ just the other day.

Amd MBs and Processors tend to be cheaper.

In regard to the clock speed on Video cards, the only difference in the card is the stock clock speed. (that sounds redundant but some people would think the ones with higher clock speed would have higher quality parts.) There are programs out there that let you adjust the clock speed of a video card, such as Riva Tuner(www.Guru3d.com). If you do that it isn't any harder on the video card than if the factory overclocked it, and you can in fact make it easier on the card. Stock fan speed on an Nvidia card is 37% which lets it get pretty hot before it speeds up, But with Riva Tuner you can speed it up and keep the card cooler in the first place, which helps extend the longevity of the card. So to sum that up, don't waste money on Factory overclocked cards, do it yourself and save your $$.

[Wingnutt]

I have an 8800GT-OC which is similar to what your looking at..
If I turn off Vsync I get between 200 and 300 fps at 1920x1200 with with high res texture pack, "high quality" set in nvidia control panel and 4x FSAA, antistropic filtering... the whole 9 yards..

im running a AMD 64X2 6400+ and 4GB of OCZ ram..

[morfiend]

Toad:

 I wasn't suggesting the OC version,but if you check there is a difference in clockspeed between some of the 8800 cards{GTS} the 640 mb version has a lower stock frequency than the 512mb card,same for the 320 mb card.I wouldn't pay extra for a factory OC card either.As you said rivatuner will do it for free and allow for higher fanspeeds.

 Sry if it came across that way,btw I saw an 8800gt OC for just 129$$$ up here in Canuckville

[drdeathx]

Video card update:


ATI RADEON 3870(512) may be the  best bang for the buck. It was around $200 now cheaper! ATI just introduced a  4870 for around $300. It is supposed to be better than 9800. The 1 meg 3870 x 2 i saw for $270 at new egg this is best bang for buck.

I have 2- 3870 ati cards srossfired and am running 120 to 350 fps with a quad core processor. The 350 fps is in naked sky with most ani alias off or low. Lookin to get a 3rd card and crossfiring it,,,,,,, lol. would love to see the fps with 3 cards.

The only negative about ati  3870 is its damn gc bios needs to be updated due to locked low core speeds and locked fan. It took me days of reading to figure it out but all.

the fps second are getting insane on some games



Drdeathx     

[sunfan1121]

Video card update:


ATI RADEON 3870(512) may be the  best bang for the buck. It was around $200 now cheaper! ATI just introduced a  4870 for around $300. It is supposed to be better than 9800. The 1 meg 3870 x 2 i saw for $270 at new egg this is best bang for buck.

I have 2- 3870 ati cards srossfired and am running 120 to 350 fps with a quad core processor. The 350 fps is in naked sky with most ani alias off or low. Lookin to get a 3rd card and crossfiring it,,,,,,, lol. would love to see the fps with 3 cards.

The only negative about ati  3870 is its damn gc bios needs to be updated due to locked low core speeds and locked fan. It took me days of reading to figure it out but all.

the fps second are getting insane on some games



Drdeathx     

you wont see very much difference with 60fps or 350fps.

[Fulmar]

you wont see very much difference with 60fps or 350fps.

Your ego make go up about 50 FPS.

[AirFlyer]

350 FPS is pointless, also not having V-Sync on is just going to cause screen-tearing, not to mention I've heard it can lead to "rubber bullets" in AHII. 60 FPS is an excellent and won't cause any issues, I really don't see the difference between it and the 150 I get if I turn off my V-Sync.

[toadkill]

the average human eye can't tell the differance between 60+fps.

[TwinBoom]

im running the evga XXX 8800gts 320meg i love it

[BoilerDown]

So what did you end up getting?  Btw... cheap power supplies don't end up being cheap:  http://corsair.com/cinema/movie.aspx?id=622747 .

[Fulmar]

Interesting movie and I can attest to the popping noise.  Actually the cheap PSU I had years ago sound more like a gun shot.