buliding a pc for my little brother, and was going to get a 8800 gtx
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... p;catid=56&subcat=877

but looking at the new ati 2900 xt this looks better spec'd and cheaper
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... p;catid=56&subcat=922
so which should i go for?

rest of the pc will be the same as my sig, is there a reason i havent heard everyone raving about this card?

Quote from andybarsblade :

buliding a pc for my little brother, and was going to get a 8800 gtx
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... p;catid=56&subcat=877

but looking at the new ati 2900 xt this looks better spec'd and cheaper
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/ ... p;catid=56&subcat=922
so which should i go for?

rest of the pc will be the same as my sig, is there a reason i havent heard everyone raving about this card?

There was a lot of raving about the new Ati R600 chip before it was released, but I can see now that its all died down.

http://www.dailytech.com/Article.aspx?newsid=7052

That will help a bit, It looks as if the 8800 GTX's are still the best. But to be fair, its more expensive.

The GTX is faster. ATI´s architecture needs higher specs to reach GTX performance. Both cards are great, but if your brother can afford the GTX, buy it, is better.

Anyway nVidia 9 series are coming at the end of this year and 8 series drop down their prices, but if you can´t wait or doesn´t mind this fact, GTX would make you happy.

That Radeon doesn't have 1024 mb memory like it says there with huge bold text. It says 512 in the smaller text. Dunno where they pulled the 1024, as far as I know, no card has so much. Only have heard about GDDR3 too? What scam page that suppose to be?


Anyway, good comparisons on this page http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html

I would go with the GTX of course, or the GTS which was the card I ordered for my new rig. Was going for the same Ati card first, but it isn't that good for the price when compared to the 8800 GTS which costs the same or less.

edit. Have to pick this from your sign.

Quote :

BFG 8800gts oc2 640mb

Does that suppose to mean over clocked to 620mb? How is that trick done again, clocking the memory size? :S

Quote from Blackout :

That Radeon doesn't have 1024 mb memory like it says there with huge bold text. It says 512 in the smaller text. Dunno where they pulled the 1024, as far as I know, no card has so much. Only have heard about GDDR3 too? What scam page that suppose to be?

Am I blind or are you just reading the English wrong? I can't see where it says "512mb memory" in small text.

Quote from mcintyrej :

Am I blind or are you just reading the English wrong? I can't see where it says "512mb memory" in small text.

Oh wait, it says it has a 1 GB on the small print too. Thought it somehow fishy, but after some search it seems some manufactures had those units.

The previous link is useless as there is no comparison with that card then.

Quote from Blackout :

That Radeon doesn't have 1024 mb memory like it says there with huge bold text. It says 512 in the smaller text. Dunno where they pulled the 1024, as far as I know, no card has so much. Only have heard about GDDR3 too? What scam page that suppose to be?


Anyway, good comparisons on this page http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_2007.html

I would go with the GTX of course, or the GTS which was the card I ordered for my new rig. Was going for the same Ati card first, but it isn't that good for the price when compared to the 8800 GTS which costs the same or less.

edit. Have to pick this from your sign.

Quote :

BFG 8800gts oc2 640mb

Does that suppose to mean over clocked to 620mb? How is that trick done again, clocking the memory size? :S

Radeon has 1024mb ram on a 512 bit bus.

The 8800GTS OC2 has 640mb ram, the OC2 means that it is pre-clocked from the factory, the GPU and RAM speeds will be slightly above the standard cards.

Quote from Bean0 :

The 8800GTS OC2 has 640mb ram, the OC2 means that it is pre-clocked from the factory, the GPU and RAM speeds will be slightly above the standard cards.

Alright, having that the other way wouldn't have caused any silly questioning. :P

I take my coat now.

Neither.

The 8800GTS 640 is almost as fast and a LOT better value (what is it now - £220?), forget the "OC" versions, you can do it yourself for free seeing as no-one but Gainward and eVGA (and only for there rediculously priced cards) actually pick the cards especially finding out the ones that overclock the best and sell them as the overclocked one (process called "binning").

The 2900XT and 8800GTX are NOT comparable - the 2900XT competes with the 8800GTS, and currently wins sometimes (i think in one benchmark it's beating 8800GTX's) and sometimes looses BIG TIME (slower than an 8800GTS 320) due to it's newer drivers. The 2900XT is big, loud and hot. It's up to you, but imo i'd get the 8800GTS

Don't rely on benchmarks, either - the 2900XT's overclock better with better cooling, but for this show an advantage you need LN2 (Liquid Nitrogen!) - in this scenario they (2x in crossfire) can keep up with a pair of 8800 Ultra's.

For the desktop market, you've got to wait for the 2900XT's to mature a bit before they become a solid buy, but if you like ATi get them, if you like nVidia get an 8800GTS - either will be a great buy and impress you.

If it were me? 8800GTS 640 and save the cash from a GTX and get a nice 22" (or, if you can stretch to it, a 24") monitor.

cheers guys ive been really happy with my gts oc2, so will prob get another one of those thanks for the help