Passive 3850 or 8800gt a worthwhile upgrade?
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Passive 3850 or 8800gt a worthwhile upgrade?
I'm building a new system, and was planning to use a Radeon 4850 for the GPU.
However it seems I can actually get a passively cooled 3850 or a regular 8800gt for half the price. I will be playing some Crysis, NFS series, GTA4 etc. But nothing at max res/quality.
Would either of the above cards be a worthwhile upgrade (from a 6600gt) in order to save a bit of money? Or would I be better off just sticking with what I have for the time being ans getting the 4850 once I fell like spending the extra 50$ ?
However it seems I can actually get a passively cooled 3850 or a regular 8800gt for half the price. I will be playing some Crysis, NFS series, GTA4 etc. But nothing at max res/quality.
Would either of the above cards be a worthwhile upgrade (from a 6600gt) in order to save a bit of money? Or would I be better off just sticking with what I have for the time being ans getting the 4850 once I fell like spending the extra 50$ ?
I completed Need for Speed Most Wanted and Carbon on max resolution and max settings that the games itself supported, using 8800GTS 512MB. Would have wanted to use 2560x1600 which is my native resolution, but the games didn't let me, or maybe I just don't remember correctly.
They ran just fine, and they probably will on 3850 as well, even though it's a bit slower.
Not going to get NfS ProStreet, and NfS Undercover is not out yet. GTA IV also isn't out yet.
Why not just wait until NfS Undercover and GTA IV come for the PC and buy the card then?
They ran just fine, and they probably will on 3850 as well, even though it's a bit slower.
Not going to get NfS ProStreet, and NfS Undercover is not out yet. GTA IV also isn't out yet.
Why not just wait until NfS Undercover and GTA IV come for the PC and buy the card then?
What is the native resolution of your monitor? If you are running a standard aspect ratio monitor like 1024x768 or 1280x1024 you are likely to see very little difference between the cards. The edge will always go to the 8800GT over the 3850.
If you have a native resolution over 1600x1200 or are running a widescreen monitor (or are planning on upgrading soon to a widescreen monitor) then you will not likely be happy with either choice - you should look at the 4850 or 9600GT as your entry point.
As pointed out, anything on the market newer than 12 months old (8800GT or better, 3850 or better) will easily outperform your 6600 GT. Most will do it with equal or less power.
If you have a native resolution over 1600x1200 or are running a widescreen monitor (or are planning on upgrading soon to a widescreen monitor) then you will not likely be happy with either choice - you should look at the 4850 or 9600GT as your entry point.
As pointed out, anything on the market newer than 12 months old (8800GT or better, 3850 or better) will easily outperform your 6600 GT. Most will do it with equal or less power.
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when you start going 16x0 resolutions HD 4850 will be a good candidate with 9800GTX+. I had HD 3850 256MB. But I got today HD 4850 aswell 22" WideScreen. 1680x1050 is pretty demanding.
but under those resolutions, even 1440x900 HD 3850 is decent choice and 8800GT is somewhat better. For 4:3 regular both are fine cards.
I am planing to turn my old HD 3850 into passively cooled card and put it on my main rig to replicate the HD 3200 IGP as HD 3850 has exceptional power effeciency. And it will be a good light card for my mainrig which has 19" Trinitron CRT.
but under those resolutions, even 1440x900 HD 3850 is decent choice and 8800GT is somewhat better. For 4:3 regular both are fine cards.
I am planing to turn my old HD 3850 into passively cooled card and put it on my main rig to replicate the HD 3200 IGP as HD 3850 has exceptional power effeciency. And it will be a good light card for my mainrig which has 19" Trinitron CRT.
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you probably would do best with a 3870 or 4850
i have 3870 playing STALKER on full 1920x1200 cranked, bf2142 full cranked... thats a decent amount of gaming power. it can play crisis but its a stupid game that is programmed horribly.
only thing I have to say is that age of conan is broken with 3000 series ati, but Funcom is a terrible company with great games.
my idle wattage is miniscule. something to consider. for a nice poofy boost you can get 260gt. thats actually coolish idlling. the 3870 is dirt cheap and super easy to cool. it just got overshadowed fast by the 4850. the 4850 has a chunk more power draw though.
i have 3870 playing STALKER on full 1920x1200 cranked, bf2142 full cranked... thats a decent amount of gaming power. it can play crisis but its a stupid game that is programmed horribly.
only thing I have to say is that age of conan is broken with 3000 series ati, but Funcom is a terrible company with great games.
my idle wattage is miniscule. something to consider. for a nice poofy boost you can get 260gt. thats actually coolish idlling. the 3870 is dirt cheap and super easy to cool. it just got overshadowed fast by the 4850. the 4850 has a chunk more power draw though.
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Thanks for the advice guys, but I already made my decision
I put together the new system over the weekend and I ended up getting the Radeon 4850 from Asus. Still have yet to try and really push the card though.
The stock cooler is surprisingly quiet though. I don't expect to do any cooler/fan mods any time soon.
I put together the new system over the weekend and I ended up getting the Radeon 4850 from Asus. Still have yet to try and really push the card though.
The stock cooler is surprisingly quiet though. I don't expect to do any cooler/fan mods any time soon.