evga 8800gt or 8800gts ?

They make noise, too.

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slowman
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evga 8800gt or 8800gts ?

Post by slowman » Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:21 am

Hello everyone.
Could someone give me your knowledgeable input on which card to get? My step up from evga ends soon. The 8800gt is the better choice money wise, but the 8800gts 512 is a little faster and has a better stock cooler. The $90.00 deference is not that far off after buying a cooler+ shipping for the 8800gt. Which if I undersand correctly must have the stock cooler put back on for warranty. This will be my second time at new build so please bear with me. The only thing purchased so far is the p180b case. I had bought an agp card to hold me over for the holiday sales. So I'm out of time for step up.
If matters I'm considering Q6600, HX620, WD750AAKS, P5K-E wifi ? ABIT IP35 PRO? Gig? MEM.?
Do I get the gt, better deal if quiet and cool. Put aftermarket cooler on later after getting system up and running. Or get the gts if quiet and cool and able to leave stock cooler on? This also vents heat out the back of case which the gt will not. I'm leaning toward the gts 512 with this case. Since there are so many people with this case here I know you'll set me straight. [/list]

tehfire
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Post by tehfire » Thu Dec 27, 2007 9:33 am

I was under the same conundrum a few weeks ago. I ended up going with the GTS 512 because I have a 1680x1050 display, and the extra horsepower of the GTS is very welcome. Another thing to consider is that the 8800GT is very overpriced right now because of all the demand. I didn't have the step up program, so I was looking on Newegg. The factory overclocked versions of the GT were selling for $289. Factor in the Accelero S1 and some mosFET sinks and the price is $319. That's right at the price of some of the stock-clocked GTS 512s, which have more stream processors and can overclock far past that.

I haven't installed the card into my computer yet as I'm visiting family over the holidays, so I can't comment on noise. Obviously the 8800GT with an S1 will be quieter than the 8800GTS, but I'm betting that the GTS will be quiet enough for me. The price/performance was the major determining factor for me.

slowman
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Post by slowman » Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:14 am

tehfire,
Thanks for the fast reply. The gts 512 from evga is 359.99. So if I use stepup there's no shopping for deals. Lifetime warranty plus trading in the 7600gt which I have no use for after new build are considerations. If I'll need to add a cooler to the 512 later for noise, heat. Then I might be better off with the gt and save the $90.00 since I'd have to buy a cooler anyways. Anyone else with input appreciated. I will be runnig the 1680x1050 display also.
P.S tehfire if you get it installed soon let me know your results, please. Thanks again
As a note I'm not looking for dead quiet. But maybe a compromise between performance(slight o/c) reliability(24/7) noise(my 4 year old computer loud) and thermal control inside this case.

PopCorn
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Post by PopCorn » Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:22 am

sorry to go off topic but this is some what close to this thread, when the 8800gts came out i was low on cash but wanted one so o bought a 8800gts 320 (they dont sell them any more) and now i have enough $$ for a 8800gts 512 and was wondering if i would be able to SLI the 320 and 512 together? sorry for the thread jacking

tehfire
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Post by tehfire » Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:06 pm

PopCorn wrote:sorry to go off topic but this is some what close to this thread, when the 8800gts came out i was low on cash but wanted one so o bought a 8800gts 320 (they dont sell them any more) and now i have enough $$ for a 8800gts 512 and was wondering if i would be able to SLI the 320 and 512 together? sorry for the thread jacking
@slowman: I won't be home for another week but I'll definitely tell you how it goes. You're right that the GTS is more expensive than the GT. I was just saying that the GTS does have a lot of extra performance on tap and if you're looking for more performance, the GT and GTS may have similar price/performance ratios.

@popcorn: I read on evga's tech support that you cannot mix and match the 320 with the 512. Sorry.

slowman
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Post by slowman » Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:23 pm

PopCorn wrote:sorry to go off topic but this is some what close to this thread, when the 8800gts came out i was low on cash but wanted one so o bought a 8800gts 320 (they dont sell them any more) and now i have enough $$ for a 8800gts 512 and was wondering if i would be able to SLI the 320 and 512 together? sorry for the thread jacking
@ popcorn: no problem, looks like tehfire had your answer. Where in ma. are you located. I'm in middleboro :D

@ tehfire: Thanks again but I've got to decide before that. Maybe some more responses will be in by then. Hope your family visit is going well. Happy holidays

cb95014
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Post by cb95014 » Thu Dec 27, 2007 12:24 pm

The gts 512 from evga is 359.99. So if I use stepup there's no shopping for deals.
How much is EVGA crediting you for the old 7600gt?

Depending on the numbers it might make sense to skip the step-up program altogether and either get a discounted GTS 512 or wait for the 8800 GT to come out of the stratosphere.

FYI, I opted for a similar choice as tehfire, and picked-up an XFX GTS 512 since I was planning to buy Company of Heroes anyway. This made the net cost differential from an OC 8800GT less than an aftermarket cooler. Since I'm running Vista64, I prefer stock OC cards because of the driver hassles.

PopCorn
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Post by PopCorn » Thu Dec 27, 2007 3:00 pm

@slowman, in Holyoke, small city, if u don't know where it is, its right next to Springfield, u might only know it for the "Holyoke mall'

slowman
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Post by slowman » Thu Dec 27, 2007 3:28 pm

cb95014 wrote:
The gts 512 from evga is 359.99. So if I use stepup there's no shopping for deals.
How much is EVGA crediting you for the old 7600gt?

Depending on the numbers it might make sense to skip the step-up program altogether and either get a discounted GTS 512 or wait for the 8800 GT to come out of the stratosphere.

FYI, I opted for a similar choice as tehfire, and picked-up an XFX GTS 512 since I was planning to buy Company of Heroes anyway. This made the net cost differential from an OC 8800GT less than an aftermarket cooler. Since I'm running Vista64, I prefer stock OC cards because of the driver hassles.

Depends on the response which way to go. So far it looks like the gts512.
It's going to cost me $236 for the gts versus $146 for the gt. If I go elsewhere then looks like around $319. I would still have no use for the 7600gt. (trade up credit 124.00) Could go with the gt and upgrade when new cards come out later. Might be a better option than keeping agp card.

cb95014
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Post by cb95014 » Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:50 pm

$236 for the gts versus $146 for the gt
If those were my choices, I'd pick the GT, slap an S1 on that puppy, overclock it - and have a fast and near-silent GPU. Either way, $124 credit for a 7600gt is a lot.

I only picked the GTS because the cost was equivalent in my circumstances. The performance difference between a GTS/512 and a OC-GT/512 is really small - probably too small to notice without benchmarks. OTOH, the performance difference between your 7600GT and either of the new cards is huge!! :D

Wedge
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Post by Wedge » Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:55 pm

GT

slowman
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Post by slowman » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:45 am

cb95014 wrote:
$236 for the gts versus $146 for the gt
If those were my choices, I'd pick the GT, slap an S1 on that puppy, overclock it - and have a fast and near-silent GPU. Either way, $124 credit for a 7600gt is a lot.

I only picked the GTS because the cost was equivalent in my circumstances. The performance difference between a GTS/512 and a OC-GT/512 is really small - probably too small to notice without benchmarks. OTOH, the performance difference between your 7600GT and either of the new cards is huge!! :D
I've leaned that way for the dollar value and could use the newer cooler that comes stock on the 8800gt until stable system and then change to the S1 when o/c.

Or does the 8800gts with stock cooler, OC that much better to justify the price difference ? I guess I'm looking for real hands on experience with the cards. Will I see or notice a difference between the two 8800's, if both are overclocked? Games such as U/T , COD, etc. Might be running two monitors if it matters on decision. Thanks again for the input.

Just think if it's this hard to pick a video card the m/b's next :?

slowman
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Post by slowman » Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:02 am

Wedge wrote:GT
Thanks Wedge, Is this based on the cost factor or experience. The only card I've used was in first previous build in 03. That was a 9800 pro which I liked much better than the 7600gt oc I was using temporarily.
Since I'm basically computer illiterate, except what I learn from on-line and you guys. My decisions are based on every-ones personal input good and bad. so keep em coming

Wedge
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Post by Wedge » Fri Dec 28, 2007 5:35 pm

My recommendation is based on a price-to-performance ratio of the GT. I have not owned the G92-based GTS, but I do own the GT. There simply isn't a better buy out there right now for an nvidia card. The GTS is not worth the extra $100 dollars.

Said another way, the performance of these two cards will be so close that paying a lot more money for one that is only marginally faster is not wise. Emotionally satisfying, yes maybe - but just not cost effective when you could spend that extra money elsewhere (different motherboard, better CPU, deposit in your savings account or Roth IRA). The pixel-fill rate of these two cards are so close that it is a non-issue. A quick bit of googling shows me that the GTS seems to have a 10 frames/second advantage in most games, which isn't enough to sway me when both cards are presenting such high frame rates.

And I don't say any of this flippantly as I give a lot of forethought to my hardware decisions, the same as you are doing. Sometimes paying a lot more doesn't get you a lot more.

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Post by JazzJackRabbit » Fri Dec 28, 2007 7:53 pm

Wedge wrote:My recommendation is based on a price-to-performance ratio of the GT. I have not owned the G92-based GTS, but I do own the GT. There simply isn't a better buy out there right now for an nvidia card. The GTS is not worth the extra $100 dollars.
That would be true if prices were like you say they are. GT prices are coming down, but just a couple of weeks ago I've seen G92 GTS hit $299 mark while some websites were still selling GT for >$300. Even now unless GT costs <$250 it's better to buy GTS at $300 because with GT you gotta change heatsink anyway.

Wedge
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Post by Wedge » Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:46 pm

So I guess it comes down to price.

Dell was recently selling the GT for $207.99 + free shipping. Reference thread here.
And again for $200 shipped; reference thread here.

Best Buy recently had it for $237.99. Reference thread here.

For those willing to deal with a rebate, NCIXUS currently has them for $241.72 + $12 shipping - $20 rebate = $233.72. Link here.

The deals are out there but you have to be resourceful in finding them. I personally would look for any deal like those listed above before buying a GTS, unless of course, I found a GTS for around the same price.

slowman
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Post by slowman » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:04 am

@Wedge Thanks again for your input. From what I can gather on-line and everyone's input. The performance factor during normal use would not be that noticeable between the two. Which would put me with the gt for $146.00 and use the stock cooler until the new cards come out in a couple of months. Then if satisfied with the 8800gt install a good aftermarket cooler on it before oc'ing it.

@JazzJackRabbit That was my dilemma. If the gts was cool and quiet with stock cooler and a noticable performance gain. Then better off with gts at $236.00 and having no warranty problems from changing the cooler. But if also needs a cooler for noise, heat issue, gt better way to go.

As a note, I've read everyone complain about the fan noise on the gt. Not so many on the gts. I've only heard the gts sound on you-tube, which can be questionable? What I heard was rather loud. Is this because there are less gts's out there or that much quieter?

seraphyn
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Post by seraphyn » Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:26 am

Plenty of GTS users out there, but few of those chose it for silent computing i think. It was the budget high end graphics card, which prompted many gamers to buy it.

As for it's noise output, a friend of mine had it untill he replaced it with a GT. Going from his rig (which had Nexus fans at 12v so it's not really a silent rig) the stock cooling is ok, much as the GT stock cooling untill it ramps up the speed of the fan.

For a real silent (or inaudible at your ambient noise) it will take an aftermarket cooler to bring it down, preferably the HR03GT or Accelero S1. The S1 being preferred in your case due to lower cost. Should you decide on this one be sure to check this thread on experiences and tips on assembly.

slowman
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Post by slowman » Sun Dec 30, 2007 6:23 am

seraphyn wrote:Plenty of GTS users out there, but few of those chose it for silent computing i think. It was the budget high end graphics card, which prompted many gamers to buy it.

As for it's noise output, a friend of mine had it until he replaced it with a GT. Going from his rig (which had Nexus fans at 12v so it's not really a silent rig) the stock cooling is OK, much as the GT stock cooling until it ramps up the speed of the fan.

For a real silent (or inaudible at your ambient noise) it will take an aftermarket cooler to bring it down, preferably the HR03GT or Accelero S1. The S1 being preferred in your case due to lower cost. Should you decide on this one be sure to check this thread on experiences and tips on assembly.


seraphyn Thanks for the link. It looks like I'm going with the 8800gt, then after getting the system up and stable I'll put the S1 w/fan on.
Didn't look earlier at the price of S1. Much more reasonable than the HR03gt I'd checked

Thanks to everyone for your opinions and thoughts. I'll do my step up tomorrow for the 8800gt. Sometimes just seeing from someone else's perspective, will reinforce or dissuade a decision. The more I read the more confused I get sometimes. Each website tends to lean a certain way, Pro or con.

So unless some one wants to push for the 8800gts 512 over the 8800gt 512 I think I'm done. I have a question but I'll open a new thread.

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Post by Das_Saunamies » Sun Jun 01, 2008 6:57 am

Just resurrecting this thread a bit to shine light on the EVGA 8800 GTS 512.

It is quiet, even silent out-of-the-box, beating any and all stock graphics card coolers I have heard and seen to date. The noise gets louder under load as expected, but it sounds more like a Scythe fan than a GPU cooler... I was simply astonished the first time I heard it, and still can't quite believe it while playing Crysis at High. I can't tell it apart from my S-Flex 1200s, but then again that may be because this is the first time I have a proper gaming rig and I'm too busy headshotting. :lol:

Excellent performer, both FPS and noisewise. Absolutely recommended, and don't forget about the ten-year warranty! :idea:

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Post by tehfire » Sun Jun 01, 2008 7:46 am

Just to give my final impressions on this card. This may be a little late as I'd suspect the GTS 512's EOL will come within the next few months, but it may be useful to somebody nonetheless.

The stock fan is decent, but too noisy for me at idle with stock programming. I ended up using NiBiTor a lot to adjust the fan speeds. The fan becomes inaudible in my admittedly noisy apartment at around 35%, or around 550rpm. At this speed, the GPU sits around 70C in summertime. Pretty hot, but these chips are good up to >100C so it's fine by me. I set the fan to ramp up to 100% at 85C, so it's noisy when playing video games, but I don't mind this. At desktop it's effectively inaudible.

The big reason why I got the GTS 512 was the better power delivery (3-phase over the 2-phase of the GT I think) and of course the HSF. We've gone over the HSF already. The GT has 112 stream processors and the GTS 512 has 128, but most games do not need this much power, so both cards at same speeds are pretty much equal on this front. In other areas (ROPs and the like) the GTS 512 and GT are equal, so for pure performance it all comes down to clockspeed. This is where the better binning and power delivery of the GTS 512 come into play. I own an XFX Stock Clocked GTS 512, and my friend owns an EVGA 8800GT O/C to 650MHz (from 600MHz). His doesn't go over 660 without artifacts, whereas mine goes all the way up to 740MHz completely stable.

Wrapping up, I think most people will be fine with the GT. As my screen is pretty big, I needed the extra clocks the GTS 512 provides. If I had the choice again (GT w/ Accelero vs. GTS 512 at the same price), I would still go with the GTS 512.

...though I'm still waiting to play Crysis at all settings very high :-P

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Post by Das_Saunamies » Sun Jun 01, 2008 10:33 am

Thanks for the details tehfire, I was in the dark a bit about core differences between the two lines of cards. :D

I can't go Very High any time soon as I don't plan on installing Vista and hence getting DX10 until absolutely necessary, but that overclocking range does sound tempting... so NiBiTor works for fan, but would Atitool work for overclocking as usual?

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Post by tehfire » Sun Jun 01, 2008 12:00 pm

The latest beta of AtiTool (0.27 beta 3) still cannot overclock nVidia cards, although the artifact scanner and temp monitor work. I ended up using RivaTuner to test which clock speeds were stable, and then I used NiBiTor to flash the BIOS, both with the remapped fan speeds and clock speeds.

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Post by Das_Saunamies » Mon Jun 02, 2008 9:52 am

Alright, thanks for the tip. My 7800 GT seemed to clock fine, but I haven't been keeping up with Atitool's development, and the stable release version hasn't shifted from 0.26 in ages.

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