7950 GT or 8600 GTS

[Dr. V]

definitely dont go for that 8600GTS unless u plan on lighter gaming. i would say medium eye candy @ (like already said) 1280x1024 max (maybe 1440x900 for the widescreen users out there).

thing is, the 8600GTS, for what it is (compared to the 8800GTS for example) is overpriced. also, it doesnt outperform some of the current DX9 cards on the DX9 games. no need to say anything about a dx10 card on dx10 games vs. a dx9 card on dx10 games...hopefully nothing to say...

anyway, i would DEFINITELY add that $100 & some odd bucks for an 8800GTS, in a HEARTBEAT. whether its 320MB or 640MB version, it will be great.

eventually, the 8800GTS in SLI will be awesome, either version. and if you can afford it, the 8800GTX in SLI, but thats steep.

my ULTIMATE suggestion follows:

get the CHEAPEST DX9 card you can now. basic i mean if you 100% NEED shader 3.0 (for Rainbow Six Vegas, for example, you do), get a 6800GS, or a x1600. it doesnt even matter, just low end cheap with the BARE specs you need to simply get by for a few months, trust me its worth it.

why?

when AMD releases their DX10 cards, THATS when the market will sky rocket. prices will go down, a whole new wave of cards are going to be released, and sales like MAD > THATS gonna be the best time to jump into the DX10 basket.

thats what im doing, hopping along on one leg with a X800GTO2. cant play R6V :( (on that note, does anyone know ANY FIXES to let Rainbow Six Vegas run on Shader Model 2.0?)

good luck man, let us know.

and WELCOME TO HL!

p.s. system specs in your sig would be a great help in the future, and if im not mistaken part of the forum requirements as a member.

[frosty satan]

thanks guys, updated my sig, check out my supperleet computer

[Icarusmk2]

Originally Posted by ST!X

definitely dont go for that 8600GTS unless u plan on lighter gaming. i would say medium eye candy @ (like already said) 1280x1024 max (maybe 1440x900 for the widescreen users out there).

thing is, the 8600GTS, for what it is (compared to the 8800GTS for example) is overpriced. also, it doesnt outperform some of the current DX9 cards on the DX9 games. no need to say anything about a dx10 card on dx10 games vs. a dx9 card on dx10 games...hopefully nothing to say...

anyway, i would DEFINITELY add that $100 & some odd bucks for an 8800GTS, in a HEARTBEAT. whether its 320MB or 640MB version, it will be great.

eventually, the 8800GTS in SLI will be awesome, either version. and if you can afford it, the 8800GTX in SLI, but thats steep.

my ULTIMATE suggestion follows:

get the CHEAPEST DX9 card you can now. basic i mean if you 100% NEED shader 3.0 (for Rainbow Six Vegas, for example, you do), get a 6800GS, or a x1600. it doesnt even matter, just low end cheap with the BARE specs you need to simply get by for a few months, trust me its worth it.

why?

when AMD releases their DX10 cards, THATS when the market will sky rocket. prices will go down, a whole new wave of cards are going to be released, and sales like MAD > THATS gonna be the best time to jump into the DX10 basket.

thats what im doing, hopping along on one leg with a X800GTO2. cant play R6V :( (on that note, does anyone know ANY FIXES to let Rainbow Six Vegas run on Shader Model 2.0?)

good luck man, let us know.

and WELCOME TO HL!

p.s. system specs in your sig would be a great help in the future, and if im not mistaken part of the forum requirements as a member.

I second that opinion. But if you "absolutely" have to choose between the 7950GT and the 8600GTS and the GTS costs more, definitely go for the GT, since it gives better performance (check the following):

www.hardwarezone.com® :: Articles - Coolest Hardware, Hottest Reviews

Looks like NVIDIA screwed themselves over by going with a 128bit pipe.

[gvblake22]

Again, you will definitely, without at doubt, get better performance out of the 7950GT than you will the 8600GTS. Unless you absolutely have to have DirectX 10 functionality with this card, the 7950 would be the better performance choice between the two.

Here are some more reviews to ponder:
AnandTech
TechPowerUp!
Tom's Hardware
Legit Reviews
PC Perspective
Legion Hardware
XS Reviews
Guru3D
TweakTown
Elite Bastards

[Dr. V]

DX 10! DX 10!

lmao ive already posted here, that was a jk:P

[JazzyJake]

Originally Posted by Icarusmk2

Looks like NVIDIA screwed themselves over by going with a 128bit pipe.

so says everyone about these 86's
yet i have seen no benchmarks on DX10 games.
maybe they are super-duper efficient, and theyy simply don't NEED that memory bus?
there has to be something.
with all the time they took to release this product they simply wouldn't do it, or it would be the most obviously stupid marketing scheme ever.
it's like all the skepticism over the rotary engine.
'WHAAT?? that 1.3l won't generate enough horse to compete with my 4.0l!!'
600hp@1.3l at the wheels was born, my friends (that's referring to the 3rd gen)

[gvblake22]

Originally Posted by JazzyJake

so says everyone about these 86's
yet i have seen no benchmarks on DX10 games.
maybe they are super-duper efficient, and theyy simply don't NEED that memory bus?
there has to be something.
with all the time they took to release this product they simply wouldn't do it, or it would be the most obviously stupid marketing scheme ever.

I really doubt it. DX10 is going to have more advances textures, shaders, lighting, and physics. I don't see how it could possibly require less video card performance than DX9 (kindof like the jump from DX8 to DX9). There are no benchmarks yet because no games or applications really exist yet.

Long story short, the 128-bit memory bus on the 8600GTS is a letdown and just won't be able to compete with similarly priced cards like the X1950 Pro with 256-bit memory buses when it comes to performance using high levels of Antialiasing and higher resolutions. Unless you absolutely have to have DX10 functionality (which doesn't even exist yet), there isn't much good reason to choose an 8600 over the 7950.

[Quakindude]

Gonna have to agree with Blake on this. Now that I've seen some reviews for the 8600 series of GPU's, they really suck. Either go 8800GTS 320 or go for the 7950GT or X1950GT.

[JazzyJake]

Originally Posted by Quakindude

Gonna have to agree with Blake on this. Now that I've seen some reviews for the 8600 series of GPU's, they really suck. Either go 8800GTS 320 or go for the 7950GT or X1950GT.

way to kill my optimism -.-

[Dr. V]

if ur gonna go big NOW, go DX10 for SURE.

i, personally, would still get a cheap cheap DX9 card just to hold me out until u wanna go REALLY REALLY big like a GTX, or an R600 depending on what wins. but honestly, its just justifiable to spend 300+ on a DX9 card anymore. get a cheap card like x1600, or 7300/7600GS, something like that will let u play most of the games now, and no not very very nice gfx, but until u get the huge guns of DX10 (this meaning the best card, and when its the best time to upgrade, which is not now).

Cheers.