9600 gt vs 8800 gt round 2

[Bokranator]

ive been enjoying my laptop for quite a while but im planning a prospective build which i shall take pictures of during the build. but i have some queries.

Which of the 2 cards (9600 GT and 8800 GT) runs the hottest?
Which of the 2 cards is naturally quieter like from stock with the nvidia fan?
and finally which of the 2 has better vendor support a.k.a evga, asus etc

[gvblake22]

The 9600GT will probably run a little cooler, but they are probably pretty close. Neither of the stock fans will be ideal for noise, you you will want to look for a card that either comes with a different cooler, or just buy a new one with the card yourself (I suggest the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1). Vendor support form the big names like eVGA, Asus, XFX, and BFG is going to be good for both cards. The 8800GT will perform better at higher resolutions but costs more. So unless you plan on gaming on a 21" or larger monitor, the 9600GT seems like a good buy.

[Bokranator]

i was thinking of the inno d version of the 8800 gt but i will be planning to game on this baby:

Samsung SyncMaster SM225MD 22" TV/TFT Monitor Digital Tuner 1680x1050 400cd/m2 1000:1 5ms 16:9 Multimedia HDMI/DVI-D/VGA Black 3 Years Warranty - Ebuyer

[gvblake22]

I would suggest eVGA, XFX, or BFG because of their lifetime warranties and decent customer service. Their cards might not always be the lowest price, but you're buying piece of mind too. I've only had one time I needed to replace a video card, but it was just past its one year warranty and now I'm stuck. You can do whatever you want, but I'm only buying from companies that offer the best warranty and customer service on their products.

[Bokranator]

hmm, if i get a card from evga,bfg or xfx and change the cooler would that void the life time warranty?

and would this work well with a 22" samsung tv

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or could i get away with using a 9600 gt?

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by Bokranator

hmm, if i get a card from evga,bfg or xfx and change the cooler would that void the life time warranty?

eVGA no, XFX I don't think so if I remember correctly but BFG I think yes, it would void your warranty.
8800GT is a good choice nonetheless, though I'm a bit biased being the proud owner of a modded 8800. :P

[gvblake22]

The 9600GT should be able to play even the newest games at 1680x1050, but the 8800GT will prettymuch always perform better (especially with AA and/or AF enabled). Now whether or not it is worth your extra $$ is hard for me to say, mostly because I'm not you and can't spend your money.

HERE is an interesting breakdown of overall performance for some of the latest and greatest video cards. They averaged all FPS results at all resolutions tested and compiled the numbers into a chart and compared the cards to each other based on price or performance per watt. On average, the 8800GT is 8% faster than the 9600GT and offers about the same performance per dollar. But the 8800GT has also come down a bit in price since that review, so they are both great buys. If you are really strapped for cash and have to upgrade and want to spend as little as possible, then the 9600GT is a no brainer. If you want some new hardware to go with your higher resolution monitor and confidently play games with high detail settings at native resolution, then I would probably get the 8800GT (as long as the price isn't out of your budget).

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by gvblake22

HERE is an interesting breakdown of overall performance for some of the latest and greatest video cards.

Ah very nice chart, which only makes me feel better about "my investment" AKA buying a 8800GT. :P

[azianai]

Originally Posted by polobunny

Ah very nice chart, which only makes me feel better about "my investment" AKA buying a 8800GT. :P

not as good as my investment!

[polobunny]

Originally Posted by azianai

not as good as my investment!

Less than 50% the price. Bang for the buck, I'm hard to follow.