8800 Ultra just died, what to get

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Seaclam

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Aug 1, 2007
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Hello, my 8800 Ultra just died the other day and I'm temporarily running on an old 7600 GT. I have a 2 year old system consisting of core components which include an Intel quad Q6600 2.4 and 3 gigs of dual channel Corsair Dominator memory, WD sata drives(300GB for boot up and 500 GB storage), Enermax Galaxy 850W P/S, Creative Labs X-Fi pro card, Asus Commando board, Vista 32 Ultimate, Thermaltake Armor case-air cooled, Samsung 22'' LCD(1680x1050). My computer time is split between Photoshop and gaming.

Apperently PCI-E 2.0 cards are backwards compatable and since I only use one card, I have seen reports that say I will never reach the bandwidth, that I won't see an issue. I have been considering the GTX 295, but have neard some issues that it and Photoshop CS4 don't play well together. Thus leading me to the GTX285. I am considering getting a nice 26'' NEC Spectraview(1920x1200 high color gamut) for viewing my photo files while at the same time using the Samsung for the CS4 program/tools. But I would also be gaming on the Samsung@1680x1050(would turn off the NEC when not using Photoshop) as mentioned. On my PCI-E 1.0 Commando board, will I see a huge difference in performance just because of the couple generation gap the GTX 285 has over the 8800 Ultra, or am I likely not to see it due to the 1.0 spec on the MB? Also, if I just go the route of getting a new card, will that Enermax Galaxy 850w even cut it? I noticed the overall apm's is high, but each rail is like 17 amp, when all the new models are much higher? Does this matter? I can certainly get a new P/S like another Enermax or the highly rated Corsair HX-1000 if need be. Heck, if I have to, I can build an i7 system, but I'm trying to avoid it if I can right now. I am assuming that upcoming games like Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Ghostbusters, Battlestations: Pacific, ect should run fine on my current system running the resolution I am, provided I get a new card, BUT AGAIN.....I'm not sure and would like some input. Thanks.
 
I'd go with the GTX 275. It's quite a bit cheaper than the 285, and not far behind in performance. It's quite a bit faster than your old 8800 ultra as well. Oh, and your PSU should be fine.
 
The GTX275 is a great choice since it's so much cheaper than the 285. If you don't mind getting a card from ATi, the 4870/4890 would also be viable choices. The 4890 would offer the best overclocking headroom while the GTX275 is an NVIDIA card. They both perform similarly at stock clocks.
 
Figured I'd post this here.

My EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GTX KO ACS3 PCI-E 626MHZ 768MB 2.0GHZ GDDR3 Just crapped out after 2yrs as well ( even tho the card is still working, I'm getting these weird lines down my screen right now) and I can't play any games, i tried updating drivers and it still doesn't even help (Nvida control panel not even showing up) and taking the card out then putting it back in didnt fix it either.

Just wondering as well what card I should get, and how much cooler would it be then the one I was using now, cause I don't want any card thats gonna be overclocked and im not gonna be overclocking lol After what just happened I can only conclude Heat killed the card.

System is also:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700
X-FI Xtreme Gamer
OCZ SLI-Ready Dual Channel 8 gig ram
EVGA Nforce 680I SLI Motherboard
Thermaltake VA8003BWS Black ATX Tower Case
OCZ GameXStream 700W ATX12V 24PIN SLI Ready
Windows Vista x64
 
Most likely it was heat. The ram often overheats and dies, as whats being seen by your card.
The above choices are good choices, though the 4890 and the 285 run the coolest , I believe, of the 4 mentioned.
 


Well if you can't RMA it I would look at some of the above. The HD4890 should be a favorite and one of the leaders of the pack for single gpu cards. If you insist on the green team then the 275. I don't know what res you are playing on but if you are ABOVE 1920x1200 then you may want to consider the GTX 295, or 4870x2 or the upcoming 4890x2.
 
I play at 1680x1050 ^^

While I was watchin TV right now I notice the screen saver says I need a better video card or one with direct 3d XD

Also, are these video cards much better then the one I have now?


Also what about my CPU, should I need to upgrade this or is it still good for now?
 
Interesting! My card sounds like it was the same model. EVGA 8800 Ultra KO 768 megs. I was seeing all sorts of graphical corruption, mainly large and small blocks. I installed the lastest drivers....no good. As soon as I pulled a 7900GT(I mentioned a 7600Gt, but that was wrong) from an older machine, everything ran fine. At the time I bought the 8800 Ultra, it was a step or two down from the very top. It was still OC'd, but not as much and I figured that would help on the heat. I think I'll go with a standard, base 285. As I mentioned at the start, I game on a 22" Samsung@1680x1050, with textures all the way up in a game, but usually only 2x-4x AA and 2x-4x aniso, so I think I'm covered with a single 285. I think a single 295 might be too hot for an air cooled case in a small room?
 
wow after coming home with the computer off, my computer card seems to be working fine x_X Guess it was just overheated and was just having a fit, saved myself a few hundread I guess.

Is there anyway to Underclock my EVGA E-GEFORCE 8800GTX KO ACS3 PCI-E 626MHZ 768MB 2.0GHZ GDDR3 ???
 
@ Seaclam: Like the guys have said, the GTX275 is almost as fast as the GTX285 and a lot cheaper. Either will be an improvement on the 8800.
The GTX295 will need fairly good case airflow to keep it cool but I see no problems using it apart from its sheer size provided you have at least one front intake fan and leave a space behind the machine so the hot air can vent.

@ Trunkz_Jr: time to give the pc a spring clean? Modern systems have large heatsinks and fans with plenty of small fins/blades that are easily blocked.
 
I just wonder how much performance is lost using a single 285 on a PCI-E 1.0 MB. That's why I'm thinking the 285/2gb model. A little bit better performance to help cover whatever bandwidth loss, if any, that I will ever reach. From what I've read though, only if you are running SLI, will you tap the speed of the 2.0 spec.
 
It drives the James Bond DB5 Aston Martin and rides a tricked up Buell.
Yours drives a 79 'Volvo and rides a Honda 750.
Mine drives a Morris Marina and rides a scooter🙁

Seriously though, it runs cooler and quieter, check out a few reviews. And bear in mind the card produces less heat so a little fan tweaking can drop the temperature quite a lot without adding a lot of noise.
 
Figured I'd post this here as well (once again) lol



Okay this is more noob question. I ended up getting the 275, and its working fine, but 1 thing I noticed is that when I plugged in the 2 plugs in at the top, theres a tiny little one (and it came with a tiny cable) but my 8800 gtx didnt have that, whats it for and if I do need it how do I plug it in lol
 
My EVGA 8800 GTS 512 died this week. If you check on Newegg, EVGA gives 1 year warranties on entry level videocards, 2 year warranties for mid range, and some lifetime warranties for the high end. If they believe in all their products, why not make lifetime warranties?

That's why I think XFX will surpass EVGA. They have double lifetime warranties for owner transfer on even an entry level card like a 4350.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%2050001669&name=XFX

Until customers demand that EVGA begin to get more competitive with warranties, EVGA will just sit and think the brnad name will take care of itself. Not so, XFX is the number one in Europe and probably will increase market share.
 
Dang it! I wish I'd seen this before picking up a Radeon 4850 to replace my dead 8800 Ultra. It's NOWHERE near the performance level of the 8800 Ultra! Not even close! Well, at least it was cheap.
 
whats up with the 8800gtx's mine died last week as well lol
and whats worst is im with onboard graphics......doh
i have a 6800 but its agp rrrrrrrrrrr
but i wouldnt buy anything 4 a few days till the reviews hit the web on the new ati 5xxx cards
 
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