Need advice on upgrading

Dr_asik

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Mar 8, 2006
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Hi,

I am willing to spend around 300$CAN on upgrading my computer. Here is my current configuration:

P4 2.8Ghz
EDIT: 1 stick of 512 MB RAM PC3200
80 Gigs IDE 7200Rpm
Radeon 9600SE

I want my computer to be able to run Bethesda's Oblivion very well (not everything maxed, but still high-ish settings) and to be able to run new games decently for the next 2 years or so. When I say decently, Half-Life 2 runs decently on my config (1024x768, noAA noAF, high textures-effects-etc @ 25-32fps), just to give an idea of what I'm expecting.

These are the 2 solutions I'm considering:

GeForce 6600GT + 512Mb RAM = roughly 290$CAN
GeForce 6800GS + no RAM = roughly 320$CAN

What would you choose? Any other solutions, maybe on ATI's side? (AGP only)

That's a hard one when I think of it because the 6800GS is a much more powerful card than the 6600GT. It's bandwith is 32GB/s compared to 16GB/s; memory interface is 256 to 128bit; memory is 256 vs 128MB.
 
For oblivion you're going to need at least a gig of RAM.

1. get a gig of RAM for sure.

2. Look on ebay.ca for used 6800 cards. I just had a look and used 6800 OC cards (much better than a 6600GT and equal to a 6800 GS) have gone for as little as $140 cdn in the past couple days.

You'll want as many pixel shaders as you can afford if you're running oblivion, and the 6800 has 12-shaders to the 6600's 8-shaders.

Plus, I believe Oblivion offers OpenEXR HDR and the 6800 can do that, although it's probably not fast enough to have the feature turned on, it's nice to have the option.
 
For the game you want what u need the most is more RAM
1Gb is prob the least u want to be able to play it desent. (sweet spott 1.5 or more?)

The lesser of two evils ...

Go for the RAM and the 6600GT
 
Well, I did find a 6800GS and some Corsair RAM. However it's from TigerDirect.ca and I've heard scary stories about Tiger. The RAM is also Value Ram so I don't know how it would stack up against your existing 512MB also whether or not your running 2 256s or one 512MB chip.

Just an idea although I think Cleeve and kickbutt are on to something.
 
Well, I did find a 6800GS and some Corsair RAM. However it's from TigerDirect.ca and I've heard scary stories about Tiger. The RAM is also Value Ram so I don't know how it would stack up against your existing 512MB also whether or not your running 2 256s or one 512MB chip.
Yes, that was the 6800GS and the RAM I had spotted 8) Add tax and expedition costs and it goes up to 379$, however, which is too much for me. This is why if I get the 6800GS, then I can't throw in the RAM too. I am running a single 512MB RAM stick, btw.

you can fit a 6800GS and RAM into your budget.
Oh, if this was true, then I would be the happiest person in the world.

2. Look on ebay.ca for used 6800 cards. I just had a look and used 6800 OC cards (much better than a 6600GT and equal to a 6800 GS) have gone for as little as $140 cdn in the past couple days.
Yeah, I found a 6800 OC for 0.01$ on eBay... but really, how credible is that? I don't feel quite confident about buying used cards on which there is no guarantee from some guy in Ohio or whatever.
 
Yeah, I found a 6800 OC for 0.01$ on eBay... but really, how credible is that? I don't feel quite confident about buying used cards on which there is no guarantee from some guy in Ohio or whatever.

On ebay, your guarantee is the seller's user rating. A guy with a 99% user rating and 4000 transactions is not out to screw anybody over, he has a serious business.

But a guy with a user rating of 27 and an item that should be $400 for $100 is probably a scammer.

Just use common sense.
 
Well, thanks to everyone for the prompt and useful advice. In case you'd like to know, I will wait until Oblivion comes out, and see if it's really worth upgrading or not. In case I'm not totally hyped about it, I'll just let my computer degenerate into its own oblivion and buy a whole new one (except some peripherals which will still be good) in a couple years.

Even if I could find a 6800GS for 240$ and RAM for 60$, add tax and expedition costs and it still goes higher than 350$. The cheapest 6800GS is still 100$ higher than the cheapest 6600GT, which, both for Oblivion and in long-term, doesn't make an essential difference.* Buying a used video card on eBay is still against my principles too. 😛 So, if the game's really worth it, I'll go for the 6600GT and the RAM, which will make my computer decent for the next 2 years. If not, I'll go back to playing Starcraft 😛

*Here is the mathematical proof of this assertion:

Cheapest 6600GT: 160$
Cheapest 6800GS: 260$
So, the 6800GS is priced (260/160)x100-100 = 62,5% higher than the 6600GT. Let's see how benchmarks compare to this difference in prices.

3dmark05 scores

1024x768, noAAnoAF

6600GT: 3281
6800GT(same as 6800GS): 4790

So, the 6800GS is (4790/3281)x100-100= only 46% more powerful at this resolution, which puts the 6600GT in the better buck/bang ratio

1024x768, 4xAA, 8xAF

6600GT: 2024
6800GT: 3988

Here, the 6800GT is 97% better than the 6600GT, and it wins this round.

The same general pattern can be observed with all other benchmarks of these two cards: at "standard" 1024x768 noAAnoAF, the 6800GS performs only 30-50% better than it's younger sister, but the gap in performance is greater at very high settings such as 1280x1024 fullAA, AF, etc.

Since personaly, I really don't care about AA nor AF nor resolutions higher than 1024x768, I may legimitly consider that investing 62,5% more money for roughly 45% more performance is not worth it.

6600GT wins.
 
You made the right choice to wait. Now that the new 7900/7600 series of cards has come out, prices should drop on the 6800/6600. So waiting might get you into the 6800GS with the RAM in your price range.

Be patient.
 
Yeah, I found a 6800 OC for 0.01$ on eBay... but really, how credible is that? I don't feel quite confident about buying used cards on which there is no guarantee from some guy in Ohio or whatever.

On ebay, your guarantee is the seller's user rating. A guy with a 99% user rating and 4000 transactions is not out to screw anybody over, he has a serious business.

But a guy with a user rating of 27 and an item that should be $400 for $100 is probably a scammer.

Just use common sense.Ok, so I found this guy who has over 3000 transactions and a user rating of 99.9%, and guess what? He's selling this mighty X850Pro for 10$US !!!! :tongue: I'm not even sure my PSU can power it 😀 I mean that's too good to be true, there must be some trap...
 
Since personaly, I really don't care about AA nor AF nor resolutions higher than 1024x768, I may legimitly consider that investing 62,5% more money for roughly 45% more performance is not worth it.

6600GT wins.

If you r target resoution is 1024x768 with no AA, the 6600 GT will serve you well.

But remember, if you plan on playing the newest titles as they arrive the 6600 GT will age much quicker than the 6800 GS.

Also, it would be wise to never try using AA - because once you've tried it, you can never go back. :)