What to buy.....8800gtx or 8800gts 512?

[espguitarguy232]

Ok so I had a BFG 8800GT OC2 and the thing was completely unstable and I would constantly get red artifacts followed by a system crash (RMA'd twice), which through research i found to be memory defects and/or memory overheating. Sent it back to the BFG store and they are giving me store credit. Now my question is this. Out of these 3 cards what should i get......

BFG 8800 gts 512 OC
BFG 8800 gtx OC
BFG 8800 gtx OC2

I have a OCZ GameXstream 700w on the way for power. The max resolution I will use is 1600x1050, I prefer to set all settings on high (within reason), and I like AA and all that other stuff. Reliability is also important and I do not know if the issue I (along with many other people) had experienced is related to cards with the G92 core or just the 8800gt lacking sufficient memory cooling. With taxes coming money is not as much of an issue, but I will not be doing SLI.

 

[jay2tall]

Just get the GTS. is newer tech. uses less power and you could still SLI on a 700w if you wanted. GTX is a year old and is power hungry. they are comparable in performance.

 

[IH8U]

I have the GTS 512, the only issue I have is they OCed too much (unstable). Underclock it by as little as 10 (from its stock oc) on the core, and mem. Lastly increase the fan speed to ~40% (its set at 29%).

 

[espguitarguy232]

That is the same problem I had with the 8800GT, and since RMA's weren't working I got rid of it for store credit. Is that a common problem with the 8800gts 512's in general as well?

 

[jay2tall]

I have the GTS 512, the only issue I have is they OCed too much (unstable). Underclock it by as little as 10 (from its stock oc) on the core, and mem. Lastly increase the fan speed to ~40% (its set at 29%).

Your card is weird then. Mine OCed like a champ without any issue. I could probably push it much move but 100MHZ OC is fine for now. My fan on auto idles at about 40% and is quiet, the temp is 50C on idle. What brand card do you have?

 

[espguitarguy232]

The GTS's fan idles at 29%??????

 

[jay2tall]

Yeah it should be like 40% idle. Something is funny there.

 

[espguitarguy232]

Thats odd....well there is always rivatuner. Pretty much what I am looking for is the most stable card, I dont OC expensive stuff much cuz i do not want to lose the warranty. At this point stability is what I want to pay for. If that means the more expensive GTX so be it, I just do not want to have another situation like i did with the 8800GT

 

[espguitarguy232]

Also since I like to use the "eye candy" such as AA and AF, would I be better off with the GTX? Also how stable is the OC2 version of the GTX?

 

[enewmen]

I will personally get the GT. Some had fan problems, but I never did (vista 64 & XP).
The GT is nearly as fast, much cheaper, and uses only 1 slot.
Anyway, forget the GTX. The GTS 512 is better at everything.
Also, the GT and GTS 512 is fast enough for any current game on the planet - except for Crysis (for that you need a card with unEarthly performance)

 

[enewmen]

I really don't have any fan/cooling problems with the GT. Just install the newest drivers. Riva also helps (as you know)

 

[espguitarguy232]

I already owned a 8800 GT, which I said gave me all kinds of problems even after latest drivers, including the mobo. I also updated the bios on the mobo, no change.

 

[enewmen]

I already owned a 8800 GT, which I said gave me all kinds of problems even after latest drivers, including the mobo. I also updated the bios on the mobo, no change.

Very strange.
I wish I can spend more time on this.

 

[Mousemonkey]

I already owned a 8800 GT, which I said gave me all kinds of problems even after latest drivers, including the mobo. I also updated the bios on the mobo, no change.

Maybe, just maybe BFG make a crappy card so why not try a bog standard XFX Alpha Dog.

 

[ZOldDude]

I have an 8800GTS (G92) and it runs like a Greyhound from hell.
People who are haveing problems have the problem with their system (old drivers or PSU).

Mine came with 670/972 (DDR 1944) and just tried a quick nTune OC of 758/1088 and it scored 11,895 in 3dMark06 (build 110) with a stock computer.
It did not get any warmer and I am sure it will go alot further as on Guru3D they say the G92 can run @ 800Mhz.

The cards last week at Tiger...$258 USD.

 

[espguitarguy232]

I would try a different brand, but I am locked in because when I ordered from the bfg tech store they were the only ones that had it. I pretty much had to convince corporate to let me return the GT for store credit, so I am pretty much a BFG customer no matter what. In their defense though it was generous of them to give me store credit. I am obviously wary of BFG's cards, specifically the new ones with the G92 cores

 

[pauldh]

priced the same grab a GTX. But Most likely the GTS is alot cheaper and is then by far the better choice.

 

[Heyyou27]

I'd grab the 8800GT as it's much cheaper and nearly just as fast; don't bother with the 8800GTX now as they're expensive and based on the 90nm process.

 

[pauldh]

^ yeah true. Some cheap 8800GT cards lately and some with quieter better cooling solutions than the ref.

 

[espguitarguy232]

I already had a GT and thats the one that did not work for me, maybe it was a bad overclock but 2 times in a row seemed odd. Does the GTS drop framerates as soon as AA and AF are applied?

 

[blackened144]

I got the 8800GT when they first came out. The default fan setting is 29%. I would have to set the fan to 75% to overclock to 700/1900. I installed the HR-03 GT, and ziptied a 120mm fan. I then flashed the bios to 725/2000 and it stays cooler now then when I had the stock heatsink at stock fan speed and stock clocks. And espguitarguy232, EVERY card takes a performance hit when AA and AF are applied. The GTX takes less of a hit because of its 384bit memory bus, but the GTS has enough raw power with the G92 core to make up some of the difference.

 

[espguitarguy232]

I know every card takes a hit, its just a question of to what degree

 

[aevm]

I have a BFG 8800GTX OC2 and love it. It is better than the 8800GTS G92, but by a negligible margin and noticeable only at 1920x1200 or more. In fact, the 8800GTS G92 can be faster at 1600x1200 or lower if overclocked a lot.
The GTX also consumes more power. You should only get the GTX if you have a 1920x1200 or 2560x1600 resolution and a 780i motherboard and a 1000W+ PSU and want triple-SLI. For all other scenarios I'd pick the 8800GTS G92.

I really don't like the 8800GT. Horror stories like yours are everywhere, you should know. It's not just BFG, it's those single-slot coolers used by most 8800GT flavors.

 

[espguitarguy232]

I am starting to be more convinced about this GTS 512. My biggest fear was my experience with the GT, which could have been bad memory cooling. I can only play at 1680x1050 native resolution, and the gain might not be worth the extra $100+ for the GTX. Another thing is that I am having trouble with my OCZ 700w fan noise that sometimes keeps me up, so if i have to rma AGAIN, im not sure my old 550w will run the GTX and thats no fun cuz i dont want to have a new card and not be able to use it