Which 7800GS: BFG, XFX Extreme or Gainward? Please advise!

[angry_ducky]

Gainward.

 

[nick_000000]

Yes it is a lot quieter as it uses the artic cooling silencer just repackaged in a black coating

 

[Tattysnuc]

The fans on all of the XFX's that I've owned (6600 GT PCI-E and 6800 GT AGP) have both been a little louder than other cards I've owned. Based on that soley I'd concur with the majority of posts here.....

GAINWARD!

Broom broom!!!

 

[mas0n]

Gainward BLISS seems to be the absolute top of the line AGP solution. That is if you want to pony up the cash for a legacy bus and then it becomes an issue of finding one that is available.

I have the BFG card and am happy with it. When the new AM2 chips drive the 939 prices down and all the other components to a respectable level then I will step into the PCI-E world. I think my BFG will last me another 12-18 months.

 

[dannyy]

Thanks for the info guys. Only other thing that concerns me with this card is that I assume it is not Nvidia 'textbook', and as such I am concerned with heatpower issues.

 

[chemicallymark]

I have a question about this card and my rig...

I have an Abit NF7-S 2.0 running a Athlon 2800 XP-M @ between 2400-2600Mhz, stable.

I have 2x512MB Crucial Ballistix RAM sticks.

Would my rig be able to handle this card? What I mean is would my processor be a bottle neck or not?

There is no point upgrading the card if the CPU can't handle it...

Thoughts?

Thanks!
Mark

 

[mas0n]

I think the real question is how much of an upgrade will the 7800GS card be to your system.

It has been said in serveral threads that the price to upgrade from an AMD standpoint is minor if you already have a socket 939 processor and PC3200 RAM. You would be better served upgrading to an entry level PCI-E board and getting a PCI-E 7800GT card for about $50 more. Let us face the simple facts, if you are going to spend $350 for a new graphics card then $400 for a "system upgrade with grpahics card" isnt that much of a big deal.

I have a socket A processer and back in 02 my system was top of the line but now it is just returning my initial investment.

However I will say that the difference between my 9800Pro AIW 128 and my BFG 7800GS OC is night and day.

To answer your question CMark: My 3200+ is not OC'd and is stock 2.2GHz. I use 1GB of Kingston Value RAM on a A7N8X-E deluxe motherboard which historically is not the most stable board and I have an X-Connect 500W PS which is pretty bargin basement and I have had zero problems using the latest nV drivers from the website.

 

[chemicallymark]

All very true words.

I have a socket A board/cpu so I would need a board/cpu/graphics card and I guess I don't really want an entry level rig but you can't have everything.

I was just running the thoughts to the "Geeks" out there

At least I know that my stuff will run fine with a newer card. I guess I need to decide how much / badly I want it.

If I ask the question, "Do I need it?", then the answer is "No". But that's always the case isn't it?

Thanks for your help!