Anyone out there experienced with graphics cards?

[briancpest]

I am looking to buy a new graphics card for my computer since my Xbox died. I need to get in some quality, war-shooting gaming in or I'll bore myself out of my mind.

Anyone out there big into computer gaming? I haven't done much of it in a few years, since I've had my Xbox up until now. So, now, getting back into the computer gaming, my graphics card is very out of date for the newer games.

I am looking between two cards.
Nvidia GeForce 7950 GT or the Nvidia GeForce 8800 XXX

The reason this is a tough decision is because the 7950 is about $150 less, but the 8800 is the top of the line... so it'd probably last me a good three years before I'd have to upgrade again.

Anyone out there familiar with any of this? Can anyone give me a personal review of the quality versus quantity of each or either?

Does anyone out there even have any clue what I'm talking about?

 

[itsbob]

You need to talk to War, and Smooth.. and MainMan.. they'll convince you into getting your Xbox fixed.. is it still under warranty??

And what are the processors and memory on the two cards?

 

[briancpest]

You need to talk to War, and Smooth.. and MainMan.. they'll convince you into getting your Xbox fixed.. is it still under warranty??

And what are the processors and memory on the two cards?

Actually, I just sent my Xbox out to get fixed last week. But, there are a lot of sequals to my old favs coming out later this year and next that are PC exclusive, and very highl graphic quality.

the 7950 GT is a 512MB card with a 400 MHZ clock speed, i believe.

while the 8800 XXX has 320 MB memory, but the clock speed is 580 MHZ.

I've looked at ratings and bar graphs. As far as performance, the 8800 XXX only has 2 cards that perform better than it on higher resolutions (after I buy the card, i plan on hooking my comp permanently to my tv). this is why I'm really intrigued by the 8800.

however, it's $300. The 7950 is only about $100. It's midrange quality on high resolutions.

the 8800 XXX is actually overclocked. The standard 8800 comes in the 320 MB type or 640 MB. but, the speeds are actually much lower than the OC.... and they are ranked between the XXX card and the 7950.

My thought process is, if I dish out the big bucks right now.... I won't have to upgrade for ultra graphic quality for another 3 years.

remember the money we dished out for the ATI 9800? and that card is just now starting to become unplayable with new games.... that was like 4 years ago. lol

 

[itsbob]

Actually, I just sent my Xbox out to get fixed last week. But, there are a lot of sequals to my old favs coming out later this year and next that are PC exclusive, and very highl graphic quality.

the 7950 GT is a 512MB card with a 400 MHZ clock speed, i believe.

while the 8800 XXX has 320 MB memory, but the clock speed is 580 MHZ.

I've looked at ratings and bar graphs. As far as performance, the 8800 XXX only has 2 cards that perform better than it on higher resolutions (after I buy the card, i plan on hooking my comp permanently to my tv). this is why I'm really intrigued by the 8800.

however, it's $300. The 7950 is only about $100. It's midrange quality on high resolutions.

the 8800 XXX is actually overclocked. The standard 8800 comes in the 320 MB type or 640 MB. but, the speeds are actually much lower than the OC.... and they are ranked between the XXX card and the 7950.

My thought process is, if I dish out the big bucks right now.... I won't have to upgrade for ultra graphic quality for another 3 years.

remember the money we dished out for the ATI 9800? and that card is just now starting to become unplayable with new games.... that was like 4 years ago. lol

Yep, you do get what you pay for, and the more you pay the longer until obsolesence..

Can you upgrade the memory? Is it a plug and play type memory module??

 

[briancpest]

Yep, you do get what you pay for, and the more you pay the longer until obsolesence..

Can you upgrade the memory? Is it a plug and play type memory module??

sadly, you can't upgrade the memory on it. it's fixed. but, I really don't know why you'd need more than 320 MB. I dont know of any games off my head that would require a 512 MB graphics card.

the reason the 8800 is 320 MB, is because it has a specific amount dedicated to graphics, then the rest is dedicated to physics. I have updated my computers memory to 3 Gigs though, and it seems enough of an upgrade for my current graphic card to handle new games pretty well at moderate resolution. just looking to make my system high quality for a long time.

 

[RadioPatrol]

why not the ATI X1950 series ........... I have had issues with Nvidia Cards and Drivers lately ..........

 

[briancpest]

why not the ATI X1950 series ........... I have had issues with Nvidia Cards and Drivers lately ..........

I was looking at that one too.... but, actually, the majority of my favorite companies build their games around NVidia chipsets... which is why the one I currently have is NVidia.

I still haven't made a final decision, but I'm going to by the end of next week. Just want to do a bit more research.

However, I am having another problem with my computer right now....
but, I'm going to start a new thread for that one cause this thread doesn't seem to be getting much attention.

 

[Warron]

I'd recommend the 8800 series if you have windows vista since it is a direct x 10 card and the 7900 series if you dont. If you still have windows xp you wont get the full use of all features on the 8800 and its probably not worth the extra cost.