DO NOT buy a new Geforce 8800GT

[samm]

A german magazine and some message boards have put out the news that POV is selling a "new" model of the old price/performance winner 8800GT. This new revision has been seriously crippled in performance by cutting the memory interface in half (now 128 bit) and deactivating shaders (now only 6 shader and 48 TMUs). It was said that it isn't an nVidia design, but has been created by POV on its own initiative, however other manufacturers will now start selling the same slow version of this hardware.

So if you're going to buy an 8800GT, make sure you avoid this model.

 

Sources:

http://www.computerbase.de/news/hardware/g...-bit-interface/ (german)

http://www.forum-3dcenter.org/vbulletin/sh...ad.php?t=426833 (german)

[Gorgon]

Rip off artists

[angshuman]

 

Thanks for the info! I was considering going in for an 8800GT in the near future. I would've probably ignored a 128-bit spec as a typo or something.

[jaguars4ever]

...

 

I mean, yeah, good thing none of us were stupid enough to buy this.

 

Fortunately I've kept my receipt...or rather I keep my receipts in eventuality that such a dread purchase is made.

 

Not that I need it of course.

[mkreku]

I'm glad I bought my 4870! Not that I think the ATI manufacturer's wouldn't do a thing like this.. It's just, it hasn't been done yet.

 

By the way, I can still recommend the 4870. Really impressive GPU.

[Kaftan Barlast]

You can get a 8800GTX with 768mb ram for 1500 swedish crowns (158euro) now, though. So theres no reason to get a GT

[Magister Lajciak]

Thanks for the info - it is relevant as I am planning on getting a new computer.

[samm]

POV is doing the same game on 8600GT. See http://www.ipcstore.net/techdealer/index.h...l&id=105621. It's about the level of a 8400GS...

[mkreku]

I don't quite understand why they're doing this. Is it because they have trouble competing with ATI when it comes to pricing? It feels like a sure way of destroying your brand trust among customers by doing stuff like this..

[samm]

Yeah, definitely ruining their own brand.

I think the reason isn't competition, or rather indirect. They just sit on many old chips they have to get rid of, and couldn't sell it for a price they can make profit with, now they can produce less complex boards for partially damaged chips or something, and sell it for a higher price than their performance would suggest (i.e. a price close to that of the "real" versions with the same name, instead of close to the cards with matching performance).

Edited August 10, 2008 by samm

[Deadly_Nightshade]

Ahhh... It's a good thing I'm planning to get two GTX cards when I upgrade.

[Kaftan Barlast]

SLi is overrated, IMO. Im running it at the moment with dual 7800GTX and I definently prefer a single powerful card instead. The nvidia 200-series seem like the best choice at the moment, the new ATI's run way too hot and are thus unrealiable and have a short lifespan

 

3 reasons why you shouldnt get SLi or dual cards like the 9800GX2

 

1. the performance increase is only about 20% and only noticeable in high resolutions 1920x1200 and beyond

2. the cards only use the memory of the primary card, thus 2x512mb = 1x512mb

3. you cant use more than one screen with SLi

[samm]

The new ATIs run as hot as the old x1950 The reason is that they're trying to keep the fans as quiet as possible, thus letting them spin at very low speeds. Tweaking the fan speeds or installing a third party cooler fixes this.

 

On topic: A (probably inclomplete) list of crippled graphics cards one should avoid. The article is german, google translation should make at least the list itself intelligible.

[mkreku]

My 4870 idles at 77 degrees!

 

 

And my X1950XTX used to idle around 73 degrees so yeah, they get a bit hot. But the fan is really silent. In fact, I can never hear it unless I'm playing a really heavy game, when it spins up slightly so I can hear a very weak whirring noise. It doesn't affect the system temperature either as the GPU is an enclosed system and pumps out massive amounts of hot air through its own fan hole on the backside of the case. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's actually helping lower the temperatures inside the case because of its throughput of air.

[samm]

Another cool surprise (cool in temperature, not performance) for low budget gamers:

The geForce 9600GSO+. While the 9600 GT and GSO offered great speed for the money, the new 9600 GSO+ is a strange breed (of evil). It has only 56% of the computing power of a 9600 GSO, but offers 60% more memory bandwith. Because the 9600 GSO wasn't limited by memory bandwith, this is a really strange move, as is calling it "GSO+", and we should expect some serious performance drops compared to the old 9600 GSO caused by the less than halfed computation speed.

Edited November 17, 2008 by samm

[Gorgon]

Part of all this is simply smoke and mirrors, they can still sell those cards to people who have given up trying to figure out the naming policy and think they are getting what it sounds like, instead of what it is.

[Deraldin]

My 4870 idles at 77 degrees!

 

And my X1950XTX used to idle around 73 degrees so yeah, they get a bit hot. But the fan is really silent. In fact, I can never hear it unless I'm playing a really heavy game, when it spins up slightly so I can hear a very weak whirring noise. It doesn't affect the system temperature either as the GPU is an enclosed system and pumps out massive amounts of hot air through its own fan hole on the backside of the case. In fact, I'm pretty sure it's actually helping lower the temperatures inside the case because of its throughput of air.

 

Wow! Your 4870 idles at 14C warmer than my 4850. It's currently sitting at 63C at stock fan speeds.

[WILL THE ALMIGHTY]

Does a almost-white-hot graphics card affect the rest of the computer? Or performance? Or even the lifetime of the hardware?

[mkreku]

Does a almost-white-hot graphics card affect the rest of the computer? Or performance? Or even the lifetime of the hardware?

Depends on your case. If your GPU becomes 100 degrees Celsius and you have bad ventilation in the case, then yes, it will start to affect other parts as well (there was one Geforce passive cooled card that actually reached above 100 degrees!). If you have enough ventilation, the heat probably won't spread much from the GPU to anything else. Unless you have a very cramped case, in which case it's almost impossible to get rid of the excess heat.

[Kaftan Barlast]

And Hardware life will be shortened significantly if regularly run at temperatures of 80C or more, thats 170F for you barbarians.

[samm]

You can't quantify this. The hotter, the shorter the lifespan, yes. But some chips do not care if they're getting above 100

Edited November 18, 2008 by samm

[taks]

samm's right, btw. cooler = better, in general, but there's no magic point at which everything starts to decay. in fact, there are some things that require hotter temps, but that's not really a concern for what we're discussing.

 

taks

[Walsingham]

I want to know why the hell no-one has made a graphics card with a ramen put attached.

[taks]

what is a ramen put? some sort of noodle thingy popular with college kids?

 

taks

[Gorgon]

Some friends of mine actually waited half an hour for noodles., the other day.