which 8800 GTS card to get?

rylenolflu · July 12th, 2007, 12:31 PM

So first off, my power supply is an FSP Source 450 Watt psu (+12V1@18A, +12V2@18A), what I have understood is that you add the two rails up to get the total which would be 36 total amps on the 12 volt rails. Anyway, I am looking to upgrade from a 7900 GT to a 8800 GTS 320mb version. I was wondering if there is a specific brand that someone would recommend, I have heard XFX is good. Thanks guys.
Rylenol

carl33p · July 12th, 2007, 12:52 PM

EVGA and XFX would be my top two choices. BFG Tech as well.

They come with Lifetime Warranties compared to most other manufactuers which only have a 1year warranty.

rylenolflu · July 12th, 2007, 03:39 PM

am I alright with my psu, I mean the numbers seem to add up in my favor. The requierments for the 320mb 8800 GTS is a 425 watt pci-e compliant psu, 28 total ampage, the 450 Watt FSP psu I have has two 12V rails both at 18 which = 36 amps total. Am I right in assuming this is okay?

carl33p · July 12th, 2007, 04:38 PM

You should be fine. Yes, you add the 12V Rails.
Whats the rest of your components look like?

rylenolflu · July 12th, 2007, 04:45 PM

a64 3800+ Orleans at 2.5GHz
asus m2n-sli deluxe motherboard (AM2)
2 gigs of pqi ddr2667 memory
200 gig 7200 rpm hd
80 gig 5400 rpm hd
8800 GTS 320 MB (what I am upgrading to from a 7900 GT 256mb)
sound blaster audigy se
xp pro

Okay, so there are 8800 GTS 320 MB versions ranging from $270 to $319, one of the XFX models that I am looking at is the $319 one with higher core clock and memory clock. Is it worth spending the extra bucks on the XFX card? in this case it is almost $50, I have heard I could just overclock the eVGA version to the XFX speeds? Anyway, thanks

ShyguyXPC · July 14th, 2007, 03:14 AM

in all honesty... you really don't need to overclock that thing at all (or purchase a factory OC'd version really), I got a PNY version running at stock speeds & it blows just about any previous 7xxx series away easily, my previous cards were 7800GT's. Just get which ever one is cheapest or has the best warranty or combination of both.

I went for the cheapest price online I could find from a reputable online retailer, got mine for under $270. figured no need for a lifetime warranty as I'd be buying a 2nd by end of year, or upgrading next spring again, so it's a waste IMO to pay the premium price for a warranty I'm never gonna use. a 1 year is fine for me.

But also went for a stock speed one, as I've pretty much given up on OCing these high end cards, as they produce enough heat as it is at stock speeds.

JPMiller · July 14th, 2007, 03:38 AM

As already said...
Just get the cheapest with best warranty...
Overclocking is a waste of time and effort...

RamonGTP · July 14th, 2007, 03:42 AM

Unfortunaly, simply adding up the 12v rails does not give you your total power on the 12v rail. You will almost always overestimate your 12v rail power if you do so. While each individual rail might support 18amps, that does not mean you can load BOTH of them to capacity. More often than not, the total output of the 12v rail is LESS than adding both of them up.

That said, your psu should still be fine.

EDIT: Look at it this way, if it was simply a matter of adding up the rails, you are looking at a total of 432watts on the 12v rail, if this was true, that would only leave 18 watts available for BOTH the 3.3 and 5v combined.

RamonGTP · July 14th, 2007, 03:52 AM

The total availabe power on the 12v rail combined is 360watts...

http://www.fsp-group.com/english/1_p...=123&proid=517

Which means if you have one rail loaded to capacity (18amps) you have an additional 12amps left max for the other rail. You basically have 30 amps total to play with on the 12 with each rail able to support a MAX of 18amps, just not at the same time.

Ryan220587 · July 14th, 2007, 03:55 AM

i got my leadtek 8800gts 640mb version for 450USD. it was only 40 dollars more than the BFG 320mb version, and while the BFG had good support, i went with the leadtek simply because well, i guess there's more benefit to having the bigger card that can handle the higher res's. plus it was only a bit more money. but if i hadve gone for the 320mb version, it wouldve been the BFG. xfx isn't as well known here in aus, in fact i couldn't even find a link to any australian site on their main website.