Graphics card dilemma

[elrasho]

I have a dilemma. After much thought I?ve decided not to go for a 8800 GTS card as Im never going to get Vista anytime soon so don?t need the DirectX10 capability.

So I?m left with choosing the best DirectX9 card for a price of around ?130. When I saw the 7900GTX at ?117 (http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=364166) I was shocked!! Why is this card so cheap now? I have a 7600GT right now and I cant play Bioshock on high settings, even though the rest of my spec meets its recommended system requirements. I have:

Asus A8N-SLI
Dual Core Opteron 180 (running at 2.4Ghz)
2GB PC3200 DDR ram
GeForce 7600GT 256MB

Will the 7900GTX let me play Bioshock and Crysis at 1024*768 with all settings on High?

I was tempting to get an 8800GTS for ?170 but I can use the money I save from the 7900GTX to get a Creative X FI sound card

 

[elrasho]

I can play BioShock at 1024*768 with most settings at high and the FPS stays at around 30 which is fine for me

Its only when there are 2+ splicers on screen, or many water affects the the frame rate dives (no pun intended). Im going to try overclocking my 7600GT. I cant see the point in spending ?200 to play one game... as Im sure my rig can play HL2: Epi2 and UT3 just fine at high settings

 

[DEATHMASTER]

lol don't hope for UT3 if you can't get Bioshock. I got a cheap 7950gt oc on newegg.

 

[giant384]

7900gtx will play it flawlessly

 

[elrasho]

7900gtx will play it flawlessly

Have you played Bioshock on ur rig? If so, how does it play? thanks

 

[giant384]

i can play it great at 1024x768 and its alittle sluggish at some times with 1280x800. hopefully 2k releases a patch soon or the float32 mod is released for it.

 

[elrasho]

Im stuck inbetween getting an 8800GTS for ?200 or spending just ?25 for a Zalman fan for the 7600GT and overclocking it until I can play at a reasonable FPS. I get artifacts after 5 mins of playing when overclocked to 600 / 770

 

[Llama]

an 8800 is going to be stupidly faster than a 7600.

Plus, it's a better option for future proofing. It's also a damn fast card.

You can get one for ?159 on aria (www.aria.co.uk)

 

[3ssence]

The prices on aria are shown excluding vat, which is slightly misleading. 159 would be an absolute bargain for an 8800, but it's actually 188 including vat, which isn't the cheapest i've seen.

 

[elrasho]

an 8800 is going to be stupidly faster than a 7600.

Plus, it's a better option for future proofing. It's also a damn fast card.

You can get one for ?159 on aria (www.aria.co.uk)

When u say "future proofing", are u talking 2 years or 2 months? Coz I got a feeling Crysis is gonna struggle running my system with a 8800GTS

 

[Sir Phoenixx]

Mine is an Athlon X2 3800 @ 2.4ghz, 2GB DDR400 RAM, with a Geforce 7900GS 256mb @ 600mhz/1600mhz (pretty similar setup as yours, except for the 7900gs), I can run Bioshock and Medal of Honor Airborne at 1024x768 with all max settings at a smooth 40fps, I'm sure I could run Crysis at 1024x768 with mostly high settings at around 30-40fps, mine almost meets Crysis' recommended system requirements.

 

[elrasho]

Mine is an Athlon X2 3800 @ 2.4ghz, 2GB DDR400 RAM, with a Geforce 7900GS 256mb @ 600mhz/1600mhz (pretty similar setup as yours, except for the 7900gs), I can run Bioshock and Medal of Honor Airborne at 1024x768 with all max settings at a smooth 40fps, I'm sure I could run Crysis at 1024x768 with mostly high settings at around 30-40fps, mine almost meets Crysis' recommended system requirements.

Thanks for that. Its soooo tempting to get a 7900GTX (especially as its going for ?97 at scan), but I dont think that card is gonna last me for another 6 months. I dont wann spend ?100 now and then another ?150 for 8800GTS in 6 months time. I think the best be is to save up and get the 8800GTS, so that means I wont be getting Bioshock for some time now :-(

At lease my current rig will let me play HL2:epi2.... well I least I hope it will