Dear guys,

I just want to ask if it is worth to get a 8 series card if for the near future i will stick to using windows xp ? My card is way old(Fx5200--Antique-lol) and i was planning on a major overhaul of my computer.

My question is,i can only afford the 8500 and 8600 gt cards. Should i just buy a 8 series card or should i stick to a 7 series card as i will not be using vista?

Is it worth my money to run a 8 series card in xp?

Thanks in advance for any help.

An FX huh? first thing first, can your motherboard support PCI-E 16X more specifly does it have a PCI-E 16X port? PCI-E is the thing now for most modern Graphic Cards and a standard for gamers. From my point of view if you want to upgrade you should just get a decent GeForce 7 series card since they are so affordable right now and getting more and more so. Unless you are willing to invest a lot more I would say the 8800 would be the best choice right now. Also a 8500 is a joke really if you into some heavy gaming.

My current MOBO don't but i am changing it to a gigabyte motherboard with a dual core e2140 processor. That portion of the budget is taken care of,i just want to ask if i can fork out Rm 500-600 and will be running Win xp for a long time,is it good to get a mid range 8 series card (looking at the 8600gt) or a 7 series card?

Will a 8 series card be a waste of money if i use it in win xp?

Thanks

Pretty much a waste I would say. Since the one of the many reasons of buying a 8 Series is for the "Future Ready" purpose which is DirectX 10. Since currently only Vista will and only will be the one Windows OS to officially support DirectX 10. I stand by my previous statement get a 7 series card preferable the 7800 series or above. However it all comes down to the user, for example performance wise a 8600GTS is pretty much equivalent more or less to a ATI 1950 Pro and a 8600GT equivalent to a 7900 GS with the exception you get newer "Future Ready" features support. So how do you want to play it out is your choice.

This is my opinion. If i were you, i have plenty of choices available for RM500 - RM600. First of all, ask yourself whether you are a heavy gamer or not and whether you NEED to play games on high resolution + MAX details or not..

8600GT (and other DX10 cards) are not just about running Vista or anything. They just provide you the basic requirements that you will need to run FUTURE applications (aka DX10). Those card actually have more potential, not in the sense of gaming, but also conversion, HDMI, HDTV etc.

Anyway, if i were you, i will opt for the cheapest 8600GT around which roughly cost about RM400 - RM420. That would be a good buy for me. It performs decently, and still provide you with the platform needed for future apps. Else, if you are heavy gamer, get those older generations 7900GS/X1950pro will be fine as well...

well as we all said b4 in ur thread, its not even an improvement, its a downgrade.
just stick with ur 7800gtx. its still a damn powerful card. n u spent so much for it

May i know which drivers are you guys using on Vista for the 8800series?Is there any compatibility issue between the driver and Vista?Wanted to install Vista and try it out..

better get high end 7 series instead since the price reduction is real huge...ask yourself how long evrybody gonna switch 2 vista now...so 4 now better use XP for another 2 years max

This post has been edited by skylinegtr34rule4life: Jul 2 2007, 11:07 AM

it reli depends on u actually. for me, it wont be a waste as long as this card can fulfill my gaming desire. im using my 8800GTS on win xp too, i might change to vista after some time...

juz ask yourselves wat r u going to do with your computer. Budjet gaming=7 series. Hardcore gaming=7900/x1950pro. Mediocore gaming + future-proof=8600GT. Hardcore gaming + future-proof=8800 series

it all depend on you...for me i buying 8800gts but i just playing RO and DOTA, but of cos as much more high resolution....probably for me 7900 gs or 1950 pro will be sufficient...but at the end i choose 8800gts cos i just wan to test the product...

cos i alway dream to own high end series of technology item...at the end make myself broke

Just realise that the 8800GTS MSI is running on 1350 shader processor instead of the stock 1200. Good one indeed..LOL..

Anyway, to my shock, i saw my card idling on 54c yesterday. But after i left it overnight, it went to 63c again..

EDITED:

Installed Vista yesterday and tested it. So funny that i saw the Vista performance tester showing my 8800GTS scoring 1.0 only when my previous 7300GT even scored around 3.8. LOL...Overall performance of my system : 1.0.

This post has been edited by akachester: Jul 3 2007, 08:25 AM

Yes, still without any driver. But my 7300GT without driver is also detected as 3.8 last time..LOL...

Anyway, how did you OC your shader processor and whats your idle/load temperature?

My hands are starting to itch and OC the card but the sudden rise in idle temperature from normal 58c to 63 - 64c makes me worried that i might have temperature problem. Need to get a side panel fan first.

this is my latest overclock of my Colorful 8600GT...

speed = 620/940MHz
3Dmark05 = 9993 (dammit, cannot break 10k yet...)

well, when you oc your core/mem, the shader proc increases as well. My temp is always high, around 69c idle, load goes 75c.

but afaik, many ppl said that the temp for 8800gts is still in good range.. as long as it don't go higher than 85c, it shouldn't be able to damage the gc.

btw, your 63-64c temp, is it the gpu diode temp?

Well, i checked using NTune though and its stating 63c. I still remember my PC Wizard also stating GPU Diode as 63c though..

If the temperature below 85c is considered ok, then i am fine with it and maybe will try some OCing when i am free.

Go get lar bro < RM300 is a very very good deal..LOL..

so u bought the MSI card after all ? hehe i'm using the latest official forceware available from their website for vista....and my score is 3.x , definately not 1.0

LOL..Yea, i bought it last month from someone here. Too hard to resist this card. Anyway, i will try it with the latest driver and see how it goes. How does Vista judge the card score anyway?Cause i am also getting 3.X for my 7300GT as well..LOL..

hi to all ... my 8800gts score 5.0 in vista and I'm using 160.04 vista 32 driver from guru3d.com. Actually what is the highest point ?