Reasons to buy a new PC

Originally Posted by ps249

Webster= what is your reasoning for the 9800 over the 9500?

antar said it better and in more detail than i was going to so i'll use his reply as mine also.

Originally Posted by Antar

The advantage of model 9500 card is the only one: is very cheap (hmmm... and more silent).

I compare Gigabyte cards 9500GT and 9800GT with 512MB RAM DDR3 both:

Efficiency of 9800GT is two-three times better than 9500GT with results:
3D Mark: 2x more than 9500GT
GPU score: 3x more than 9500GT

On hi-res games:
9800GT has 2x better result with FPS (no FSAA/no AF)
... and 2x / 3x better result with FPS (FSAA/AF)
2x for high res more than 1680x1050 / 3x for 1280x1024

PT Boats: Knight of the Sea 1280x1024
FSAA 4x / AF 16x:
9500GT - 11.7 FPS
9800GT - 28.6 FPS

(all data: non-english source)

Summary:
On my market 9800GT is only 1.5 more expensive than 9500GT.
But 9800GT is 2x / 3x more efficient than 9500GT.

So, this is reason than 9800GT is better than 9500GT (Gigabyte with 512MB both)

* * *

EDIT: then i'll add in the price difference which is a 9500gt 1gb card goes between $60-$75 where a 9800gt 1gb card goes for $100-$115

[ps249]

Originally Posted by WEBSTER

antar said it better and in more detail than i was going to so i'll use his reply as mine also.



EDIT: then i'll add in the price difference which is a 9500gt 1gb card goes between $60-$75 where a 9800gt 1gb card goes for $100-$115

OK- point well taken. I am enjoying the games on my 9500. I don't feel the need to upgrade right now because someone pointed out a better card. When the day comes- I will upgrade my video card as needed.

[scrapser]

Originally Posted by Racerboy

I wouldn't wait. You can use your 'old' nVidia card for PhysX processing. That's what I plan on doing with my current GTX280.

Don't skimp on your parts! Shell out the money, it will be worth it (latest system I built was around $3000 - but it flies and I hate to wait on anything to load or crappy frame rates on high game settings). I've been building my own systems for over 15 years. There isn't one pre-built system that can compare to a custom built one. Period. You get what you want, not what some corporation was able to buy the cheapest for. The motherboard is the heart and soul of a system - get the best (I prefer Asus - currently their Crosshair III Formula as it is just awesome).
Processors - AMD or Intel? I prefer AMD. You have to be a serious hard-core gamer to realize the difference between the two. I prefer the underdog...plus they are WAY cheaper. I have an AMD 955 Black Edition quad-core oc'd to 3.8GHz and it's stable (with a Zalman cooling it of course). You just can't go wrong with AMD. Picked up the X4 955 BE for $225 on NewEgg.com.
Case - Antec 1200. It'll keep things nice and cool and plenty of room for expansion (and GTX280 size video cards fit with no problem and room to spare)
Power Supply - Galaxy Evo 1.2kW. Has enough room to expand your system for many years and it's modular.
CPU Coolers - Zalman. The only way to go if you're going to oc.
Memory - OCZ. Never had a problem with them.
Video Card - BFGTech nVidia GTX___. They give lifetime warranty on their video cards and I've never had a problem with them.
Case Fans - replace your stock case fans with good quality aftermarket ones. Look for ones with the 4 pole plug so you can monitor speed and PWM them for speed control (power savings and heat control).
Hard Drives - WD VelociRaptors. If you like speed and hate waiting for things to load you'll love these. Put them in a RAID 0 and you'll wonder why you didn't do it before (my system is backed up by a custom-built server running Windows Home Server so I'm safe to use RAID 0).
My .02 worth.

Unfortunately I am one of the people who ended up with a bogus GTX280 but it only became apparent about a month ago. I can use it for older games and regular stuff like web surfing but it chokes on games like Crysis or Far Cry 2.

It's the only card I have and I don't want to bother with sending it back to BFG for a replacement (I use my home PC for work). It also doesn't make sense to replace it by buying a new card because as soon as Fermi is released, those prices will all drop and many of the 200 series cards are being phased out.

Fermi will be out sometime in the next few months (maybe January) so I am willing to limp along until then.

Originally Posted by ps249

OK- point well taken. I am enjoying the games on my 9500. I don't feel the need to upgrade right now because someone pointed out a better card. When the day comes- I will upgrade my video card as needed.

i wasnt saying or trying to imply that you need to or should go buy a new card. (only time will tell if it has issues running sh5 but i hope your ok there)

i only wanted you to better understand how your system builder guy (while he probably thought he was recommending a good card) didnt give you the best recommendation or choice on the card to use.

it was probably a misscommunication where the guy didnt realise there was such a big difference from the 9500 to the 9800 or maybe he just thought that you wouldnt be playing any games that needed a very good card.

depending on the individual the system builder may not "always" know the best hardware to use and sometimes they just use one or two setups that they know work well or they are able to get good deals on and they might make just one or two changes to customise it to fit the customers needs better.

chances are he might have been putting 9500 cards in all his computers unless the customer requests a better card or he just never felt you needed a better card then that.

all the 9000 series cards are just renamed 8000 series cards with more ram added to them so a 9500 is just the 8500 with a new name and more ram added.

to better see where your card stacks up, look at what came after it. here they are in the order they came out, after the 7000 series cards nvidia came out with the 8400 then the 8500, 8600, 8800, then the 9000 series came out but nothing was changed except that they added extra ram to the cards and changed the numbers and released the 9400 (a renamed 8400 with more ram), 9500 (a renamed 8500 with more ram), 9600 (a renamed 8600 with more ram), 9800 (a renamed 8800 with more ram), and then you have the 200 series cards after that which are the first really "new" cards after the 8000 series came out.

the lesson here is even when you turn things over to someone else you think is an expert, you should take the setup they recommend and get second and third opinions to see if you are better off making a few changes before you just go with what they recommend. after all hes just giving you a recommendation so swapping a few things around is no big deal and if there is some reason you shouldnt change something they will let you know why.

[Elder-Pirate]

Holy mackerel, I had no idea of this giant GPU to be released soon.

http://www.nvidia.com/object/nv_sear...&q=Fermi+#1519

Something like that would make a meltdown on my computer.

Gotta start saving my pennies.

Thanks for the heads up scrapser.

[DES_SNIPER]

Well, I am in luck. 2 month old PC 2.6hz 8 gig ram, quad core processors, and 1 tb hard drive....22" flat screen and I have stero sound bumping up by a nice sub woofer.
I am ready to rock to SH5!!!

LETS GET IT ON!!!

[Lord Justice]

cant u just say, ur pc is ready?

[PL_Andrev]

Originally Posted by ps249

OK- point well taken. I am enjoying the games on my 9500. I don't feel the need to upgrade right now because someone pointed out a better card. When the day comes- I will upgrade my video card as needed.

I agree 100% with you...
I am enjoying the games on my old GF 7900.
I don't feel the need to upgrade right now because someone pointed out a better card... I will wait for SH5.