Do I or don't I......

[THN]Buffalo_Hunter

In Cryo Sleep
Just had a look on Scan's website and they have the XFX 8800GT Alpha Dog Xtreme in stock...

Question is, do I or don't I.....decisions, decisions......
 

Ronin Storm

Administrator
Staff member
The real questions are:

Do you need it?

Can you afford it?

If you bought that, would you wish you'd bought something else?

:)
 

SgtFury

Junior Administrator
Staff member
Answers for Buffalo

Hell yes

he earns too much anyway so it's not a problem.

It there was something else he would buy that too :D
 

waterproofbob

Junior Administrator
If that is the 1950MHz and 670MHz for £223 then don't do it.
I say this as the BFG 1950MHz and 675MHz clocked one is only £193.
So you are paying more for less. I get the issue of stock for the GTs makes you want to get one while they are there but I'd wait it out as apparently the BFG stock is going to be there soon.

The other consideration is the current rummour on the custom pc wavelengths is that a new release of the GTS is going to be here soon that out performs the GT bang for buck. So Nvidia are here to dominate the mid range market as well. HAZAA.

It depends how urgent this is. If you need a card right this second then get the XFX if you can wait a week or 2 get the BFG and if you are sitting with a pair of 7900s going i just wanna flashy card with 8's in it's name then I'd say wait for the release of the G92 GTS.
 

[THN]Buffalo_Hunter

In Cryo Sleep
It was the faster clocked Xtreme version for £199 I was considering. The main reason is that the 7900GT doesn't cope very well at 1650x1080 (as Fury will no doubt discover in the near future...), unless you drop the settings down quite a way.

I'm also pondering a complete new build based around a Q6600 and an SLI-capable motherboard (Asus P5N32-E Plus) in an Antec P900 case with lots of other goodies. :D
 

waterproofbob

Junior Administrator
It was the faster clocked Xtreme version for £199 I was considering. The main reason is that the 7900GT doesn't cope very well at 1650x1080 (as Fury will no doubt discover in the near future...), unless you drop the settings down quite a way.

I'm also pondering a complete new build based around a Q6600 and an SLI-capable motherboard (Asus P5N32-E Plus) in an Antec P900 case with lots of other goodies. :D

I wouldn't get the p900 if you like the Antecs get the p182, the build quality is much better and is alot easier to build a system into. The BFG is the best fastest bang for buck 8800GT at the mo and if you could get two of those you will have a nice little monster on your hands. I've got a q6600 and you can clock them to 3GHz happily at good temps and that is pretty much a £500 overclock. As far as SLI mobos I'd say your best bet is still the ASUS striker extreme or the eVGA 680i board which is my personal favourite. They are both great boards with the easiest OCing of any board i've seen except the x38/P35 but they are crossfire boards.
 

[THN]Buffalo_Hunter

In Cryo Sleep
The decision is made - one P900 case (I like the window side panel and it's what Overclockers house all their systems in so it should be okay), one BFG overclocked 8800GT and a Zalman 9700 cooler. The complete rebuild can wait until the new Intel CPUs appear. Now I've just got to wait until Scan get them in stock.....
 

[THN]Buffalo_Hunter

In Cryo Sleep
Well my 8800GT arrived yesterday and fitted into my "small" case without a problem (I was concerned that it would be too long but there's plenty of clearance).

First impressions with HL2 weren't good - a lot of flickering textures, solved by installing the latest 169.02 version.

Performance - superb...at 1680x1050 it's as smooth as a very smooth thing covered in virgin olive oil :D

Noise - loud at startup but then drops down so it's quieter than my old 7900GT

Temps - hovers around 55 at idle, rising to 77 after some intensive gaming (this should drop when I put it into the P900 with the side panel fan right next to it).

Stress test using HL2 Lost Coast gave 150fps...I think I can live with that....

Anyway, that's all for now....I have some more "testing" to do :D
 

thatbloke

Junior Administrator
Well my 8800GT arrived yesterday and fitted into my "small" case without a problem (I was concerned that it would be too long but there's plenty of clearance).

First impressions with HL2 weren't good - a lot of flickering textures, solved by installing the latest 169.02 version.

Performance - superb...at 1680x1050 it's as smooth as a very smooth thing covered in virgin olive oil :D

Noise - loud at startup but then drops down so it's quieter than my old 7900GT

Temps - hovers around 55 at idle, rising to 77 after some intensive gaming (this should drop when I put it into the P900 with the side panel fan right next to it).

Stress test using HL2 Lost Coast gave 150fps...I think I can live with that....

Anyway, that's all for now....I have some more "testing" to do :D

damn yous ;)
 

[THN]Buffalo_Hunter

In Cryo Sleep
Well the rig is finally in it's new home...and it looks very errrrrr....blue?

The one thing I'm very impressed with is how quiet it is - 5 120mm fans and 1 200mm fab and I can still hear the hard drives..oh, and it's keeping the GPU very cool. In the old case it could reach 77°C after a couple of hours of gaming - now, with a 120mm fan right next to it it only reaches 61°C - most impressive.

Anyway, that's all the changes for now.

Have a great Christmas!!!!! :D
 

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thatbloke

Junior Administrator
Well the rig is finally in it's new home...and it looks very errrrrr....blue?

The one thing I'm very impressed with is how quiet it is - 5 120mm fans and 1 200mm fab and I can still hear the hard drives..oh, and it's keeping the GPU very cool. In the old case it could reach 77°C after a couple of hours of gaming - now, with a 120mm fan right next to it it only reaches 61°C - most impressive.

Anyway, that's all the changes for now.

Have a great Christmas!!!!! :D

/love
 
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