Should i upgrade from a 9600gt to an 8800gt?

T

TungN

New Member
Hi.<br />
I recently bought a "BFG 9600GT 512MB PCI-E Card" from futureshop for 129.99 plus tax. I am now thinking of exchanging it for an "8800 GT 512MB PCIe Card" made by either BFG or EVGA, which would cost ~20$ more, at 149.99 plus tax.<br />
Is this a worthwhile upgrade? should i do it for the extra bit of performance and is it worth it for the price and trouble of going back and doing an exchange?<br />
I know the 8800 is slightly better according to the benchmarks i've seen. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.<br />
<br />
My specs<br />
intel core2duo e4400 at 2.0ghz<br />
4gb ram<br />
computer model hp a6120n<br />
<br />
links<br />
my current card<br />
http//www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10099587&catid=<br />
<br />
thinking of upgrading to either<br />
http//www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10096083&catid=<br />
or<br />
http//www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10095590&catid=
 
T

TC422

New Member
Yes, the 8800GT is better and worth it, since games will only get more demanding, and in the long run it will save you money. As for a suggestion, go with the EVGA. It's faster, and has a higher transfer rate.
 
B

bbassw01

New Member
absolutely!!!! The 9600 is a mid level card meant to replace the 8600's. it only has 64 streaming processors(SP) the 8800gt has 112SP. that means it can do twice as much per clock cycle..yes the 9600's might have slightly higher clock speeds, but you can do the same with the8800gt with rivatuner.....the 8800gt is by far a better card.....make sure to check out your power supply and good luck!!!
 
K

karz

New Member
Upgrading to faster cards would have diminishing returns because they would just get more bottlenecked by your low clocked processor. Even your 9600GT would give you better framerates if your E4400 runs at 2.6gHz or higher. Unfortunately, most Hp mobos have no overclocking options in BIOS.
Possible options
1. Newbie= try overclocking software like Clockgen; but it only works if clock generator chip on mobo is supported.
2. Enthusiast= upgrade motherboard to one that has plenty of tweaking options. E4400 can easily do 3.0gHz on good motherboards.
3. Experts= if mobo can support 1066mHz FSB, do a BSEL pad mod on the processor so that processor's default FSB is transformed from 800mHz to 1066mHz. Processor speed instantly becomes 2.66mHz.

With a faster clocked Core2 Duo, I would prefer the ATI 4850 over 8800GT. Performance difference is significant but prices are pretty close.
 
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