8800gt or HD 3870???

[nguyenpeter76]

I'm trying to figure out what I should get. I know that the 8800GT peforms better than the HD 3870, but there's a significant price gap between the two. So I was wondering which is better to buy for the Dell XPS 420 which I plan on getting the basic $999. (q6600, 3gb 667mhz, ati 2400 pro 128mb, 320gb hd, single dual burner, 375 or 425 psu i dont know cause dell decides that). For the record, I'm not building or buying a built computer. I know it's cheaper, but my parents don't trust building as much as they do prebuilt.

I was planning on buying a evga 8600 gts from newegg then use the step up program to get the 8800gt when it becomes a tad cheaper.

 

[smartphone]

what kind of monitor you got?

 

[nguyenpeter76]

i have a old 15" viewsonic but will upgrade to bigger monitor at max of 22" whenever i have spare money

 

[Nightwolf83]

HD 3870 all the way mate, ATI RULEZ, oh yeah so does AMD. hehe

 

[Huxley2k7]

I'm in the exact same situation, and, if your from the UK, this may help...

£159.99 8800GT Play.com free delivery.

£159.99 Sapphire Radeon 3870 Play.com free delivery.

Here's what im doing - wait till the new 8800GTS is released, check out the price/performance comparison then decide which card to buy.

 

[JC316]

3870, no way does the GT warrant the price difference, when the 3870 is only about 10% slower.

 

[Huxley2k7]

3870, no way does the GT warrant the price difference, when the 3870 is only about 10% slower.

But there is no price difference if you look at the links i supplied above...

 

[Gallatin]

8800GT... i couldn't care less for an ati.

 

[btarunr]

Hmmm....another ATi-NVidia catfight in progress?

IMO take a HD 3870. This GPU is a HD 2900 XT after some "liposuction". This card has good specs and I hope to see the drivers mature and the card perform even better well, at least to the point of better cost/performance ratio than a 8800 GT.

BTW: I'm a NV user.

Make love...not war

 

[hugz]

8800GT

 

[-=CrAnSwIcK=-]

if you want top notch performance for a good price get the 8800gt, if you want to save a bit of money, and sacrifice a bit of muscle get the HD 3870...

but on the other hand, the 8800gt's availability is in the shitter ATM, so if you don't want to wait around, get the 3870 while it's hot...an overclocked 3870 will perform on par with the 8800gt...and the 8800gt doesn't like to overclock, unless you get an after market cooler or water block...but then for all that trouble you may as well buy a used GTX on ebay...

 

[cefurkan]

of course 8800gt

gt is %25 more powerfull than 3870

 

[BullGod]

Don't listen to the AMD fanboys around here. Get a 8800GT. Why? It's BETTER! The 8800 can pull about 20Fps more than the Ati. In most games that shouldn't be a problem but in a years time maybe a game will come out that you wanna play and those 20Fps could make the difference in playability...

 

[Tioz]

8800GT for life

 

[trog100]

8800GT for life

about six months at the most..

trog

 

[Tioz]

about six months at the most..

trog

Ok, nvidia for life then

 

[mrw1986]

8800GT, hands down.

 

[cooler]

buy hd3870 and save some money
or 8800gt if u care about 10-25% fps

 

[NinkobEi]

3870

 

[TUngsten]

you can get the 8800gt at your local Best Buy for $250, doubt you can say the same for the 3870.

 

[erocker]

Here's what im doing - wait till the new 8800GTS is released, check out the price/performance comparison then decide which card to buy.

^^ Listen to the man! Exactly what I'm doing. Both cards are going to come down in price. The 3870's rumored price cuts are going to put it at the 3850's price point and the 3850 is going down to $149.00. Anyways, after the new GTS is out, I hope Nvidia continues to make the GT and lower that price!

 

[erocker]

you can get the 8800gt at your local Best Buy for $250, doubt you can say the same for the 3870.

No. You can't, and if you can you have to be pretty damn lucky. Plus that's $279, and they are unavailable or backordered at the seven stores I called today.

 

[zOaib]

the 8800 gt's have gone at 320+ usd now and 3870 are running upto 259.99 , which is pissing me off , this supply and demand issue is not good for the holidays .............. if you are desperate to get one now and not wait out this crazy season then go ahead spend the money i bought one hd 3870 for 219.99 and i aint paying one penny more , ill wait till these prices come down and get another one later ......... i have gone through the 8800 gt route and dont beleive the synthetic benchies that u see on websites ........... i ran crysis at 1600 x 1200 and it was only giving me 18-22 fps no aa on ................... i now am running crysis on a hd 3870 at 1920 x 1050 with no aa and at high settings , and its giving me 25-28 fps .................. and 30-36 fps at 1600 x 1200 high no aa ....................... sold the 8800 gt for actually a profit and got me self hd 3870 ......... and the crossfire for these things is a killer for games ......................

 

[zOaib]

No. You can't, and if you can you have to be pretty damn lucky. Plus that's $279, and they are unavailable or backordered at the seven stores I called today.

YEAH PLEASE go check the bestbuy website they are 279.99 and backordered ............ do not give false info to people just because you like something ........ thx erocker for the correction.

 

[DarkMatter]

nguyenpeter76

You mention 375/425 PSU. You cannot get more powerful one?
Anyway, with those PSU I would care about power consumption. That discards any overclocked card IMO, be it Ati or Nvidia.
8800GT consumes a little less than HD3870 under full load, but with a little margin, and 3870 consumes quite a bit less when idling. You should care more for consumption under load, of course. So I would recommend 8800GT for you. But I suggest you get a better PSU, anyway.

Besides that, as many said 8800GT is around 20% faster than HD3870 on most circustances, so it all depends on the prices that you find and performance per $. Or in case of perf/$ is the same, if having that extra 20% makes sense for you.

See you!