8800gts (320mb) vs 9800 gtx?

[DesoShade]

So I have a GeForce 8800 GTS (the 320mb version) which I upgraded from my old 7600 gt oc and the difference was awesome. Don't get me wrong, this 8800 gts is an awesome card and everything, but I was wondering if it would be worth it to upgrade further to the 9800 gtx (Xmas is coming guys!).

I've googled a bit and wonder if it's even worth the upgrade. The main reason I would look to upgrade, is my Need for Speed games. NFS Carbon runs OK, but kinda choppy in spots and the graphics are set pretty low. My NFS Undercover.... well.... I tried to play it but there wasn't much hope there.

So that would be the main reason to upgrade my card, but would it really make much of a difference?

Advice?

Specs:
Biostar TF8200
600w Ultra Psu
AMD 64x2 6000+ 3.0ghz
512mbx4 OCZ Gold DDR2 800mhz
GeForce 8800 GTS 320mb
80gb x2 WD Caviar SATA II HDD RAID Stripe
320gb Hitachi SATA II for Storage
XPi386/Vista64 Dual boot

 

[Raze664]

I am not sure that the graphics card is the problem, I have the 8800GTS, can games like GRID, Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Need For Speed Pro Street on highest with no problems.

Resolutions of 1440x900 and 1680x1050.

 

[DesoShade]

I don't have pro street so I'm not sure how it would run, but Carbon could be alot better than it is now. My processor is an 3.0ghz DC... 2gigs of ddr2 ram... I'm not sure why NFS runs so terribly. All my other games run on high settings. Witcher. Bioshock. Even Crysis (minus the anti antialiasing)

 

[saltynay]

NFS could just be poorly coded I haven't been into those games for yonks so couldn't say. It would be better to get a 4850 or 4870 instead of the 9800 gtx

 

[DesoShade]

NFS could just be poorly coded I haven't been into those games for yonks so couldn't say. It would be better to get a 4850 or 4870 instead of the 9800 gtx

I've only tried an ATI card but once. Long ago I tried a 9250 pci card to substitute a faulty onboard video for an old computer. Other than that, I've never tried an ATI. I do like nVidia and how they have their control panel set up tho.

Most of the cards I've bought have been EVGA and I've never had a problem with them. I don't know much about ATI tho. I'll look up that 4870 and compare prices.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

The HD 4850 is faster and generaly cheaper than the 9800gtx.

 

[saltynay]

The asus 4870 is a steal atm with a $30 mail in rebate and a better then stock cooler for $205 (after rebate). Brand doesn't matter much with graphics cards they all recieve a shipment from nvidia and stick there sticker on put itt in there colour box then sell it on. The main thing is look for the cheapest and or the one with the most freebies i.e. game, better then stock cooler, warranty and reward programs.

 

[DesoShade]

The asus 4870 is a steal atm with a $30 mail in rebate

Oh my I'm horrible with those frikin rebates. I once ordered parts for a whole new build, most with some pretty decent rebates and in the end, the rebate forms wasted away in a drawer until the expiration date was long past. lol. So that was over $200 I lost out out some really nice rebates. Sadly, that's not the only time I've done that. I just procrastinate until it's too late. I never send out those rebates.