Videocard Selection Help

[Nitrocrusher]

I currently have a 7900 GT KO on an Asus P5N32 SLI-SE Deluxe and apparently Vista doesn't like the 7900 GT series. I need to upgrade anyways, so I've done some research, but I can't make a decision on which card to get. The following are what I've narrowed it down to:

Newegg.com - EVGA 640-P2-N829-AR GeForce 8800GTS SSC 640MB 320-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR GeForce 8800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards

or

Newegg.com - EVGA 512-P3-N845-AR GeForce 8800GTS (G92) KO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards (but my MB only has PCI Express X16, so I'm not sure if this will even work)

or should I go straight to the 9800 GTX series?

I do a fair amount of rendering, pshop, acad and gaming, so I'm not sure what's best for my situation. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[[t..o..m]]

All of those are great cards and will work fine (that 2.0 x16 card will work on your motherboard no problems)

I would still look at buying a 4850 Ati card (recently came out) as it would be around the same price as the 8800 series but a better performer. The 4850 Ati card is like a 9800 GTX only $100 - $200 cheaper.

Different story though if you are looking to go SLi in the future as you have a nvidia chipset. But if you plan on just getting one card you can't beat the 4850

 

[Peter.Cort]

All of those are great cards and will work fine (that 2.0 x16 card will work on your motherboard no problems)

I would still look at buying a 4850 Ati card (recently came out) as it would be around the same price as the 8800 series but a better performer. The 4850 Ati card is like a 9800 GTX only $100 - $200 cheaper.

Different story though if you are looking to go SLi in the future as you have a nvidia chipset. But if you plan on just getting one card you can't beat the 4850

the 4850 and the 9800GTX are actually around the same price point and perform about the same. The GTX is an average top performer though. Also the 640mb gts you looked at is out of date, and overly expensive. The 8800gt you picked out is a 256mb version, and you'd be better off saving money and getting a 3850 as they would perform around the same. Also the GTS 512mb is a solid choice, but with the GTX being in some cases cheaper, the 9800GTX is the better buy.

 

[[t..o..m]]

In australia the 9800GTX is still around $130 or more dollars more expensive.

 

[Peter.Cort]

ah. well in the US (and s/he's using newegg links, so I assume s/he is from the US) the 9800GTX is around 200USD on some ones.