Big decision, which video card?

[Gabb]

I know this has been asked a lot, but the time to order is coming upon me. I'm just considering the GTX or the Ultra. Sure a lot of people say the Ultra is a horrible deal, but with the recent price drop, maaaybe.....or maybe not

anyways concerning just the GTX, I originally planned to go with:
Newegg.com - EVGA 768-P2-N831-AR GeForce 8800GTX 768MB 384-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

which is 530 after a 30 dollar mail in rebate. Then I realized the mail in rebate seems to be some sort of devious trap they plan, since if you do send the rebate in, you apparently cannot even RMA the item ( newegg or evga ) ! ( its already un-returnable according to neweggs policy ) Sure I plan to overclock the card to the EVA superclocked and BFG superclocked versions which go for 600 dollars, but how much OCing can my card handle with just a stock cooler?

If my card does end up breaking down due to OCing, then sending in that mail in rebate would be a fatal move for me. I'm not rich, but I have saved up a lot. Should I just go with a EVA superclocked or BFG superclocked version for 600? Do they have any other benefits like a better cooler stock cooler since their already OCed? If I can't send in the mail in rebate, then their price differance is only a measely 40 bucks

...Also which has more OCing potential, the superclocked versions or the regular card? I would think the former IF it has some kind of increased stock cooler but finding information on them is a little hard. Thanks in advance for your insight on this oh so important decision of mine

 

[b1gapl]

The overclocked versions don't have a better cooler. It's just overclocked. I believe the stock cooler for the 8 series, does pretty well, under overclocking. Just get the GTX for $559.99 and overclock it. It will easily get to those overclocked versions.

 

[augest]

Well, I'm running two eVGA 880 GTX KO's, With the ACS3 cooler on them, And it helps some but not nothing outstanding. At least for the price.

I wouldn't worry with over clocking anyway with a GTX if your worried bout it, I mean even at stock speeds that thing will rip through any game fine.

 

[Riznarf]

gabb-

unless you have some SERIOUS games or are running in 1600x1200 or greater, the gtx might bottleneck your rig a bit. maybe a 8800gts 640mb would better suite you (and save you some ca$h)?

I could be wrong....so go easy on me....just a suggestion.

 

[b1gapl]

Augest is right. The GTX is a really powerful card, and is fine at stock speeds. I think overclocking the GTX won't do as much for gaming, than it does for benchmarking.

 

[Gabb]

er well all powerful cards are humbled by powerful software...( or bad coding ), with Supreme commander, at 1600 resolution with 4AA, a GTX can only dish out an average of 37 fps and a GTS 640 29 fps.

My real question is, whats the better value, considering it may not be a good idea to do the mail in rebate thing, 560 compared to 600 is not much differance...but everyone seems to be telling me that theres no differance in the KO cards in that their just already factory overclocked

 

[Riznarf]

ya id stay away from the factory overclocked card, simply because youre basically paying a $300 convenience fee for nvidia to overclock your card for you, when you could just as easily do the same thing, to the same clock speeds...if not higher.

Unless youre REALLY into high graphics gaming, id gofor the 8800gts 640 and save some money

 

[RGELLIS]

Just get a bottom end non overclocked GTX as you can overclock it to buggery, rip through most games and increase your e-pe nis size with stupidly large 3dMark scores! The SuperClocked ones or the Factory overclocked cards are noting more than a few numbers punched in, there are no increases in Core Voltage or Memory Voltage, its nothing that a monkey couldnt do with ATITool or RivaTuner. The Ultra is slightly pointless also as its actually only an increase in Memory speed (does anyone know what nS rating it is?) which im sure could be done with a little Overclocking or V-Modding!

 

[j12]

My 8800GTS 640 rips through most games at 1680x1050. But it struggles with flight simulator x if i turn up all the settings i get maybe 10-15fps. But almost everything else is great.

 

[Phanto]

My 8800GTS 640 rips through most games at 1680x1050. But it struggles with flight simulator x if i turn up all the settings i get maybe 10-15fps. But almost everything else is great.

CPU perhaps?? Someone correct me If I'm wrong but I have heard that almost all Flight Simulators games need a fast CPU.

Gabb there is something as known as Lifetime Warranty when you buy & register the video card at eVGA website you are cover by that warranty and just to let you know even if you damage your video card by overclocking ( I highly doubted) you are still covered by the warranty, the thing that the warranty will not cover is physical damage. (Thats what I have read and known so far about their warranties.) Yes is true that you can return to Newegg the product if the item don't have the UPC code which is the one that you send for the mail-in rebate.

Mail In Rebate Policy
Products missing UPC codes or serial numbers from the box are NOT returnable.

Products offering mail-in rebates are not returnable to Newegg.com once the rebates have been filed. Be sure that the product is functional and that you intend to keep the product before sending in for your rebate. Products missing UPC codes or serial numbers from the box are NOT returnable. Only the product manufacturer can replace any defective item missing the UPC code.

Newegg.com - Buy Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

The best thing you can do just in case is don't send the mail-in rebate until you have rigorously tested the video card withc and other things etcetera .