dit - 7/26: Some more research has made me wonder about my PSU. The 8800gt is purchased and it'll be delivered to me on Monday. However, I've questioned my PSU choice for a while now and I want to ask a question about it so I don't risk the damage of the GPU or other parts.

I have the Thermaltake W0100RU. From the looks of it, I think I made a mistake buying this PSU. I'm wondering if it'll support the 8800gt.

I'm looking to quickly solve this issue today because if I do indeed need a better PSU, I don't want to sit on my brand new card for long since I'll want to make sure it works as soon as possible so I can register it and send out the rebate. Oh and, not to mention actually playing my games .

Thanks for the help

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I've just been given the go ahead that I can purchase a new video card for my PC for my birthday and I had been looking at some 8800gt's. I'm looking for opinions about the cards or other helpful suggestions as well.

I only have Windows XP Pro for right now and I'm not too interested in Vista at the moment. My PC video output situation is a 19" flatscreen CRT monitor (call me old fasion, but I like the high refresh rate and HATE ghosting) and 720p/1080i HDTV in the living room at my apartment. At home, I can hook up to a 1080p HDTV.

I've picked out some EVGA cards that might suit me (I've heard they have a nice warranty, they have a rebate, and free shipping). I'm pretty much looking for something that provides power to run the latest games, but I don't really need the extra juice of more expensive cards for running games in HUGE resolutions.

Basic EVGA 8800gt - single slot

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130318

Superclocked (50mhz overclock) EVGA 8800gt - single slot

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130319

Dual slot EVGA 8800gt

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130359

A number of reviews of the single slot cards seem to have an issue with heat. Thus, that's why I added the dual slot one to my list when I noticed it was priced about the same as the single slot ones. Still, reviews for the dual slot say you apparently need to use Riviatuner to make the fans run at a faster pace. So, despite it not having as many reviews as the other two, I'm thinking about ordering the dual slot one because the extra cooling ought to be nice and should I want to overclock (which I have no experience in doing with GPU's so who knows), I hear that EVGA's warranty extends to non-physical damage (IE - overclocking).

What do you fellow VGchart's PC gamers think? Is an EVGA 8800gt a good buy?

Thanks in advance

I've been using EVGA cards exclusively for at least the past 4-odd years and actually have the Superclocked model you linked: It's a great card, OCs like mad, and is rock-solid, stability-wise. Basically, I don't think you can really go wrong with them (plus, they have a solid warranty and I think they still have the trade-up plan which is always nice if not terribly useful unless you were like me years ago chasing every frame you could get).

8800GTs are a solid buy. Do you have an SLI-capable motherboard? If you do, I'd try to stick with single-slot solutions in case you decide to SLI in the future. If not, a dual-slot should be fine.

I'm more interested in the new Radeon 4850 and especially the 4870, but that's another $100. If you can, get a 4870, but if that's too much, an 8800GT is a great card. Don't get the Nvidia GTX 260 or whatever they're called, they're far too overpriced for what you get.

Thanks for the input.

I have a Antec 900 case with a side fan pulling air out right next to the video card. I was thinking about the dual slot because that would help keep the innards of the case nice and cool. Though I'm going to have to move the hard drive rack down to the bottom instead of the middle because my 7800gt is long and I'm sure an 8800gt is even longer.

Don't have any experiences with evga myself, but if you want any overclocked gfx card i would recommend looking for one with a heatpipe cooler solution (they are usually more silent and have less heat problems).

i personally would get one of the ati 4800 series cards, benchmarks for both 4850 and 4870 cards look really good. the 4850 seems to offers better performance than the 8800 for roughly the same price (at least here in europe). 4870 is a bit more expensive but has even more power with higher clocks and gddr5 ram.

Go with the single slot Factory OC, its worth the extra $5 and dual slot is just annoying.

I'm totally interested in more power, but I don't think the extra cost would be more worth it to me (for now at least). Again, I have a 19" CRT monitor that isn't even wide screen AND I don't have Vista so I'm not sure where all of that juice will be going should I pick up something like the 4870 or 4850.

If anything, I was thinking that maybe I could wait to see what happens to the market after I buy the 8800gt and if things fall even more, I might be able to slip in an upgrade through EVGA's step up program (don't you have only 90 days once you register your card to step up?).

I have no experiences with Radeon (not counting an x800pro that wouldn't work on my parent's dell) so I don't know what brands are best. I've heard nice things about EVGA and it has a good warranty. Are there any good warranties for Radeon suppliers?

For the Radeon 4850, I found these prices (rebate and free shipping)

Gigabyte 4850 - $159.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125224

MSI 4850 - same as above

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127359

I mean, those are good prices for the performance, but until I get Vista or games require even more juice.. I think a 8800gt would be all right for a while. Again, there is the step up program too for EVGA should I really want to get a 8800 GTS (g92) or 9800GTX.

Considering you have a 19" CRT (16x12 max?) the 8800GT is way more than enough (unless you just have to have 8xAA, etc., on everything).

Yea, 1600x1200 is correct. It's not large or widescreen, but it's been good when it comes to refresh rate and I can't stand ghosting on LCD screens... Though it's very heavy....

I was also thinking that I could hook up to an HDTV too for the heck of it. The 8800's I listed don't have HDMI out, but they do have a connector to hook it up through component or I could get a DVI to HDMI adapter.

Anyway, I'm thinking I'll go with the single slot 8800gt superclock. Since I don't know much about overclocking, the small overclock it has can give a little extra juice. Also, with the Antec 900 and it's side fan, I think it'd be okay when it comes to airflow.

Thanks again for advice/suggestions.