I am upgrading an old computer that a friend will use to play some games at 1680x1050. I have two old video cards and don't know which one would be faster. One is an 8600GTS and the other is a 7800GT. Both are 256MB cards. Thanks, Keith
Yeah it is a Vista machine. I just heard bad things about the 8600GTSs 128-bit memory bus killing it's performance.
There's a big difference between going from a 7600 256 to an 8600 512 (what you did) and going from a 7800 256 to an 8600 256 (what the OP is considering). Judging by what little I know of the 7 series, and my terrible experience with the sub-8800 level 8 series, I vote for the 7800.
Tomshardware tests show the 8600GTS 256MB is 10% faster than the 7800GT 256MB. UK prices have the 8600GTS at £45, with the 7800GT at £40, which in my eyes makes the 8600GTS a winner. Also the picture-video playback quality on 8 series is better for videos than 7 series cards.
I second that. The 8600-series was a disaster - I mean, an entirely new generation, and all they could come up with was something that's 10% faster than the previous generation's midrange card? (7600GT to 8600GT) EDIT: On a completely different note, at that resolution he'd probably prefer something with 512mb and a 256bit memory bus... Both cards are terrible choices for the resolution he plays at.
Quality wise there's no comparison, maybe you just need to choose according to your gaming needs. I would choose the 8600, it's just loose a little in pixel fill rate but everywhere else does it better, plus draw little fewer wattage
i would go with the 7800gt. in fact i still have my 2 that i pulled out of this sytem. even with vista. but i would put xp on that machine if it were me though
but for the resolution you say (1680x1050) I dont think those options will serve you well; as someone said 256 bit interfarce will be better, also more memory for that resolution. Can yo afford for something better? I dont know ... 8800 GS I think. If you dont, then my choice would be the 7800, the 8600 is not god at all, even worse for the resolution you say...