More powerful drop-in replacement for a geforce 8800gt?

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TooFastToPlay

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My 8800gt is starting to act funny and anyway I want more power to play newer games. I don't want to change any components at the moment, no powersupply, case, motherboard or anything, just pop the old card out and the new more powerful one in.

I don't want to spend more than 150$ if possible, but at least I would like to get something like "double" power.

What newer and more powerful cards will still work just out of the box in a computer that worked OK with a 8800gt? I think my powersupply is about 350w but I can't remember exactly now.
 
You should consider picking up a Radeon HD 5770. It has DirectX11 and is much faster. It's about $160.

If you prefer nVidia you could get a used GTX 260, but thats probably not the best idea.
You could also get a Radeon HD 4890 which is faster than the 5770 by a little bit, but it does not have DirectX11. It uses more power too.
 
Best bet would be to go 2nd hand and get a Gtx260/4890, depends if you care about dx11 if so get a 5770 which is a bit slower than a 4870 (makes up with overclocking) but tbh i dont think it could really handle dx11 well anyway.
 
Find out what PSU you have. No sense in upgrading if the PSU can't handle the additional load.
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Danny Bui said:
Find out what PSU you have. No sense in upgrading if the PSU can't handle the additional load.
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
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Well, I can't check right now, but what I am looking for actually a card with similar power requirements of a 8800gt.
 
TooFastToPlay said:
Well, I can't check right now, but what I am looking for actually a card with similar power requirements of a 8800gt.
Click to expand...

Then that would be the HD 5770 then. It has a max power draw of 108W whereas the 8800GT had a max power draw of 105W. Both the GTX 260 and HD 4890 has a max power draw of around 190W give or take 5W of power.

And no, the HD 5770 is not double the power of the 8800GT.
 
Danny Bui said:
And no, the HD 5770 is not double the power of the 8800GT.
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It would be a decent bump in performance, though. Maybe like a 50% bump?

@OP: Maybe consider waiting for the 5830? I think its supposed to be announced and/or released soon, although I haven't kept up with the rumors.
 
5830 is probably going to run around $200-220. Should be some good performance in that price range. I'd expect it to drop around the same time the 470's come out from Nvidia.
 
kllrnohj said:
It would be a decent bump in performance, though. Maybe like a 50% bump?

@OP: Maybe consider waiting for the 5830? I think its supposed to be announced and/or released soon, although I haven't kept up with the rumors.
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The 5830 has a max power draw close to the GTX 260 and 4890, and would not be safe with an unknown power supply.
 
I'm wondering if the 8800GT isn't running right because of the PSU. I change my opinion to a 5770. I missed the 350W part in the OP.
 
kllrnohj said:
It would be a decent bump in performance, though. Maybe like a 50% bump?
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Most of the material I've read says about 30% to 35%.

kirbyrj said:
I'm wondering if the 8800GT isn't running right because of the PSU. I change my opinion to a 5770. I missed the 350W part in the OP.
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Good point:

@ OP, what do you mean that your 8800GT is running kind of funny?
 
Personally, I'd pick up one of those Corsair 400W PSU's for $40 when they go on sale. Great buy and would be much better for your needs with a mid range video card.
 
The old 8800gt was artifacting immediately when gaming. Then I took it apart, cleaned it a bit, reseated the heatsink and bended the board a little for some bit of voodoo magic, and it gave me a few hours more of gaming, then started artifacting after 20 minutes again, then 10, then 5. I'm starting to get tired of it.

I didn't want to get a new powersupply but as I have to order other things anyway and if it's cheap enough...

I had a look at a local dealer and the cheapest but still good-looking stuff was a Gigabyte Super Power 460W ATX and a NOX URANO 500W. Then there's the OCZ StealthXStream 500W for 15 bucks more.

Are they OK or just stink? Would they work with a GTX260 or similar coupled with a q6600 2.4ghz and no other power-hungry stuff in my system?
 
I am running xfired 5770's and I'm happy. May ride these babies all the way to quadfire.
 
this psu issue should be addressed first. Heres a solid deal for one of the best psu for the price. Yes its a little overkill, but the psu is no place to fool around.

Antec EarthWatts EA650 650W $74.99 + fs

Throw this is into your rig, I would be willing to bet that the current psu is dying and that is whats making the gpu artifact. On a side note what make is the 8800gt? Warranty?
 
TooFastToPlay said:
The old 8800gt was artifacting immediately when gaming. Then I took it apart, cleaned it a bit, reseated the heatsink and bended the board a little for some bit of voodoo magic, and it gave me a few hours more of gaming, then started artifacting after 20 minutes again, then 10, then 5. I'm starting to get tired of it.
Click to expand...
If it's still under warranty, why not RMA it? The artifacts might have resulted from damage to the GPU caused by low quality PSU.

I had a look at a local dealer and the cheapest but still good-looking stuff was a Gigabyte Super Power 460W ATX and a NOX URANO 500W. Then there's the OCZ StealthXStream 500W for 15 bucks more.

Are they OK or just stink? Would they work with a GTX260 or similar coupled with a q6600 2.4ghz and no other power-hungry stuff in my system?
Click to expand...

None of those PSUs are any good for the type of setup you're planning on. Go with the Earthwatts EA650 as it's the lowest quality/wattage/amperage PSU I'd recommend for that kind of setup.
 
TooFastToPlay said:
The old 8800gt was artifacting immediately when gaming. Then I took it apart, cleaned it a bit, reseated the heatsink and bended the board a little for some bit of voodoo magic, and it gave me a few hours more of gaming, then started artifacting after 20 minutes again, then 10, then 5. I'm starting to get tired of it.

I didn't want to get a new powersupply but as I have to order other things anyway and if it's cheap enough...

I had a look at a local dealer and the cheapest but still good-looking stuff was a Gigabyte Super Power 460W ATX and a NOX URANO 500W. Then there's the OCZ StealthXStream 500W for 15 bucks more.

Are they OK or just stink? Would they work with a GTX260 or similar coupled with a q6600 2.4ghz and no other power-hungry stuff in my system?
Click to expand...

Yeah, sounds like PS is flaky, or vidcard is overheating quick. Airflow in case good? Mistake to buy less than 500W, amps on the 12V rail is critical too. IMHO
 
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