can someone tell me how these compare, please? - 8600 GT & 7900 GS

my graphics card has totally broken, i've got a nvidia 7900 GS, it seems fine for me, i just use 3D desktops and no gaming. i was told a few times to get the 8600 GT. how do they compare? is the 8600 GT better? thanks.

 

Use this link to compare side by side your two cards or any other cards.http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php

 

nice link, thanks. i checked quickly and have no idea which is better i'll have another look tomorrow.

i've no idea what the naming means either apart from i think GT might be better than GS, i think 8000 is better than 7000 and 600 isn't as good as 900

 

in a word go for the 8600GT it uses nearly half the power and better faster graphics slightly but not much. uses 32 pipes. it the next series on but the cost is similar.

@pugmug
good link

 

8600gt would be a good choice its fairly cheap yet works great. My brother has one in his computer and it manages to handle the latest games with low-medium settings. I also have one in my laptop and compiz fusion looks absolutely beautiful on it. Silky smooth gfx .

 

Have to agree on the recommendations for the 8600GT. Run one myself. Grabbed it on sale from Newegg for $135.00 a while ago. I would recommend a card with a minimum of 512 MB on board. Not a big gammer here either but the ones I do play run great at medium to high settings. The card should do what you need and then some. Do not think you will be disappointed.

 

cool, thanks. i'm going to get one for chistmas

 

If you do not mind it coming a little after Christmas a pretty good deal. Or for your viewing\selecting pleasure under $200 USD.

 

thanks. but, i live in london, they don't ship outside the US.

EDIT:
Does Newegg.com ship internationally?

Newegg.com does not currently ship internationally; we only deliver to locations within the United States and to Puerto Rico.
[noparse]http://www.newegg.com/HelpInfo/FAQDetail.aspx?Module=4[/noparse]


does anyone know the best place for me to get it?

 

Sorry about that iceni60. Forgot about you being located in the U.K. Look at the bright-side. You are saving a bunch of shipping $$.

 

iceni60, have you given Amazon UK a shot?

http://www.amazon.co.uk

Typing "8600GT" in the search box should bring up something.

 

the £ is really bad now compared to other currencies atm. i saw some people recommend this place -
www.overclock.co.uk

what about one of these?
http://www.overclock.co.uk/dept/NVIDIA-9-PCI-E_286.html
http://www.overclock.co.uk/dept/NVIDIA-7-PCI-E_153.html
http://www.overclock.co.uk/dept/NVIDIA-8-PCI-E_154.html
http://www.overclock.co.uk/dept/PCI-Cards_157.html
http://www.overclock.co.uk/dept/NVIDIA-260280-GTX_315.html

i know people use www.komplett.co.uk a lot, i'll have to check on overclock.co.uk but i think i've heard of them before. i've got to go to bed, i have to be up in 5 hours

 

i didn't think of them , i'll look later today. thanks.

 

If you don't do any gaming, quite honestly the 8600gt would be like owning an exotic sports car that you cannot take out of your garage....

Define what you mean by "3D desktops"? Are you doing CAD style work with professional graphics software? That type of software runs better on professional workstation graphics cards...which have different drivers and different hardware than gaming cards. Such as ATI FireGL cards, or nVidia Quadro cards.

 

The truth is that it depends. For pure power consumption the 8600 GT is much more power efficient and consumes less power. For performance, in most cases the 7900 GS is better by a noticeable margin. Now if you were talking 8600 GTS vs. the 7900 GS it would be a different thing. But if you're into gaming and only have these two cards to choose from then 7900 GS is the better choice. 8600 GT is, however, better for HD video decoding - lower CPU utilization due to better hardware acceleration for decoding of HD videos. If your CPU is not very new (less than an Athlon 4200+ at the minimum) and you watch a lot of H.264 or VC-1 or Blu-ray, then you should go for the 8600 GT.

 

try scan.co.uk
By 3d desktop i assume he means like compiz fusion.

 

thanks for the help, everyone

i got my new graphics card, i went to maplins and got the card nearest to what i wanted that was in stock and that was -
GeForce 9600 GSO - 384 MB DDR3 - 580 MHz CORE

apparently it's the best!!

ok, i admit i haven't got a clue, is it any good?

 

It is the same as a GeForce 8800 GS, which is a bit down from the 8800 GT (or 9800 GT, same thing).

Which means you got yourself a way better card than both the 8600 GT and 7900 GS

 

cool, thanks. it's seems ok to me, i should have benchmarked both cards but i didn't think of it before i removed the other one.

 

When I need to evaluate GPU normally look here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-graphics-cards,1965-6.html

 

Dislike how ATi and nVidia both overlap their product series ...

x19xx series > all of the "HD 2xxx" and most of the "HD 3xxx" series

HD 2900 XT > HD 4350

Confusing.

 

Imho it's intentionally done from big tech manufacturers to confuse and manipulate customers. Intel also has some mess with processor numbers having petty excuse in small print: "It is important to know that linear increments between processor numbers don't necessarily reflect feature advancements..."