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[DeamonMachine]

Well, my radeon x700 has finally died. So, here is my question, obvoiusly what to buy next. Here is my situation.

I have not upgraded in quite awhile. I'm running an AMD 64 3800+, MSI ATi RS480 motherboard, 2 gigs ram.  I know most new games won't like my single core processor (which is disappointing b/c i got the 64 bit for "the future") Anyway So what card should i upgrade to, i'm on a very strict budget, i'd like to spend $100 or less. I'm eyeballing the XFX 8600 GT as my replacement. I'd eventually like to get a MB with dual core and SLI ability, so then I can just get another 8600GT.

Any recomendations?
Thanks!

[bliq]

Ive read that 8800GS is very good and costs around $100.  There's also a 9600GSO (?) that's supposedly in that price range.

On such a tight budget, I'd consider the 'bay or craigslist for good cards.  but you really need to do your research.

[blafrisch]

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-cards,1942.html

[Hak Foo]

The 8600 cards suck.  The HD3600 cards suck too, but at least they provide hardware-accelerated video codecs free.

While the 9600GSO does start at like 110.-, there aren't many choices.

What annoys me is that both Gigabyte and ECS offer fanless 9600GTs, but nobody offers a 9600GSO that way, despite it likely being a lower-heat part.  (I'm a big fan of fanless video cards)

In that spirit, how about http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121237 - a fanless GDDR3 HD3650, about 70 bucks after rebate.

I've heard that in the end, SLIing two weak cards usually ends up not delivering huge bang for the buck.  After all, you're paying a premium (or at least narrowing your choices) picking a SLI board, on top of the second card.

If you can save $30 on the board by not going SLI, that pushes your "second card" budget from $100 to $130, enough to get an 9600-series card when you're ready to upgrade the board, and sell the old one on Craigslist for 30 bucks.

[urgannagru]

i like my SLI 8600 setup just fine. the best thing that nobody mentions about sli (at least for me) is that, even if i didnt want to use sli, i still get 4 monitor ports out of it.

i would recommend a 9600 though if you can afford it, supposedly they blow the 8600 out of the water and aren't much more (A GT will cost you $140 at the egg). while i understand strict budget, $40 is what... maybe 3 times eating out? or a week of coffee? it isn't necessarily hard to justify $40 even on a tight budget (trust me, i've been on a very tight budget many times) and you will be happier in the long run.

[DeamonMachine]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121251

That is a 9600GSO that's $104. Would that hold me over long enough till i build a new rig? (hopefully in this next 9 months to a year I hope to build a whole new rig).  So even after I get a new rig, i can give this one to my wife so she can keep up with the games too.

[blafrisch]

8800GT for $110 and a possible $30 MIR here

Use Google Checkout to get it to $110.

I say the $30 MIR is only possible because Tigerdirect's rebates are very unreliable.  Though even without it you get a good card and a good game for $110.

[urgannagru]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121251

That is a 9600GSO that's $104.

Nice for you, if you havent ordered it yet. They just put up a $20 rebate today.

[blafrisch]

And the ability to flash a 9600GSO to an 8800GT here.

The 8800GT is a better card, but whether you will get it for cheaper in the end is to be determined by Tigerdirect.  It's up to you to decide whether you want to chance it or not.

[GideonX]

And the ability to flash a 9600GSO to an 8800GT here.

The 8800GT is a better card, but whether you will get it for cheaper in the end is to be determined by Tigerdirect.  It's up to you to decide whether you want to chance it or not.

The softmod works on that Galaxy model, which I don't believe is available in the US.