http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814136019

that is the link to it. i currently am on a AMD/ATI setup. athlon 64 3200 with an ATI AGPx1600xt (oced even further than stock to GPU clock: 634.50 MEMclock : 679.50

i am being given this combo.
pentium d 920
p4m890t-m2 motherboard from ECS
Nvidia 7600 gs PCIe


so im looking for a good decent card to replace that 7600gs

im already buying a cooler master rc-690 case and a new PSU to go with it.

so my funds for the GPU isnt great.

I dont plan on playing Crysis. so i dont need some uber Radical setup.

I do plan to play Diablo 3 when it comes out. so i would want to play it in max detail.

and the price for that 8600GT seems really low. i figure i can OC it some also if needed.

I don't think the 8600gt is going to be a good choice to play Diablo 3 in max detail.

The first thing I would suggest would be to get a different case that is cheaper (sub $75) because that one is much more than what you would need for the setup you have.

A new PSU rated for 500 watts would be plenty of power for anything you would need it for. That would set you back $50.

As for which graphics card to get, if you're trying to stay on a budget go with an 8800gt for as little as $120 with mail in rebates. If you have a bit more to spend I'd suggest an HD 4850 which Newegg.com has pretty good deals on right now, considering its brand new tech.

no

sorry man but I do not trust that graphic card at all

ah k. well with my current setup on 3dmark06

1024/768
AA x6
Texture filtering Optimal

overall score of 2238
sm2.0 913
HDR/SM3.0 934
CPU 762


so im hoping to jump up from that a good bit with the new setup.

A better card for $79.99 after rebate so just a $20 bump. The EVGA 8800GS 384
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130332

I would not recommend buying an 8600GT... just about any other new card will suit your needs better. The 512MB on the 8600GT is useless since the card is really too slow to leverage that much memory well so don't think that you need to have a 512MB card just to get better performance than that 8600GT you found.

-mcg

Do not get that card. While in reality that GPU could potentially be strong enough to use 512MB of RAM in most cases, the fact that it's slow DDR2 on a 128-bit memory interface means that the memory ITSELF would be too slow to be useful in that quantity. It'd be well worth the extra little bit of cash (though with a mail-in rebate) for a GDDR3 version, like this one.

Since Diablo III is not a twitchy FPS, you won't need an absurd resolution and a constant 60fps to play. So really, I don't think a high-end card will be necessary at all to play the game. the GDDR3 8600GT should be fine, as I see it.

ah k. well im pretty sure the MB im getting only has 1 PCIe x16 slot. and to run SLI or CF you need 2 PCIe x16 slots right?

if so. i dont want to kick myself in the balls now. ill play D3. but i mean ill play FC2 when it comes out the new wow exp when it comes out which its supposed to get a huge Graphics update aswell. so i now i gotta choose wisely on a card that by itself you know will run decent.

what about the ati HD3850? its cheaper than the 8800gs and seems to run better. but i dont see many people talking about the 3000 series cards from ATI.

also im not afraid to OC a card to squeeze out alittle more performance.

if someone know of a card that in this range of 120ish dollars and below that mabe Overclocks really well?

The reason no one brags on the 3000 series is because when they came out, Nvidia's 8000 series of cards just blew them away, for about the same or very little more money. They were just simple outclassed and overpriced a little. They are not bad cards at all, and now that the price has came down, they fit much better into the price/performance value of things.
But you know what.....the new 4850 for $200 is a screaming scalding kick in pants deal you know....and you could always carry it to a new build later....just a thought and making sure you see that option.
A 3850 or a 8800GS, I think I would prefer the 3850.
If you went to an 8800GT though, I would get that over a 3850, no question.
Look at the 9600GT's as well, pretty good cards for the money!
There is however no doubt that an 8600 is a bare minimal gaming card. It may do for what you do now, but many of the popular newer games is going bring it to it's knees in a hurry.

yea i see what you mean. question on that particliar 8600
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814121223
600mhz core and 2016mhz memory clock?



is the stock core 540 and memory clock 1400
Like the card below?
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130085

If so is it safe to say i could take a 512mb version and OC that to the 600/2016 specs?


i also see what you mean jit about the 3000 series. it was beating most of the 8800's even Oced in the SM scores but in the actual Game FPS the 3850 drops to the bottom vs the GTX,GTS and the GTS oc

Just don't get the 8600.... regardless of how you overclock it, it will do drastically worse than the 8800GS (9600GSO), the 8800GT, the HD 3850, the HD3870, the 9600GT and any newer cards with higher prices.

The newest Toms graphic card hierarchy chart.
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] 965-6.html

You'll see that the 8600GT is 3 tiers above the 7600GS while the 8800GS is 9 tiers above it.
I'm not a fan of this 8800GT 256 card, but at $69.99 after rebate it's a much better choice then the 8600GT 256
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814125089

Ah, but atekido82.....just have look at this....if $120 is in your budget.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814186037
64 stream processors to the 8600's 32. Check out the clock speeds at stock....and these cards I think (someone correct me if I am wrong, but I don't think I am) will overclock pretty well too. For $120, either this card or a 3850 is a really good price/performance deal. Be sure to check out Tom's best graphic cards for the price on the front page of the site for July.
I still say that you will not really be happy with an 8600 if you ever in the near future decide to play a newer more demanding game. I would go for the $120 budget you have set and get a 9600, or a 3850. That is my final 2 cents worth, what ever you get, good luck and happy gaming.

yea i have ruled out the 8600. ive probly spent 5-6 hours today trying to figure out what i want lol

dont get that one. add $30 and get a nice radeon HD3850. the 3850 is light years ahead of the 8600GT in terms of performance. the 8600GT's performance is almost identical to that of the 7600GT.