I currently own and use the Nvidia 8500 GT graphics card with 512mb of video memory. I'm looking at the new Zotac 8800 GT with 512mb. The thing is, I don't know if there will be any significant difference between the two's preformance, considering they have the same amount of video RAM. I don't want to spend a fortune on a card with almost a gig of RAM, but I don't know how much of a difference there will be if I upgrade to this. Can anyone help me?

There is a HUGE difference in performance between an 8800GT and an 8500GT. The amount of RAM is not all that matters.

Day and night.

Thanks cjl, not sure what jaguar means by day and night, but I have made my decision. Kind of. There are two cards that I'm looking at now, the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT OC 512MB PCIe
http://www.bfgtech.com/bfgr88512gtoce.aspx
and the ZOTAC GeForce 8800 GT
http://computers.pricegrabber.com/ [...] oduct_tab/
.
Any idea which is better?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_8_Series

The 8500GT has about processing Rate is 43.2 vs 504 for the 8800GT.

So as the others have said.
Massive.

it doesnt matter get the cheaper one. they both are based on reference boards.

Here is a place for you to start before you spend $150 on a video card:
http://www.tomshardware.com/review [...] ,1987.html
This should give you an idea of what you should pay for a certain type of card. You can find deals for cards cheaper then what the buying guide says they are. Video cards prices are dropping a lot right now. I am assuming you have some oem (HP,Gateway,Dell,etc.) system with the original PSU? If you do you may want to look into a less beefy card then the 8800GT as you might need a new PSU (power supply) to adequately power it. If you have a stock PSU you can head over to the PSU FAQ and educate yourself on PSUs:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] wer-supply
Its a little dated but still a good read. Or you can post your PSU specs here and we can help you.

I would consider an EVGA (LifeTime Warranty) or XFX (Double LifeTime - Even works if you buy it used.)

The difference between the 8500 and 8800 is astronomical.Like the difference between night and day.With the 8800 you'll be able to play the newer games at higher resolutions with higher frame rates.There are significant differences in the number of pipelines and memory interface as well as pure,unadulterated horse power.Being a reseller,I'm somewhat familiar with the ZOTAC name and it also has a lifetime warranty.Just get the 8800 with the dual slot cooler as it will run cooler and enable you to overclock better.Goodluck.

Dahak

M2N32-SLI DELUXE WE
X2 5600+ STOCK (2.8GHZ)
2X1GIG DDR2http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR2_SDRAM 800 IN DC MODE
TOUGHPOWER 850WATT PSU
2X EVGA 8800GThttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeForce_8_Series%238800_GT in SLI
SMILIDON RAIDMAX GAMING CASE
ACER 22IN WS LCD 1680X1050
250GIG HD/500GIG HD
G5 GAMING MOUSE
LOGITECH Z-5500 5.1 SURROUND SYSTEM
500WATS CONTINUOUS,1000 PEAK
WIN XP MCE SP2

yes there is a very big difference in gaming perceptive. the fps u have will increase over 20x. i prefer evga just because of there step up.
=]
good luck.

whats your cpu specs? and psu? this might also affect the cards performance if paired with a slower cpu

you can't compare the performance of cards based on the amount of memory it has. As most people said the difference is night and day. well honestly, the difference is way bigger than that

Find an EVGA, Palit, or XFX. BFG and ZOTAC aren't bad, but not good.

The performance difference is like the difference between DAY and NIGHT.

Is that opinion or Fact?

Please don't pull stuff out of your butt.

Every company will give you the same card, only difference is warranty, Ocing and Modding

None are bad, you just need the one thats right for you In my opinion Life time warranty is just a bunch of Cr*p, since you'll prob upgrade every 5 years or so give or take, some its shorter, while others is longer I go by who's cheapest, and it seems that most of t