I am down to the last component for the new pc I am tryign to build and it is the vidoe card...I am having a hard time deciding between the 2 8800 GTS models...one with the more GPU power and the other with more ram...following are the contenders :

1. EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR Video CardsView Pic EVGA 320-P2-N815-AR GeForce 8800GTS 320MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Core clock: 576MHz
DirectX: DirectX 10
DVI: 2
Memory Clock: 1700MHz(effective)
Memory Interface: 320-bit
OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0

or

2. EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail
Last Month's Winner of Customer Choice Award - Video Cards

Chipset Manufacturer: NVIDIA
Core clock: 500MHz
DirectX: DirectX 10
DVI: 2
Memory Clock: 1600MHz(effective)
Memory Interface: 320-bit
OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0
=========================================

I would really appreciate some feedback to help me decide which one to buy. The rest of my config is:

1. Intel C2D E6600 (2.4 GHz)
2. EVGA nForce 680i SLI Motherboard
3. Zalman 9700 CPU cooler
4. Antec 900 Case
5. OCZ PC 8500 RAM (2 GB)
6. Thermaltake toughpower 750 watt PSU
7. Segate 250 GB HD
8. samsung 18x DVD writer

The Zalman really isn't necessary & neither is the PC2-8500. You'd have to overclock the FSB to 1600MHz (400MHz actual) just to take full advantage of PC2-6400.

These aren't the exact same cards, but the comparison might be helpful:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graph...

I would get the 640MB model and overclock it. You should easily be able to overclock it to the 575/1700 of the factory-overclocked card that you listed. If you're brave, you'll probably reach much higher clock speeds.

Using NiBiTor to write a custom video BIOS, I managed to get my Asus 8800GTS 640MB card running at 625MHz core, 1458MHz shader, and 2000MHz memory (up from 500/1188/1600).

The 8800GTSs were made for overclocking. :) The 640MB version will also let you run at resolutions higher than 1600x1200 without choking up.
Pentium III--Descendant of Intel Core.
Pentium III-S 1400 @ 1.63GHz, 512K L2
X800XT AIW OC 580/600
2GB of RAM
250GB HD
SB Audigy 2
QDI Advance 12 mobo
Smugly running Vista

Let's see here - the cheapest 8800GTS 320 is expected to cost you roughly $275 shipped while a 640 version will involve an additional $110 or $50 if you figure in the rebates. Considering the performance difference between the two cards, the 640 would have been very attractive had the price difference been tangibly less than $50 & involved no delayed rebate of any kind.

Therefore, I would suggest going with the 320 at this time, besides it is very likely you'd be upgrading the card or even the entire rig in another 24-30 months anyway.

It depends on the games. If you're playing a lot of simulation type games with large landscapes like flight sims and Armed Assault, I'd definitely consider the 640M version.

FYI... 640M versions are not as much as you think...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

"Enough, enough bowing down to disillusion!
Hats off & applause to rogues & evolution!
The ripple effect is too good not to mention.
If you’re not affected, you’re not paying attention!"

I'm sure I wasn't off with the figures I quoted.

$325-$275 *shipped* = $50 *AR*

God...I hope this rig lasts me for 30 - 36 months...I do admit that I got carried away w/ the Zalman

the price diff between the 320 MB and 640 MB is $50 ($20 after MIR)

is overclocking a video card pretty straight forward stuff?

Overclocking a video card is very easy. All you need is ATITool (yes, it works with nVidia cards). With this tool, you can adjust core/memory speeds in small increments until you reach the safest maximum frequency, scan for errors, and monitor temperatures.

If you're comfortable with the max clock speeds you find in ATITool (and comfortable with modifying a video card's firmware), you can flash your video card's BIOS with NiBiTor, so that your new clock speeds will stick. This way you won't have to rely on overclocking software to keep the higher speed, or "re-apply" the overclock whenever Windows is reinstalled.

Pentium III--Descendant of Intel Core.
Pentium III-S 1400 @ 1.63GHz, 512K L2
X800XT AIW OC 580/600
2GB of RAM
250GB HD
SB Audigy 2
QDI Advance 12 mobo
Smugly running Vista

jackbomb...thanks for the insightful details...this has been very helpful...

if you can spend the extra 50$ than better that you go for 640MB version. If you want to save more and buy other things go for the 320 version as both of these cards does not make too much of a difference. The extra RAM will helps in running high res textures, resolution and antialiasing.

For me i would go for 320 as most games looks sharp already in 1280*1024 on 19" LCD. Unless that you have larger screen size than you can go for the 640 version. Your call.

Dip Electronic Eng
Dip Computing & IT
BSc Software Eng

Core2 Duo 6420
Gigabyte 965P-S3
2x1GB DDR667
7900GS 256DDR3 OC
Seagate 160/250GB
SB Audigy4
19" 5ms 4:3 Dell LCD

"I'm sure I wasn't off with the figures I quoted.

$325-$275 *shipped* = $50 *AR*"

Settle down, your post wasn't visible when I posted. LOL...

TECH-NO-LOGICAL ROMANCE!

http://www.homestarrunner.com/tgs12.html

Also worth noting, the 320 and 640 mb versions of the card perform pretty much the same except if youre at the very high resolutions where the 320 starts to lag behind. So if, like me, you have an LCD screen, there's not much point in spending the extra cash for resolutions your screen wont fully support(unless its a high end screen). Which is why i bought the 320 version. :)

So long, and thanks for all the fish!
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Processor=P4 3GHzHT
Motherboard=ASUS P4SD-LA with Intel 848P chipset
ATI 9600XT 128meg.
160g HDdont know which kind