Hi: which is the better buy and why? My motherboard supports PCIe, and I am not waiting for R600 series because I want a graphics card now to play all of my games with high framerates. The price range for both cards are the same. I have 500-watts power supply. I've heard about instability issues when using NVIDIA cards with the Radeon Xpress 200 (RS480) chipset... is this true? But what if I update the drivers for both the graphics and chipset, will it become any more stable? Thanks

8800GTS 320, all the way! At every resolution under 2048x1536, the 8800GTS is quite a bit faster than the X1900XTX. Once you go above 2048x1536, the 8800GTS's smaller memory would start hindering performance. But if you're part of the 99% of PC users without a 30-inch monitor, you'll be fine. As for instability: I'm running an overclocked 640MB 8800GTS on that exact same chipset without any problems at all. You should always have the latest chipset and graphics drivers, whether or not it's instable. edit: I just realized you're running an e-machine, which probably uses the version of that chipset with integrated video. I'm using the version of that xpress-200 without integrated video, on an Asus Crossfire mobo. I still doubt that you'll run into instability. Also, did that 500w PSU come with the e-machine? 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

"Athlon 64 3200+ 2.0Ghz, 1GB of RAM Manufacturer/Model: eMachines T6212" I would not waste money on a 8800gts for your spec. Unless you have a Core 2 duo or athlon x2 (>2.6ghz) setup, getting the geforce 8 will be bottleneck. The best video card match your athlon 64 3200+ would be 7600gt max... Don't forget that you have a micro atx case, so getting a big card like the 8800gts/8800gtx or r600 series is not a good idea... TMP-Man Asus P5P800 PAT P4 506 @ 4009Mhz 1.3v Thermaltake CLP0024 w/ 1700RPM 92MM + AS5 2GB OCZ 2-3-2-5 DDR400 120GB/300GB 7200RPM HD Leadtek 7600 AGP 590/1600 VF700 ALCU AS5

I agree with TMP-Man. Go get a 7600GT instead. Cert Computing Level 3 Dip Electronic Eng Dip Computing and IT BSc Hons Software Eng

Yeah, I agree with you guys but I am planning to run games like 18 WOS Convoy/Haulin', FEAR, Oblivion, GTA: VC/SA, AOE III, and FSX on max antialiasing and anisotropic filtering + shader settings at a resolution of 1280x1024 32 bit. I want to see good framerates in them when I run Fraps, and I am not risking anything that will occur if I go with the 7600GT. Remember I can always upgrade to the Athlon X2 4800+ whenever I want to on my current motherboard, so not buying the 8800GTS would probably make me tempted to go and waste more money and buy a DX10 card or the X1950/7950GT instead. So money basically is just going to add up in the future if I buy anything below the performance of the X1950's or 7950's. I need something now that can last me. My power supply I bought recently is locked up in the closet until I get my new graphics card. Don't want to find out that none is in stock at the computer store, or if they don't have the right one. X1950XTX vs 8800GTS, based on reviews, I saw that games like Quake 4 and BF2, the 8800GTS 320MB struggles to run it at sometimes even the lowest res. I am seeing things like the X1900XT 256MB beating it like it's not even trying and it's clearly weaker in every way. So, what seems to be the better buy? In the Toronto area, the 8800GTS ($490) is a $10 difference to the X1950XTX ($500). I am planning to buy them at either Futureshop or Compusmart. The 8800GTS 640MB / 8800GTX / 7950GX2 is not within my budget.

EDIT (failure): http://downloads.emachines.com/driv... http://support.gateway.com/s/Manual... ^ This is what I am worried about in addition to the overall performace of the X1950XTX and 8800GTS. I saw on http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards... that 8800 had more shader operations and pixel shaders than the X1950, so I think that'll give some boost in games that uses a lot of smoke, weather, light, and explosion effects. But I pretty darn like the looks of the X1950 and it's GDDR4 memory clock speeds! And yes, my case can fit an X1950 without hitting any of the capacitors on the motherboard when I opened it up, so I figured it may handle the 8800GTS unlike the GTX version.

I think you're concerned about the wrong thing. I'm sure you heard the old saying about a house only being as good as the foundation it's built on? The foundation of any PC is the motherboard & the one used in your eMachine (MS-7093 aka RS480M2-IL) isnt' a great one. And on top of that, you have a relatively weak CPU. The 8800GTS needs the most powerful CPU it can get to be able to really show it's stuff...your system is only gonna bottleneck it. Either consider getting a weaker video card that's more in line with your current configuration, or build yourself a decent system that can take full advantage of the 8800GTS. http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/11...