Considering an upgrade and have been trawling through the charts over at Toms Hardware to see what gives the best bang for the buck. Just thought I'd post here to see if there are any gamers on these forums and what they use. Currently running a 7300GS/256DDR2/PCIe which is adequate but looking for something with a bit more punch.

Have narrowed it down to a few of these:

8600 GTS

7800 GTX

7900 GT

X1800 XT

X1950 Pro

I'd prefer an ATi card as the TV out setup using Forceware is a <deleted> nightmare, it takes a few minutes with Catalyst.

Would it be best to go for a DirectX 10 card since the newer games such as BioShock will soon demand it or stick to a more powerful Dx9 one? Additionally are there any online stores to order them as I don't line in Bangkok.

Thoughts and recommendations appreciated, don't need a lecture or a thesis

How much do you want to spend? Do a search for some of my past threads about graphics cards and see what they suggest.

Currently there are a few games that support DX10, but the thing is that you'll need Vista to use it. Also, the difference in picture quality in the game isn't all that great, while the performance hit can be a bit too much. In other words, DX10 isn't much of a factor.

I think the 8600GTS would be a good choice.

Online stores in Thailand can be found in the sticky thread.

Edit, Woops, got the GT/GTS confused.

Myself just upgraded to a ASUS GeForece 8600 GT

No idea where 'Firefoxx' shops ??

I paid at 'Seer Ransit IT' 3,950 baht, same make 8500 GT was 3,090 baht

Dont get any yet...

Wait for the Nvidia G92 and G98 series...

Oh, and BTW, Nvidia's G92 will be named, Geforce 8700GT/GTS 512MB DDR3 for some odd reason!

This will surely be the best buy for a mid range card this year..

As said above, online stores can be found in the sticky thread. Namely the "FAQ and useful links" thread.

Keep in mind that these cards will come with varying specs, even though they use the same core. Some come with higher speeds or better memory. The GTS, for example, can come with DDR or GDDR, and that makes a difference in price and performance.

From your list , I would go with the x1950 pro - will run most recent games at good frame rate 1280*1024 or 1680*1050. If you can stretch your budget to 12,000 - the Geforce 8800GTS is definitely the best value for money card on the market atm.

Myself just upgraded to a ASUS GeForece 8600 GT

No idea where 'Firefoxx' shops ??

I bought a 8600GT about a month ago and has taken everything I have tried and produced at full res no problems - GRAW2 , Overloard , FEAR , STALKER , enemy engaged 2

I paid at 'Seer Ransit IT' 3,950 baht, same make 8500 GT was 3,090 baht

um, Zeer Rangsit I think you meant.

I actually did get the 8600GT at first, but then I found out that they don't support HDCP by default (the shop techs, of course, were clueless about what I was talking about, so they couldn't tell me at first). So I went back and got it exchanged for a 8600GTS, which supports HDCP. I have a lot of HD movies and would upgrade to HD drives in the future, so I needed it.

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll try pricing up the 8600 GT and X1950 pro.

Tried Vista but didnt like it and went back to XP.

As much as I am an ati fan, I would suggest u getting the 8600GTS. Directx 10 is definately needed to get the best out of the newer games.

As for your concern about setting up TV out from the graphics card, i don't see why it is a problem. You should be able to setup a hot key to enable/disable tvout. I do this all the time with my laptop.

Just had better experience using ATi cards and TV out than nVidia so would prefer one of them.

The GF8700 GTS will blow away all the series below it.. I suggest you wait till November.. Thats when the real VGA wars begin!

Some even have said that the GF8700 GTS seems to have went over the 10K in 3DMARK06 and also more powerful than the GF8800 GTX itself.. But thats just darn confusing if it is!

Another thing thats confusing is that its codename is G92

I just bought the sapphire radeon x1950 pro 512mb gddr3 ram for 140usd on ebay and plus shipping 30usd. Pretty good deal.

I'm also a person who preferred ATI cards because of features, but in this round ATI doesn't have a card that meets my meets (yet).

As for waiting for other faster cards, you could wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, and soon you'll have a card that can render in real life with AI creation and whatever your dreams could desire. But you'd be dead by then. In other words, waiting will always give you something better and cheaper. But your buying decision will depend on what you can buy and when you can buy it.

bought sapphire HD 2600XT DDR4 .. from pantip .. its really good ..

This article I've been looking at might help in your decision: http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=3&id=2351

As well as http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/132

and http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/131

I'm looking at the nvidia 8800 GTS 320mb myself, despite being an ATI fan all these years. Now if I could just find a place that sells it... tried IT city at Fortune @ Ratchada, but no luck.

I'm looking at the nvidia 8800 GTS 320mb myself, despite being an ATI fan all these years. Now if I could just find a place that sells it... tried IT city at Fortune @ Ratchada, but no luck.

Thanni.com has it if you don't mind ordering on-line > http://www.thanni.com/index.php?main_page=...roducts_id=4089

Excellent! Thanks.

Would you happen to know if they are based in BKK? And also, this might be a bit much to ask, but are their prices competitive? i.e. comparable to street prices.

I bought the 8800GTS (320mg) in Pantip for the princely sum of 12,000b back in July this year...

... i've never looked back, its the best card ever!

I've played all my games at the highest res i could get (1680x1050) on my 24" LCD screen and never get even the smallest glitch - i'm averaging out 60fps on most games which rarely drops below 50fps even in the most extreme environments. I'm pretty much a hard-core gamer and so far, this gfx card was the best 12k i spent this year!

Wow, very nice. I as actually tempted by the 640mb variant, costing just ~3k baht more, but after reading your post, I think I'll just grab the 320. I'm sure there are... other uses for a spare 3k lying around.

Wow, very nice. I as actually tempted by the 640mb variant, costing just ~3k baht more, but after reading your post, I think I'll just grab the 320. I'm sure there are... other uses for a spare 3k lying around.

I considered the 640mg version, but figured it wasn't worth it... also i couldn't find anyone who stocked it at Pantip (and as i wanted it NOW i wasn't gunna wait a week or two whilst they got one )