8800 - wait and see...

8800 - wait and see...

Just some FYI for anyone who is considering an 8800 purchase.

I picked up an 8800GTS on an eVGA trade-up for my 7900GTO, since the
trade-up window was going to close soon.

First off, you can crank some unbelievable levels of AA and AF at high
res on this thing. The Anandtech article was not understating what a
big jump forward this is (on par with the ATI 9700 release).

Unfortunately this is at huge cost in compatibility. Not unexpected,
but there are some major issues with fairly popular games. Some brand
cards cannot even load the latest drivers. My eVGA could use the
97.44's direct from nVidia, but the stupid nTune app refuses to
install. I haven't tested on all my games, but Halo is the first one
with game-killing artifacts I've run into. I may do some extensive
testing as I've got a ton of different games. I just got the card, so
all I've played is Prey, COD2, rFactor, GTR2, RBR, F.E.A.R., Quake 4,
and Halo. Only spent any length of time in GTR2, and Halo was the only
one with immediate, unplayable bugs.

Lots of little annoying quirks in the driver and control panel, too.
Could only get the old CP through a registry hack, and I had to use the
reforce util to get refresh rates to work properly in OpenGL.

I'm trying to find good forum info - nZone has a thread tracking the
current bugs. Luckily if I have anything I'm desperate to play I have
an ATI1600 in my "office tasks" PC, and a 6800Ultra in my media box
hooked to the TV.

If people are genuinely interested I'll update this thread with
anything I run into compatibility-wise.

Kendt

Re: 8800 - wait and see...

* eventerke@n0spm.h0tmail,com :

> Just some FYI for anyone who is considering an 8800 purchase.

[snipped description of experience with GF8800GTS]

> If people are genuinely interested I'll update this thread with
> anything I run into compatibility-wise.

That would be great. I was thinking about replacing my two Quadro
FX4500s with a 8800GTX but the fact that the card is not supported by
the standard ForceWare drivers made my curious about the compatibility.
Looks like waiting for the unified drivers to support the 8800 series
isn't a bad idea at all.

BTW: what are your system specs and OS version?

Benjamin

Re: 8800 - wait and see...


Benjamin Gawert wrote:
[snip]
>
> BTW: what are your system specs and OS version?
>
> Benjamin

WinXP 32bit, AMD Opteron 165 @2.5Ghz, 2gb RAM on Asrock Dual-SATA m/b.
I've OC'd the 8800GTS to 600/900 w/o a problem so far.

I'll set AA/AF to app controlled and do a quick run-through of my
games.

Kendt

Re: 8800 - wait and see...

>>>"If people are genuinely interested I'll update this thread with
anything I run into compatibility-wise">>>
Yes please and thanks..
I have my eye on the 8800 and this makes for usefull warning.
In the UK the Albatron brand model GTS is the lowest price at just under
£300 ($580 USD) with other same spec. brands up to £350.
Any different between the brands ??...GTX can be got for just over £400 .

I'd be very surpised if there are any unsolvable problems with any existing
games..I mean if it runs one DX9 (or 8) prog it will run another ?
Wonder how it copes with (say) DAGGERFALL or DESCENT
Dos game things. Does it offer all the standed Text DOS modes ?
Mouse
@@@

Re: 8800 - wait and see...

> I have my eye on the 8800 and this makes for usefull warning.

Also be aware that AMD/ATI are not too far away from releasing the R600,
and have stated in their PR/hype that it should easily match the 8800. Who
knows when it'll be out, within a few months I'd imagine.

rms

Re: 8800 - wait and see...

On 19 Dec 2006 11:20:18 -0800, "eventerke@n0spm.h0tmail,com "
<Kendt.Eklund@gmail,com > wrote:

>Just some FYI for anyone who is considering an 8800 purchase.
>
>I picked up an 8800GTS on an eVGA trade-up for my 7900GTO, since the
>trade-up window was going to close soon.
>
>First off, you can crank some unbelievable levels of AA and AF at high
>res on this thing. The Anandtech article was not understating what a
>big jump forward this is (on par with the ATI 9700 release).
>
>Unfortunately this is at huge cost in compatibility. Not unexpected,
>but there are some major issues with fairly popular games. Some brand
>cards cannot even load the latest drivers. My eVGA could use the
>97.44's direct from nVidia, but the stupid nTune app refuses to
>install. I haven't tested on all my games, but Halo is the first one
>with game-killing artifacts I've run into. I may do some extensive
>testing as I've got a ton of different games. I just got the card, so
>all I've played is Prey, COD2, rFactor, GTR2, RBR, F.E.A.R., Quake 4,
>and Halo. Only spent any length of time in GTR2, and Halo was the only
>one with immediate, unplayable bugs.
>
>Lots of little annoying quirks in the driver and control panel, too.
>Could only get the old CP through a registry hack, and I had to use the
>reforce util to get refresh rates to work properly in OpenGL.
>
>I'm trying to find good forum info - nZone has a thread tracking the
>current bugs. Luckily if I have anything I'm desperate to play I have
>an ATI1600 in my "office tasks" PC, and a 6800Ultra in my media box
>hooked to the TV.
>
>If people are genuinely interested I'll update this thread with
>anything I run into compatibility-wise.
>
>Kendt
>

Usual "early-adopter" joys. No news here. The 8800 is a revolutionary
departure from previous nVidia GPU architectures. Takes a while to
mature the drivers. ATi have had similar driver maturity issues in the
past with their various architecture changes. Initially poor support
for xcurrent and legacy games. Thanks for being a beta -tester and for
helping to defray the development-cost.

John Lewis

Re: 8800 - wait and see...


John Lewis wrote:

> Usual "early-adopter" joys. No news here. The 8800 is a revolutionary
> departure from previous nVidia GPU architectures. Takes a while to
> mature the drivers. ATi have had similar driver maturity issues in the
> past with their various architecture changes. Initially poor support
> for xcurrent and legacy games. Thanks for being a beta -tester and for
> helping to defray the development-cost.

You're welcome ;)...

Honestly, if it wasn't for the trade-up program, and I had something
faster than a 7900GTO before hand I wouldn't have touched either an ATI
or nVidia card so soon after launch.

Kendt

Re: 8800 - wait and see...

"eventerke@n0spm.h0tmail,com " <Kendt.Eklund@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:1166556018.279691.115540@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups,com ...
>
> If people are genuinely interested I'll update this thread with
> anything I run into compatibility-wise.
>
> Kendt
>

Thanks for posting, it is appreciated. This info, while not surprising,
still provides welcome feedback. I'll give things a year before buying a
DirectX 10 card of any sort.

Re: 8800 - wait and see...

I wanted all the GPU power I could get because I'm using TH2G. (3840x1024
resolution) so I bought a EVGA8800GTX.
ATI is not an option here because it doesn't support these resolution for
reasons unknown to me.

The upgrade was surprisingly mostly flawless. I had some Control Panel
quirks at the beginning but I changed card without re-installing drivers.
After a re-install, nTune and the CP are working great. (Without the Classic
CP but I can live with that)

For racing sim this has been a great upgrade (specially for GTL which I can
now run at 3840x1024 even on night races with great fps). GTL, GTR, GTR2,
Netkar, rFactor, RACE all run flawlessly.
On my older games, some DOS, some Win95, some newer ones, no problem either.

Reading the release note from the latest drivers, I'm lucky enough not to
play the games that have some problems, some being subtle. People looking
for a 8800 upgrade should read it before making a move.

Vista and DX10 will tell me, in a year or so, if I made a good move but for
the time being it's a pricey but great upgrade for my sim racing "needs"!

Re: 8800 - wait and see...


Claude Leclerc wrote:
> I wanted all the GPU power I could get because I'm using TH2G. (3840x1024
> resolution) so I bought a EVGA8800GTX.
> ATI is not an option here because it doesn't support these resolution for
> reasons unknown to me.
>
> The upgrade was surprisingly mostly flawless. I had some Control Panel
> quirks at the beginning but I changed card without re-installing drivers.
> After a re-install, nTune and the CP are working great. (Without the Classic
> CP but I can live with that)
>
> For racing sim this has been a great upgrade (specially for GTL which I can
> now run at 3840x1024 even on night races with great fps). GTL, GTR, GTR2,
> Netkar, rFactor, RACE all run flawlessly.
> On my older games, some DOS, some Win95, some newer ones, no problem either.

[snip]

What level of AA/AF are you able to run? I've got a 21" CRT now at
1600x1200 (max res) and I can comfortably run 8xQAA/16xAF (although
back of the grid at night in GTR2 is slow).
I'm considering getting a large LCD or small 1080p TV to game on.

Also, so far I haven't found the need to drop the D3D "frames rendered
ahead" from 3 to 0 to get rid of that annoying stutter ISI sims seem to
get. Are you seeing the same thing?

Thanks,
Kendt.

Re: 8800 - wait and see...

I want fairly high fps, especially online, so I don't go over 4x/4x in most
sims. (For GTR2/GTL with night racing I use 2xAA or none) I would need a 2nd
GTX in SLI to be able to raise AA/AF at the resolution I use. That's a lot
of $$$ (Another GTX and a 850W+ P/S).

I luckily don't have any stutters in rFactor and other ISI based sims. I use
nVidia drivers default except for AA/AF, no OC.

"eventerke@n0spm.h0tmail,com " <Kendt.Eklund@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:1166627533.120511.212570@79g2000cws.googlegroups,com ...

> What level of AA/AF are you able to run? I've got a 21" CRT now at
> 1600x1200 (max res) and I can comfortably run 8xQAA/16xAF (although
> back of the grid at night in GTR2 is slow).
> I'm considering getting a large LCD or small 1080p TV to game on.
>
> Also, so far I haven't found the need to drop the D3D "frames rendered
> ahead" from 3 to 0 to get rid of that annoying stutter ISI sims seem to
> get. Are you seeing the same thing?
>
> Thanks,
> Kendt.
>

Re: 8800 - wait and see...

I run 4AA, 16AF in everything on my 21" widescreen Gateway. 1680X1050X32.

I have everything maxed out in all the racing games I run.

Oh, that's on a 4800x2 and a GeForce 7800GTX.

8x AA is quite runable, but the fps drops to around 50 in NR2003, and I
prefer to keep it up over 100. Personally, I think the controls are more
responsive at uber-high fps.

-Larry

"Claude Leclerc" <benquinAThotmail,com > wrote in message
news:458960c6$1@news.sentex,net ...
>I want fairly high fps, especially online, so I don't go over 4x/4x in most
> sims. (For GTR2/GTL with night racing I use 2xAA or none) I would need a
> 2nd
> GTX in SLI to be able to raise AA/AF at the resolution I use. That's a lot
> of $$$ (Another GTX and a 850W+ P/S).
>
> I luckily don't have any stutters in rFactor and other ISI based sims. I
> use
> nVidia drivers default except for AA/AF, no OC.
>
> "eventerke@n0spm.h0tmail,com " <Kendt.Eklund@gmail,com > wrote in message
> news:1166627533.120511.212570@79g2000cws.googlegroups,com ...
>
>> What level of AA/AF are you able to run? I've got a 21" CRT now at
>> 1600x1200 (max res) and I can comfortably run 8xQAA/16xAF (although
>> back of the grid at night in GTR2 is slow).
>> I'm considering getting a large LCD or small 1080p TV to game on.
>>
>> Also, so far I haven't found the need to drop the D3D "frames rendered
>> ahead" from 3 to 0 to get rid of that annoying stutter ISI sims seem to
>> get. Are you seeing the same thing?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Kendt.
>>
>
>

Re: 8800 - wait and see...


"eventerke@n0spm.h0tmail,com " <Kendt.Eklund@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:1166556018.279691.115540@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups,com ...
> Just some FYI for anyone who is considering an 8800 purchase.
>
> I picked up an 8800GTS on an eVGA trade-up for my 7900GTO, since the
> trade-up window was going to close soon.
>
> First off, you can crank some unbelievable levels of AA and AF at high
> res on this thing. The Anandtech article was not understating what a
> big jump forward this is (on par with the ATI 9700 release).
>
> Unfortunately this is at huge cost in compatibility. Not unexpected,
> but there are some major issues with fairly popular games. Some brand
> cards cannot even load the latest drivers. My eVGA could use the
> 97.44's direct from nVidia, but the stupid nTune app refuses to
> install. I haven't tested on all my games, but Halo is the first one
> with game-killing artifacts I've run into. I may do some extensive
> testing as I've got a ton of different games. I just got the card, so
> all I've played is Prey, COD2, rFactor, GTR2, RBR, F.E.A.R., Quake 4,
> and Halo. Only spent any length of time in GTR2, and Halo was the only
> one with immediate, unplayable bugs.
>
> Lots of little annoying quirks in the driver and control panel, too.
> Could only get the old CP through a registry hack, and I had to use the
> reforce util to get refresh rates to work properly in OpenGL.
>
> I'm trying to find good forum info - nZone has a thread tracking the
> current bugs. Luckily if I have anything I'm desperate to play I have
> an ATI1600 in my "office tasks" PC, and a 6800Ultra in my media box
> hooked to the TV.
>
> If people are genuinely interested I'll update this thread with
> anything I run into compatibility-wise.
>
> Kendt
>

While there have always been "fixes" and work-arounds to DOS or Win9x games
in WinXP , I believe with Vista and DirectX 10 there will turly be a need
for a backwards compatible box. Too many significant differences to make a
compatible system.

I recently built a Shuttle SN41G2 box with Sempron 2400+, 1GB RAM, 6800XT
video, 80GB HD to run WinXP and Win98/DOS games. This may just have to work
for me through the next many years until I no longer care to play those
"older" games any more. Granted my up-to-date gaming box is much more
powerful, but usually sell off the PC as a whole, or in parts, every year or
two to fund my next gaming PC upgrade.

It's unfortunate, but reality that I believe we must face with Windows Vista
and DirectX 10, as far as gaming is concerned.

Re: 8800 - wait and see...

"HockeyTownUSA" <cyberpilot@gmail,com > wrote in message
news:G_udnRivCNnC8hfYnZ2dnUVZ_sKunZ2d@comcast,com

[...]

> It's unfortunate, but reality that I believe we must face with
> Windows Vista and DirectX 10, as far as gaming is concerned.

Google DirectX 9L.

Re: 8800 - wait and see...


"DRS" <drs@removethis.ihug,com .au> wrote in message
news:458a804c$0$21917$5a62ac22@per-qv1-newsreader-01.iinet,net .au...
> "HockeyTownUSA" <cyberpilot@gmail,com > wrote in message
> news:G_udnRivCNnC8hfYnZ2dnUVZ_sKunZ2d@comcast,com
>
> [...]
>
>> It's unfortunate, but reality that I believe we must face with
>> Windows Vista and DirectX 10, as far as gaming is concerned.
>
> Google DirectX 9L.
>

I know that DirectX 9L is for "backwards" Vista compatibility with DX9 and
prior games, but who knows what compatability issues that will bring?