Where could I get a 7600gs TODAY?

Lord Nikon

Hi,

I have a LAN comp over the next 3 days, and could do with a little extra oomph. Is it possible for me to get a 256 7600gs today, in Kildare area. Don't want to spend a whole lot of money either.

i plan on running it SLi with my current card of the same type.

TerrorFirmer

Forget 7600GS, not worth it. For a few quid extra you'd have a card about 100% faster then 7600GS Sli, for the same price as a single GS; you'd get a card about the same speed as both cards in tandem.

Check adverts for a card, might get lucky, keep in mind that even something like a single 7600GT is about the same speed as 7600GS Sli at normal resolutions...last one sold for 40 euro.

Lord Nikon

I'll check adverts.ie

Would any retail places have a GT then, or something similar?

TerrorFirmer

PC World sell 8600GT's, faster then 7600GT by a margin; though not sure what they charge, sometimes they can have good prices on certain things.

Check out Peats; they sell, in that performance bracket, the 3650 for 89 euro, which is reasonable for bricks and mortar, and generally comparable to 7600Gt performance and you'd be left with the resale value of your current GS (about 30 euro).

Elara also offer collection, so you could check that out:

8600GT XXX for example, though virtually everything is out of stock...

Basic 8600GT DDR3 same story with stock though.

2600XT same story again, however...

Those cards are listed in terms of best to worst and under a 90 euro budget, though all cards are faster then 7600GT/7600GS Sli.

If you wanted to really break out, Peats sell 9600GT for 150, which would absolutely blow 7600GS sli away...you've talking any game at maxed out settings at 1280x1024/1680x1050 for the most part. In comparison, 7600GS would suck quite badly at those settings at anything remotely new.

Not a whole lot of options when buying in bricks and mortar stores to be honest, without feeling TOO ripped off.

Lord Nikon

Just looking on Elara, this this look decent??

http://www.elara.ie/products/detailsfull.asp?productcode=ECE1415976

TerrorFirmer

Not really, it wouldn't be an improvement over a single 7600GS generally.

You would want to be looking at the 8600GT/HD3650/X2600XT class cards to gain a significant boost over a single 7600GS while still keeping under 80-90 euro. And preferably, a DDR3 model of said cards, DDR2 is slower and hurts performance. Though at worst, an 8600GT DDR2 would still be faster then a 7600GS of any memory type.

Lord Nikon

This is my current setup. Would I be able to run DDR3


Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe, nForce 590 SLI,
Socket-AM2, DDR2,2xGbLAN,ATX, 2xPCI-Ex16

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ 3.0GHz Socket AM2
2MB, BOXED w/fan

Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2, 2048MB CL5
Kit w/two matched CM2X1024A-6400 Dimm's

Gainward GeForce 7600GS 256MB Passive,
PCI-Express, DDR2, "BP7600GS-256-TV-DVI"

Samsung SpinPoint T166 250GB SATA2
16MB 7200RPM

NEC DVD±RW burner AD-5170 IDE Black OEM,
DVD+R/+RW/DVD-R/-RW (Dual layer)



Software English OEM

TerrorFirmer

Yes, the ram on board a video card is not linked to your motherboard. You hve a good machine; the 7600GS is seriously crippling performance. If you are a gamer, I would suggest getting a 9600GT class card from Peats for 150-ish euro, or, if you can afford to wait and prefer something a little more economical, you could get the same card for 10-20 euro cheaper online, not to mention, there's a great selection in budget performance parts in the sub 120/130 bracket - 8800GS, 320mb 8800GTS, Hd2900Pro, etc. All of which are, quite frankly, Ferrari's in compared to your Punto 7600GS.

159 for a 9600GT is a good price from Peats, consider the postage costs of buying it online.

Equally, if you're really on a limited budget and need the card urgently, the 3650 for 89 in Peats isn't bad considering the GS will net you back about 30 of that and there'll be a nice performance gain in games.

Lord Nikon

Thanks for the advise. Hope I can get something in time...:)