Newegg - EVGA GeForce 9800GT videocard - $50 after rebate

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aeri

CAGiversary!
EDIT: Another CAGer, Drakee, pointed out this deal on a GTS 250 for 69.99 after $30 rebate. The card is definitely a big enough improvement to justify the $20 difference.


I thought this deal was too awesome to not post, so I apologize if it's a repost. Newegg is having a "back to school sale" with some awesome deals - undisputedly the best was a EVGA GeForce 9800 GT HDMI 512MB 256-bit DDR3 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card. Two of these babies SLI'd will run almost any PC game at high/max settings, including Crysis. Just make sure you have the minimum 400w PSU or ~650+ for SLI'd.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...t-_-DesktopGraphicsVideoCards-_-14130535-L02D
$84.99
-35.00 rebate.
49.99
Free Shipping


The lowest I've seen these go was 90, so this is a hell of a deal for (still) one of the better cards on the market. One rebate per household/billing address though, however EVGA is usually pretty good with rebates.

For the other deals (including decently priced DDR3 ram)
http://promotions.newegg.com/NEemail/latest/index-landing.aspx


[Edit]
Nerd talk for comparison to other cards.

Two SLI'd 9800GTs are comparable to 1 GTX460, which is the most economical $200 card. For $230 you can get the 1GB GTX460, which is slightly more powerful than two SLI'd 9800 GTs, however the drawback to the 9800's is the lack of DirectX 11 support. Above the 460 is the 480, which retails at around $500 dollars. I *believe* 2 460's are a bit better than one 480.

As for Radeon, 1 Radeon HD 5850 ($300) compares to a GTX460 ($230), which compares to two DirectX 11-less 9800GTX's ($100 if you can get two rebates)

I personally picked up one to throw in my setup, which I was going to completely rebuild. I think this will be able to postpone my rebuild for another 6-18 months. :)
 
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[quote name='yukine']Should I even bother upgrading to a 9800GT when I'm currently using an 8500GT? I can run Starcraft decently well on a mix of medium/high settings... although the framerate can take a hit once in a while.

I'm thinking I should just save up and get something a little better. I want to run Starcraft 2 and hopefully Diablo III on high settings.[/QUOTE]
I'd say save and grab something better

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/graphics-card-geforce-radeon,2646-7.html

There's a nice list done a couple of months ago about the most bang for your graphic card buck
 
Time to upgrade from my geforce 4 ti 4400 512MB AGP1x (my old card had agp 4x but stupid mobo would crash with 4x).
 
9800 GT is a huge upgrade from the 8500 GT. A source of reference is the Tom's Hardware Graphics Card Hierarchy Chart. According to the chart it's a difference of 12 tiers. They don't recommend an upgrade unless the card is at least three tiers from your current one.
 
[quote name='ihadFG']I'm thinking of getting this along with this PC:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6270999&CatId=4928

Any thoughts or better recommendations?[/QUOTE]

Yeah I would skip on that for sure. Like someone else mentioned, the PSU is terrible. Other problems noticed was the case has poor ventilation and is small. That's the Achilles heel of the 9800GT - overheating.

If you look at the value of the parts alone (comparing to newegg)
-CPU 115
-PSU (So small that it probably carries no to little value) 20
-Motherboard (No info on what the mobo is - but a good mobo, which this surely isn't priced at...) 80
-6 GB ddr 3 ram - about 45/chip 135
-case (bad case) 50

That comes out to about $400.

Now with parts solely from NewEgg..

Gskill 4gb DDR3 - $96 - Gskill makes the best ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1193&cm_re=gskill_1600-_-20-231-193-_-Product

Here's the reason for 4gb of ram... In order to run 6gb you need to run it in triple channel, however finding a motherboard that is compatible with *everything* is impossible. The processor I picked out runs AM3, and I would guess you'd want SLI to run a second 8800GT. Additionally, the ram is DDR3 1600 speed (supported by this motherboard, but many older ones do not support it.) 4gb is more than enough to run this setup, and in the future (because the mobo has four ram slots) you can add another pair to run in 2 dual channel pairs (4 2gb chips work, 3 do not - unless you have a triple channel board. HOWEVER if you do wish for more than 4GB of ram, I'd go with 2 4gb chips. It's more $50 expensive than 4 2gb chips, but will have future uses ( 2x 4gb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231311 )

Combo-deal on Processor/PSU
AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz I'd go with an AMD - much more power for the price. This should be quite a bit more powerful than that processor. These were actually the two I had found separately then noticed they had a combo deal. So yes, they're both great parts.

CPU
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.468987
$229.98
$20 rebate
$209.98

One of many decent, ventilated cases - $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=Cooler_Master_690_II-_-11-119-215-_-Product


Mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130235&cm_re=sli_am3-_-13-130-235-_-Product
99.99

$495 total.
475 with rebates.

However it is SLI compatible and it is compatible with the RAM & AM3 processor, and it'll give you a hell of a lot better performance than the prebuild. Plus tigerdirect is evil and they won't get any money.

Now the catch... this has no harddrive, no Windows 7. I prefer builds with two harddrives - one smaller harddrive (~160GB) for the operating system, one larger one for data. Plus, 1TB is quite large. A 1TB drive goes for $90, a 500GB goes for $55. This is all down to personal preference, but for the sake of a small budget lets go for the 1TB.
+$90.

Total Price Now: $565 (Woot same as the TigerDirect machine - no videocard)

And the other problem - Windows 7. This all comes down to what you want/have as well. If you HAVE an extra copy of XP or Vista around the house, you can get an upgrade to professional for about 60% of the full price. Otherwise you'll have to pay $149.99 for it. If you are a student with a .edu email address, even better. You can get the UPGRADE (once again, requires XP/Vista) for 29.99 from Microsoft (http://www.microsoft.com/student/en/us/software/windows.aspx)

Price:
565 + 29.99 for upgrade with .edu (digital copy) = 595
565 + 89.99 for normal upgrade = 655
565 + 149.99 for full copy = 715

If you truly consider buying that setup... I'd highly recommend getting a second opinion in case I messed up somewhere - but it seems correct.

RAM matches mobo
PSU matches mobo
Videocard matches mobo
CPU matches mobo
SLI supported

And finally add 9800GT the videocard.

TLDR (With 9800 GT)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...1193&cm_re=gskill_1600-_-20-231-193-_-Product 4gb ddr3 1600 gskill RAM - 96.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.468987 CPU/650 watt PSU $209.98 after $20 rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...e=Cooler_Master_690_II-_-11-119-215-_-Product Case $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130235&cm_re=sli_am3-_-13-130-235-_-Product SLI Ready motherboard 99.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284 1TB WD Harddrive $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130535&cm_re=9800GT-_-14-130-535-_-Product EVGA 512-P3-N987-TR GeForce 9800 GT (49.99)


Total: 616 MINUS WINDOWS.

And for a second (no-rebate) videocard.
$701.95

Also might want this... (DVD/CD reader/writer)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106335

25.99



EDIT: Other notable mentions...
Nicer case ($10 more after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129021

A step down from the above case, but the same price with no rebate hassle
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066

A better version of the motherboard. (139.99 after rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...re=am3_motherboard_sli-_-13-130-236-_-Product
Main differences = allows for 3way SLI (I'd recommend 1 260 versus 3 8800's though), 1 more SATA connection, allows for hybrid SLI (I do not know much about this), probably better compatibility because of a newer chipset. Also two LESS USB connections.

16.99 wireless card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16839121008 (THIS WILL TAKE UP YOUR ONLY PCI SLOT.)
 
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For a moment I considered getting this, then realized my 8800GTS is on par, if not slightly better than it. Good card though, if your setup is good it should be able to run anything maxed out at 1280 with no issues.
 
Better deal just came up anyways if you're willing to shell out a little extra ($20) for something that's a little higher (two steps) on this list: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-radeon-hd-geforce-gtx,2676-7.html

MSI N250GTS Twin Frozr GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card w/ Starcraft 2 TRIAL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127495
Original Price: $114.99 You Save: $15.00 $99.99
($69.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate )

Similar PSU requirements and one 6-pin power connector necessary for anyone that needed that info. Comes with the 2x 4-pin Molex to 6-pin adapter as well. Only drawback is the LACK OF HDMI to me but I believe it comes with a DVI->HDMI adapter as it is HDCP ready.

PS: I originally ordered the 9800GT for a friend, but find myself making plans to either flip it or return it now.
 
[quote name='Drakee']Better deal just came up anyways if you're willing to shell out a little extra ($20) for something that's a little higher (two steps) on this list: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gaming-radeon-hd-geforce-gtx,2676-7.html

MSI N250GTS Twin Frozr GeForce GTS 250 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card w/ Starcraft 2 TRIAL
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127495
Original Price: $114.99 You Save: $15.00 $99.99
($69.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate )

Similar PSU requirements and one 6-pin power connector necessary for anyone that needed that info. Comes with the 2x 4-pin Molex to 6-pin adapter as well. Only drawback is the LACK OF HDMI to me but I believe it comes with a DVI->HDMI adapter as it is HDCP ready.

PS: I originally ordered the 9800GT for a friend, but find myself making plans to either flip it or return it now.[/QUOTE]

That MSI 250 is nice. I have the same card, but the cooler on that one is much better. Don't forget to choose the combo deal (which adds a voucher giving you the option to choose Street Fighter IV, Dark Void, or Resident Evil 5 for free) if you purchase this card.
 
i dont play any pc games other than sc2. is it worth it for me to buy this? i can play on low res with a gforce 310. my processor is an i3 530 with 6 gb ram.
 
I'm currently using a 9800GT, and for this price its okay. I'd personally rather opt for a better card, the last thing I played was Stalker, which ran a little less than satisfactory. You probably won't get a whole lot of mileage out of anything less.
 
[quote name='helmet']I'm currently using a 9800GT, and for this price its okay. I'd personally rather opt for a better card, the last thing I played was Stalker, which ran a little less than satisfactory. You probably won't get a whole lot of mileage out of anything less.[/QUOTE]

the only game i play on pc is starcraft 2 and i dont expect to play any otherd. is it worth spending 50 bucks to play a single game with better graphics? i am leaninlmmg towards no but want some opinions.
 
I would say it's worth it since it is only $50 and not $200 or even $100. You may find other games you want to play and you should be able to max out the graphics on SC2 with this. If you plan on playing SC2 for a long time, buy it, if not pass especially if the graphics don't bother you and there is no slowdowns.
 
[quote name='Thongsy']I would say it's worth it since it is only $50 and not $200 or even $100. You may find other games you want to play and you should be able to max out the graphics on SC2 with this. If you plan on playing SC2 for a long time, buy it, if not pass especially if the graphics don't bother you and there is no slowdowns.[/QUOTE]

The graphics don't bother me and there are no slow downs. I'm cheap, which is why I come to this site and this card would make the game cost $110 + tax and that seems damn pricey. Would it be better to wait another year or two and get a $50 graphics card then?
 
[quote name='typical guy']the only game i play on pc is starcraft 2 and i dont expect to play any otherd. is it worth spending 50 bucks to play a single game with better graphics? i am leaninlmmg towards no but want some opinions.[/QUOTE]

Then you could probably run it maxed out, though I have noticed some consistent stutter. It may have been because of low RAM though, (only running 2GB) and not the graphics card, as my crappy laptop graphics card can run it flawlessly with 4GB of RAM.
 
[quote name='Bretts31344']That MSI 250 is nice. I have the same card, but the cooler on that one is much better. Don't forget to choose the combo deal (which adds a voucher giving you the option to choose Street Fighter IV, Dark Void, or Resident Evil 5 for free) if you purchase this card.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for this! I had to go to their customer service to see if I could add that.. where they thought it couldn't be done -- but just cancelled the first order and re-ordered and it worked.
 
Just got my 9800GT today and it's pretty nice. I didn't bother overclocking or anything, it's running at 57C. More than happy with it :)
 
Nice, congrats! Why, it's got what, 3.5x the hardware of my notebook GPU, and it's serving me fine for games :)
 
[quote name='aeri']Just got my 9800GT today and it's pretty nice. I didn't bother overclocking or anything, it's running at 57C. More than happy with it :)[/QUOTE]

Is that while playing a game? Or while just sitting on the desktop? Because if that is the temperature sitting at idle, that's pretty warm.
 
Quick question from someone who doesn't know much about graphics cards:

I got a new computer last year, which came with a 9800. When people talk about running two 9800s SLI, does that simply mean using two graphics cards? If I bought one here, could I simply put it in my computer with my existing 9800, and run games that much better?

Sorry if it seems like a stupid question, but I really don't know too much about the inner workings of computers. But if a second card could raise my fps in SC2 from 30 to 60 fps, and maybe let me run BC2 maxed out, I may jump on this.
 
[quote name='nnickers']Quick question from someone who doesn't know much about graphics cards:

I got a new computer last year, which came with a 9800. When people talk about running two 9800s SLI, does that simply mean using two graphics cards? If I bought one here, could I simply put it in my computer with my existing 9800, and run games that much better?

Sorry if it seems like a stupid question, but I really don't know too much about the inner workings of computers. But if a second card could raise my fps in SC2 from 30 to 60 fps, and maybe let me run BC2 maxed out, I may jump on this.[/QUOTE]

Not a stupid question at all! Yeah, SLI is running two Nvidia cards in parallel (the ATi/AMD version is called Crossfire), but there are all kinds of caveats. For one thing, you have to have a motherboard that will support it. I think it's supposed to be better if you use identical cards-as in same manufacturer and even BIOS revision...but I guess you don't HAVE to now?

More to the point though, you don't get double the performance from it, and games have to rely on profiles, and there are sometimes weird performance hitches on some games. basically you're usually better off buying a single new card instead...like this card has 112 cores I think, and Nvidia's GTX 280s or whatever had like 240 cores, and the GTX 480 line has 480 of their newer designed cores. Point being like a $200 card would be less hassle and give a bigger performance boost than buying a second one of these.

It kind of seems like SLI is mostly good for people who want bleeding edge hardware, and want to do something crazy like put two 480s in their system or something.

(Guess I should note too, Nvidia and AMD/ATi's core counts aren't comperable...generally speaking it seems like 32 of Nvidias are roughly the same as 120 of ATis, although there are some cards where it seems like the ratio is worse than that, like on notebooks the best 128 core Nvidia part is coming weirdly super close to ATi's 800 core part.)
 
[quote name='nnickers']Quick question from someone who doesn't know much about graphics cards:

I got a new computer last year, which came with a 9800. When people talk about running two 9800s SLI, does that simply mean using two graphics cards? If I bought one here, could I simply put it in my computer with my existing 9800, and run games that much better?

Sorry if it seems like a stupid question, but I really don't know too much about the inner workings of computers. But if a second card could raise my fps in SC2 from 30 to 60 fps, and maybe let me run BC2 maxed out, I may jump on this.[/QUOTE]

Your mother board needs to be SLI compatiable (meaning it has at least two PCI-Express x8 slots and a chipset that can run SLI), which if you bought a prebuilt computer, then I doubt it is. And on top of that, the power supply needs to be able to power the two video cards. Games will only theoretically runs twice as fast when you have two cards, but most will see a ~65% to ~80% improvement.
 
Thanks for the responses, sounds like I'd be better off waiting for a better card. Plus, I do have a prebuilt, so I'm not even sure if SLI would be a possibility for me.
 
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