Must...stop...buying...video cards...ASUS 8800 GT 512 Mb with "Glaciator" cooling fan, ~$97 AR/AMSLSCB --and-- FREE GAME

UPDATE 8/20: NOW WITH FREE GAME ALSO (Alone in the Dark). Thanks to jlbmw2002 for catching this.

AMSLSCB = after Microsoft Live Search c@shback.

UPDATE 8/22: MSLiveSearch has reduced the Newegg c@shback to its "original" level of 2.75%, so now the final cost of the card is about $97 AR/AMSLSCB.

Link to card at the 'Egg

Link to rebate

$119.99 - $20 MIR - $3.30 MS c@shback = $96.70 or thereabouts. Free shipping. Plus sales tax in California, New Jersey, New York, and Tennessee.

New low, I believe. Price dropped by $10 at Newegg on 8/19. And now there's a free game!

"Must...stop...buying...video cards..."

LOL OP hot deal!

ok

dtanuwid said: After reading the reviews, I wonder if this is a good card to buy...

Agreed. I've been shopping around to replace my 7900gt that has started artifacting and rebooting my system (I'll RMA it, but I need something to keep working)... unless I can find an 8600gt for nearly free (like the CC deal), I think I'm going to finally ditch the nvidia camp and get myself an ATI card.

Green for being a true FatWalleter and buying the video cards just because they are affordable, whether you need them or not.

You do realize that the 8000 line of video cards are now two generations old though, right?

FPSguy said: You do realize that the 8000 line of video cards are now two generations old though, right?

The 8800GT and 9xxx series cards both use the G92 chipset. THe 9600GT uses the G94 chipset, which is a scaled-down G92.

If the GTX200 series of cards is generation 0 (current), then the 8800GT and 9xxx series cards are generation -1, or ONE generation old.

And still very fast, especially in SLI.

valleypoboy said: I've been shopping around to replace my 7900gt that has started artifacting and rebooting my system (I'll RMA it, but I need something to keep working)...
My eVGA 7900GS was hardly powered on for more than 10 hours and now no signal. Now I got an Arctic cooling passive cooler just sitting. Maybe my RMA will result in a 8800?

G92 is part of the "graphics family" that nVidia did a $196 million reserve in its last 8-K for. The price on the 84/86/8800G92 series has dropped sharply since then. Probably reflects the risk premium. Does it mean you will get a bad card? NO. But your odds aren't normal.

Well I appreciate specs as next as the next guy, or gal for that matter, but really. One genereation, two generation. 8800GT are in a sweet price range and I have yet to hear of a game that these cards are doing poorly in. Sure, some of the big brothers are considerably faster but if you are shopping for a bargain gaming card, I've yet to see how you can go wrong with these cards.

There's a free game now [Alone in the Dark] for total of 99.99 + Tax if you live in a State with sales tax.

You have to understand (assuming you bought thru Newegg) they sell a lot (mostly) refurb'd stuff...and that means it's not up to the quality of what they want in order to sell to the public (or was returned, etc).

-2 cents

guardianx said: how do u get live Cash Back? what keyword do u search for?

I simply went to the "Stores" listing at LiveSearch, selected Newegg, and then shopped that way. The c@shback showed up in my LiveSearch account within a few minutes of buying the card.

I assume you understand that you must first set up an account at MS LiveSearch to get the Cash Back.

dgoedken said: You have to understand (assuming you bought thru Newegg) they sell a lot (mostly) refurb'd stuff...and that means it's not up to the quality of what they want in order to sell to the public (or was returned, etc).

-2 cents

At first, I started thinking of using some very derogatory terms to describe the sort of person who would invent this sort of nonsense about probably the largest, highest rated and most respected computer components and electronics seller in the country, but then I decided to be more charitable. I think what happened is that dgoedken must have grabbed a yogurt out of the back of the fridge, failed to notice that the sell by date was 8-20-07 and wrote this comment about half an hour after polishing off his dairy delight.

FYI on the Alone in the Dark free game that is now bundled with this card, it's supposed to be an incredibly annoying and smelly turd of a game. PC Gamer just gave it a 28/100, which is one of the lowest scores I've seen in a very long time. Here it is, verbatim:

PC Gamer said: An implacable evil has invaded the world. It attacks indiscriminately, it can’t be reasoned with, and it won’t stop until it has completely obliterated a perfectly good genre. It comes in a little Games for Windows box and it’s called Alone in the Dark. Run for your life.

It looked promising enough, with a dark and perfectly serviceable story that plops Edward Carnby in contemporary New York, which is under siege by what appears to be a giant, angry crack. But what Atari delivered is a disc of epic fail notable primarily for its bizarre and illogical camera and control scheme that seems sadistically designed to confound, obstruct, and create nightmarish routines out of common tasks every step of the way. If you think I’m exaggerating, consider this: Carnby’s cell phone has a rotary dial.

That’s typical of the genius you’ll experience “playing” Alone in the Dark, along with a quick-turn key that’s disabled when you’re fighting enemies, and “quick-draw” weapon shortcuts that require two hands to activate. You’ll have a blast trying figuring out that you can only combine the “explosive plastic bottle” with the double-sided tape to create a sticky bomb - not the other way around - only to discover that you must whip open your jacket again after you’ve thrown it and re-equip your gun in real-time while your enemies beat you to death. And this is how things are supposed to work. God help you when they don’t.

And often, they won’t. In the single thrilling moment I squeezed out of this tower of suck, I had lost control of a car I was driving down a crumbling New York city street and spun out 180 degrees until I was facing the advancing chasm. I slammed into reverse and steered frantically backwards for several seconds before the car simply stopped - it may have collided with a gnat - and the street swallowed me up.

The game does feature gorgeous fire that propagates impressively in real time. In fact, twice the game took over camera control from me to play an animation while Edward was standing close to fire, so by the time the animation was over and I regained control, he was engulfed in flames. Bravo.

The game, such as it is, descends in this clumsy, broken way all the way through to the end, saving the worst for last in a sequence that has you doing an hour’s busywork while the screen warps as if you were on acid. It’s no wonder that the game allows you to advance to the next “chapter” (also known as a “level”) in the story at any time. Think about it: the developer built-in a level skip. I recommend a cheaper alternative: the game skip.
PC Gamer review of Alone in the Dark

Maybe you can sell the game for $15-20 on eBay and turn a great price for this card into an amazing one, though.

fallenangel99 said: hmm.. tempting..should i wait a few more weeks to get a better deal?
If you don't really need one now I say wait for a while. NV is in desperate need of cash flow at the moment - they are striving to beautify their next quarterly report. Since they currently don't have lethal weapons to counter attack AMD/ATI, their hope would be relying on volume sales of the mainstream chipsets, which means tons of G9x graphics cards are going to flood the market.

Incidentally -- is it just me that thinks this card looks like a chevy? And is that why it can never receive a great review?

buglet said: I wonder how powerful my power supply needs to be? I hope the requirement is not 450W. I have a Dell, I guess the output is 305W. I am using a 7900GS which is okay.

It is too expensive to buy a power supply from Dell.

Buglet: I had a problem with Dell computer having lack of power when it comes to video cards. My solution was to get an OCZ PSU StealthXtreme... which work great on my Dell computer

dtanuwid said: buglet said: I wonder how powerful my power supply needs to be? I hope the requirement is not 450W. I have a Dell, I guess the output is 305W. I am using a 7900GS which is okay.

It is too expensive to buy a power supply from Dell.

Buglet: I had a problem with Dell computer having lack of power when it comes to video cards. My solution was to get an OCZ PSU StealthXtreme... which work great on my Dell computer

Thank you very much, dtanuwid.

i have an old 6600gt, have no money, and the next sys upgrade for me will be whatever it takes to play d3 full speed.

Pretty much a rookie question here...

but could I run SLI w/ two different brands of 8800 GT's? (ie a BFG one and this ASUS one?)

This is now a 30$ rebate but with out free shipping. Would end up being slightly cheaper after you get the rebate back.