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Nvidia 7300 GT question
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Nvidia 7300 GT question // Hardware
Post by ProfessorKhaos // Jan 10, 2008, 5:35am
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ProfessorKhaos
Total Posts: 622
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Hi all,
I have a computer with a GeForce 6200 card in it with 256 Mbyte of RAM. I'm stuck with an AGP solution for now given my system.
I saw a GeForce 7300 GT card with 512 Mbyte of RAM and an AGP interface that would be a candidate to replace the 6200 card.
I've heard, however, that the 512 Mbyte of RAM advertized may or may not truly be on the card, but in fact may actually be taking some of my computer's memory. Does anyone know if this is true? (something called turbocache???)
The card I've seen at Best Buy is the following:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8355914&st=GeForce+7300+GT&lp=2&type=product&cp=1&id=1177717727683
I don't want to steal significant amounts of my computer memory for the graphics card given that I would prefer it remail available for non-realtime rendering.
Not sure if it makes a difference or not but I use the 6200 with a dual monitor setup (1600x1200 each monitor) and would plan to do the same with the 7300 |
Post by hemulin // Jan 10, 2008, 5:54am
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hemulin
Total Posts: 1058
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I think the only cards that take some of your system memory as well as using their own are those that state they have "hypermemory". |
Post by Jack Edwards // Jan 10, 2008, 7:11am
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Jack Edwards
Total Posts: 4062
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7300 series cards are very slow :(
As far as the RAM goes 256 physical ram on the video card is all you really need. |
Post by TomG // Jan 10, 2008, 8:46am
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TomG
Total Posts: 3397
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Remember the key with NVIDIA is anything less that an "x600" is cut down, and may perform WORSE than a higher end previous generation (so a 7300 may be slower than a 6600).
I would recommend only ever getting the x600s or x800s, so a 6600 or 6800, or a 7600 or 7800, or an 8600 or 8800. These days you can get great deals on the 7600 series, or even the 8600 series is affordable (as in $200 or less).
The GPU is probably more important than memory for most 3D uses (other than games), so a 7600 with 256Mb I would say is a better bet than a 7300 with 512Mb memory (sure you will be able to store more textures in card memory, but you won't be able to process polygons as effectively!).
My personal suggestion is NewEgg (this is NOT a Caligari recommendation, only a personal one as an individual). Another personal recommendation is eVGA (I had a BFG card seize a fan on me and burn out a motherboard as well as the graphics card, and for the last 3 or 4 cards I have used eVGA with great satisfaction on price and performance). Again, NOT a Caligari recommendation, only my personal one.
There's a 7600 from eVGA on NewEgg for $99.99 in AGP format, for instance. Or 512Mb for $114 if you wanted that extra memory again :)
HTH!
Tom |
Post by ProfessorKhaos // Jan 10, 2008, 11:19am
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ProfessorKhaos
Total Posts: 622
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Thank you all!
This was exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. :)
Will have to give NewEgg a look-see. Looking to breathe a little more life into my system until I'm ready to upgrade to a PCI-E system (which I'm avoiding until Vista has had some time to mature a bit more).
Seems that AGP cards are getting harder and harder to find these days.
Been looking for maximum on-card memory for a couple of reasons, one of which is more tied to flight simulator and use of photo-scenery but I wanted to ensure that I wasn't taking away from the rest of my current system in the process.
v/r,
Glen |
Post by Scala3D // Jan 10, 2008, 11:42am
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Scala3D
Total Posts: 157
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Glen, newegg is great. My new system that I built, I received all the parts from NewEgg, saved over $1000.00 bucks building it myself. Duel core, duel SLI nvidia 7900 GS 256 mgs graphics cards scream with TrueSpace. I must confess, I still like to game every once in a while...lol. But yes take it from me AVOID Vista...you are smart to do that..lol. |
Post by jamesmc // Jan 10, 2008, 12:08pm
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jamesmc
Total Posts: 2566
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I agree with the assessment never to buy NVIDIA cards with low second digit numbers. My daughter had one of those that shared memory to make up the lack of onboard GPU memory. It was reaalllllllly slow.
Myself, I have a 7950 overclocked with 512mb on board memory in a PCI-E slot.
The card before that was a 6800GT AGP slot with 256 memory.
The speed difference between the two was astounding. On video renders, my time was basically cut in half. I never really did a comprehensive study on 3D renders, but everything appears faster to me.
I did do one render in another 3D program. The current system I have now for that is AMD 3800+ dual core with a pci-e slot for graphics.
What was peculiar about that test is that my times were keeping up with quad cores in the Intel 6600 and 6700 class within a few seconds.
If it were me, I would upgrade to a mother board that has PCI-E because it allows more "pipeage" to get through. I would also slap in a dual or quad core. Minimum memory would be 3gb if sticking with XP and 4gb or more if going with Vista.
With the 8800 cards coming down in price, I would give those a shot - 512mb minimum memory and of course, a motherboard with a PCI-E slot. |
Post by Jack Edwards // Jan 10, 2008, 12:17pm
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Jack Edwards
Total Posts: 4062
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I can say that Vista's starting to shape up fairly nicely lately. The only compatibility issues I've seen is with pro audio related software and hardware, like certain VST plugins (Proteus X doesn't work at all) and professional audio interfaces. Echo Audio and Edirol/Roland have mature Vista drivers, and E-Mu's drivers are getting better.
So main thing would be to check to make sure your peripherals have drivers available and to make sure new hardware you buy has good Vista support. That said overall driver setup in Vista is relatively painless and for most things, and Vista handles it for you in a seamless and effortless way.
nVidia has finally gotten their acts together with regard to driver performance as well. It's still a bit slower than XP, but with modern dual and quad core CPUs, it doesn't really matter much. ;)
When you decide to step up to the new system, Glen. The only video card on the market worth getting right now is the 8800GT. It's priced $200-$250 and is almost as fast as the $650 8800GTX. With the introduction of the 8800GT (which is really a 9 series GPU) nVidia basically obsoleted the rest of their line. :D |
Post by ProfessorKhaos // Jan 10, 2008, 7:23pm
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ProfessorKhaos
Total Posts: 622
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Hey all!
Thanks again for the feedback. I went ahead and picked up an AGP 7600 card with 512 Meg of RAM. All I can say is that it is an enormous improvement over my old 6200. In fact, if I had known how much smoother my machine would run I would have done this a while ago.
Stayed within a reasonable budget too!
v/r
Glen |
Post by jamesmc // Jan 10, 2008, 7:33pm
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jamesmc
Total Posts: 2566
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Hey all!
Thanks again for the feedback. I went ahead and picked up an AGP 7600 card with 512 Meg of RAM. All I can say is that it is an enormous improvement over my old 6200. In fact, if I had known how much smoother my machine would run I would have done this a while ago.
Stayed within a reasonable budget too!
v/r
Glen
Glad you stepped up!
What you notice as well with the 512mb ram is that larger texture maps will load faster. |
Post by TomG // Jan 11, 2008, 2:29am
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TomG
Total Posts: 3397
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Hmm, Proteus I notice had no announcement of being developed for Vista, but actually Proteus LE works (well, it works as a VST inside sequencing software, I've not run it as a standalone). Also not seen any problem with EMU's drivers, got their Vista beta and it seems to work fine (on my 0404, which is running happily alongside a more regular low end Audigy LE).
As you can see, I got a bunch of music hardware as part of Christmas :)
Tom |
Post by Jack Edwards // Jan 11, 2008, 5:34am
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Jack Edwards
Total Posts: 4062
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@ Tom,
Yeah I've got Proteus X LE, it's an x64 issue, awesome synth but it's a pain to have to boot up in XP to use both my guitar TonePort and Proteus, grrrr. E-Mu says they aren't going to fix it btw, but that 2.5 would be 64-bit compatible. Gotta admit I'm really happy how Vista lets multiple sound cards run side by side. :) Congrats on the new audio gear Tom! :D
@Glen,
Congrats on the 7600! It's a pretty nice card and likely the best you can get for AGP. ;)
It can't be stated strongly enough, video card is WAY more important than CPU speed for real-time 3D graphics and games. Whereas CPU is needed for LW and VRay rendering. |
Post by TomG // Jan 11, 2008, 6:13am
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TomG
Total Posts: 3397
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Yes, was surprised at having the two cards (both new within the last month) sat side by side and able to switch between them at will. The 0404 is no good for voice chat etc, having stereo mic inputs in 1/4" format, so no good for ol computer headphoens :) So keeping the Audigy around is useful.
Ah, on 32 bit Vista so that's why Proteus must still run for me. Oddly, Dropzone (which came with Music Creator before I got Sonar LE along with the 0404) doesnt work, which is a shame as it could load samples (and I am not sure the LE version of Proteus can, just seems to use its own soundbank, but hey still learning!). Going to have to hunt for a solution to the Dropzone problem.
Not tried getting the guitar fed into it all yet to take advantage of the guitar amp and effects VSTs, not enough time in the day to do it all heh :)
The 7600 is a good card, I was running with one of those for some time (on AGP) and I was very pleased with the performance, a huge leap above the 6600 I had before that, and more than enough to handle tS and tP very well.
Always fun to plug some new hardware into your machine and revolutionize how it performs :)
Tom |
Post by simpo // Aug 26, 2008, 2:34pm
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simpo
Total Posts: 25
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Remember the key with NVIDIA is anything less that an "x600" is cut down, and may perform WORSE than a higher end previous generation (so a 7300 may be slower than a 6600).
I would recommend only ever getting the x600s or x800s, so a 6600 or 6800, or a 7600 or 7800, or an 8600 or 8800. These days you can get great deals on the 7600 series, or even the 8600 series is affordable (as in $200 or less).
The GPU is probably more important than memory for most 3D uses (other than games), so a 7600 with 256Mb I would say is a better bet than a 7300 with 512Mb memory (sure you will be able to store more textures in card memory, but you won't be able to process polygons as effectively!).
My personal suggestion is NewEgg (this is NOT a Caligari recommendation, only a personal one as an individual). Another personal recommendation is eVGA (I had a BFG card seize a fan on me and burn out a motherboard as well as the graphics card, and for the last 3 or 4 cards I have used eVGA with great satisfaction on price and performance). Again, NOT a Caligari recommendation, only my personal one.
There's a 7600 from eVGA on NewEgg for $99.99 in AGP format, for instance. Or 512Mb for $114 if you wanted that extra memory again :)
HTH!
Tom
Hmmm.... I got a 8500 card.
I should have read this before buying a graphics card:o |
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