EVGA GeForce 8800??

I'm starting a new thread cause...well....it's just easier to get answers. I'm still grappling with how best to upgrade my Dell after the g-card crashtastrophy.....and my fiance wants me to order the EVGA GeForce8800 from Tigerdirect cause it's a good deal and it's got some capabilities he wants. But...but but but....I don't see anything on the EVGA graphics cards for running SL. So.....anyone know anything about these cards, if they are compatible?

tanks

EVGA is the card maker. They typically make mid-quality boards but as far as I have had dealings with them (mother boards mostly) they do the job and last a couple of years at least. Don't try to overclock it and you should be fine.

Stay away from Saphir boads, I have had tons of problems with them not likeing the standard nVidia drivers. Other than that, you get what you pay for .. and conversly, you pay for what you get.

Ok, this is what he's looking at for me to get.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3680414&CatId=2306

I can actually find the Nvidia8800 cheaper....but he wants the HDTV stuff so.....it looks like it would work fine.....but who the heck knows....we all know how persnickity SL can be with graphics cards.

In my honest opinion, it will work beautifully with Second Life.

Ok...well...stay tuned....I'll be letting y'all know soon. Thanks for all the help....you guys are the bomb.

I have the 512MB EVGA 8800GT, and it works great with SL.

I think the 8800GT is an excellent choice because it's been around long enough to have the bugs worked out, and it's still really, really fast. If you want anything much faster, you'll need to spend a lot more money.

I still need to upgrade my 6600GT.

I have been eyeing this model as my next board and am just looking for an excuse to get it. Maybe I should "spill some water" on my current graphics card.

My 8800GTX's are from EVGA. I've been very pleased with them.

EVGA's phone support is top notch, by the way. They're easily one of the best companies I've ever dealt with in this regard. Every time I've called them, they've been very eager to help, and perhaps more importantly, eager to educate. I've learned a lot from talking to them.

The card in your link looks like a great deal, Milla. I'd say go for it.





Incidentally, the reason you don't see typically see anything specifically regarding EVGA on these forums is because people tend to talk about nVidia collectively, far more often than they talk about any of their manufacturing partners individually. The way nVidia operates is they come up with the basic design architecture, and then they contract other companies to mass produce the hardware. Their manufacturing partners include EVGA, Asus, XFX, BFG, Leadtek, PNY, Biostar, and several others whose names escape me at the moment.

Each manufacturer tends to add its own flair to the cards, with certain tweaks and sometimes additional bells & whistles here and there, but at the end of the day, they're all nVidia cards. It doesn't make all that much difference which manufacturer you choose. (I'm sure I'll get yelled at by at least a few brand-loyalists for saying that, though.)

It's kind of like comparing a Subway sandwich made in Maine to another made in California. They're basically the same thing, in that they're made of the same kinds of ingredients, but they're going to taste slightly different. In addition to having different owners, the two stores are going to have different produce suppliers, possibly different meat vendors, maybe different brands of mayonnaise, etc. When all is said and done, both are producing what can only be defined as Subway subs, but when you compare them side by side, there are small differences. Some people will find those differences to be important; others won't.

And so it is with nVidia graphics cards. You'll find people out there who swear by XFX, and say "Don't ever waste your money on BFG!", and others who say they exact opposite. Myself, I've owned nVidia cards made by EVGA, Asus, and PNY, and I've been happy with all of them. I've got a soft spot for EVGA these days, since they've given me such good phone service, but I don't know that their cards are physically any better or worse than those of any other nVidia partner.

I'm thinking about updating to this card also (I'm currently running a 512MG 7600)... I'm a bit curious on the SLI bit. The current card i have is SLI compatible, and if I get a newer-faster card to add on, is it worth SLI'ing it? Or should i scrap the older card and Get 2 of the same models/RAM etc for SLI. Is SLI even worth it or that a big of a deal also? i've never really looked into it.

You can't mix & match with SLI. Both cards must be the same GPU model. So if you want to SLI a 7600, you'd need to do it with second 7600. And since it's a pretty safe bet that a single 8800 would run circles around a pair of 7600's, there's zero point in getting another 7600, assuming you could even find one.



Whether you get one new card or two, and whether you're planning on using SLI or not, you should scrap the 7600. You won't have any use for it after you've gotten your new one(s).


That depends on what you're doing, and on whom you ask. If you use dual monitors, then it's not really an option. SLI, by design (don't ask me why), only works with a single monitor.

I didn't know that when I got my two 8800's, or I only would have gotten one. Multiple monitors are a must for me. Since I do have the two cards, though, I sometimes enable SLI for playing games (no need for dual monitors when gaming). I don't use it very often for SL, but when I do, I get around a 30% boost to FPS. Other people report no benefit, though, so my guess is it varies from machine to machine, in accordance with lots of other factors besides just the video cards themselves.

I probably should have returned my second card while I still could, since I use SLI so seldom. But at the time I thought maybe I'd one day want three or four monitors instead of just two, so I kept it. I have yet to justify the expense, though, for more screens, cool as it would be to have them.

Bottom line, if you've got the money to spend on two new cards, and if you're only planning on using one monitor, then by all means, go SLI. You've got nothing to lose from it. But if you're going to use two monitors, then you're better off spending the money for that second card on something else.

Thanks, Chosen. Throrough as always
I wasn't aware of the dual-monitor issue/feature with SLI - thanks for the heads up (Good thing i asked, i have a habit of impulse buying). Being that i DO use dual-monitors-especially with SL- I won't be needing the second card.

Appreciate the advice, I'll now turn the topic back over to the OP :0)

I have two of them (EVGA 8800's) they are fine.

the 7600 are cheap and Fry's has a ton of them... I was trying to find a 7900GS to SLi mine, no luck
now looking at the 9800GT instead!
or this what is it 240 some crap at 500USD?

I forget which model it was, but it was either the 9xxx series or the new 240 series that were having a large amount of failures.

I'll post it if I can find it.

Slightly off topic here...but I'm really concerned about this and I figured you guys would probably have very immediate and definite opinions/advice.

I am indeed going to get the EVGA card.....and I'm going to get my PC from the repair place this afternoon and install it myself. Part of the reason is it will be cheaper for me (I can instal a g-card, not rocket science) and part of the reason is this repair place has broken some pretty serious privacy barriers.
When I dropped off my computer they asked for my passowrd...I assumed they needed any desktop passowrd in case I used a log in.....I don't. I told them they wouldn't need a password. The guy said no, your email passowrd. I was like....wtf you need that, I have a web based account, it has nothing to do with my computer...I can log into my email from anywhere. He insisted they needed it to make sure everything worked as it should.....again I thought maybe he thought I had a web account (like msn or aol) that required a password to log on.....again I explained that I did not......I used comcast and didn't need anything to connect to the web.
Again, he insisted they needed a password. So, I gave him an incorrect password. LOL
But.....the owner of this place is a friend of my uncle's (loose term, my uncle is getting fed up with him) and I ran into him the other night....I asked him about the password bit.....he insisted they needed it. I told him that I gave a false PW because I did not understand why the hell they'd need my email password to fix my computer. He responded by telling me it would cost me extra because they wouldn't be able to check if everything worked. WTF!!?? I was pretty pissed. There's absolutely NO reason they need my password to fix that computer.

I have had other PC's fixed....both by private repair shops...and by Dell.....noone has ever asked for an email password.

How would you guys respond to this ????

Oh, you just made me hungry, damn you.

P2

I'd get my computer back from them and never, ever, take it back to them again. They do not need your email password for any reason. I would, in fact, report them to the local Better Business Bureau or Chamber of Commerce for unethical business practices.

I would also change every password I have as soon as I got the machine back and I hope you don't have personal or business financial info stored on it. If so, monitor your accounts closely.

There is NO need to know someone's password to install a Video Card.

All they need to do is stick the card in the slot, plug it in, turn it on & install the drivers.

.... By never giving the bugger any business ever again. (>_<

Yup.....I'm definitely reporting him....the guy's a slime and clearly knows zippo about computers. What's worse, it was his father running the counter the day I dropped it off....and he is apparently as dense (or corrupt) as the owner. There's more to my story......regarding a job I was supposed to have with his business (thank gawd it didn't happen!) He's a slime....big time.

Yikes...my sister is mad at me (we work together now) LOL She thinks I'm over reacting......he's been in business here for 10 years and she's sure he doesn't mean any harm. He's never had any complaints before (well....that she's aware of)

I don't know....I'm not buying it.....if he's that dumb.....have all his customers been that dumb too??? Or gullible? If he's not that dumb....then what HAS he been up to, asking for passwords.

I'm getting my computer today....remains to be seen what I'll do about this....but if I do anything....the entire town's gonna wind up finding out.

Yes. (^_^)

You are definitely not overreacting. There is no reason he needs your e-mail password.

Then telling it would cost you extra if you didn't give it to them because they couldn't test everything? They're going to charge more for doing less work?

It sounds like the dude has some ethical issues.

Wow, that's quite a story, Milla. To answer your question, here's how I'd react:

1. Get your computer back.

2. Report him to your state attorney general. Others suggested the BBB and Chamber of Commerce, which are fine in addition, but those organizations don't have any legal teeth. If a business doesn't care about its reputation within those groups, then there's nothing the BBB or CoC can really do. The attorney general, however, does have a full arsenal of rather sharp teeth, and it's their duty to protect the public from shady businesses. Any time you deal with an obviously corrupt business, the attorney general's office should be your first call.

3. Do an extensive sweep of your machine for keyloggers, spywyare, trojans, and other malware. If he was so insistent about wanting your E-mail password, then it's a safe bet he's not about to let the matter drop just because you retrieved your machine from him. Clearly he wants it for a reason, and it has nothing to do with repairing your computer. I wouldn't be surprised if your hard drive is chock full of "goodies" now.

4. If you find any of the above, sue the bastard. It would be pretty hard to assess a value for actual damages for something like this, beyond what you paid for the "repair" itself, but if a judge and/or jury gets good & pissed off over it, there might be some punitive damages. At the very least, the embarrassment and hassle of being dragged int court might be enough make this guy think twice about trying this on anyone else. And the publicity it might help to warn your community about this.


So no, you're definitely not overreacting. Your instincts were 100% correct. There's absolutely no reason anyone should ever ask you for your E-mail password, or any other password. The only exception might be if you had assigned a BIOS password to the machine, and/or an OS login, which they would need in order just to use the computer at all. But even those wouldn't stop someone who really knows their way around a computer, as any repairman worth his salt should well know. Having them would simply be a convenience for the repairman. Not having them would not be a show-stopper for any repair. But since you don't have any BIOS password or OS login assigned on that machine anyway, that should have been the end of the discussion right there. You were completely right to be alarmed about this.

If your family members can't understand that, have them read this thread. I think enough (very computer-literate) people have responded similarly by now to show that that this request for your password was unacceptable, by any stretch of the imagination. There's simply no way an E-mail password would be of any benefit to a legitimate repair. It absolutely cannot make any difference towards determining "if things are working properly", as this "repairman" claimed. That's just not how it works, period. The only thing it can do is allow someone to breach your privacy, and potentially steal your identity.

For your family members' own sake, if nothing else, show them this next paragraph, and ask them to take it to heart:

IF ANYONE EVER AT ANY TIME ASKS YOU FOR YOUR E-MAIL PASSWORD, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE OR HOW WELL YOU THINK YOU KNOW THEM, YOU CAN BE ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN THEY ARE UP TO NO GOOD. DO NOT SHARE YOUR PASSWORD(S) WITH ANYONE EVER, NO MATTER WHAT ABSURD CLAIMS THEY TRY TO MAKE ABOUT WHY YOU SHOULD! NO LEGITIMATE COMPUTER SERVICE PERSON WOULD EVER MAKE SUCH A REQUEST. KEEP YOUR PASSWORDS PRIVATE. DO NOT SHARE THEM EVER!

Just so folks also know this:

When you take your computer into a repair shop- whether PC, Mac, or Linux, 9.9 times out of 10, they're gonna search for Porn, Pics, and any naughty bits they can find.

Probably 1 reason I make a horrible PC Repair guy- I don't like snooping, I don't like trying to convince someone to buy "bigger & better" till they'd need it (like switching from Windows 98- had one already).

I'm just too damn Nice & Honest about it.