Upgrade Advice: G92 8800 GTS 512 -> GTX 260 Core 216 -> GTX 275

[BelligerentBill]

Hi all, sorry for yet another upgrade thread. Nvidia has just too damn many product SKU's and it's ******* confusing to know which card to get.

I'm not running SLI and have no interest in SLI, I just want a faster single card.

I'm currently running an 8800 GTS 512 (G92) and would like to know what would be the best bang for my buck for gaming at 1680x1050. I'd like to spend at most $200 and was looking at a GTX 260 Core 216 and was wondering if you all think it would be a significant upgrade or should I just shell out the extra cash and go for a GTX 275 or GTX 280.

[Xion X2]

For that resolution, go with either the 260 or the 275. Main difference is that the 275 has 240 shaders (instead of 216) and the clocks are a little higher.

[BelligerentBill]

Thanks man, didn't take much to make me pull the trigger and I ordered EVGA's GTX 275 (decided to spend a little more ... hope it's worth it).

I got UPS 2nd day delivery so I might even have it by tomorrow since I ordered it early I absolutely cannot wait

[BelligerentBill]

Naturally I found the one review I missed after I already ordered the card that had the exact information I needed to answer the question I asked here

I'm so glad I ordered the GTX 275 over the core 216

[Xion X2]

Enjoy!

Originally Posted by BelligerentBill

Naturally I found the one review I missed after I already ordered the card that had the exact information I needed to answer the question I asked here

I'm so glad I ordered the GTX 275 over the core 216

I just got a 285, and after owning the core 216, I'd say the upgrade is definetely worth it. The 275 should be nearly as fast with just an average overclock. Good luck! The difference in Crysis is really great. Let me know if you want my autoexec cfg settings, they are a tweaked versino of ccc 2.21 ultra-6, tweaked for quality (longer draw distances, higher physics settings, better water, better shadow and ambient occlusion draw distances).
edit: performance is way above very high, but settings are much nicer looking. there are some compromises, but in areas you wouldnt notice, and all aspects of draw distance have been improved (ssao fade distance, shadows @ very high for dynamic objects, but about 50% further out for world. things like that.)

edit: tbh I'd go for a OC version of the 4890. I've seen deals with those around ~ 150 and they can compete with the 285 when overclocked (and beat it).

[BelligerentBill]

Hey, thanks for the reply.

I'm really enjoying this card. I let the card run at stock settings for about a week or so before overclocking, right now I have it at 665 core / 1225 mem (stock: 648 core / 1188 mem). I can probably go higher but haven't tried it yet I figured I'd see how it handled this for awhile and make sure I don't see any artifacts or lockups over time and so far so good... I'll be playing with higher clocks today. I score around 14,300 in 3DMark Vantage performance with the current overclock as opposed to my 8800 GTS which scored around 7,700... a very nice boost

I downloaded some custom config for Crysis like you describe from somewhere (it's the one floating all over out there), is yours tweaked beyond that? If so feel free to post it and I'll check it out, the game definately has plenty of overhead to spare now

Originally Posted by BelligerentBill

Hey, thanks for the reply.

I'm really enjoying this card. I let the card run at stock settings for about a week or so before overclocking, right now I have it at 665 core / 1225 mem (stock: 648 core / 1188 mem). I can probably go higher but haven't tried it yet I figured I'd see how it handled this for awhile and make sure I don't see any artifacts or lockups over time and so far so good... I'll be playing with higher clocks today. I score around 14,300 in 3DMark Vantage performance with the current overclock as opposed to my 8800 GTS which scored around 7,700... a very nice boost

I downloaded some custom config for Crysis like you describe from somewhere (it's the one floating all over out there), is yours tweaked beyond that? If so feel free to post it and I'll check it out, the game definately has plenty of overhead to spare now

Hey buddy. Yeah, I have the best crysis config around. It's a compilation of some of my own tweaks, some that I've seen by a poster on B3D, and various others (extreme quality, ultra, LVL-5 & LVL-6 CCC 2.21). This gives you about the performance on LVL-5 CCC 2.21, but a much nicer overall quality level. Some compromises made, obviously, but its what I play with, and its what I settled on after sampling all of the others. And I'm obviously not biased! But try it.

Kotlar cfg; Based off Lvl-6 CCC cfg (used as base)

;File Release Version = 2.21
;Config Version = 	LVL-6 [" VERY HIGH "] Config
;Operating System = 	DX9 Windows XP/Vista 32/64
;File Name = 		Autoexec.cfg

;[~]SETS IN-GAME GRAPHICS SETTINGS TO LOW AUTOMATICALLY[~]

sys_spec_Full = 1
sys_spec_ObjectDetail = 1
sys_spec_Shading = 1
sys_spec_VolumetricEffects = 1
sys_spec_Texture = 4
sys_spec_Physics = 1
sys_spec_PostProcessing = 1
sys_spec_Particles = 1
sys_spec_Sound = 4
sys_spec_Shadows = 4
sys_spec_Water = 4
sys_spec_GameEffects = 1

;[~]CUSTOMIZE THESE SETTINGS TO YOUR OWN COMPUTER[~]

con_restricted = 0
r_width =
r_height =
r_VSync = 0
d3d9_TripleBuffering = 1
r_displayinfo = 0
sys_physics_CPU = 0

;[~]BASE PERFORMANCE BOOSTERS[~]

e_cbuffer = 2
cl_hitBlur = 0
cl_hitShake = 1
r_GeomInstancing = 1
e_particles_thread = 1
es_ondemandphysics = 1
gpu_particle_physics = 1
r_CullGeometryForLights = 1
e_vegetation_static_instancing = 0
e_terrain_occlusion_culling = 1
e_terrain_occlusion_culling_version = 0
e_terrain_occlusion_culling_max_dist = 400
r_rain = 1
r_RainMaxViewDist = 32
e_occlusion_culling_view_dist_ratio = 1


;[~]CUSTOMIZE FOR YOUR CUSTOM SCREENSHOT SETTINGS[~]; ONLY WORK in the EDITOR (Sandbox 2)

e_screenshot_width = 2048
e_screenshot_height = 1536
e_screenshot_quality = 100
e_screenshot_file_format = jpg

;[~]SPEAKER CONFIGURATION SETTINGS[~]

s_SpeakerConfig = 5

;[~]CUSTOM HIGH DYNAMIC RANGE SETTINGS[~]

r_HDRRendering = 2
r_HDRLevel = 1.2
r_HDRBrightOffset = 35.3
r_HDRBrightThreshold = 7
r_Glow = 1
r_GlowScreenMultiplier = 0.4

;[~]CUSTOM AMBIENT OCCLUSION SETTINGS[~]

e_terrain_ao = 1
r_TerrainAO = 7
r_TerrainAO_FadeDist = 12

;[~]CUSTOM SCREEN-SPACE AMBIENT OCCLUSION SETTINGS[~]

r_SSAO = 1
r_SSAO_amount = 1
r_SSAO_blur = 4
r_SSAO_blurriness = 1
r_SSAO_darkening = 0.35
r_SSAO_quality = 2
r_SSAO_radius = 1.6

;[~]OBJECT-QUALITY SETTINGS[~]

e_view_dist_custom_ratio = 150
r_distant_rain =1
e_obj_quality = 4
e_proc_vegetation = 1
ca_useDecals = 1
e_decals = 1
e_decals_allow_game_decals = 1
e_decals_life_time_scale = 2
e_lod_ratio = 6           
e_lod_min = 0
e_lods=1
e_view_dist_ratio_detail = 80
e_view_dist_ratio_vegetation = 50
e_vegetation_min_size = 1
i_rejecteffects = 1
e_vegetation_bending = 2
sys_flash_curve_tess_error = 4
e_view_dist_ratio = 65
e_max_view_dst_spec_lerp = 1
e_vegetation_sprites_distance_custom_ratio_min = 1.1
e_vegetation_sprites_distance_ratio = 1.6
e_detail_materials_view_dist_z = 256
es_DebrisLifetimeScale = 1
e_cbuffer_resolution = 256
e_dissolve = 1
ca_DrawFaceAttachments = 1
ca_AttachmentCullingRation = 200

;[~]GAME EFFECTS SETTINGS[~]

i_lighteffects = 1
i_lighteffectShadows=3
g_ragdollMinTime = 15.0
g_ragdollUnseenTime = 2
g_ragdollDistance = 35.0
g_battleDust_enable = 1

;[~]PARTICLE SETTINGS[~]

e_particles_quality = 4
e_particles_lod = 1
e_particles_lights = 1
e_particles_receive_shadows = 0
r_UseSoftParticles = 1
e_water_ocean_soft_particles = 1
e_particles_object_collisions = 1
e_particles_max_emitter_draw_screen = 32
r_UseParticlesRefraction = 1

;[~]PHYSICS SETTINGS[~]

e_cull_veg_activation = 50
g_joint_breaking = 1
g_tree_cut_reuse_dist = 0
p_max_MC_iters = 5000     
e_phys_foliage = 2
e_vegetation_wind = 1
es_MaxPhysDist = 150
es_MaxPhysDistInvisible = 15
e_phys_ocean_cell = .5
e_foliage_wind_activation_dist = 25
g_breakage_particles_limit = 150
v_vehicle_quality = 4
p_max_substeps_large_group = 5
p_num_bodies_large_group = 100
p_max_object_splashes=3
p_splash_dist0=7
p_splash_dist1=30
p_splash_force0=10
p_splash_force1=100
p_splash_vel0=4.5
p_splash_vel1=10


;[~]POST PROCESSING EFFECTS SETTINGS[~]

r_PostProcessEffects = 1
r_MotionBlur = 1
r_Flares = 1
r_Coronas = 1
r_UseEdgeAA = 2
r_sunshafts = 1
r_colorgrading = 1
r_WaterGodRays = 1
r_DepthOfField = 1
g_Dof_Ironsight = 1

;[~]SHADER QUALITY SETTINGS[~]

q_ShaderGeneral = 3
q_ShaderMetal = 3
q_ShaderGlass = 3
q_ShaderVegetation = 3
q_ShaderIce = 3
q_ShaderTerrain = 3
q_ShaderShadow = 2
q_ShaderFX = 3
q_ShaderPostProcess = 3
q_ShaderHDR = 3
q_ShaderSky = 3
q_Renderer = 3
r_LightsSinglePass = 0

;[~]SPECIFIC SHADER SETTINGS[~]

e_sky_type = 1
e_sky_update_rate = 1
r_DetailTextures = 1
r_DetailNumLayers = 2
r_DetailDistance = 10
e_ram_maps = 1
e_vegetation_use_terrain_color = 1
e_max_entity_lights = 11
r_UsePom = 0
r_EnvTexUpdateInterval = 0.01
r_TexturesFilteringQuality = 0
r_HairSortingQuality = 1
r_FillLights = 14
e_particles_lights = 1

;[~]SHADOW SETTINGS[~]

e_gsm_cache = 1
e_shadows = 1          
r_ShadowJittering = 1.5
e_shadows_max_texture_size = 1024
e_shadows_cast_view_dist_ratio = .8
e_shadows_on_alpha_blended = 1
e_shadows_from_terrain_in_all_lods = 0
e_gsm_lods_num = 6
e_gsm_range = 4
e_gsm_range_step = 2
r_ShadowBlur = 0
e_shadows_clouds = 1
e_gsm_cache_lod_offset=2 (<--- change this to speed up global shadow refresh...at this rate it is not noticeable except in rare instances (such as helicopter casting shadow)...fps hit is about 10% per level in maxed out and shadow heavy scenes... 3 is pretty much perfect, but 2 gives noticeable fps boost)

;[~]SOUND SETTINGS[~]

s_FormatSampleRate=48000
s_CacheSize=80
s_MPEGDecoders=32
s_Obstruction=1
s_ObstructionAccuracy=1
s_ObstructionUpdate=0.1
s_SoundMoodsDSP=1
s_VariationLimiter=1.0
s_ReverbType=2

;[~]TEXTURE SETTINGS[~]

sys_LowSpecPak=0
r_TexSkyResolution=0
r_ImposterRatio=1
r_EnvCMResolution=2
r_EnvTexResolution=3
r_DynTexMaxSize=80
r_TexAtlasSize=2048
r_DynTexAtlasCloudsMaxSize=32
r_DynTexAtlasSpritesMaxSize=32
r_VegetationSpritesTexRes=64
sys_flash_edgeaa=1

;[~]VOLUMETRIC EFFECTS SETTINGS[~]

r_Beams = 3
r_BeamsDistFactor = 0.05
r_BeamsMaxSlices = 160
e_Clouds = 1
r_CloudsUpdateAlways = 0

;[~]OCEAN/WATER SETTINGS[~]

r_WaterRefractions=1
r_WaterReflections=1
r_WaterUpdateFactor=0.01
e_water_tesselation_amount=10
e_water_tesselation_swath_width=10
r_WaterUpdateDistance=0.2
r_WaterCaustics=1
r_WaterReflectionsQuality=3
e_water_ocean_fft=1
q_ShaderWater=3
r_WaterReflectionsMinVisiblePixelsUpdate = 0.05

;[~]FOR HIGH-DETAIL ON MOUNTAINS[~]*KEY*=Important

e_terrain_normal_map = 1
e_terrain_lod_ratio = 1
e_terrain_texture_lod_ratio = 1
e_detail_materials_view_dist_xy = 4096
r_TexturesStreaming = 0

make sure you enable 4x AF in the control panel of you 275. Each additional AF layer is costing you about 5-7%, which to me isn't worth it.

Oh, and make sure you run the game in DX9 (forget if this config specifies that). If it doesn't, create a shortcut, right click on it, and add "-dx9" minus the quotes, after D:\Games\Crysis\Bin32\Crysis.exe or whatever it says in your target box.

[BelligerentBill]

Hey thanks man, I'll give this a try next time I fire up some Crysis (installed, but currently farting around alot with Win7 RTM=less gaming time).

[Apheleon]

perhaps you could get a dual-core CPU to run games...
E8400 4G is better than your q6600 3.2G

Originally Posted by Apheleon

perhaps you could get a dual-core CPU to run games...
E8400 4G is better than your q6600 3.2G

Worst advice ever. Please don't do that. I'm not a fan of horizontal upgrades, but spending money for a decrease of performance is

[Toss3]

Originally Posted by pakotlar

Worst advice ever. Please don't do that. I'm not a fan of horizontal upgrades, but spending money for a decrease of performance is

+1

I'm waiting for the 5870 myself before I upgrade. Upgrading is much more fun when you skip one generation.^^