Help Finding GeForce 7900 GTX

[Genesis1]

I know this might be a daunting task, but I'm having some troubles with my 8800 GTS (just some minor driver problems with a few games that haven't been resolved) and I want to see how the 7 Series cards stack up performance-wise. The only problem is, I can't seem to find anything but the 256MB GeForce 7900 GS! nVidia's website only provides links for the GS and all the major sites seem to be out of stock on the more competitive GTX models.

Have they all been bought up, or am I just looking in the wrong places? Basically what I'm after is a 7900 or 7950 card with 512MB of memory.

Thanks for the help in advance.

[MpG]

Odds are that you're going to have to find one used. Since once upon a time, the 7900 was a flagship model, it had a high price point. Once new models overshadowed it, rather than sell it at a low price point, Nvidia basically just stopped making it (They're going to quit making the older 8800 models soon, in fact). I'm a little surprised that lower-end 7-series are still available, but that probably won't be for much longer.

So yeah, start searching the classifieds and Ebay.

[JD]

Seems rather pointless. Buying a slower, older card when you have a 8800GTS?

Perhaps we could help you get said games working on the GTS if you explained a bit more.

[MpG]

Here's an old article by Anandtech from when the 8800 series first came out. Lots of comparisons between the (then-) new 8800 series and the 7900GTX. And this was before a lot of driver optimizations happened for the 8-series.

[Amon]

You're going to have a tough time finding an enthusiast card from a prior generation. Another example is when the X1900/X1950 XTX were phased out relatively quickly after launch and only the X1950 Pro continued to sell anywhere for another year. It's just economics because the manufacturers gain bigger profits and far superior yields on these lower models during and after its life of prime in the market.

[Genesis1]

I see what you mean by the economics of the decision, I kinda guessed that would be the case.

The main trouble I'm having is with Medieval II: Total War. The entire 8 series line can't render the shadows properly and model sprites (mipmaps) look really horrible on the 8 series as well. This is a well documented problem that the Total War gaming community has been following since the game's release and the developers seem to lazy to fix it. Since the shadows in the game's demo are fine and nVidia's patches never resolve anything for the game, I assume it is a game engine problem and will never be addressed.

Another issue I've noted is in Age of Empires III when scrolling over areas of the map for the first time I get lag (choppy scrolling). Others have had this problem with the 8800 GTS also. I have the 320MB version and run the game at 1440X900, would a 512MB solve the problem?

[lcdguy]

it could. But it would also be helpful to know the rest of your computers parts as well. I would not recommend a 7900GTX though i had one way back when they came out and mine broke after running some benchmarks. As a result i went to ATI and haven't had a single problem.

[Genesis1]

Motherboard: EVGA 680i SE
CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 6750 (stock @ 2.66GHz)
GPU: BFG GeForce 8800 GTS 320MB
Memory: OCZ PC6400 DDR2 2X1024MB
Hard Drive: Western Digital 500GB
Case: Antec 900
OS: Windows XP Pro 32bit

No OCing right now, running everything stock. Temps are fine (CPU idles at 27C and gets to 41C under load) all stock cooling on brand new build. Sorry, should have posted this earlier, and yes all drivers are updated to latest versions.

I realise this isn't the Troubleshooting thread, sorry for turning it into that type of question. I know that you guys aren't neccessarily game experts/support people, and I've followed up these problems through the "proper" channels. However, you probably know more about hardware so if you think you have something that may help I'd be greatful.

Basically I was just asking why there weren't any 7900 GTX's for sale, and it looks like their time is over and I'm better off to stick with my current card anyway. Thanks for the help.