G-7900 vs G-8900 comparison

frenk · Dec 15, 2012

I've never paid much attention to G-Shocks, but lately they caught my attention and I'm more and more intrigued.
The G-7900 and G-8900 looks like the best candidates for my needs. I love the G-8900-1ER's yellow face but I keep reading rave reviews of the G-7900-1. There aren't many detailed reviews of the 8900, though (or I haven't searched enough).

Does anybody own both? How do they compare?
In particular I'm interested in things like easiness of operation with gloves, alarm loudness, general features, etc.

Any input is appreciated!

lvt · Dec 15, 2012

I think the 7900 is a safe bet.

You could add a 8900 later.

cal..45 · Dec 15, 2012

I absolutely love my two G-7900's and consider them the best two G's in my collection. I don't have any experience with a G-8900 but according to the specs it seems a decent, well build G-Shock as well. However there are some significant points which clearly sepereate the two models. The alarm options are better on the G-7900 and it also shows at least the current time in countdown mode. The G-8900 doesn't seem to show current time in any mode but its countdown timer can be set to the second while the G-7900 can only to the minute. The G-8900 is illuminated by two led's ( 3 and 9 o'clock) while the G-7900 is el-backlight illuminated. The G-7900 runs on a CR2025 (170mah) while the G-8900 runs on a CR2016 (90mah). But since led illumination requires significant less power, both watches are likely to reach about the same battery life. Both battery types are 3volt Lithium and will cause no problems or fails for many years (you can usually double, tripple or even quadruple Casio battery life specs).

All in all it really comes down to personal preference of style, wearing comfort (excellent on the G-7900) and usefulness of features. In my opinion you can't go wrong with either one.

cheers

showtime240 · Dec 15, 2012

The 7900 was my first g shock, and it is an all rounder, however when I got it the 8900 were not released yet...
IMO, the 8900 is more current, looks cleaner, and i love the light button like the 6900...

Sedi · Dec 15, 2012

One disadvantage of the G-8900 - it has no snooze alarm. The G-7900 has one of the loudest alarms compared to most other Gs and it lasts a full 20 sec - so if alarm is important I think you can't beat the G-7900.

cheers, Sedi

GregoryD · Dec 15, 2012

I've tried both the 7900 and 8900, and you can't go wrong with either. If you have a small wrist one thing to consider is that the 8900 might wear larger, while the 7900 fits more snugly due to the tabs on the underside, and makes it very comfortable.

frenk · Dec 16, 2012

Lots of interesting points, thanks everybody!

Is there an actual difference between LED and EL backlight, or it's mainly about power consumption?
Also, the 7900 is listed as low-temperature resistant (-20C/-4F). How low can other non-low temp. rated modules go before the screen starts "ghosting"?

TedDotCom · Dec 16, 2012

I really like the big digits and the new high-intensity LED's of the G-8900's.

I love the comfort, looks, and size of the G-7900's.

I own two G-8900's and four G-7900's...not counting the two solar GR-7900's and two solar atomic GW-7900's.

I guess now you know what my choice is. ;-)

cal..45 · Dec 16, 2012

Frenk,

the el-backlight is a very smooth and even way to make glow the entire display. The led illumination have naturally the "hotspot" where the emitter(s) is/are located but judging from pictures I have seen, the GR-8900 has a good and almost el-backlight like illumination, if I remember correctly, member "Johnny Bravus" even misjudged his G-8900 for an el-backlight once. The big difference is really the amount of power which is required and the intense of brightness. (led is brighter but drains less power).

cheers

G-7900 vs G-8900 comparison

frenk

lvt

cal..45

showtime240

Sedi

GregoryD

frenk

TedDotCom

cal..45

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