campfire_2

Have bought board that has crossfire suport . Although at present I have no desire for multi-V cards , feel I might get an ATI card "just in case" ... so , not being familuar with ATI , what is a comparable ATI card to say a 7600gt , 7800 or 7900 pci-e 16 series Nvidia . Do understand this is a "Ford vs. Chevy" "intel vs ADM" kind of flame starter , but how about a few helpful links before the granade throwing begins . TIA ...

SafeFromSites

ATI x1900 series would be about the same. Personally I like the visual quality of ATI better than Nvdia, but that is not a absolute statement, it largely depends who made the card. ATI use to almost exclusively make all their cards, so they had better QC , Nvidia uses partners to make theres. Ford engines generally have more torque, but wind up slower than Chevy, this is because they have a longer stroke. and Intel chips generally do less per cycle than AMD but do more cycles per sec.

pharoah

you could wait a bit for the ati dx10 cards to hit the market.

campfire_2

Should have put into the post about budget constraints . cost will be a factor , is why I listed a few of the lower Nvidia cards as examples . Will study model listed by previous poster .

Would like the new dx10 series , but speaking from ignorance , would imagine a new series will come at a premium .

A helpful mod in motherboards had a link that gave a wonderful unbias look at the "pro's vs con's" of motherboards which led to my current choice ... anything like that known for the video card realm ? like frames per second , pipe lines , colors and such (or other useful criteria for educated choice) ???

TheMatt

An X1650XT is a little more than a 7600GT, but is a better card. And the same is true with the X1950XT, it is better than the 7900GTX. What is your budget?

campfire_2

would like to keep it under $ 150

TheMatt

Check this out.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102068

campfire_2

cool , thanks for taking the time to send link ... is that a reputable brand "SAPPHIRE" ? have never heard of them before ... have heard of Diamond before . Is there a manafacture of ATI cards that should be avoided ?

SafeFromSites

the 1650, although having a lower model number than the 1900, is actually a newer card, and is faster. I run a 1650 on one of my own machines, its a very nice card. Saphire and Diamond have been around for ever. Saphire has a better working relationship with ATI/AMD so I would go with them. Not saying its better, but thats what I would do.

campfire_2

thanks , thats helpful info ...

Doby

http://www.playtool.com/pages/home/index.html

Lots of good reading

campfire_2

A common trick is to sell a video card with 512 MB which really can only effectively use 128 MB. People who don't know any better end up buying these "sucker" cards because the only number they understand is the amount of RAM and they think lots of RAM must mean extra speed. Be sure to avoid these cards. And if you ever meet one of the marketing weasles who decided to sell this kind of card, be sure to punch 'em!


lots of good info ! I ll need to re-read part about gpu speed in relation to ram size again , seems to be good stuff too . thxQUOTE=Doby;780974] http://www.playtool.com/pages/home/index.html

Lots of good reading THX

TheMatt

Sapphire is one of the best ATI video card makers IMO. They are right up there with Powercolor and ATI. And yes, do not get the 512 MB version, because the card can't use it all, and it has slower memory as a result.

ebackhus

I've owned and used plenty of Sapphire and PowerColor cards and they have earned my respect. I personally use nVidia in my PCs because I like matching their great mainboard chipsets with their video chips. Again, that's all personal preference. I have nothing personal against ATi, I just don't use them right now. :)

Rough comparison...

X1300 - 6600
X16xx - 7600
X1950 - 7900

One important thing to mind is that only the X-series from ATi support ShaderModel 3.0, while nVidia chips since the 6xxx series have had it. nVidia's 8800 chips are also the first to support DirectX 10.

campfire_2

Very cool ... thanks for the input . was happy to be getting an additional $20 off from newegg for their shipping screw-up , so will be waiting to do some serious "cherry picking" , as in waiting till a slightly higher-end card hits a sale price , then add my additional twenty off , and will end up with a little bit better card that i would have bought on my origional budget . Keep the advice rolling in guys , I am taking it to heart , and looking the examples over throughly ... what I really hate about my current Nvidia card , IS THE FRIGGIN NOISE !!! is a noisy little bastardo .

With all the case fans/cpu fan , I ve got a mini wind-tunnel going on , but all I can hear is this tiny flippin V/C fan ! so , what I want is a card that can push a game like BATTLEFIELD 2142 without frying my box , and not "overly" noisy ... is there such an animal out there ?

campfire_2

Hey Guys ...

Been doing my homework on this topic , and after a little surfing , stumbled onto this , and seeing how this is a topic that is brought up in many forms on this part of the forum , thought I'd post it , and let others have a great comparison tool to use during decision making process .

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/...ney/page2.html

ebackhus

My 6800 sounded like a twin-prop until I oiled up the fans. Now it's barely a whisper@

TheMatt

Nice article, although they should have included the X850XT PE, which is about as good as a 7800GT. Also, the 7600GS isn't the best value for under $100, since you can get a 7600GT or an X1600XT for under that price now.

campfire_2

Have a few questions on each , but off the top of my head , I would be concerned with the card that didnt have a fan ... and another card that claims to have 24 pipelines (can that be right ?) I do kinda like the card link sent by a mod , but its out of stock till the 9th , so will wait if that card can fill my overall needs . Not building a 100% comited gamer box , I will want to play some , but this in my mind will be able to do both business apps , as well as provide a little escapeism when time permits

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814102034

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814102060

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814102068

http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16814102077

Guess this whole process has taken a good bit of time to play out , so a little more patients and research / advice from members will only be to my benifit

TheMatt

The X1950GT is a nice card. And yes, the X1650XT does have 24 pipelines, that is what sets it apart from the X1600XT. Generally, passive cooling should be avoided when possible IMO, having a fan (depending on the card) usually doesn't add too much more noise with the case and heatsink fans already going, and will be much more effective at cooling.