dphu2

My video card died over the weekend. So I"ve got to get a new one pronto. Timing doesn't seem all that great with dx10 around the corner. Prices will probably be coming down on the top card over the next 12 months or so. But I can't wait so please give me some input.

Budget: I need to keep it $100 - $150. I've been pouring over forums and I've narrowed it down to the 7900gs, X1950 PRO, or the X1950 XT. Tom's Hardware says the X1950 Pro and X1950XT are the cards to get, but Fry's currently has the BFG 7900gs with a factory overclock for $100 after $50 MIR, So that's where I'm leaning at the moment. I'm not an overclocker, so I won't need to take oc capabilities into consideration.

Here are a few questions:

1. A 100 bucks for a BFG 7900gs oc. Is that a good enough price to to make me buy it over a X1950 Pro?
2. I currently have a PNY 6800GT from a few years ago. At the time I purchased it, it was somewhat top of the line. Will a 7900gs outperform this card? Will it be substantial?
3. I read somewhere that new dx10 games will also require Vista. Is this true? Will I be able to play dx10 games with a dx9 card and XP (just at lower settings)?
4. I have an Antec 2.0 400w PSU. Will that be sufficient for any/all of these cards? I don't know what Mobo I have, but I've got a Athlon 64 3400+ proc, 1gb RAM, 750gb seagate 7200.10 (IDE), a 500gb seagate 7200.10 (SATA), a DVD/CD Burner, and Floppy.
5. Lastly, I tend to do more graphics oriented stuff than gaming (Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Illustrator, etc). Would that affect your advice to me?

Any input on any of these points will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

skidude

I say get the X1950XT, its the most powerful card out of the ones you listed. If you want a DX10 card get a 2600XT or an 8600GT

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150229
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161175

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kobaj

1. I would stick with nvidia myself, although the x1950 is better if Im not mistaken.
2. Yes, it most definitely will.
3. No, you HAVE to have vista in order to play dx10 games. You also have to have a dx10 card to play dx10 games. All the cards you listed do NOT support dx10.
4. Depends on the amps on the rails, but it should be.
5. Some what, depends on who you ask.

I wish people would be more organized like you, so easy to answer questions. If you want dx10 why dont you get a cheaper card like another 6800 and use it for a year, then get an expensive and powerful dx10.1 card.

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1) DX10 capatible cards are now available for a little more then $100 depending if you intend to stay with NVidia or ATI. The 8600 and 8800 lines are the high price tickets while ATI models by MSI and Asus so far seen round from $50 upto $167 with the RX2400s, RX2600s seen at newegg.

2) The difference between the old card and a newer 7900 series card would be noticed. Again for the price you may want to look over the DX10 capatible models.

3) DX10 is included in Vista right from the start. It's no longer an optional download as seen in the earlier versions of Windows there. DX9 goes right on Vista since Direct X is simply set of 3d rendering drivers. Many games don't even require Direct X to begin with while some will see a DX9 installer used just to get a game like Fear installed. As long as drivers are available for the make and model card installed in order to run Vista DX10 will still run on a DX9 card. Vista is already multibooted with XP here on a Radeon X1300 Pro 256mb DX9 card. Games that mandate DX10 will be games that wouldn't be capatable for XP to begin with will take a few years to go there like 98 game are gone now.

4) The low end Antec model there probably still has a 20pin not 20+4pin power connector. If so that will need replacement preferrably with a newer and larger Antec or going for a heftier make depending on budget there. I am currently runng 4 hard drives, 2 ide -2 sata and two optical drives first with an Antec TP2 480w now TP2 550w with the new build seeing an OCZ GameXStream 700w model to cover future expansion.

5) ATI is known for seeing better image quality over NVidia cards which have been geared more as performance intended(gaming in mind). For $5 more less $10 rebate you can go for a slightly faster RX2600XT Diamond model NOW SEEN at newegg finally over the model just ordered here with only a 1400mhz memory clock at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127305 This one sees a 2300mhz memory clock like the other $165 model.

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hermeslyre

The Alky project is working on a Dx10 solution for Windows Xp. They already have a working Alpha out.

If you don't plan to do much Dx10 gaming then i vote 1950xt. Very good card.

If you do plan to play Dx10 games then save up for one, like Kobaj recommended.

None of these gaming cards show preference for the graphical tasks you have in mind. Obviously the more powerful card will produce better results, but if you're looking primarily for a workstation card then a FX would be best, though they have no gaming ptential whatsoever.

diduknowthat

Any workstation card that'll really help you are WAY out of your budget.

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dphu2

Wow. I really appreciate the input so far. After carefully reading through the posts, I've learned that dx10 games will only really be playable on Vista (apart from the Alky project mentioned by hermeslyre). And honestly, I think that it'll be at least a year or so before I dive into Vista - at which point I'll probably start from the ground up with all new components. So here are my conclusions so far. Feel free to chime in if I'm wrong of if you've got any other advice.

1. No Vista for me for at least a year, so a dx10 card will be for another time, another build.
2. Therefore I need to go after the best dx9 card within my current budget of $100 - $150 for an XP system.
3. skidude suggests the x1950xt. Newegg has a few listed. There's the SAPPHIRE 100186L Radeon X1950XT for $167 and the GECUBE HX195XTGA3-D3 (R) Radeon X1950XT for $256. I'd be curious to know why there's almost $100 difference in price? Also interesting to note: The Sapphire has 294 customer reviews while the Gecube has 4.
4. kobaj says he'd stick with Nvidia (I assume he's referring to the 7900gs?) - which I can pick up for $100 after rebate currently at fry's.

So is the Sapphire X1950xt worth the extra 67 bucks over the BFG 7900gs oc?

Thanks again

I don't know that I agree. I'm not a hard core graphic artist or anything. I would like to think that either the x1950xt or the 7900gs will be an improvement over my 6800gt? Wouldn't you agree?

skidude

Get this X1950XT:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102067

The reason that the GeCube one is more expensive is because it is overclocked, but the OC amount isn't worth all that extra money. The Sapphire card is a great deal for what you get.

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Hard Drives- 3x 160GB 7200RPM / 2x 320GB 5400RPM (RAID 0)
Mobo- Gigabyte GA-M61P-S3 Socket AM2 Motherboard / Sager NP9262

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hermeslyre

The difference in price is purely business. Gecubes obviously hoping they'll rope some unsuspecting sap in, but according to the infinitesimal amount of reviews, looks like they failed.

Sapphire is one of the best ATI OEM brands. Much recommended. I think the 1950xt is worth the extra $67 bucks.. Plus the 7900gs' price tag relies on a MIR, which are hardly guaranteed.

INTELCRAZY

No 8600GT, the 2600XT beats it, although, I too, like kobaj, would stick with Nvidia....