7900gtx

kookooshortman55

New Member
My friend just got a 9800GX2 and is replacing his 7900GTX. I have another friend who is looking for a video card and currently has an 8400GS. Three questions. Please answer any if you can.

1. What video card compares to the performance of the 7900GTX? Even an 8 series card, I just don't know how this one performs.

2. Is there any direct disadvantage of it only being DirectX9 compatible? Will it still be able to play current games in DX9 mode?

3. What are the power supply recommendations. I've been looking online for reviews of this card and I couldn't find any of the info. Since it's an old card, many of the reviews compared this card to other old cards.

Thanks in advance!
 
1. Not positive on this but I think you could compare the 7900 GTX with an 8600 GT.

2. Well games that support DX10 will typically run better and look better than DX9. BUT there isn't any game that needs DX10 at this point.

3. There's a thread on here somewhere that lists power recommendations for different cards. But because the search function is crawling slow on this forum I couldn't find it.
 
Nah, the 7600GT is almost on par with the 8600GT so I'm sure the 7900GTX performs along the lines of a 9600GT/8800GS. Of course is hard to compare because they are separated by DirectX, the 7 series uses DX9 while the 8 series uses DX10. So in short, the 7900GTX will blow DX9 games out of the water way better than a 8600GT.
 
Oh yeah nevermind about that power recommendation question. Haha I actually posted on that thread not too long ago. Well thanks for the info! Any idea on how much this card would be worth?
 
  1. Agreed with ramodkk (suprisingly lol)
  2. No disadvantage presently. In the future, limitations will be placed such as games requiring minimum of dx10. And to tknick90, show me a game that runs "better"under dx10. lol
  3. You need a minimum of 28A on the 12V rail. That means remove 12V+1 from the equation, (as it is dedicated to the CPU under ATX design standards), and make sure you have at least 28A on the others. Also, high efficiency 80% plus and PFC.

The only other factor here, is that 8 + series cards or better can use CUDA, which allows physX to be computed on the gpu. The 7 series cannot. If your mate decides to take the 7 series card, tell him to keep the 8 sereis card and use it as a PPU via CUDA potentially in another PCIe slot..
 
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I'm pretty sure you need 28A on the total 12V rails. My 8800GT recommends like a 450W I think, with 26A on the 12V rail. But almost every power supply that I've looked at in the 500W-600W range has 16A-18A amps on 2 12V rails. I highly doubt a single card, the 8800GT at like 105W max draw would suck 26A. Just saying . . . but I will look into the CUDA advice. Thanks!
 
That is because you look at shit PSU's. Put it this way, if it only has 18A on the 12V rail that means it can only deliver 216W on the 12V rail total out of what 550?, SHIT!

You need to start looking at quality psu's such as corsair. Even their 450W model has 33A on the 12Vrail.

You need a quality psu and you need to start loooking here http://www.corsairmemory.com/products/vx.aspx rather than bloody Diewill, sorry Rosewill.
 
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Lol?

I'm not buying a new PSU because apparently every PSU except Corsair is made out of $h!t. I'm just telling you that you don't need 28A on 1 rail. I said my PSU has 16A on each rail. About 200W for the processor and 200W for the video card. I would think that's plenty enough.
 
...
3. What are the power supply recommendations. I've been looking online for reviews of this card and I couldn't find any of the info. Since it's an old card, many of the reviews compared this card to other old cards.

Thats funny, you asked for the power requirements, i gave them to you , and you argue. Suit yourself. The age makes little difference, as a rule of thumb, PCIe cards require 26A on the 12V rail. With 7 series cards like that one, and newer high end cards, i would always suggest going for 28A. I suggest 28A because with correct PSU derating, in 2 years you will still have a stable system that can still be upgraded. That will provide you with up to 336W minimum for your whole system, minus the CPU (where most things are now on the 12V rail).

... 8800GT recommends like a 450W I think, with 26A on the 12V rail. But almost every power supply that I've looked at in the 500W-600W range has 16A-18A amps on 2 12V rails...

But why do i bother, you don't even follow your own advice. A 500 - 600W with only 16 - 18A on 2 x 12 V rails is a POS, no question, that was point.

And btw, your PSU is shit, it has 2 x 16A 12V rails, the first one is for the CPU, leaving only 16A for the rest of your system, including the gpu. Also, see that W/O PFC on the label, that's bad, that means your psu doesn''t have power factor correction.

View attachment 2654

Currently, your system is already overloaded, and I will bet you that you will start having stability issues soon.
 
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Okay . . . I didn't say you have to love my power supply, my PSU is nowhere in the question. I just don't understand your math.

Max power draw for 8800GT = 105W

105W/12V = 8.75A

I have 16A "dedicated to the GPU" and I'm using 8.75.
Max power draw for AMD 5200+, 89W

89W/12V = 7.4A

I have 30A max on the 12V rails.

The 8800GT requires 26A on the 12V rail. Mine has 30. I understand it only pulls from one rail but at max power draw it pulls 9A out of one 16A rail. I'm following my own advice, and my system hasn't exploded yet. You know I have 2 rails right? I would agree 16A total is a total POS. But I have 30A, about 15A for each rail, the processor only uses half of one, the GPU only uses about half of another.
 
We have had this discussion before, but we can again.

Under ATX design standards, the 12V+1 rail is DEDICATED to the CPU, meaning any unused amperage potential, cannot, repeat, cannot be used elsewhere. It is effectively trapped, as your PSU is not a "true"multirail design. A true multi rail design can be found in the Corsair 1000W where it is made of 2 x 500W PSU transformers.

That means, that even though your CPU uses only 7.4A of the total available on that rail (16A) and therefore, the remaining 8.6A is unusable (16A - 7.4A = 8.6A). That also means that only 16A is available on the second rail for the rest of your system.

And... btw... systems rarely explode as you say, what they will do is shutdown during gaming, bsod's, overheat, cost a lot to run etc, eventually you can though get system damage...

This is why quality PSU's are moving away from the "multi" rail design marketing gimmick towards solid single rail designs. Basically with higher end gear now requiring more current than a 12VAC rail can provide safely under ATX design standards, a single rail is better by far.

Consider the 450W Corsair unit now. It has 33A on a single highly efficient 12V rail. You would be able to use ALL of that rail without any issue.
 
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Okay well now I know we both know I have 2 rails. Haha.
Btw this is completely off topic so I don't know we have to have this conversation. Haha I didn't mention power supply in my question and you're attacking my power supply again. Just don't buy my power supply then? haha.

Please if there's something wrong with my PSU I will post it in the PSU section and then you can yell at me some more. I happy with mine, if I have a question about PSU's you can jump all over that question.
 
Sorry, i don't mean to "yell"at you mate. I simply gave you the power requirements of the card, where you then bought up your psu.
 
Ha okay whatever. Yes I've had this same lecture before. I didn't say this power supply is the best you can get, but I don't believe it is near a "POS" either. That wasn't in the product description. Buying a new PSU is out of the question right now so I don't need convincing, again. I'm done with this thread, thanks for everyone's help.
 
  1. Agreed with ramodkk (suprisingly lol)
  2. No disadvantage presently. In the future, limitations will be placed such as games requiring minimum of dx10. And to tknick90, show me a game that runs "better"under dx10. lol


  1. -Crysis
    -Company of Heroes
    -Bioshock

    Just to name a few, fact of the matter is DX10 is newer than DX9 and many games look much better/run better. Crysis is proven to run better on systems running Windows Vista.
 
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