Sapphire x850xt...any good?

Pck21

Pck21

New Member
r3dh3adkid said:
I have this card and be warned...the stock fan is loud.....when running at 100% is really loud. I just crank up the volume in games and it masks it. I cannot sleep with my comp on because of the video card :-/. The rest of my system is silent except for the card.

Runs hot from time to time.


Overall its a very good card except for the noice.
Click to expand...

Really? So would you recommend like putting on a different fan or cooler? I've heard of this problem with this particular card from others as well.

As far as performance, how would you rate it on a scale of 10? Do you believe that the price tag is worth it?
 
Pck21

Pck21

New Member
maroon1 said:
I recommend one of these cards

Geforce 7600GT KO

Geforce 7900GT KO

Geforce 7900GT KO Superclocked
Click to expand...

It's funny that you mention these 3 cards because I have been looking them for about a month now.The 7600gt only has 12 pixel pipelines so I'm not so sure about that one. The 7900gt was going to be my choice but the price tag is a little high for me right now. I mean I could get it but then I couldn't Madden, the hockey games I want, etc.

But thanks for the suggestions! You're certainly on the right track. Are there any other cards, with at lease 16 pipelines or more, that you could recommend?
 
Pck21

Pck21

New Member
ceewi1 said:
Cheaper after the MIR. With the regular X850XT at $89.99 (AFTER MIR), having only 20/60 lower clocks, the PE isn't looking like such an attractive option.


hehe, that sale's dragged on for a while!


My point was that these cards were never designed to compete directly. Regardless of what you paid for it, it doesn't make for a fair comparison.

Frankly, I don't think that X850XT PEs are worth the money these days. Either save a little money with the regular X850XT (you'll probably have trouble telling the difference between the regular XT and the PE), or spend a little more on an X1800XT ($199.99), or X1900XT.
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Now I've been looking at the x1800xt and x1900xt a little closer and I'm not sure about the specs. It says 16 pipelines but 48 pixelshaders? What's the difference? And what is the performance on these things? Are they going to last me a long time or am I going to end up shelling out more money in 6 months for another card?
 
R

r3dh3adkid

New Member
Pck21 said:
Really? So would you recommend like putting on a different fan or cooler? I've heard of this problem with this particular card from others as well.

As far as performance, how would you rate it on a scale of 10? Do you believe that the price tag is worth it?
Click to expand...

ARCTIC COOLING AVC-AT5 Rev. 2 72mm Ceramic High Performance VGA Cooler for ATi - Retail - $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186129


If you add that there should be NO problems with cooling at all. I myself have not tested it with that VGA cooler because I plan to buy one of the R600s when they come out and give this to my girlfriend so i dont want to spend the money. I've read PLENTY of other reviews that have said this solves the cooling problem so i am comfortable saying it will solve it.


As for rating this card I dont really know how to do that because this is my first system build and my first video card so I dont really have much to compare it to.

i get 6090 on 3dmark05 with my system

System is:
AMD 3200+ Venice @ 2.3GHz
2x512 OCZ (forgot the timings)
Sapphire Radeon x850XT
Asus A8N-E Mobo
 
Pck21

Pck21

New Member
r3dh3adkid said:
ARCTIC COOLING AVC-AT5 Rev. 2 72mm Ceramic High Performance VGA Cooler for ATi - Retail - $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186129


If you add that there should be NO problems with cooling at all. I myself have not tested it with that VGA cooler because I plan to buy one of the R600s when they come out and give this to my girlfriend so i dont want to spend the money. I've read PLENTY of other reviews that have said this solves the cooling problem so i am comfortable saying it will solve it.


As for rating this card I dont really know how to do that because this is my first system build and my first video card so I dont really have much to compare it to.

i get 6090 on 3dmark05 with my system

System is:
AMD 3200+ Venice @ 2.3GHz
2x512 OCZ (forgot the timings)
Sapphire Radeon x850XT
Asus A8N-E Mobo
Click to expand...


Is 6090 a good score? I'm so sorry I'm not really very good with video cards. I swear they are the only component of the computer that confuse the hell out of me :p
 
Dr Studly

Dr Studly

banned
Motoxrdude said:
Heh, and you where also refering the effective memory speed of the x1900xt:p . THe x850xt has an effective memory speed of 1080 btw.
Click to expand...

yea we are comparing 1.45GHz to 1.08GHz
not 1.45GHz to .52GHz
lol

Edit: for your info, in gameplay/performance, the x850xt has better performance then the 7600GT... the only thing the 7600GT has more is newer features that people only fool around with when they are bored... ;)
 
ceewi1

ceewi1

VIP Member
Pck21 said:
Now I've been looking at the x1800xt and x1900xt a little closer and I'm not sure about the specs. It says 16 pipelines but 48 pixelshaders? What's the difference?
Click to expand...

Basically, a traditional pipeline has consisted of a pixel shader processor, a Texture Mapping Unit (TMU), and a Raster Operator (ROP). This 1:1:1 ratio is often inefficient. With the X1900 series ATi has put 3 pixel shader processors to each pipeline. This is not a true 48-pipe card, since it still has only 16 TMUs and ROPs, but allows for significantly greater performance in shader-centric games without an enormous increase in the complexity (and hence cost) of the chip. The X1800 retains the traditional 1:1:1 ratio, and has 16 shader processors, 16 TMUs and 16 ROPs.

Here's a little more info:
http://www.trustedreviews.com/article.aspx?art=2402
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=3&id=1808

To reiterate what i've been saying on various threads for some time, don't buy a video card based solely on the specifications, instead look to the real world performance. Whether a card has high video memory or more pixel pipelines is far less important than how it will actually perform for you.

Edit: for your info, in gameplay/performance, the x850xt has better performance then the 7600GT... the only thing the 7600GT has more is newer features that people only fool around with when they are bored...
Click to expand...
Not to mention lower power consumption/requirements, as well as cooler and quiter operation.

In general, the 7600GT has a slight performance advantage over the X850XT.
 
maroon1

maroon1

New Member
Pck21 said:
The 7600gt only has 12 pixel pipelines so I'm not so sure about that one.
Click to expand...

Pixel pipelines is not everything. 7600GT has just 12 pipelines, but its core clockspeed is very high.

you can get 7600GT CO for just [FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]$138 after Rebate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130283[/FONT]

And i recommend 7600GT over X850XT, because the[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica] whole X800 [/FONT][FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica]have major openGL problems and shader problems, and also they don't support [/FONT]SM3.0
Also, don't forget that 7600GT consumes less power, and it runs quieter.
 
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Pck21

Pck21

New Member
Oh my god I just ran 3dmark06 and got 1456!! :( Ok I definately need a new card. Should I get the x850xt or save and get the 7900gt? This is just pathetic.
 
Geoff

Geoff

VIP Member
Pck21 said:
Oh my god I just ran 3dmark06 and got 1456!! :( Ok I definately need a new card. Should I get the x850xt or save and get the 7900gt? This is just pathetic.
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A big reason is because you have a single core CPU, which does much worse on the multi-threaded test.

Abd the x850XT would be better performance wise, but since it doesnt support SM3, you wont gain much in 3DMark06.

I would get the 7900GT if you can afford it.
 
Pck21

Pck21

New Member
[-0MEGA-];406905 said:
A big reason is because you have a single core CPU, which does much worse on the multi-threaded test.

Abd the x850XT would be better performance wise, but since it doesnt support SM3, you wont gain much in 3DMark06.

I would get the 7900GT if you can afford it.
Click to expand...

Thanks Omega I think I will. I have to wait for Madden and NHL 07 for the 360 of course before i get it though :p But I think for long term wise I'll get the 7900gt. Is there a particular brand that would be preferred over the others? EVGA, BFG, etc?
 
Dr Studly

Dr Studly

banned
ceewi1 said:
Not to mention lower power consumption/requirements, as well as cooler and quiter operation.

In general, the 7600GT has a slight performance advantage over the X850XT.
Click to expand...

the 7600GT benchmarks less then the x850xt...
the only place that it beats the x850xt is its features... look it up...

and about running quieter, if u get the HIS Hightech x850xt IceQ II (which is only about $10 more) if overclocks FAR better then the 7600GT and is way quietter and cooling effecient...

the only reason the 7600GT is more prefered then the x850xt is simply because it is nVidia...

the x850xt provides alot more muscle in graphics processessing then the 7600GT, just doesn't have the features...

also, the 7600GT is 128-bit, the x850xt is 256-bit...
 
maroon1

maroon1

New Member
Encore4More said:
the 7600GT benchmarks less then the x850xt...
the only place that it beats the x850xt is its features... look it up...

and about running quieter, if u get the HIS Hightech x850xt IceQ II (which is only about $10 more) if overclocks FAR better then the 7600GT and is way quietter and cooling effecient...

the only reason the 7600GT is more prefered then the x850xt is simply because it is nVidia...

the x850xt provides alot more muscle in graphics processessing then the 7600GT, just doesn't have the features...

also, the 7600GT is 128-bit, the x850xt is 256-bit...
Click to expand...


look at these benchmarks 7600GT beats x850xt and x850xt PE
http://www.ixbt.com/video/itogi-video/0706/itogi-video-hl1-wxp-aaa-1280-pcie.html
http://www.ixbt.com/video/itogi-video/0706/itogi-video-cd-wxp-1280-pcie.html

7600GT is faster, has lower power consumption, and does HDR/SM3.0. So, 7600GT is definitely better than x850xt PE

Also, don't forget that the 7600GT that was tested here is slower than the eVGA 7600GT KO
 
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