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Need new video card advice

Raeth

By Raeth
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Raeth Newbie

Raeth

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Hey,

 

So to add to my series of posts about the things I've screwed up, I have now managed to kill my video card and void it's warrenty in the process.

As a result, I need to get a new one, but I don't really feel like spending anohter $300 on a video card, so I need advice on where my step down should take me.

 

I'm a gamer, so usually, I would need a card that can handle all the games I want to play, but lately, I've been busy with other things and my gaming has been very light. Therefore, top of the line might not be neccesary for some months to come, and I'm thinking a lower-end card now might enable me to upgrade later.

 

Right now, I'm considering making a switch over to ATI and getting a Sapphire x1800xt card, but it might be a whole lot easier to just stay with Nvidia and get either an Evga 7600gt co or a 7600gs.

 

The reasons I like the Nvidia option: It's cheaper, and I've been working with an nvidia cards for a while, which would make for an easier transition. Also, I've heard lots of good things about evga customer support.

 

My thoughts on the ATI option: The 1800xt is better than the 7600, but it is also more expensive. I've not had much experience with ATI graphics cards, so I'm kind of wary of doing something stupid in the transition. Also, I don't know anything about Sapphire. How's the customer support and everything?

 

So basically, I want to know whether it's worth it to get an 1800xt over a 7600gs/gtco, especially considering my tight budget. The manufacturer of the card I get is a concern for me as well.

These are just the options I pinpointed quickly looking through newegg. If someone thinks I'm looking in the wrong places, feel free to reccomend something else entirely too.

Thanks.

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dhopper Newbie

dhopper

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You might even consider going for an X1600XT. You can get one for around $150, but like anything else, make sure you read reviews and ask around about the particular one you're looking at.

 

I have seen many people getting above-average results from type of card. They can still play Oblivion, F.E.A.R., BF2, and others with near maxed out settings or even all max with some other good hardware to back it up. This way, you don't spend the $300 like you said, and can save for DX10 or another X1600XT to run in Crossfire. As of this point, I, like some others, don't believe it's worth buying a DX9 card as they will be picky about DX10.

 

After everything is said and done, ultimately the decision is up to you. Just make sure you research what you're buying like you probably have done for every other piece of hardware.

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aherrij Newbie

aherrij

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You might even consider going for an X1600XT. You can get one for around $150, but like anything else, make sure you read reviews and ask around about the particular one you're looking at.

 

I have seen many people getting above-average results from type of card. They can still play Oblivion, F.E.A.R., BF2, and others with near maxed out settings or even all max with some other good hardware to back it up. This way, you don't spend the $300 like you said, and can save for DX10 or another X1600XT to run in Crossfire. As of this point, I, like some others, don't believe it's worth buying a DX9 card as they will be picky about DX10.

 

After everything is said and done, ultimately the decision is up to you. Just make sure you research what you're buying like you probably have done for every other piece of hardware.

 

Yeah, I second that - kind of. I don't see much of an advantage otherwise unless running in crossfire.

 

I think the only advantages the 1600 has vs. the 7900 are price and shader model 3.0...maybe DX 9.0c vs. 9.0b? The core clock and mem clock are a bit higher, but only 12 pixel pipelines vs. the 7900 w/ 24. The memory interface is also only 128bit on the 1600.

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ciberfog Newbie

ciberfog

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Right now, I'm considering making a switch over to ATI and getting a Sapphire x1800xt card,

My thoughts on the ATI option: The 1800xt is better than the 7600, but it is also more expensive. I've not had much experience with ATI graphics cards, so I'm kind of wary of doing something stupid in the transition. Also, I don't know anything about Sapphire. How's the customer support and everything?

 

The x1800 is a great card, and Sapphire have a good customer support, if u can spend a little more money go for it, other way the x1600 or the 7600 is a good option. with some luck u can get a 7900 gt for 200 dollars in ebay.

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JimJones586 Newbie

JimJones586

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The x1800xt is currently the best buy in terms of GPUs at the moment in my opinion. The Sapphire OEM version is $239, or you can even pick up the Sapphire retail version for $249 ($219 after MIR). I really would not recommend buying a card with a 128-bit memory interface nowadays if you like any sort of higher resolutions or detail settings turned up in today's games.

 

Linkage:

 

OEM ($239): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102007

 

Retail ($219 w/ MIR): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102698

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calvintang Newbie

calvintang

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heres a yardstick

my x700 pro can handle all the games (right throught oblivion!)

at high settings

without the advance like 'fsaa '

the only down side i could think of is that i need 1 more gig of ram to play oblivion smoothly

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watsonte Newbie

watsonte

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Just a side note, X1900GTs and those cards below are rumored to be crossfire compatible through software here shortly, there is a post about it, so you may be able to get something like an X1900GT, and a crossfire board down the road and then another X1900GT and run crossfire without all the master card BS.

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Raeth Newbie

Raeth

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Hey everyone,

 

Thanks for all the replies.

 

In response to the last two posts - I'm not really sure why you are reccomending that I buy crossfire-compatible cards. I only have an Ultra-D mobo, so crossfire isn't going to help me, unless I upgrade my entire system, which I wasn't really planning on doing any time very soon.

 

If I were to go for a 1600xt or 7600gt...I originally mentioned the 7600gt becuase I had thought it performed better than the 1600....but perhaps I only thought that becuase people tend to lump together the 1600pro and 1600xt?

 

I'm really torn right now. My tight budget tells me to go easy on it and get the 7600 or 1600, but I dunno, it's only about $50-70 more for an 1800, which I suppose isn't *that* much more for a good jump in performance.

 

If anyone has any last words, let me know soon. I need to order this today. At this rate, I'll have to pick eeny-meenie-minie-moe style.

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watsonte Newbie

watsonte

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Well the only reason I was recommending the x1900GT was because its a good price for a card that is better than 7600 or x1800, and it is in my opinion a good choice for the future.

 

If you are leaning towards an 1800 Series card, thats what I would go for, even if you dont play games much now wait until you do, its really frustrating to go from seeing all the eye-candy, to struggling to see whats infront of you in game....

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