Rebelranger Posted July 5, 2006 With the HIS cards cooling is not a problem... At least for me and the many I've spoken to in other forums... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jm76 Posted July 5, 2006 The max resolution on the HIS is lower than the Sapphire and that is something that I need to concern myself with since if everything works out correctly in the next few months I'll be looking into a large widescreen monitor and I wanted to leave my options open (if I can swing it I might get either a Mac or Dell 30"). At the same time or shortly after the monitor purchase I will also be building a new system in which I'll run crossfire. Jim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robc1880 Posted July 5, 2006 You really can't go wrong with the HIS cards. They are very strong cards and as far as I know the resolution shouldn't be different because it's the same chip, they just dress up their cards with nice coolers. It's too bad that Hercules doesn't make cards for ATI anymore because they were the best. The next runner up is HIS and then probably Sapphire. **EDIT** forgot to mention that a while back I had heard that HIS puts better memory chips on their cards, so this could mean better overclocks for you. I don't know if they still do it, but I haven't heard anything different. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rebelranger Posted July 5, 2006 Also look at the XTX by HIS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Vikodemous Posted July 5, 2006 If you have never had an ATI card be prepared some games will look and play different. I'm a COD2 junkie, When I got my x1800xt/512(old card was a 7800gt) I could not belive how different the game play was compared to Nvidia. So I went back to Nvidia for it's familiararity. First I got a Evga 7900gt KO 550/1500. It lasted 2 days then artifacts from over heating. RMA'd for a refund. Second I got a XFX 7900gt 520/1500. It lasted 3 days then again artifacting from heat. RMA'd for a refund. Third I got a LeadTek 7900gt 470/1380. Well guess what, it was refurbished with a different Heatsink/Fan and had a Locked BIOS. I could not Over or Under Clock it. Hmmmm RMA'd That for a refund. Finally Picked up a Evga 7900gt KO SC 580/1580. Here I am 2 weeks later GFX card is running fine. Was it Worth it? Yes it was.... 24 pixel pipelines and SLI made up my mind. But hay what do I know :angel: On a side Note I have 2 friends who both have new 7950's. They run great but very Hot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest nibs Posted July 5, 2006 If you go with the HIS card you might want to replace your chipset cooler from the stock one if you haven't already. I know that the AC Silencer 5 has a similar ehaust design and my chipset temps at idle actually went up about 3C after installiation because there is now less airflow to that area of the board. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jm76 Posted July 5, 2006 Thanks for all the input everyone... I decided to go with this Sapphire X1900XT -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102025 And this for cooling -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102025 The HIS with the upgraded cooling is out of stock at the egg and I'm still not clear if its max resolution was the same as the Sapphire since several places have its max resolution printed as less. Again, thanks for all the inputs...Now I'm just anxious to get this thing into my system. Jim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Robc1880 Posted July 5, 2006 Congrats on that nice card. It will be a compliment on your system, let us know how it works out for you. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jm76 Posted July 6, 2006 Well, I'll admit to havning no patience... Just got the card in today (overnight from newegg) and been playing with it -- boy is this thing big (almost doesn't clear my SATA ports) and it runs much hotter than the 7600GT that was in before, but games sure look nicer. Now I just need to read up on overclocking. I've tried to get the temperatures to display with MBM5 but they only display intermittently and usually it's only the Enviroment temp that displays. Also with ATItool if I make even a very small change to my clock speed I black screen but the comp keeps running -- so I really need to read. Jim Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
S7A88Y Posted July 6, 2006 Getting a sapphire is a bad mistake, most of the cards have a terrible OC rate, Sapphire has the worst customer support ever (none at all) and I find that they use budget parts that are often defective. This is true for all the motherboards and most of the cards. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
red930 Posted July 6, 2006 Well, I'll admit to havning no patience... Just got the card in today (overnight from newegg) and been playing with it -- boy is this thing big (almost doesn't clear my SATA ports) and it runs much hotter than the 7600GT that was in before, but games sure look nicer. Now I just need to read up on overclocking. I've tried to get the temperatures to display with MBM5 but they only display intermittently and usually it's only the Enviroment temp that displays. Also with ATItool if I make even a very small change to my clock speed I black screen but the comp keeps running -- so I really need to read. Jim Careful which version of Ati Tool you use, some older ones floating around that don't work well with newer cards. Also you should consider using the Omega drivers instead of the Ati drivers, they tend to work better. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Praz Posted July 6, 2006 jm76 For your viewing pleasure. Two must read articles for x1900 series cards. ATI X1900 Series Overclocking Guide ATI Catalyst Tweak Guide Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
