nvidia 5900... ultra, nu, or se?

[stampede]

i've seen a good number of posts about the 5900, enough to convince me to get it for my next card, but price for performance, which version? and do you y'all have preferences for the manufacturer?

 

[ErikS]

I'd vote for the 5900 as being the best value. Default speeds are 400/800(ish). This generally means 2.2ns ram & that the card will hit Ultra or greater speeds. At present the 256mb of RAM doesn't really get you anything.

The BFG 5900 is tough to beat at around $175.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: ErikS
I'd vote for the 5900 as being the best value. Default speeds are 400/800(ish). This generally means 2.2ns ram & that the card will hit Ultra or greater speeds. At present the 256mb of RAM doesn't really get you anything.

The BFG 5900 is tough to beat at around $175.

what he said, and yes, 256 ram is worthless.

 

[stampede]

quote: "The BFG 5900 is tough to beat at around $175"

sounds good, which site are you looking at?

 

[VIAN]

I'd take the 5900 default clock speeds of 400/800, pay attention to this cause some companies ship them slower. It's about 200 bucks. I like eVGA and BFG Tech. 256MB isn't worthless, but it's not what you're looking for if price/performance is your area.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: VIAN
I'd take the 5900 default clock speeds of 400/800, pay attention to this cause some companies ship them slower. It's about 200 bucks. I like eVGA and BFG Tech. 256MB isn't worthless, but it's not what you're looking for if price/performance is your area.

yeah, its worthless.

"but but....down the road 256 megs will be needed!"

down the road these cards will be obsolete. just becuase you have it does NOT mean its the best.

 

[Pete]

Default 5900 clocks are 400/850, AFAIK. 5900U 450/850, and 5900SE/XT 400/700.

Unless these ultra-cheap 5900s are shipping with slower than spec memory?

 

[ErikS]

There are some general 5900 ratings, but they differ by company -

5900XT/SE - Usually runs 400/700 (2.8ns RAM)..BUT...RAM timings are more agressive to compensate

5900nu - Can run from 400/700 to 400/805 depending on manufacturer. As a rule 800 means 2.2ns RAM & lower means 2.8ns RAM.

5900 U - 256Mb & 450/900 clock, 2.2ns RAM

5950 - 256Mb & 475/950 clock 2.2ns RAM

As a rule if you see a 5900nu w/ an 800 (or higher) RAM clock you'll be getting 2.2ns RAM & this card will most likely hit Ultra or better speeds. If you see a 700mhz rating chances are that you won't get as high an OC on the RAM, the CORE will still clock as high as any other (luck of the draw, mine won't go above 465 on stock cooling).

NewEgg is out of the BFG 5900's but here's the link - BFG 5900

I've heard of a place called GameVE (??) that is selling it for $161 - but I know nothing about them.

 

[stampede]

on newegg the price diff between the bfg card, and other cards is $40+ , is this indicative of the manufacturer shipping a slower clock speed? or is the bfg card the best deal?

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: Pete
Default 5900 clocks are 400/850, AFAIK. 5900U 450/850, and 5900SE/XT 400/700.

Unless these ultra-cheap 5900s are shipping with slower than spec memory?

some of the se's ship with 390/700, and there may be some variance on the 5900nu. if you look at newegg, they have the core and memory speed listed in the card specs.

the bfg 5900nu i received has 2.2ns ram and was set at 400/850 by default, and is running @ 475/950.

Originally posted by: ErikS

NewEgg is out of the BFG 5900's but here's the link - BFG 5900

I've heard of a place called GameVE (??) that is selling it for $161 - but I know nothing about them.

gameve has some up and down rating on resellerratings.com, but since newegg didn't even list the card on their site last week (they do now but are OOS), i ordered from them. ordered the part on monday and rec'd on wednesday, so i didn't experience any problems.

seems what gives them their low ratings is rma/tech support. fortunately, i didn't need it, and as an aside bfg has 24/7 toll free techsupport and a lifetime warranty anyways.

Originally posted by: stampede
on newegg the price diff between the bfg card, and other cards is $40+ , is this indicative of the manufacturer shipping a slower clock speed? or is the bfg card the best deal?

every post i've read on these board from others who bought the bfg received 2.2ns ram.

 

[CaiNaM]

combined to 1 reply above.. dang can't we delete?

 

[ErikS]

To the best of anyone's knowledge the BFG is just one heck of a deal. Check the "post your BFG OC" thread, not too shabby!

BFG OC's

Edit Note: One of the priciples of BFG was a Quake Champion - ya think he doesn't know about gaming?

 

[CaiNaM]

 

[modedepe]

The bfg fx5900 is definitely the best value right now. It's $162 right now, making it cheaper and faster than a 5900se. It's also very close in performance to an ultra.

 

[Ronin]

5900NU, then flash the bios to a 5950. You just spent $200 for a card that's selling for over $400. End of story (the positive results on this bios flash are fairly overwhelming). I did this with my 5900U and it's chugging along nicely, with a higher OC limit than I ever got with it as a 5900.

 

[stampede]

thanks for the info all, ordered it today, eagerly awaiting.....

 

[Blackroot]

Originally posted by: stampede
quote: "The BFG 5900 is tough to beat at around $175"

sounds good, which site are you looking at?

I got the XFX one at that price, and it was a great buy, not on problem yet, i would recomend a 5900