The $300 options: X1800XT 512MB, 7900GT 256MB or X1900XT 256MB?

[CaiNaM]

x1800xt plays oblivion well.

mine (running 700mHz/1600mHz) will dip into low 20's in some outdoor areas, but im running HDR/4xAA/16xHQAF on widescreen (1440x900). in game settings all high except grass shadows off.

 

[imported_Crusader]

He said X800XT..

 

[jkyle]

I had the same delima this weekend I was debating between 7900gtx, 7900 gt sli or 1900xt read up, read up some more, read benchmarks reviews yada yada till my head hurt it the end went with x1900xt with an aftermarket cooler already installed off of ebay. The tie breaker at the end was image quality which was number one in my book. ATI has never been lower than first in that. Though I am a bit concerned about the short 1 year warranty It seems I never keep my video card much longer if that long. Fri night it was ATI, Sat was 7900 gtx then possibly 7900gt sli then sun morning buy time it went to ati. I dont think there is a bad card in that list so no worries they all will serve as well and good luck in your decision.

 

[Elfear]

I'd say go for the 512MB X1800XT. Here is a comparson of how much the extra 256MB of ram helps in games. Definetely worth the extra $20-30.

Even though the 7900GT does oc very well, like CaiNaM said, the X1800XT's are no slouch in that department.

 

[firewolfsm]

I would get the 7900GT and volt mod, as that revieqw showed, you don't need to worry about more memory as much for nVidia. If you don't want to OC then the X1800XT 512MB only, the 256 will have trouble keeping up.

As someone else said, most 7900GT are shipping at 550/1600 which is basically a 7800GTX 512 which will pwn any X1800XT (that much OCing can be done on stock cooler if you want)

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: firewolfsm
As someone else said, most 7900GT are shipping at 550/1600 which is basically a 7800GTX 512 which will pwn any X1800XT (that much OCing can be done on stock cooler if you want)

not according to this recent test of a 550mhz GT:

Half life 2
X1800xt and 7900gt scores about equal

Splinter Cell Chaos Theory
7900gt wins in every case except at 4xAA / 8xAF it scores 0 fps.

Quake 4
X1800xt and 7900gt scores about equal

X3
X1800xt and 7900gt scores about equal

Riddick
7900gt wins.

Fear
7900gt wins with no AA / AF
X1800xt and 7900gt scores about equal using 4xAA / 8xAF

NFS most wanted
x1800xt and 7900gt scores are mostly same.

B&W 2
7900gt wins

if you play oblivion, the XT wins those benches (tho they weren't included in this review). to be fair tho, while oblivion is a clear win for XT, if you play flight sims, the GT has a similar advantage...

 

[starwars7]

I would guess that part of the reason that Oblivion gives the 1800XT a win is because Oblivion was designed for the Xbox 360 which has an ATI card in it.

So my guess would be that it is slightly tweeked in favor of ATI since the programmers would have been checking everything to the 360.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: starwars7
I would guess that part of the reason that Oblivion gives the 1800XT a win is because Oblivion was designed for the Xbox 360 which has an ATI card in it.

So my guess would be that it is slightly tweeked in favor of ATI since the programmers would have been checking everything to the 360.

that could be, altho the xb360 gpu is a different architecture from x1800/1900

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: firewolfsm
I would get the 7900GT and volt mod, as that revieqw showed, you don't need to worry about more memory as much for nVidia. If you don't want to OC then the X1800XT 512MB only, the 256 will have trouble keeping up.

As someone else said, most 7900GT are shipping at 550/1600 which is basically a 7800GTX 512 which will pwn any X1800XT (that much OCing can be done on stock cooler if you want)

Well, if you want to take that approach than the 7900GT you're referring to is $70 more than the 512MB X1800XT. And that's the cheapest price I could find for the card in stock. It still has a 200MHz memory clock disadvantage compared to the oced 512MB 7800GTX, so you have to account for a loss in performance.

Here is a good review showing the 512MB 7800GTx, stock 7900GT, and X1800XT. The performance of the 550/1600 7900GT will be somewhere inbetween the 512MB 7800GTX and the 7900GT shown in the article so I don't see much ownage at all if you consider that.

Again, you seem to be forgetting that the X1800XT can also be successfully overclocked and via safer and easier methods. The percentage increase is about the same (average 7900GT=13-18% and average X1800XT=12-16%, assuming you're using the figure of 550/1600 as the base for the 7900GT) and you're paying $70 more for it. Couple that with a lesser feature set and I can't really recommend it over the 512MB X1800XT.

 

[starwars7]

humm, well I can't really argue with that.

Where are the 512MB X1800XT's going for $300? Might be worth a swap

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: starwars7
humm, well I can't really argue with that.

Where are the 512MB X1800XT's going for $300? Might be worth a swap

Here is one of them.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: starwars7
humm, well I can't really argue with that.

Where are the 512MB X1800XT's going for $300? Might be worth a swap

$299 SAPPHIRE 100134 Radeon X1800XT 512MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card - OEM

 

[itsrunninghot]

Originally posted by: Dman877
You'll need a aftermarket cooler for either card since the 7900GT cooler is crappy and the X1800XT cooler is wicked loud.

I put some as5 on my 1800xt when I got it and used ati tool to overclock. Running 1.4v 710/820 and the highest recorded temperature i've had after 4 hours of oblivion was 72.5, I have my fan setting at 50% if above 60 degrees and 60% if above 70 degrees. At these setting I usually never hear the fan except for when it hits 60% which isnt often and is still barely audible over my tri-cool 120mm case fans.

 

[Wag]

Thanks for all the input.

I went for the OEM Saphire 512MB X1800XT.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: Wag
Thanks for all the input.

I went for the OEM Saphire 512MB X1800XT.

let us know how it works out for you

 

[gobucks]

dont know if you can still cancel your order, but if you can, i'd recommend doing so and ordering the sapphire X1800XT retail and using the "iloveati" coupon code from newegg. I just got it for $263 shipped!

 

[delas52]

HOLY MOLY. If this is true I am buying it tonight even though I love my 7800GT

edit:
THANKS DUDE!!!!
YOU ARE CooL


i ORDERED it!!!! I was planning on waiting for R600 but you changed that in 5 minutes flat. Already ordered. woohoo! Hope I don't regret this tomorrow

 

[gobucks]

haha, nothing like impulse buying

at least im sure you can probably get $200 or more for the 7800GT, so you're upgrading quite a bit for $60, which seems reasonable to me.

 

[delas52]

Yes I should be able to get a little more than that no problem which makes this such a sweet deal for me.
Thanks again.