trouble deciding which one

[notanotheracct]

trying to figure out which card to buy is hard since i'm not a heavy gamer, especially not of the latest games, and figuring out benchmarks isn't as helpful when you don't play them. that aside i'd just like to get the best overall bang for my buck and haven't chosen an LCD yet but this NEC 90GX2 is about along the lines of what i'd get.

and the choices:

GECUBE X1950PRO 256MB $136.12

HIS X1950PRO 256MB $140.63

BFG 7950GT 256MB $149

EVGA 7900GS KO 256MB $135.63


considering these prices and the fact i do care about power consumption unless there's a big difference in capability what are your thoughts? i'm also open to other recommendations and thoughts on what prices i might get for used cards, i'd say 149 is my high limit, skys the limit for the other direction

 

[razor2025]

At those prices, Gecube or HIS 1950pro is the way to go. 7900GS overclocks pretty well and comes a bit shy of 7900GT and 1950pro speeds @ when the 7900gs is overclocked, so it's not too bad, but since you can get the 1950pro at less than $10 difference, might as well go ATI.

 

[shadowofthesun]

Well the two 1950 pro's are funcionally the same, so you should choose the one that is cheaper out of the two if you choose that road. In terms of raw speed, the 1950 pro's are probably a bit faster, although I believe it depends on the game played. the X1950 PRO, however, is a bit hot-running and consumes more power than its competitors. The 7950 GT is a bit slower, but also more efficient. However, as you do no play any new games, they are both probably overkill. The 7900GS should perform admirably in any modern games, and overclocks very well. Remember to keep in mind your power supply and the other specifications of your machine; you don't want to have to upgrade multiple components just to reach the full potential of your card.

EDIT: just noticed that the cards are within 10 dollars of each other. If you cannot find a cheaper 7900GS (which you should be able to), then I would buy either the X1950 or the 7950. It really depends on if your power supply is sufficient and how much you care about heat/noise/power draw versus raw speed.

 

[notanotheracct]

alright well a BFG 7900GS OC 256MB is going for about $107 now but i just realized that with video output i could possibly use my PC as a dvd player instead of buying a separate one. i think HDCP is only for blue-ray and hd-dvd right? i'm assuming any modern graphics card should be able to do on-board dvd encoding and all these cards should have no problem outputting to multiple monitors so even with 256mb i should be able to watch a dvd output to a tv while doing something non taxing on the pc screen right?

of all the cards, the gecube x1950 pro is the only card that has svideo output that i'd need while the others all have component video that i can't currently use and probably never would since i'd go to hdmi if i were to upgrade my tv.

and this set of benchmarks posted in another thread have me a bit confused on which cards are better overall, thoughts?

 

[Killrose]

MSI makes a 1950pro with 512mb and a nice 2-slot rear vent cooler for around $160 over at newegg.

edit: out of stock and $169

 

[RussianSensation]

7900GS OC vs. 7950GT vs. X1950Pro

I'd get 7950GT for $10 on top of X1950Pro.

 

[Wreckage]

Originally posted by: notanotheracct
alright well a BFG 7900GS OC 256MB is going for about $107

That's a good price and performs close to the other 2.

 

[notanotheracct]

yea that was the link i saw in another thread. and 512mb doesn't matter much unless you go dual monitor right?

one question i have: for these cards that only have component tv outputs, is it possible to in any way get an s-video cable for them instead?

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: notanotheracct
yea that was the link i saw in another thread. and 512mb doesn't matter much unless you go dual monitor right?

one question i have: for these cards that only have component tv outputs, is it possible to in any way get an s-video cable for them instead?

This one is intended for use with an LCD projecter but should work fine.

Component to S-video adapter


This might also work for you.

VGA to S-Video adapter



Edit: Although the X1950 Pro is the best performer out of the cards you mentioned, its hard to go wrong with a 7900GS for $107 ... thats a great deal!

 

[R3MF]

the 1950 Pro is probably a slightly better piece of hardware, but i would always go for the 7950GT if only because their linux drivers don't suck.