What video card runs smooth at 2560x1600

[Solotak]

I'm going to be buying a 30" HP LP3065 lcd with native 2560x1600 resolution. Since my x1950pro doesn't have dual link dvi-d connections i'll be forced to upgrade, plus it wasn't doing that well with 1680x1050 in tf2 (around 40fps).

Current specs:

E4300 (stock speeds)
x1950pro
Gigabyte 965P-DS3
Crucial Ballistix 2x1gb 5300 (333mhz)
PSU: Corsair HX620

All i really want to play is tf2 at native 2560 plus cod4 and maybe GTA4 if that is not really graphic hungry. So i'll need dual dvi-d that will run smoothly with some graphics features on (aa/af). So i could wait til g200/4870 comes out and take advantage of the price drops of the current models like 9800gx2. I mean tf2 is the only game i'll be regularly playing, what other games can be capable of running smoothly at native 2560 for my prospective video card? Would a 8800gts be fine for now? And will it be necessary to upgrade any other hardware? What is the advantage for having more memory on a video card and where will you see those benefits?

Also, I will only have to connect one dvi-d cable to the monitor right?

Cheers

 

[natty1]

if you wanna buy now the best option would be a used 8800 ULTRA

second best option would prolly be an 8800 GTX

 

[Skunkwourk]

Just curious what are you currently using? Im thinking of getting a 19" widescreen LCD, but dont know how well the x1950 will play TF2 at 1440x900

 

[undeclared]

my 8600 GT runs TF2 at 1600x1200 @ 100 hz with 16x AF and 4x AA no problem.. you won't need much for TF2.

But the rest, you'd need power.

 

[Solotak]

I see, so something like GTA4 will require something like a 9800gx2?

Originally posted by: m0mentary
Just curious what are you currently using? Im thinking of getting a 19" widescreen LCD, but dont know how well the x1950 will play TF2 at 1440x900

I wrote the specs on my post (x1950pro sapphire). It will run fine on the resolution you want to run. Or were you asking about what monitor? Sony G520 trinitron.

 

[Skunkwourk]

Originally posted by: Solotak
I see, so something like GTA4 will require something like a 9800gx2?

Originally posted by: m0mentary
Just curious what are you currently using? Im thinking of getting a 19" widescreen LCD, but dont know how well the x1950 will play TF2 at 1440x900

I wrote the specs on my post (x1950pro sapphire). It will run fine on the resolution you want to run. Or were you asking about what monitor? Sony G520 trinitron.

I meant your monitor, Im debating if I should bother with a agp 3850 if I decide to buy the 19" LCD.

 

[nccr]

I forget my exact settings at 2560x1600 but I think they are max AF, highest quality textures, and no AA. I'm running an e6400@3.1 with an overclocked 8800gs, and I get generally 60+fps (some dips to the 40s with a lot of action). TF2 doesn't require a beast to max out. I can even run UT3 @ 2560x1600 with highest quality textures smoothly.

 

[Dman877]

Originally posted by: m0mentary
Just curious what are you currently using? Im thinking of getting a 19" widescreen LCD, but dont know how well the x1950 will play TF2 at 1440x900

I play TF2 on a 19inch widescreen with an X800 and it runs like a champ. A 1950 shouldn't have a problem.

 

[DratHome]

Originally posted by: natty1
if you wanna buy now the best option would be a used 8800 ULTRA

second best option would prolly be an 8800 GTX

I agree, if he is buying now. That extra vmem will come in use often.

As an example, CoD4 maxed out with 4xAA at 2304x1440 was showing 730mb of video mem usage in rivatuner. Framerate is fine, just nasty stuttering when the AA is on. TF2 at the same resolution with 8xAA is no problem.

I have a 512mb 8800GT.

 

[jkresh]

if g200 actually makes it July date then buying any evga card now would make sense (as you could just trade up in July) but if its gets pushed back a few months then that wont work (also if the 4870 is a much better buy then...) I am looking to go to a 30" soon (either the 3008wfp or the xhd3000 and my 7800gtx is in need of an upgrade but I am hoping to wait till the new cards are out)

 

[Lithan]

TF2 is halflife 2 engine. Which isn't taxing at all these days.
9600gt should max it even at that reso no problem. @ 1680x1050 max settings I believe I was sitting at the fps cap 24/7, and had lots of room to spare on top of it. But @ that reso, unless you play nothing other than tf2, you oughta look at an 8800gts with prices where they are right now.

For COD4... now that's a little more intensive from reviews I've seen. GTS CAN run it at that reso (hell 9600gt maybe can at low/med settings), but I dont think any single gpu solution can max it.

 

[DerComissar]

If you can add a few more bucks, the GX2 is the best card available right now. Prices have dropped a bit on them, and as was suggested, an EVGA or BFG card has the step-up option if Nvidia releases the 9900 within 90 days.

 

[ShawnD1]

X-bit did some benchmarks in that resolution range. link

To get an acceptable frame rate for any game in the future, you'll need some kind of 8800 SLI, 9600 SLI, 9800 GX2, or 3870 X2. I would probably get a 9800 GX2, which will cost about $500 or more

The alternative is to run at a lower resolution and save literally hundreds of dollars. As long as you run the games in fullscreen, you can use whatever resolution you want, but be sure to set the drivers to maintain the native aspect ratio and put black bars on the sides of the screen to fill the space. Nvidia drivers do that, and I assume ATI has a similar feature.

 

[Solotak]

I see, i thought you could only run native resolution of 2560 since the LP3065 doesn't have a scaler. And i read scaling with software doesn't look nice =

9800gx2 looks nice but i can hold til june if price will drop for the new video card lineup, which i assume it will. Can i just add the 9800gx2 and somehow pair that up with a different model card supporting the same pairing protocol? I'm just skeptical of sli saving money since there will be a new card that will most likely outperform 2x old gen high end cards, for a lesser price.

What i'm saying is, sure i could get a 9800gx2 for $500 now, and maybe later on when it's around $200 i could do sli! But by then a single card that would cost something like $600-700 will have more memory, more clock speeds, less power. I'm not sure but i see SLI to be more of a waste of money rather than simply upgrading to a new gen card.