X1900GT vs. X1800GTO vs. ~$250

[FlyPenFly]

Want to spend about $250 or a bit more. Will be used with an Athlon 64 X2 4600+ and 2gigs of ram.

The motherboard has not been picked yet either though. I realize the 7900GT is a popular choice but it seems to be a big hit or miss with those cards...

Something to keep in mind, a puny 300 watt SFX PSU will be powering everything because that's the only one that fits in the Ahanix DVine 5 case.

Any recommendations for the budget?

 

[coldpower27]

Do keep in mind the X1800 GTO consumes as much power as the 7900 GT, with the X1900 GT consuming more obviously due to higher memory clocks and more functionality on the die.

Though for those X1900 GT is the no brainer, more pixel shading power and higher clocks on both core and memory.

 

[Tyrant222]

take a look at the saphire x1800xt for 249+ 6 bucks shipping on the egg. OOS right now though. its part number 100154L. also has a 30 dollar rebate, so only 219 after rebate + shipping.

its a tough call between the x1800xt and the 7900gt. if i had the extra 50 bucks i would have went with the x1800xt 512mb because my moniters native res is 1680x1050

i really discounted the x1900gt because the x1800xt was just performing much better in games right now.

if I had the 369 or whatever the x1900xt would be in my hands right now.

 

[LW07]

I would get the X1800XT 256mb for that price. Performs the best of all cards at that point. Like you said, the 7900GTs are hit-and-miss.

 

[akshayt]

Radeon 1800XT may be better for most/some games aleast
don't even think of a 1800GTO

 

[FlyPenFly]

Ah ok, so is X1800XT 512mb Better than a X1900GT? I thought the 1900GT had a plethora of pixel units so in the future it should leap frog the X1800XT right?

 

[ronnn]

Originally posted by: FlyPenFly
Ah ok, so is X1800XT 512mb Better than a X1900GT? I thought the 1900GT had a plethora of pixel units so in the future it should leap frog the X1800XT right?

I have a x1900gt and works fine, but the x1800xt has more memory and wins most bench marks. In the future they will both be slow............

 

[akshayt]

256mb X1800XT may win many times over a 1900GT
if you can get 512mb then don't even think of a 1900GT, rather choose between 512mb X1800XT and X1900XT if 1800xt 512mb is in your budget.
1900XT comes at >380$

 

[otispunkmeyer]

what about the X1800GTO^2 thats coming out? thats pretty much an XT....its got the full 16pipes open

 

[BFG10K]

Ah ok, so is X1800XT 512mb Better than a X1900GT?

Yes.

I thought the 1900GT had a plethora of pixel units so in the future it should leap frog the X1800XT right?

It's possible but based on the crippled pipelines and VRAM bandwidth it's unlikely this will happen.

To give you some idea here are some nice benchmarks.

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: BFG10K

Ah ok, so is X1800XT 512mb Better than a X1900GT?

Yes.

I thought the 1900GT had a plethora of pixel units so in the future it should leap frog the X1800XT right?

It's possible but based on the crippled pipelines and VRAM bandwidth it's unlikely this will happen.

To give you some idea here are some nice benchmarks.

Nice benches, but I hate the physical size of thes cards...

Its one of the reasons I actually like the ATI x8xx cards, so much power in a little package, and the same goes for the 66/7600 cards from nvidia. These big monsters make for creative HD placement, etc.

Make sure you physically have room for the cards you are looking at since you are going to be using a smaller case, OP (right?).

Nat

 

[acegazda]

Originally posted by: Tyrant222
its a tough call between the x1800xt and the 7900gt. if i had the extra 50 bucks i would have went with the x1800xt 512mb because my moniters native res is 1680x1050

Does 512mb of video mem improve quality at that resolution? I'm planning on a x1800xt and a viewsonic vx2025 20.1" widescreen.
I would get the 256 mb version of the x1800xt but also get a vf900 hsf to go with it if you overclock. Lesser heatsinks have had difficulty with this card.

 

[blckgrffn]

Originally posted by: acegazda

Originally posted by: Tyrant222
its a tough call between the x1800xt and the 7900gt. if i had the extra 50 bucks i would have went with the x1800xt 512mb because my moniters native res is 1680x1050

Does 512mb of video mem improve quality at that resolution? I'm planning on a x1800xt and a viewsonic vx2025 20.1" widescreen.
I would get the 256 mb version of the x1800xt but also get a vf900 hsf to go with it if you overclock. Lesser heatsinks have had difficulty with this card.

512 is just needed to run the really high resolutions with AA on your type of monitor. If I were you and going to drop that much money, I would spend the money from the heatsink on a 512 card and pick up the HS in a little bit.

Nat

 

[akshayt]

512mb may also be needed as res as low as 10X7 or 12X10 in games like SS2(max settings), Quale 4(ultra

 

[acegazda]

ok, i can deal with that.