1900xt HDCP?? or wait??

[dagabs]

Ive been looking at these forums for years, but never took the time to register and contribute. That I'am sorry. Basically the advice Ive seen in this forum made my decision to get Asus v9999 6800GT 128Mb back at the end of 2004. It was a good decision back then considering it was 100 bucks (Australian) cheaper then a real GT.

Since time has gone I'm upto the stage of getting a new video card, preferably ATI. Reason behind the ATI decision (please dont flame me for this) because from research:

1. Nvidia purevideo was broken on the 6800's (plus you have to pay for the decoder, no biggy cause at least you get the option. But I had no option).

2. HDR + AA

3. I read somewhere recently that x800 has improved signifacantly throughout the years with new drivers compared to the 6800 which barely improved from late 60 drivers till now.

4. Trying something new.

5. Ati's Triple Buffer, which apperantly works on DirectX more than Nvidia (please correct me on this). Cause I hate tearing and I need V-sync.

6. AVIVO is very attractive. I like my HD content.

Now for the questions.

1. How those the V-sync work on an ATI card compared to Nvidia. Those it stutter when jumping from 60fps to 30fps with or without Triple Buffering?

2. Is there or are there any 1900xt coming out with DVI with HDCP? Apperantly there ready but not implemented as a HDCP chip with keys have to be installed on the cards.

Some may say wait for DX10 cards, but I reckon you could give it a good year and a bit for good DX10 cards. Plus Vista may be delayed from January to March 2007. Then again I could possibly wait till the new Intel conroes come out, as I would need a new Motherboard for PCI-E.

So what do you guys n girls reckon? Thanks for your advice in advance.

 

[josh6079]

1) Depends on the game and the amount of video ram you have. Tripple buffering can actually worsen your performance with certain settings under certain titles. For the most part though, it helps.

2) Sorry, I don't know much about this.

Also, it's DOES, not THOSE when asking a question.

Conroe looks really nice, but you'll have to buy another mb and ram with it. So you're looking at new mb, cpu, ddr2 ram, and a gpu if you're wanting to make a nice switch to conroe. Granted, it would be worth it but it all depends on the amount your wanting to spend and what your wanting to do.

Try giving us some specifics. If you've been observing these forums for as long as you say you have, you should know that we really can't give you good advice until you tell us what you really want to do with your system. Until then it's just vague advice.

 

[dagabs]

Thanks for the reply josh.

LOL wasnt concentrating on the THOSE DOES bit. hehe.

OK to be specific I want games to run above 60fp@1280x800 or 1440x900 with 4XAA 8XAF and HDR. Also want HDCP for future HD-DVD movies in the future. Then again I would need a HDCP LCD in the near future.

Its a little fustrating. Probably I need to know when Conroe, HD-DVD/Blu-Ray drives, and High End GPU's with HDCP are coming out.

Senarios

1. Buy 1900xt + PCI-E Motherboard AND wait a year for new DX10 GPU + Conroe + Intel Motherboard + DDR2 + Vista
2. Buy 1800xt + PCI-E Motherboard (save $200au) AND wait a year for new DX10 GPU + Conroe + Intel Motherboard + DDR2 + Vista
3. Wait till Conroe comes out + Intel Motherboard + 2Gig DDR2RAM + Hopefully HDCP compliant 1900xt
4. Or wait alltogether for DX10 GPU + Conroe + Intel Motherboard + 2Gig DDR2RAM

 

[dagabs]

ooo jsut read in another thread that there are 512mb 7900gt, which there are for the same price for an 1800xt. mmmmmmmmm intriging. Now what?

 

[TanisHalfElven]

dude get a x1900xt and a X2 now. don't wait. conroe isn't gonna significantly improve your gaming cuz the bottle neck will the video cards. alsodon;t wait for vista. it'll be 2 years atleast before ture DX10 games start coming and even then a x1900xt will hold its own against them.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

the experts at the HDMI/HDCP Forum cant make up their blasted minds.
Just wait for HDMI v 1.4 to screw all the people with v1.3 devices.

 

[dagabs]

Ive done alot of thinking, and the result is:

Given up on HDCP.
Do just a GPU and PCI-E motherboard upgrade, and wait a year for full upgrade (Conroe/AMD + Vista + HDCP Monitor + HD-DVD player + DX10 GPU + DDR2RAM). By then most of these things would have matured .

Now its 1900xt ($720) or 1800xt ($500)? and what good overclockable motherboard should I get?

P.S. I'm not planning to crossfire.