2 Sapphire X850XT's PCI-E starting at $133AR @ egg

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

Originally posted by: Budarow
Anyone on the fence better jump in cause the only 1 left is the OEM Mine is on the truck and should be delivered by tomorrow

Didn't it say ETA on the cheap one was 3/10 or something? The rebate is good until the end of the month.

Just cause there's an ETA doesn't mean the price won't change when it's back in stock. Could be cheaper or more expensive on 3/10.

 

[probzy]

Nice post OP!

 

[Phew]

My retail x850xt showed up today, and everything is as advertised (brand new in retail box), although the $160 AR version I bought has no software or anything. I'm glad I got in on this deal! There is no better performance-to-price card available right.

Does this mean the X1900XT will be $160 after rebate in a year? I hope so.

 

[rox1co]

edit: LMAO!!! i ownd myself, i shall not edit my post so ya'll can laugh at me

to be honest, i've never filled out a rebate - lol

i'm reading, must write newegg.com, promotion code and its item number on the envelope

i can get the 1st and 3rd, but how do i attain the promotion code? or does anyone know?

 

[BPB]

I've got a nice quiet system to put this in. Just how loud is this hing, will the system still be quiet?

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: BPB
I've got a nice quiet system to put this in. Just how loud is this hing, will the system still be quiet?

It sort of demands on your definition of quiet. Right when my PC starts up the fan seems to run at 100% for a few seconds. It is loud as hell and sounds like a vaccume cleaner. I run it at 40% once I get into windows and it seems fine. However, my PC was hardly quiet before this arrived.

If you're looking for a quiet card, this probably isn't it unless you want to spring for an aftermarket cooler as well.

 

[BPB]

Thanks. I'm thinking I'll pass and save up for an X1800XL AIW. I can't believe how much the price has dropped on them. Almost down to $300 AR.

 

[Phew]

At lower fan speeds (<30%), its pretty quiet. 30% will provide enough cooling to keep the card from melting at stock speeds. I set the fan on 40%, where it is definitely audible, but not annoying. Any higher than 50% and it's ear-piercing.

At 40% fan, I can maintain an 8% overclock on the core and memory and the temps stay just below 70C on load. If you buy this card, definitely use ATI Tray Tools or another program to regulate the fan speed; the stock fan settings are screwed up and keep the fan running at like 15% until the card bursts into flames, then it turns the fan on 100%. The switching between almost off and full blast is extremely annoying.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: Phew
At lower fan speeds (<30%), its pretty quiet. 30% will provide enough cooling to keep the card from melting at stock speeds. I set the fan on 40%, where it is definitely audible, but not annoying. Any higher than 50% and it's ear-piercing.

At 40% fan, I can maintain an 8% overclock on the core and memory and the temps stay just below 70C on load. If you buy this card, definitely use ATI Tray Tools or another program to regulate the fan speed; the stock fan settings are screwed up and keep the fan running at like 15% until the card bursts into flames, then it turns the fan on 100%. The switching between almost off and full blast is extremely annoying.

Does ATI Tool Trays and/or other similar types of progies load with each startup of Windows and constantly regulates the fan speed per my initial setting (i.e., I don't want to mess with fan speeds every time I turn on my PC)?

Thanks,

Bud

 

[iamwiz82]

I jumped in for a SR-RD last week. Should be here today IMHO, the extra $4 for the two games was worth it.

 

[BPB]

Originally posted by: Phew
At lower fan speeds (<30%), its pretty quiet. 30% will provide enough cooling to keep the card from melting at stock speeds. I set the fan on 40%, where it is definitely audible, but not annoying. Any higher than 50% and it's ear-piercing.

At 40% fan, I can maintain an 8% overclock on the core and memory and the temps stay just below 70C on load. If you buy this card, definitely use ATI Tray Tools or another program to regulate the fan speed; the stock fan settings are screwed up and keep the fan running at like 15% until the card bursts into flames, then it turns the fan on 100%. The switching between almost off and full blast is extremely annoying.

Thanks. Now I'm back to considering this one. Gotta make up my mind soon, don't think they'll last long.

 

[Phew]

Originally posted by: Budarow
Does ATI Tool Trays and/or other similar types of progies load with each startup of Windows and constantly regulates the fan speed per my initial setting (i.e., I don't want to mess with fan speeds every time I turn on my PC)?

Yes, ATI Tray Tools loads with Windows and lets you load a 'profile' at launch with every setting you can think of (fan speeds, Direct3D/OpenGL settings, overclocking, etc). You can either set the fan to always run at a single speed (like I did), or set up a shedule of fan speed versus temperature, which some people may prefer.

 

[Jaguarfxf]

If I buy this card and get an AMD 3700+ will I be able to run all games on MAX settings?

 

[Powermoloch]

Originally posted by: Jaguarfxf
If I buy this card and get an AMD 3700+ will I be able to run all games on MAX settings?

yeah on most games, depends on the kind of gameplay ur lookin' for. I have a x850xt agp w/ a sempy 3100+. It works well on 1280x1024 max settings on the most games I play (especially B&W2).

 

[bunnyfubbles]

Wow, this is really tempting, I was just going to buy a cheaper PCI-e card for a system I'm throwing together with spare parts, but I'd just move my X800XL down to that and upgrade with this. Or better yet I could probably sell my X800Xl to pretty much offset the cost. However I don't really see the performance advantage being all that great, and then there is that noise factor.

 

[OCedHrt]

Price drops and new inventory!

 

[BPB]

Oh well, didn't see retails in stock, but for a few $ more you get the same thing. The card with the games is OOS again. I ordered the OEM. Here's to hoping my system stays quiet, or at least relatively quiet. Now to download ATI Tools.

EDIT: Only the $175 retail is left in stock. I got the OEM just before it went OOS.

 

[BPB]

The OEM no longer appears at Newegg.

 

[pctwo]

it looks like the fan bracket and the card is one piece, so I don't know how you can put an aftermarket HSF on that thing. it's a no go for me then

 

[Phew]

Originally posted by: pctwo
it looks like the fan bracket and the card is one piece, so I don't know how you can put an aftermarket HSF on that thing. it's a no go for me then

? The ATI Silencer 5 Rev 2. works fine. It's like any other video card, simply remove some screws to take the whole HSF off.

To the person debating whether to upgrade from an x800xl, I did this very upgrade for a net cost of $28 AR/shipping. I got a 32% increase in 3DMark05 (5300->7000), and Far Cry now stays at 60fps (vsync) at 1600x1200 4AA/8AF with most setting at max. With the x800xl, I had to play at 1280x960 to maintain 60fps. Not to mention my case temps went down, since the dual-slot x850xt exhausts hot air outside the case, whereas the x800xl convects heat into the case.

If you were on the fence about upgrading your video card, hop on this deal! This is a high-end card at a budget price.

 

[Teetu]

i'm thinking about upgrading from an x800 xl too. I know I will be paying very little to upgrade, but it seems like I will be getting an increase of ~10fps in most games. Does that seem correct?

 

[Phew]

Originally posted by: Teetu
i'm thinking about upgrading from an x800 xl too. I know I will be paying very little to upgrade, but it seems like I will be getting an increase of ~10fps in most games. Does that seem correct?

Your fps should increase 30% stock vs. stock, and more like 35% overclocked vs. overclocked, since the XT overclocks slightly better than the XL. So in games where you got 30 fps with the XL, you should get 40+ fps with the XT.

However, if you use vsync (a must to avoid tearing), the differences are more dramatic. With vsync+triple buffering in most modern games on a LCD, you are always at 30, 45, or 60 fps. So in a scene where you would get 44 fps without vsync+triple buffering, you would get 30 fps once you turn vsync+triple buffering on. If you can increase your fps from 44 to 60+, you will get 60 fps once you turn vync on. So a 32% increase in 'native' fps (from 44 to 60) turns into a 100% increase in fps with vsync on (from 30 to 60). This is the issue I was facing in games, and upgrading from the XL to the XT effectively gave me a 100% increase in minimum fps for many games.

If you aren't bothered by tearing when vsync is off, then this upgrade may not be worth it for you.

 

[imported_Builder]

What makes more sense for me, one of these X850XT's or an X1600XT? I don't as a rule play games that need the latest and greatest, my latest game is LOTR: Battle for Middle-earth II. I may someday down the road use HDTV out though.

 

[OCedHrt]

Both retails are in stock for me as of this moment. Maybe they are blinking in and out. BTW, $6 drop on the one without games.

 

[Powermoloch]

Originally posted by: Builder
What makes more sense for me, one of these X850XT's or an X1600XT? I don't as a rule play games that need the latest and greatest, my latest game is LOTR: Battle for Middle-earth II. I may someday down the road use HDTV out though.

the x850xt will blow the 1600xt out of the water. Trust me