2x X1600 Pro (or XT) in CrossFire vs. X850XT vs. X800GTO2

[Jephph]

I am upgrading a few components in my system, one being the GPU. I will be running most games at 1280x1024 (the native resolution of my recently purchased SyncMaster 940B.) I was wondering which GPU would be the best bang for the buck. 2 X1600 Pros would be about $250, while 2 X1600XTs would be about $300 total. The X850XT and the X800GTO2 both can be had for about $180 to $200. So, my questions are: Do the crossfire setups outperform the singe cards? If so, will the 2 X1600XTs provide a sufficient performance gain to justify its price increase? If not, which would be better, the X850XT or the X800GTO2?

 

[Extelleron]

The X850XT for $160 will destroy X1600XT CF

 

[Jephph]

Hmm. Interesting. Any other opinions? And will it also destroy the X800GTO2?

 

[Crescent13]

The 7800GT is about $260 now... it would pwn all of the ATI cards you listed.

 

[tuteja1986]

7900GT for $299 will pawn 7800GT and beat 7800GTX comes in less than 3 days :!
X1800GTO for $249 will pawn 7800GT and should beat 7800GTX comes less than 15 days :!

 

[v8envy]

An X850XT > X800GTO, the second being an 'X800XL' card if unlocked, and an 'X800/850XT' if unlocked and overclocked.

The 1600XT is certainly not a horrible card, and two of them are exactly half of a X1900XT in terms of number of pipes and shaders. Factor in losses due to crossfire (particularly the 'free' over PCIe bus kind) and clock speed differences and yeah, we're talking X850-ish performance out of two of them, maybe. The X1600Pro is significantly slower than the XT not only on account of a slower core clock but also about half the memory bandwidth.

Wait until the 9th. Price cuts expected on nvidia hardware. If you must buy today, you really can't go that wrong with a $250-ish 7800GT. Who knows, maybe the X1800GTO will also be a price/performance champ. The hotheads have already been milked with the 7800GTX512 and the X1800XT, it's time for some decent mainstream performing cards from the current generation.

 

[Wreckage]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130256

$265AR and it will stomp all of the cards you listed.

Unless you can wait a few weeks and see what the 7900GT/X1800GTO are like, otherwise the 7800GT CO is the best bang for the buck.

 

[Jephph]

Well then. I planned on waiting a couple weeks anyway while I build up some funds. I guess I'll see what you guys say about the new cards at that time. While we're at it, I planned on going with a dual-core 3800+ for my new cpu. That's not going to hinder my gaming at all is it? I could get the single core 3800+ for around the same price, but I do quite a bit of multitasking. Any thoughts?

 

[Bull Dog]

Dual core FTW

 

[Wreckage]

Both ATI and NVIDIA support dual core CPU's in their drivers. So get the dual core.

 

[LW07]

I would get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102642
All in Wonder X1800XL.

Performs on the 7800GT's level, gives better image quality, and has many multimedia features.

 

[Jephph]

lol. We just keep upping and upping the price. I was only going to spend around $200, $250 max. I just put the 2 X1600XTs up there to see how much better they were than the 2 X1600 Pros.

 

[Jephph]

By the way, Extelleron- where did you find the X850XT for $160?
and Bull Dog- Free The Whales?
and LW07- I like your sig.

 

[Wreckage]

How about this?

 

[LW07]

Get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102646
and OC and Unlock the pipes
or if you can't do that, get this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?item=N82E16814131424
It delivers better image quality than nvidia cards and gives you temporal AA.

 

[Jephph]

I like the X800GTO2, but someone said the X850XT was better, and it's nearly the same price:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102505

 

[Jephph]

But, anyway, I decided to wait for the new cards to come out, then we'll see.

 

[SickBeast]

The X1600Pro is junk.

The X850XT is overpriced.

By default you have the X800GTO2.

That doesn't mean it's the best card in your price range.

Do you need AGP? If so, then the 7800 "AGP" card (I forget the real name) is your best bet right now.

Actually, you can get a PCI-E motherboard plus a 7800GT for less than a high-end AGP card right now. If you're running a Socket 754 CPU right now it's a no-brainer to upgrade your motherboard to PCI-E if you want a new graphics card.

If you're stuck on an old AGP P4 or AthlonXP, then you're in a bit of a bind.

I personally run an Athlon XP Mobile at 2500mhz (massive overclock) with an X800Pro. I'm waiting until the fall to do a complete platform upgrade because of the whole PCI-E thing (my CPU is actually still fast enough to run any game out there - I'm always GPU limited).

 

[Jephph]

Hahaha. I'm actually running a Socket A motherboard right now. That's another reason I decided it was time for an upgrade. I will be getting a new PCI-E compatible motherboard, which is another reason I made this thread. I wasn't sure whether I should get a Crossfire enabled motherboard or not. Anyway, now I'm a little confused. Which is better: the X800GTO2 or the X850XT?

 

[Jephph]

Oh, one more thing. I always have a hard time with the hard drive (or the os perhaps) when I install a new motherboard and cpu. Whenever I hook everything up, it loads up and apparently the OS sees it as a different computer, and doesn't give me access to my hard drive. I generally end up having to reformat, and then reinstall the OS and everything else. How do I remedy this?

 

[Pete]

Maybe try this?

 

[Pete]

Originally posted by: Wreckage
How about this?

If it's not sold out, there's also a 450/1050 version that costs the same and supposedly has a copper cooler where this one doesn't. I'd get that.

BTW, the X1800GTO will presumably be R520 cores with a quad disabled and I'm guessing will be clocked around XL speeds. If a 7800GT is already slightly faster than a X1800XL and cost around $275, why would a X1800XL minus a quad and $25 be worth waiting for? Unless you believe DailyTech's rumor that X1800s will use X1900 cores, wrong as it sounds (surely there'll be X1900GTOs--what core, then, will they use?).

 

[L00PY]

Originally posted by: Extelleron
The X850XT for $160 will destroy X1600XT CF

Define destroy? X1600XT CF is scores over 8700 in 3Dmark05. So would destroy be over 9000? How much of an overclock do you need to get that on a X850XT?

 

[Sentry2]

You could get an eVGA 7800GT or 6800GS and not worry about what comes out in the next few weeks. Just use the Step-up program to get a 7900(?) if you want.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130256

 

[Wreckage]

Originally posted by: Pete

Originally posted by: Wreckage
How about this?

If it's not sold out, there's also a 450/1050 version that costs the same and supposedly has a copper cooler where this one doesn't. I'd get that.

BTW, the X1800GTO will presumably be R520 cores with a quad disabled and I'm guessing will be clocked around XL speeds. If a 7800GT is already slightly faster than a X1800XL and cost around $275, why would a X1800XL minus a quad and $25 be worth waiting for? Unless you believe DailyTech's rumor that X1800s will use X1900 cores, wrong as it sounds (surely there'll be X1900GTOs--what core, then, will they use?).

Yeah, I saw that one somewhere the "CO" model.

As for the X1800GTO's I would guess that it's the R520 cores. It would make since to get rid of the XL and XT's and replace them with just the GTO line. While the 1900's take over above that level.