7900 GS or 1900 XT?

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: Wreckage
The 7900GS looks to be the best bang for the buck (going by the title of this thread). However if you don't mind spending the extra money a 1900XT would be the better card.

The 7950GX2 is the fastest card out there, but you do pay a premium for it. (I'm not one to spend that much on a video card).

I would not worry so much about DirectX10. Most games over the next 2 years will be DirectX9. In fact any DirectX10 games released over the next 2 years will probably have a DirectX9 path programmed into them, because it would be stupid to release a game that only works on 1% of the computers out there.

Of course if you can wait, you should wait as there is always either something better coming or a price drop just around the corner. Otherwise buy now and enjoy now.

Amazingly enough, I agree with most of what Wreckage has to say. The bolded part is the only statement I disagree with. The 7900GS looks to be a good card but bang for the buck means getting the most for your dollar. The 256MB X1900XT throunces the 7900GS according to Anandtech's latest review. For $40 more, I'd say it's the better bang for the buck.

 

[OVERKILL]

ok guys,

I made the jump to a Sapphire 1900 XT (512mb)

Thanks for all the help :thumbsup:

 

[josh6079]

Hey, did you get the one that I'm waiting to arrive?: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102025

 

[OVERKILL]

Heya Josh,

No, lol, I got the non-crossfire one.

I also picked up that Excellero X2 cooler and a few other goodies.

I needed a backup rig for college.

 

[josh6079]

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
Heya Josh,

No, lol, I got the non-crossfire one.

I also picked up that Excellero X2 cooler and a few other goodies.

I needed a backup rig for college.

Do you mean the non-mastercard? Because the link I dropped isn't a mastercard either, I just got a regular Sapphire XT.

Also, be sure careful with that aftermarket coolers "superglue". Once it is on the video card's ram it can be very hard to get off. I'd suggest asking some other owners how they have prevented them from getting permanently stuck.

 

[OVERKILL]

here's the one I bought

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102003


I'll ask around concerning that glue,

Thanks dude

 

[josh6079]

LOL! You bought the same one I did. At least the same model from the same manufacturer and the same retailer anyways, whether or not the Silicon used for our GPU's is from the same batch we don't know. Still, wierd....

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
here's the one I bought

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102003


I'll ask around concerning that glue,

Thanks dude

Why did you go wtih the OEM version? Does that card carry a full warranty? Just curious.

I also took the plunge and went the same card, retail version though. This weekend should be fun.

 

[evenmore1]

Originally posted by: josh6079
The X1950XTX has a mastercard just like all of the other X1900 series. It's not

that the X1950XTX is already CF

the maser and slave cards still exist.

Oh, sorry didn't realize that. Thanks for clearing it up for me

Good choice you made, definietly not overkill

 

[josh6079]

Originally posted by: Ike0069

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
here's the one I bought

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102003


I'll ask around concerning that glue,

Thanks dude

Why did you go wtih the OEM version? Does that card carry a full warranty? Just curious.

I also took the plunge and went the same card, retail version though. This weekend should be fun.

Holly crap you're right! His OEM link is the same price as my Retail link:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102025

^^^^^
That's the one I got, if they are selling the retail version for the same price as an OEM, why did you go with the OEM?

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Graeme
On the aftermarket cooling for the X1900XT Tomshardware.com seemed to like these two fairly well -

Evercool Turbo 2
Accelero X2

These are the two that got a 4 out of 5 star rating.

-sidenote on the Accelero X2. Install it (one of the easiest according to Toms) and set the fan to 100% via ATI Tool and just leave it there. Virtually no increase in noise but a nice increase in cooling.

Due to the silence issue I went with the Accelero X2 myself. I also liked the fact it handled cooling the memory as well without using separate heatsinks.


Tomshardware.com review - http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/08/30/...at_pipe_cooler_roundup_2006/index.html

Good advice. I use Rivatuner to set my Accelero X2 to 100% - does the same thing .

 

[OVERKILL]

it looks like there's 2 differences between the one I bought and Josh's card.

His is Crossfire and comes with 1 dvi-vga adapter.
Mine is non crossfire and has that 2 dvi-vga adapters.
There is no bundled software besides the driver cd.

So far, thats the only differences between the OEM and retail.

 

[josh6079]

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
it looks like there's 2 differences between the one I bought and Josh's card.

His is Crossfire and comes with 1 dvi-vga adapter.
Mine is non crossfire and has that 2 dvi-vga adapters.
There is no bundled software besides the driver cd.

So far, thats the only differences between the OEM and retail.

Mine and yours are the same thing as far as crossfire goes. You and I both have a slave card and would need a master card + ATI motherboard in order to use two of them. Yours will come with the same cords, just not in the retail packaging and without a warranty longer than 30 days.

It really doesn't matter much, but just for future reference if you see a retail product and an OEM product that are the same thing for the same price, get the retail. I bought an OEM X1900XTX back in Feburary because the retail ones were running $20-$30 more. It did great.

 

[OVERKILL]

Josh, i want to make sure that I get this straight.

My card only has a 30 day warranty?

 

[OVERKILL]

Josh,

It looks like Sapphire products carry a 2 year warranty.

http://www.sapphiretech.com/en/support/...ist.php?faq_cat_id=11&faq_subcat_id=15

If you find this not true, just post a link.

 

[josh6079]

If you look at the two on this page,, the Retail version and the OEM version are the same price, but as far as I know, the OEM versions only have a 30 day warranty that doesn't apply the same as the standard 2 year warranty. Of course, I could be wrong. The 30 day warranty may only be through newegg, but why would they tell you that they only have a 30 day warranty? What kind of warranty does newegg offer on non-OEM products? It just seems weird that they tell you that unless it is for a reason.

Here's a pic of the 30-day warranty I think OEM's have: http://aycu28.webshots.com/image/5507/2002273399034471261_rs.jpg

You might be right though. That 30 day thing may only be a newegg "replacement" time period, not a company "warranty".

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: OVERKILL
My card only has a 30 day warranty?

That is 30 days to get a replacement from Newegg, not the factory (Sapphire) warranty.

 

[josh6079]

So does the 30 day replacement also apply to a retail product or is it longer?

 

[Pabster]

Originally posted by: josh6079
So does the 30 day replacement also apply to a retail product or is it longer?

I believe so. Read the descriptions carefully.

 

[OVERKILL]

Thanks Pabster, 30 days did seem a bit short, :thumbsup:

 

[josh6079]

Well congrats then! Sorry for the worry.

 

[OVERKILL]

it's cool Josh,

I'll tell ya, if it was really 30 days, I would just send it back when I get it and get the retail.