anybody running a sapphire HD2900 PRO 1GB version here?

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
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Likely, there's very few people running with that card because its not really a good buy compared to other cards. The 1GB of memory isn't particularly useful, and the 2900 Pros weren't exactly stellar performers. Now that the 3870s and 3850s are out, with prices lower than the 2900 Pro 1GB, while boasting more performance, the 2900 Pro 1GB is not a good buy.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102713 is a better buy that costs less.
 

hclarkjr

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
11,375
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thanx for your opinion, but i have bought it already. i made my decision based on the benchmarks where the pro which can be overclocked to XT levels is slightly slower than the 3870's plus i believe the 1gb of memory will make a difference
 

Extelleron

Diamond Member
Dec 26, 2005
3,127
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1GB of memory on a graphics card definately has potential (it's not useless) but the problem is the R600 GPU is not powerful enough to utilize it, just as it is unable to take advantage of the bandwidth offered by the 512-Bit bus. When the first 512MB cards came along, such as the X800XL 512MB, everyone thought 512MB was useless, far too much memory - however, when faster GPUs such as the X1800XT came out, 512 pulled way ahead of 256. When faster cards, such as R700 come out, then we'll see 1GB of graphics memory be utilized properly.

You would have been better off going with an HD 3870 for cheaper or an 8800GT for the same price. The 2900 Pro isn't bad if you can overclock to XT speeds, but an HD 3870 would still be slightly faster and an 8800GT much faster. I'm sure you'll be happy with performance though - the HD 2900XT is still no slouch.
 

LOUISSSSS

Diamond Member
Dec 5, 2005
8,770
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i'd return it or sell it for what its worth and get a 3870 for better performance...
 

betasub

Platinum Member
Mar 22, 2006
2,677
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1GB memory with 100GB/s bandwidth might become useful at ultra resolutions with massive textures. Of course, you'd need more GPU power than a single R600 can provide, so perhaps a crossfire set-up would allow that memory to be put to good use :cool:
 

Sylvanas

Diamond Member
Jan 20, 2004
3,752
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When compared to the 512mb 2900XT it is a better buy as seen Here and here - as the resolution gets to 1920x1200 the extra memory does provide a benefit- additionally being GDDR4 memory you can get quite a sizable OC in that respect (see my sig). As the drivers have matured I have seen solid improvement in performance and theoretically since the 38x0 series and the 2900 series share the same R6x0 architecture, performance gains will hopefully keep coming for the 2900 as further optimization for the current high end 3800's takes place. However I bought my 1GB when there was no 3870/GT and at the moment they are the better buy for you money! As for High rez situations @ 914/2400 I can play Crysis 1920x1200 DX9 tweaked CFG @ around 32-33fps avg which is nice and you'll see that in 99% of 3800 reviews the 2900 outperforms the 3870 in UT3 based games I guess due to the extra bandwidth on hand.
 

JimiP

Senior member
May 6, 2007
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Sylvanas, how did you get your HD2900XT 1GB to those speeds? I can't push the core to anything over 815 really without the card going berserk on me. Right now I have it set to 775/1150. It's the Sapphire HD2900XT 1GB.

Are you using aftermarket cooling? If so, which cooler? Also, which cooler would be best?

Edit: Nevermind, I re-read your post and saw that you were using the Thermalright HR-03. Do you think that's the best possible cooler for the HD2900XT?
 

cm123

Senior member
Jul 3, 2003
489
2
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I have HD 2900 XT 1GB - on my boxes with 8800 Ultra at 1680res with Empire Earth III and COD4 (Multi=player) I get messages out of video memory, (and game lowers settings in the back ground) - not on my 2900 1GB though... so I would not say its not needed, maybe for most things, however not everything.

not sure how much slower the pro is than the XT - however been very happen with the 2900 XT 1GB - however just as with the 8800 Ultra, Lost Planet and Cryis in Vista 64, need lots more video card to run games like that with all the eye candy turned up - wheres the next gen really fast cards????

Talk has been feb. for Nvidia next cards, if so long from now, how come no more 8800 Ultra and GTX are shipping??? Wonder if something is coming bit sooner than expected?
 

SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,001
126
I only have a 512MB of the 2900 Pro, but I love it. It does everything I ask of it... I only game at 1680x1050 though, so 512MB does me fine.
 

Insomniator

Diamond Member
Oct 23, 2002
6,294
171
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Seems to be a good buy, not the exact best card for the price like everyone expects here but you could certainly do much much much worse by walking into a best buy and getting a 8600gts for 229 or something crazy like that.

hope it works out well for ya
 

Sylvanas

Diamond Member
Jan 20, 2004
3,752
0
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Originally posted by: JimiP
Sylvanas, how did you get your HD2900XT 1GB to those speeds? I can't push the core to anything over 815 really without the card going berserk on me. Right now I have it set to 775/1150. It's the Sapphire HD2900XT 1GB.

Are you using aftermarket cooling? If so, which cooler? Also, which cooler would be best?

Edit: Nevermind, I re-read your post and saw that you were using the Thermalright HR-03. Do you think that's the best possible cooler for the HD2900XT?

Judging by many of the reviews around the net and my experience the HR-03 is the best performing cooler for the 2900 (and HR-03 derivatives are usually the best for the 88's aswell). At stock voltage of 1.15 (you can see this is Rivatuner in the hardware monitoring tab) I could go up to 870core with the HR-03 R600 and temps never went over 50c load- I could only get 820 stable with stock cooling so it was a nice boost.
 

SlowSpyder

Lifer
Jan 12, 2005
17,305
1,001
126
Originally posted by: HexiumVII
Wouldn't the 1GB frame buffer also need to take up a gig of system memory also?

The OP is running a 64 bit OS, I believe that it won't be an issue with 64 bit.