ATI X850XT or something else?

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DrZDO

Member
Sep 29, 2005
125
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I'm building a PC for the first time, and am only without a video card.

Thinkin' real hard about splurging on an ATI Radeon X850XT for $340. Most of my components were cheap, but I got a surprise Visa card in the mail today!

I don't have a nVidia/ATI bias, it just seems like a good card for the money.

Tell me if there's something better for a similar price, or pros/cons, or anything else you have on your mind. I'm probably buying a card tonight. Real soon.

Thanks!

Current relevant components (Intend to upgrade over time):
Asus A8N-E FM/S (nForce 4)
Athlon 64 3200+ (Plan to OC appropriately)
2x512 pqi RAM

EDIT: It's PCI-Express.
 

What are you going to be doing with this computer? What are the specs of the computer you have now?
 
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DrZDO

Member
Sep 29, 2005
125
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I need it to be fast for games, as I play games when I have a fast computer, don't when I don't. I'll be buying Doom 3 and Half Life 2 right away. I'll be doing some graphic art too. and WORD PROCESSING!

My computer now is a Pentium Pro 200 with 72 mb RAM and an STB VirgeVX 4mb video card. Why? hehe. (My P4 broke and it was old anyway).
 
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DrZDO

Member
Sep 29, 2005
125
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Sounds pretty unanimous for the 7800GT. Thanks, I'll look into it.

BTW, monitor is a beautiful 17"NEC LCD, but only has VGA input. Do they put DVI-VGA adapters in the box with the 7800?
 
Powermoloch

Powermoloch

Lifer
Jul 5, 2005
10,084
4
76
x850xt is good for agp...pci-e go for w/ a 7800GT. Your much happier with it. Or...you can wait for the next gen Ati cards coming out :)
 
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DrZDO

Member
Sep 29, 2005
125
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Bah... I was sold on the 7800gt, then I looked closely at eVGA's specs (For their model). Says 450w power supply MINIMUM.

I only have an antec 400w smartpower 2.0. It came with my antec tx640 case. I'm not buying another PSU (for years). Do they really mean 450w? I mean, my PSU does have the PCI-E power cable, and I'm not using an Intel processor...

*waits another day to order video card, woefully*

Full system specs, in case any electrical engineers wanna help:

Antec SmartPower 400w PSU
1x120mm rear fan
2x80mm front fans
(Above fans all Antec 3-speed)
Thermaltake Venus 12 CPU Fan/Heatsink
Asus A8N-E FM/S mobo (nForce 4)
Athlon 64 3200+ Venice (Plan to OC appropriately)
2x512 pqi RAM
Maxtor DiamondMax10 250gb SATA HDD
Sony DRU-800 (iirc) DVD-RW
Sony DVD player
Logitech keyboard
Logitech G5 laser mouse
 
S

Sunrise089

Senior member
Aug 30, 2005
882
0
71
Sapphire x800 gto2 will give you the same performance as a x850 xt-pe for $200. I think its an easy decision.
 
Sonikku

Sonikku

Lifer
Jun 23, 2005
15,882
4,882
136
^ What he said. You'll get your intended performance for almost half the cost. Not to mention your power cunsumption would not be as great.
 
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TinyTeeth

Member
Dec 14, 2004
27
0
0
Usually the stated power supply requirements are exaggerated. 400W and 400 Antec watts especially will do fine.
 
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DrZDO

Member
Sep 29, 2005
125
0
0
Thanks for all the advice. I just ordered an eVGA 7800 gt for $369 -$30 mail-in rebate.

I figured spending ~$100 more than Sapphire's X800 GTO2 was justifiable, given less work, worry (build quality/overheating/warranty), and slightly better performance overall.
 
F

fliguy84

Senior member
Jan 31, 2005
916
0
71
Originally posted by: DrZDO
Thanks for all the advice. I just ordered an eVGA 7800 gt for $369 -$30 mail-in rebate.

I figured spending ~$100 more than Sapphire's X800 GTO2 was justifiable, given less work, worry (build quality/overheating/warranty), and slightly better performance overall.
Click to expand...


hopefully you get your rig to work fine. man that gt rox, i'm still waiting to upgrade. probably next year
 
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Lonyo

Lifer
Aug 10, 2002
21,938
6
81
Originally posted by: DrZDO
Bah... I was sold on the 7800gt, then I looked closely at eVGA's specs (For their model). Says 450w power supply MINIMUM.

I only have an antec 400w smartpower 2.0. It came with my antec tx640 case. I'm not buying another PSU (for years). Do they really mean 450w? I mean, my PSU does have the PCI-E power cable, and I'm not using an Intel processor...

*waits another day to order video card, woefully*

Full system specs, in case any electrical engineers wanna help:

Antec SmartPower 400w PSU
1x120mm rear fan
2x80mm front fans
(Above fans all Antec 3-speed)
Thermaltake Venus 12 CPU Fan/Heatsink
Asus A8N-E FM/S mobo (nForce 4)
Athlon 64 3200+ Venice (Plan to OC appropriately)
2x512 pqi RAM
Maxtor DiamondMax10 250gb SATA HDD
Sony DRU-800 (iirc) DVD-RW
Sony DVD player
Logitech keyboard
Logitech G5 laser mouse
Click to expand...
420W Enermax
7800GT
3200+ @ 2600MHz
2x512MB TwinMOS
5x80mm fans
1x92mm CPU fan
4xHDD, 1xDVD-RW.

You should be absolutely fine power wise.
 
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haveblue

Banned
Aug 9, 2005
149
0
0
You could/should wait 'till wednesday to see about ATI's new cards.. who knows, maybe they'll surprise us all with a non-paper launch..
 
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lifeguard1999

Platinum Member
Jul 3, 2000
2,323
1
0
I would have waited until after the Oct 5th launch of the R520 before buying. Prices may drop after the launch. That said, it is hard to go wrong with a 7800 GT anyway.
 
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