Building a new machine ... 7950GX2 or dual 7900 GTs?

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Jun 14, 2003
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Originally posted by: hardwareking
well for 2 7900 gt's,u'll need to get an sli mobo.That adds to cost.
If i were u i'd get the 7950 gx2 as that card will run on any mobo with a up-to-date bios.
It's as good as 2x 7900 gtx in sli - some clock/memory speed loss.So it'll be slightly slower than 2 gtx's in sli but it'll costs less.


erm dont u need an SLI mobo for the 7950 to work too?>
 

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
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Originally posted by: otispunkmeyer
Originally posted by: hardwareking
well for 2 7900 gt's,u'll need to get an sli mobo.That adds to cost.
If i were u i'd get the 7950 gx2 as that card will run on any mobo with a up-to-date bios.
It's as good as 2x 7900 gtx in sli - some clock/memory speed loss.So it'll be slightly slower than 2 gtx's in sli but it'll costs less.


erm dont u need an SLI mobo for the 7950 to work too?>
no, not a single one.
 

akshayt

Banned
Feb 13, 2004
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Conroe will be much cheaper than current cpus, try to wait another 1-2months for it.
Also, 1900XT is for most practical purposes equal to 1900XTX.
1900XT should be able to play most games at 12X10 MAX( not necessary to have aa and af though) or higher, but even games like most wanted may run at 1600X1200 max with aa and af.
 

akshayt

Banned
Feb 13, 2004
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how about ATi(BBA), Power colour, Sapphire( customer service might not be good, please confirm first), HIS IceQ(check customer service as well)
 

josh6079

Diamond Member
Mar 17, 2006
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Originally posted by: Ramzie
what brand X1900XTX is good? sapphire? gigabyte? any suggestions appreciated

I've got a Sapphire XTX. I don't know how the customer support is for them though. Just to be safe, I think Powercolor has the best customer service. Good luck for which ever one you pick, I think nitro can tell you about HIS.
 

Ramzie

Member
Mar 19, 2006
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so ... just checking (sorry if this is stupid)

A X1900XTX will be faster then 2 7800GTs in SLI right?
 

Ramzie

Member
Mar 19, 2006
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Oh, and...

As far as upgrading for the future with video cards in mind ... what should i do about a motherboard? I like ASUS so i wana stick with them but i cant decide what mobo to get ... M2N32-SLI Deluxe, M2N-SLI Deluxe, M2N-E? The first two ovbiously support SLI where as the 3rd only has 1 PCI-ex16 slot but ... if im going single card tahts all i need so ... the M2N-E is really all i need but 1 of the other 2 might be more future proof ...

ideas?
 

josh6079

Diamond Member
Mar 17, 2006
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Two 7800GT's is what I used to have. Both were overclocked at 535/1300. The speed and performance is actually about the same (well, before I started overclocking my XTX with water). As far as stock XT speeds and stock 7800GT SLI speeds, the performance is pretty much the same if not better. However, you have more features with the XT, one card (which equalled less problems for me), and better graphics.
 

Ramzie

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Mar 19, 2006
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haha i know u cant SLI ATI cards ... what im talking about is in the future when my 1 ATI card needs replacing ... do i want a mobo that has SLI as a option on it? i dont wana have to upgrade a video card AND mobo(cpu, memory, blah blah blah) too because i choose a bad mobo.
 

Polish3d

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2005
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Originally posted by: beggerking
Originally posted by: Ramzie
so ... just checking (sorry if this is stupid)

A X1900XTX will be faster then 2 7800GTs in SLI right?

no... 1900XTX ~= 7800GT SLI.

Doubt it, given that XTX is faster than 7900gt sli is a great many situations, and with a slight OC, faster than 7800gtx 512 SLI in oblivion for instance, with 50% faster minimum frames as well
 

beggerking

Golden Member
Jan 15, 2006
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Originally posted by: Frackal
Doubt it, given that XTX is faster than 7900gt sli is a great many situations, and with a slight OC, faster than 7800gtx 512 SLI in oblivion for instance, with 50% faster minimum frames as well

2 heads are better than 1 in high res

7950 is a much better choice if you are getting 1900XTX.. its much faster !( somewhere between 7900GTX SLI and 7900GT SLI)

why not 1900XT? its cheap and fast...
 

classy

Lifer
Oct 12, 1999
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7950's are awesome. And in a lot of reviews show that it is generally faster than a sli setup. Outside a maybe a couple of games, it bests any card on the market by 20% or more.
 

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
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Originally posted by: classy
7950's are awesome. And in a lot of reviews show that it is generally faster than a sli setup. Outside a maybe a couple of games, it bests any card on the market by 20% or more.

No doubt, the 7950GX2 is badass. However, an X1900XT(X) isn't much slower and it's significantly cheaper. I had both cards in my possession, and I honestly couldn't justify keeping the 7950GX2 over the XTX. Seriously, I picked up the GX2 with the intention of selling the XTX, but I sold the GX2 instead.

I'm actually surprised that the whole image quality debate between these two hasn't come up yet (as it usually does). I posted some comparison screenies last week, here is the link if the OP wants to take a look at them.

http://endeavorquest.net:8880/nitro/index.htm

(Thanks to keysplayr2003 for hosting these)

...if you want to comment on the screenies, please do so in the original thread (as I don't want to threadcrap the OP's thread):

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=31&threadid=1877774&enterthread=y
 

Polish3d

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2005
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Originally posted by: beggerking
Originally posted by: Frackal
Doubt it, given that XTX is faster than 7900gt sli is a great many situations, and with a slight OC, faster than 7800gtx 512 SLI in oblivion for instance, with 50% faster minimum frames as well

2 heads are better than 1 in high res

7950 is a much better choice if you are getting 1900XTX.. its much faster !( somewhere between 7900GTX SLI and 7900GT SLI)

why not 1900XT? its cheap and fast...


Oh gee you're cherry picking this stupid FEAR benchmark over and over.

Go look at the 7950gx2 review itself.

They use the XT at stock, add about 5-10% to that for an XTX and you get a card that bests the 7900gt SLI in more cases than not, and is pretty close to the GX2 very often.

Not to mention in Oblivion in which a slightly OCd XTX beats 7800GTX 512mb SLI in both maximum and minimum framerates and supposedly beats a GX2 as well but I haven't seen the benchies myself


I just upgraded to XTX and was debating between the two but the XTX had image quality I wasn't willing to let go of, and still has stupid fast performance, particularly when OCed.

I borrowed an XTX to test it against my 7800gtx 256 to see whether it was worth upgrading and not only did it more than double performance of the GTX but the image quality was absolutely superior in not only features like HQ AF and HDR+AA but moreso the picture quality the card broadcasts to my monitor, which is less on the GTX and not a good thing at all. I noticed textues on BF2 medic packs, and other stuff like that that the GTX picture was too blurry to see, which is BS IMO

Unless G80 is much faster than R600 and/or has better image quality I probably will be going ATI from now on. I had 2 nvidia cards before this XTX and the XTX is the only one that has really blown me away in performance and image quality
 

josh6079

Diamond Member
Mar 17, 2006
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Originally posted by: Ramzie
haha i know u cant SLI ATI cards ... what im talking about is in the future when my 1 ATI card needs replacing ... do i want a mobo that has SLI as a option on it? i dont wana have to upgrade a video card AND mobo(cpu, memory, blah blah blah) too because i choose a bad mobo.

Both companies offer really good multi-GPu options that have great mb's supporting it. SLI is older, but not always better. I'd say get what's cheaper. I've got an DFI nF4 Expert and it has done great. An upgrade later on will be either a G80 or R600 or better, who knows what kind of conditions we'll be faced with since the step from DX9 to DX10 isn't like most other ones. A lot of things are going to be different.
 

beggerking

Golden Member
Jan 15, 2006
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Originally posted by: Frackal
Originally posted by: beggerking
Originally posted by: Frackal
Doubt it, given that XTX is faster than 7900gt sli is a great many situations, and with a slight OC, faster than 7800gtx 512 SLI in oblivion for instance, with 50% faster minimum frames as well

2 heads are better than 1 in high res

7950 is a much better choice if you are getting 1900XTX.. its much faster !( somewhere between 7900GTX SLI and 7900GT SLI)

why not 1900XT? its cheap and fast...

Oh gee you're cherry picking this stupid FEAR benchmark over and over.

actually, if you read the rest of the review, you'll see the 7800GT SLI is actually faster in splinter cell and quake. The only game is slower is battle field 2...

7950gx review
7950 is about 30% faster most of the time in any game for resolution 1600x1200 and above...

I really can't justify buying a 1900XTX or 7900GTX when

1. high end: 7950 only cost a bit more and runs much much faster
2. mid-high end: 1900XT/7900GT cost alot less and runs at similar speed...
 

Polish3d

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2005
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Originally posted by: beggerking
Originally posted by: Frackal
Originally posted by: beggerking
Originally posted by: Frackal
Doubt it, given that XTX is faster than 7900gt sli is a great many situations, and with a slight OC, faster than 7800gtx 512 SLI in oblivion for instance, with 50% faster minimum frames as well

2 heads are better than 1 in high res

7950 is a much better choice if you are getting 1900XTX.. its much faster !( somewhere between 7900GTX SLI and 7900GT SLI)

why not 1900XT? its cheap and fast...

Oh gee you're cherry picking this stupid FEAR benchmark over and over.

actually, if you read the rest of the review, you'll see the 7800GT SLI is actually faster in splinter cell and quake. The only game is slower is battle field 2...

7950gx review
7950 is about 30% faster most of the time in any game for resolution 1600x1200 and above...

I really can't justify buying a 1900XTX or 7900GTX when

1. high end: 7950 only cost a bit more and runs much much faster
2. mid-high end: 1900XT/7900GT cost alot less and runs at similar speed...


Dude I know you are a known fanboy so I'm not going to argue with you endlessly because I only care to the degree of defending the card which I just bought and really like.

But you are lying (again)

In the 7950GX2 review it doesn't beat the XT by 30% at 1600x1200 w/ 4xAA in ANY case, let alone most... particularly when you allow for an additional 5-10% in performance because AT failed to include the XTX which is a more fair comparison.

 

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
9,031
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I really can't justify buying a 1900XTX or 7900GTX when

1. high end: 7950 only cost a bit more and runs much much faster
2. mid-high end: 1900XT/7900GT cost alot less and runs at similar speed...

An X1900XT can be had for less than $400, whereas the cheapest GX2 is around $550. To most people, $150 isnt just "a bit more" when buying a video card. Plus, an X1900XT doesn't really compete with the 7900GT, that would be the X1800XT.
 

josh6079

Diamond Member
Mar 17, 2006
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OP, the video card should be one of the last peices you buy. For instance, get a monitor that you think is big enough and that supports a resolution that you think you want the most. If you already have a monitor that you like and plan on continuing to use, great. Then think about your CPU. Does it do what you want it to do? Are you going to want to multi-task? Do you want to hold out for Conroe? After that, then it is time to really start choosing what card could best benefit the rest of your system. Do you have everything except the video card mapped out? And, if you do, what are the other components that you will definatley be using?
 

beggerking

Golden Member
Jan 15, 2006
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Originally posted by: nitromullet
I really can't justify buying a 1900XTX or 7900GTX when

1. high end: 7950 only cost a bit more and runs much much faster
2. mid-high end: 1900XT/7900GT cost alot less and runs at similar speed...

An X1900XT can be had for less than $400, whereas the cheapest GX2 is around $550. To most people, $150 isnt just "a bit more" when buying a video card. Plus, an X1900XT doesn't really compete with the 7900GT, that would be the X1800XT.

and 1900XTX cost about $100 more than 1900XT with barely any performance benefit.. at $150 more, 7950 seems to be the better deal.

1900XT at ~$400 and 7900GT at ~$300 are both better deal than 1900XTX.