For all you X1900 owners - Quick question

nib95

Senior member
Jan 31, 2006
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What motherboard are you guys using?

I was waiting for the RD580, but now its been further delayed I'm thinking about picking up the DFI Xpert Nforce4 Mobo, I realise Crossfire wont be possible, but I've never believed in dual card running much anyway.

And does anyone know how much of a performance difference there will be with a single X1900 on an RD580 mobo and one on an Nforce4 SLI one?

Thanks
Any help is much appreciated.
 

cpacini

Senior member
Oct 22, 2005
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Originally posted by: nib95

And does anyone know how much of a performance difference there will be with a single X1900 on an RD580 mobo and one on an Nforce4 SLI one?

Probably not, as the 580 has not been released yet
 

nib95

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Jan 31, 2006
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Originally posted by: cpacini
Originally posted by: nib95

And does anyone know how much of a performance difference there will be with a single X1900 on an RD580 mobo and one on an Nforce4 SLI one?

Probably not, as the 580 has not been released yet


I was hoping someone might have gotten a better read on Anands new Asus RD580 mobo review before it got taken down. Unfortunately I didnt, so I dont actually know how much performance gains are to be had over the RD480 :(
 

nib95

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Jan 31, 2006
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Bump!

There has to be more then NO X1900 owners lol.
Just want to know what mobo's you guys use is all! :p
 

Steelski

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Feb 16, 2005
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there are plenty of pictures now available of the new Asus board. A review is coming very soon, models are likley going to be available also very soon. you might aswell wait and see if you like. but i dout there will be any real gains from just going to a new motherboard. apart from the obvious overclocking.
 

nib95

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Jan 31, 2006
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Originally posted by: Steelski
there are plenty of pictures now available of the new Asus board. A review is coming very soon, models are likley going to be available also very soon. you might aswell wait and see if you like. but i dout there will be any real gains from just going to a new motherboard. apart from the obvious overclocking.


So in that case, should I just go with the DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR EXPERT, or a regular RD480 mobo, or.....just wait for the RD580?

I do not intend to use Crossfire, and I do have numerous USB2.0 devices such as card readers, a mic, 2 x 300GB 7200rpm External HDD etc

What do you guys suggest?

Eternal respect for those who help me out!

Thanks guys.
 

VERTIGGO

Senior member
Apr 29, 2005
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if no crossfire, then any board you want. A8n32 maybe advertised for SLi performance, but it runs cool, stable and overclocks well. Just look for whatever you want, don't worry about ATi chipsets. However, AT just reviewed the A8R32 MVP i think, and it performs better even with single cards in a lot of games.
 

nib95

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Jan 31, 2006
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Originally posted by: VERTIGGO
if no crossfire, then any board you want. A8n32 maybe advertised for SLi performance, but it runs cool, stable and overclocks well. Just look for whatever you want, don't worry about ATi chipsets. However, AT just reviewed the A8R32 MVP i think, and it performs better even with single cards in a lot of games.

Better then a single X1900 in an SLI Nforce4 Mobo do you know?

I want to know what mobo's users like Joker are using with their X1900,s, because some have been reaching over 13, 000 3dMark05 points, I wonder with which motherboard they are achieving this?
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
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I have an X1900XT in an Epox nforce4 SLI mobo. I didnt like the idea of the ATI chipset still having a northbridge. The Nforce4 one is a single chip solution.
 

nib95

Senior member
Jan 31, 2006
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Cool, so Lava and Soviet, have you guys tried OC'ing your cards?
And what kind of 3dMark scores are you both getting?
 

Paratus

Lifer
Jun 4, 2004
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I read the entire review. They Oc'd it to 322. HT hits over 1500 no problem. The board kicked ass from what I could tell.

posted via Palm Life Drive
 

nib95

Senior member
Jan 31, 2006
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Originally posted by: Paratus
I read the entire review. They Oc'd it to 322. HT hits over 1500 no problem. The board kicked ass from what I could tell.

posted via Palm Life Drive


What about USB performance and general gaming speed?
 

Paratus

Lifer
Jun 4, 2004
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No glaring deficencies on USB, SATA (6 SATA 2 ports BTW), or on sound (HD audio too).

Gaming looked good but they were comparing X1900 vs 7800 so take it with a grain of salt.


posted via Palm Life Drive
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
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Originally posted by: nib95
Cool, so Lava and Soviet, have you guys tried OC'ing your cards?
And what kind of 3dMark scores are you both getting?

I get 0 :p its at home in a box. Actually its possible its still in the US of A. Shouldve said i WILL have an X1900XT in an Epox nforce4 SLI mobo.
 

nib95

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Jan 31, 2006
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Ok, it's decided then, stuff waiting for the RD580 if its still going to have the south bridge issue.
I'm not going to use Crossfire anyway so what does it matter?

I'll be ordering my new PC on Monday.

How do these specs sound?

Processor Opteron 170 (already bought)

Mobo DFI LanParty NF4 SLI-DR EXPERT

Memory G.Skill 2 x 1GB DDR PC4000

HDD Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3200KS SATA-II 16MB Cache

GPU Sapphire X1900 XTX

Sound Card X-Fi Fatality

Speakers Logitech z-2300

Headset (undecided, please help, already have a mic)

Keyboard Saitek Eclipse

Monitor Dell 2405FPW (already bought)

Case CoolerMaster Praetorian 732

DVD Writer/Drive NEC ND4550 16x16 DVD±RW Dual Layer ReWriter

PSU Enermax Liberty 500W

CPU Cooler Thermaltake Big Typhoon
 

Maximilian

Lifer
Feb 8, 2004
12,604
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Make sure you dont get a seasonic PSU with that mobo, and cheapskate ram would save you some $$$ and offer very little or no performance loss. Apart from that, awsome rig :thumbsup:
 

nib95

Senior member
Jan 31, 2006
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Originally posted by: Soviet
Make sure you dont get a seasonic PSU with that mobo, and cheapskate ram would save you some $$$ and offer very little or no performance loss. Apart from that, awsome rig :thumbsup:


Hows the Enermax Liberty 500?
 

nib95

Senior member
Jan 31, 2006
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Any suggestions on a headset for use with my X-Fi soundcard?
I already have a mic, so having one built in to headphones is simply a bonus.
 

Elfear

Diamond Member
May 30, 2004
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I'd get an X1900XT and save yourself ~$100. Mine does 750/872 without breaking a sweat. I am using watercooling but my aircooling results were only a little lower than the XTX I had. With an Opteron 170 you should be fine using a DFI Expert/Ultra-D. In all honesty, unless you plan on phasechange in the future the Ultra-D will work just as well as the Expert for you, especially where you aren't going to run dual cards.

Everything else looks really good. Good choice with the G.Skill HZ sticks.
 

nib95

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Jan 31, 2006
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Originally posted by: Elfear
I'd get an X1900XT and save yourself ~$100. Mine does 750/872 without breaking a sweat. I am using watercooling but my aircooling results were only a little lower than the XTX I had. With an Opteron 170 you should be fine using a DFI Expert/Ultra-D. In all honesty, unless you plan on phasechange in the future the Ultra-D will work just as well as the Expert for you, especially where you aren't going to run dual cards.

Everything else looks really good. Good choice with the G.Skill HZ sticks.


Interesting points, thing is, the XTX is on sale at the store I'm buying from currently, at only £35 more then the regular XT version I'd say it was worth it just for insurance sake.
As I know some XT's cant even match XTX speed.

I was going to go with the DFI Ultra-D over the Expert, but what drew me to the Xpert was the extra USB ports, I know its only a minor thing, but those extra two help big time as I have lots of USB devices.

Headset wise, here's the one I'm looking to get, what do you guys say to either the Sennheiser Hd 485 (no mic, I have a seperate one) or the cheaper SpeedLink Medusa SL-8790 5.1?
 

sodcha0s

Golden Member
Jan 7, 2001
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Might want to look into getting a Powercolor card instead of Sapphire, they are the only company that offers a full lifetime warranty on ATI cards. To me it's worth the extra few $$$.
 

CP5670

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2004
5,660
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Looks like AT pulled down their A8R32 review for some reason. :confused:

Originally posted by: nib95
Any suggestions on a headset for use with my X-Fi soundcard?
I already have a mic, so having one built in to headphones is simply a bonus.

I have a Beyer DT250-80 and it's outstanding for both games and music. It works well without an amp and is extremely durable too. You can find them new for about $130 on ebay. There is a version of this one with a mic, the DT290, but it seems to cost a lot more.