GeForce FX 5900 Ultra!!

[jwocky]

I've been an ATI user for a long time now (currently Radeon 8500). But, considering purchasing a new card - the PNY GeForce FX 5900 Ultra. I play such games as Final Fantasy XI, Rise of Nations, and Command and Conquer, so my video card is starting to be inadequate.

Does anyone have any experience with this PNY card, or any other GeForce FX 5900 Ultra in general -- any thoughts/comments? Is PNY a good brand (I have no experience with GeForce cards) with good drivers and frequent driver updates?

Also, my cpu is a slow P4 1.4ghz (400mhz fsb), so I wonder if it's the cpu that's slowing the system down instead of the video? Any thoughts?

Lastly, will this card give me equal 2d results as ATI cards?

Thanks!

 

[nick1985]

i wouldnt waste the money on the ultra model. get a non-ultra and OC it to ultra speeds and put the saved money to a MUCH needed CPU.

 

[modedepe]

1. Get a non ultra instead of an ultra. Ultra = waste of money.
2. Your cpu is probably the biggest problem in c&c.

 

[DaveSimmons]

^-- yes, the Ultra cards are way overpriced. Albatron has a $209 non-ultra at newegg.com with faster memory than the $190-200 cards, plus it has video-in if you have a use for it.

And yes, your P4 is only about the same speed as a 1 GHz P3, an upgrade to a faster CPU (AMD XP 2500+ or P4 2.4 or better) would be a Good Thing. When you look at CPU and memory prices it's probably best to sell your motherboard (and CPU, memory) instead of buying an overpriced 400 MHz P4 CPU. Don't even think about a P4 Celeron, they're lousy CPUs.

 

[jwocky]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
^-- yes, the Ultra cards are way overpriced. Albatron has a $209 non-ultra at newegg.com with faster memory than the $190-200 cards, plus it has video-in if you have a use for it.

And yes, your P4 is only about the same speed as a 1 GHz P3, an upgrade to a faster CPU (AMD XP 2500+ or P4 2.4 or better) would be a Good Thing. When you look at CPU and memory prices it's probably best to sell your motherboard (and CPU, memory) instead of buying an overpriced 400 MHz P4 CPU. Don't even think about a P4 Celeron, they're lousy CPUs.

Well, the one I'm looking at (PNY 5900 Ultra - 256mb) is $200. Is that a good deal?

 

[jwocky]

Oops, it's not an ultra... and it has 128mb ram. Is $200 a good price for this card then?

And say I get this card... will running any of the above games be slowed significantly because of my P4 1.4ghz cpu?

 

[Chadder007]

I have a 2.6 ghz P4 myself now with an ATI 8500. The 8500 is a tad slow but it does do well with settings on "performance". Even does well with high resolution on Final Fantasy XI.

 

[KoolHonda]

I have the PNY FX5900 in my 2.8 P4 rig, and other that it being big and loud I like it. However, if your P4 is paired with PC133 RAM, you'd be better off putting the $ towards upgrading your RAM, and Motherboard.

 

[Corporate Thug]

1.4 ghz p4 will bottleneck a 5900

 

[Markfw]

You MUST upgrade your CPU, or you will be sorry. Get an XP2500 (as others have said) and if your MOBO won't handle that, get a new mobo also. Also, for $200 you would be much better off with the 9800np at Circuit City (I think).

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: Markfw900
You MUST upgrade your CPU, or you will be sorry. Get an XP2500 (as others have said) and if your MOBO won't handle that, get a new mobo also. Also, for $200 you would be much better off with the 9800np at Circuit City (I think).

lol, i think that'll call for a new mobo since his is a p4 mobo

 

[Markfw]

Originally posted by: shady06

Originally posted by: Markfw900
You MUST upgrade your CPU, or you will be sorry. Get an XP2500 (as others have said) and if your MOBO won't handle that, get a new mobo also. Also, for $200 you would be much better off with the 9800np at Circuit City (I think).

lol, i think that'll call for a new mobo since his is a p4 mobo

Stupid me.................... I missed that, was just reading everyone elses suggestion , and agreeing.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: jwocky
Oops, it's not an ultra... and it has 128mb ram. Is $200 a good price for this card then?

what are the memory and CPU clock speeds? newegg doesn't list this card.

The albatron I mentioned for $209 (free shipping) runs the GPU at 405 and the memory at 810. If the PNY runs memory at 700 instead then it probably has slower memory chips.

 

[KoolHonda]

My PNY came stock at 400/850, but it does 450/950 easy

 

[DaveSimmons]

Originally posted by: KoolHonda
My PNY came stock at 400/850, but it does 450/950 easy

What's the model number? Manufacturers have been coming out with newer, slower models now that the price has dropped from $300 down to $200.

 

[magomago]

Originally posted by: shady06

Originally posted by: Markfw900
You MUST upgrade your CPU, or you will be sorry. Get an XP2500 (as others have said) and if your MOBO won't handle that, get a new mobo also. Also, for $200 you would be much better off with the 9800np at Circuit City (I think).

lol, i think that'll call for a new mobo since his is a p4 mobo

well he has a 1.4Ghz P4 If he upgraded he'd need a new mobo anyway b/c of the socket change

 

[nick1985]

i didnt even know they made willies that slow....that thing must crawl, no offense. :beer:

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: magomago

Originally posted by: shady06

Originally posted by: Markfw900
You MUST upgrade your CPU, or you will be sorry. Get an XP2500 (as others have said) and if your MOBO won't handle that, get a new mobo also. Also, for $200 you would be much better off with the 9800np at Circuit City (I think).

lol, i think that'll call for a new mobo since his is a p4 mobo

well he has a 1.4Ghz P4 If he upgraded he'd need a new mobo anyway b/c of the socket change

Man, Intel really screwed him over with the williecore. I would get a mobo/cpu upgrade way before I thinking about getting the video card.

 

[KoolHonda]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons

Originally posted by: KoolHonda
My PNY came stock at 400/850, but it does 450/950 easy

What's the model number? Manufacturers have been coming out with newer, slower models now that the price has dropped from $300 down to $200.

Don't know which revision mine is, but I haven't read of PNY pulling any funny stuff like XFX. Anyway, I got it from CompUSA about a month ago when they had the $250-$50MIR(got my rebate check today by conicidence) deal going. Also, a few 1.4s came in Socket 478. Even if it's a S423 P4, as long as it's got PC800 RAM it's not that bad. The P4s paired with PC133 were the ones that had me humming the Final Jeapardy theme.

 

[Futher]

I purchased a Gainward FX5900 Ultra when they first came out. And before you start complaining about wasted money, I do high end rendering for Computer graphics, so the extra ram was WELL worth it. I am running an Athlon XP 2200 at ~2.1, and it still holds the card back a little. You should def go with the non-ultra version, OC it, sell your current processor for a little, and maybe buy a really nice used processor.

 

[dexvx]

If your Pentium 4 system is Socket 478 and has PC800 RDRam:

Buy a new CPU (2.4Ghz/400 FSB or the very rare 2.6Ghz/400FSB) before you upgrade.

Else if your system is Socket 423 with PC800 RDRam:

You can buy a socket adapter for around $10 and a CPU upgrade like above.

Else if your system is Socket423/Socket478 with PC133 SDRam:

Consider a new motherboard/CPU combo.

 

[sparkz]

Right now the eVGA 5900SE is looking good at $189 plus free shipping and includes Call of Duty at NewEgg. Also definetly upgrade your CPU first since that will be your bottleneck with the new video card.

 

[Corporate Thug]

Originally posted by: sparkz
Right now the eVGA 5900SE is looking good at $189 plus free shipping and includes Call of Duty at NewEgg. Also definetly upgrade your CPU first since that will be your bottleneck with the new video card.

SE is slower than 5900

 

[dguy6789]

If you play c&c generals, i recomend ati. In every c&c benchie ive seen, 9600 pro is faster then 5950 ultra. Im not nesesarily saying get a 9600 pro, but for generals, ati is better. im pretty sure for the other games as well.

 

[Acanthus]

I hear the Evga with 850mhz memory is in fact 2.2ns memory, and has no problems at 950+mhz