Oblivion - Please help me decide on a video card upgrade!

[Vallybally]

I just got Oblivion and my current system seems to be struggling a bit with it: AMD X2 3800+, 2 GB Corsair Value RAM, eVGA 6800nu (unlocked/modded to a 6800 Ultra but with lower core/mem speeds). Using that $60 ASRock mobo that has both AGP and PCI-E. I hope that PCI-E is fully functional and not half the bandwidth or whatever...

I need something to tide me over for a year or two where I will get a nice upgrade of say an Intel Core 2 Duo 3.0GHz+ (maybe Quad Core), and the next gen from Nvidia or ATI.

I'm not rich, so I'm not looking to spend $500+ for the best video card currently available. My target is $150-300. I'm looking for a good improvement over my current Nvidia 6800 (let's say 50-100% faster), but I haven't been keeping up with the current cards and their relative performance. First off, does ATI or Nvidia in general run Oblivion better at equal price points? Two top contenders I've researched are:

$260 ATI X1900 GT
$180 ATI X1800 GTO

Can someone who knows video cards inside out tell me how much performance difference there is between these two cards? How about relative to my 6800? How much faster are XT versions over GT/GTO or GS? Also do the numbers match up, like the Nvidia 7800 in general is on par with ATI X1800? 7900 with X1900? Any recommendations are highly valued. I figure I can sell my current 6800 for $100 or so, therefore an $80-160 upgrade is much easier to swallow.

 

[TheRyuu]

X1900XT.

Sure it maybe an OEM, but you can't beat $289 after MIR.

If you want retail, Link. That one's $339 after MIR and cheaper to buy.

If you don't like any of those get the X1900GT but the X1900XT is were Obivion really shines.

 

[Just4Ever]

I am still new to this as well but I read a great thread about the Nvidia 7900 GT.
Apparently you can overclock the hell out of this thing, escecially when you volt mod it (it's easy), and reach speeds surpassing the 7900 GTX.
I plan on getting one for my brand new rig and it seems like a great deal for about $240 - $260.
Here's the link on modding it - Link

They also made a website too - Link

Hope this helps!

 

[Geomagick]

x1900xt would be perfect. They perfrom great in oblivion and better than the equivalent nvidia card.

 

[TanisHalfElven]

for oblivion even the fastest nvidia is not gonna comparte very well to the x1900xt cuz of the IQ features.

the x1900gt is faster than a x1800gto but both get whipped by the 7900gt and x1800xt. in your range 150-300 your better off getting a 7900gt but if you can exceed it a bit then get a x1900xt.

 

[Vallybally]

Thank you for the quick replies! 3 quick follow up questions and thank you in advance:

1) Does my ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 Socket 939 ULi M1695 ATX AMD Motherboard support true PCI-Express x16 to fully take advantage of a new hot rod ATI card? I believe the specs say it does. Keep in mind this is a value (but highly popular) board that I don't OC. I'm not sure where he gets this info, but quoting 1 user "When you use PCIx16 cards, it takes a 10% performance hit, on average". Is there a better AMD X2 (939) motherboard out there than this ASRock that is rock stable and $100 or less?

2) I will consider those 2 1900XT Links at good price points. But I am hearing good things about HIS Radeons, are their cooling solutions better, particularly this new "Ice" model? Not bad at ~$372.69 ATI (HIS) Radeon X1900 XT IceQ3 512MB GDDR3/PCI-E/AVIVO/Dual-DVI-DL (Retail Box) (ETA 7/28)

3) Do these hot rod X1900 XT/X models have new (particularly useful to Oblivion) features or heavy shader technologies that the cheaper GT/GTO or X1800 models do not? Should my Antec TrueBlue 480 run one of these hot rods no problem? I don't have lots of stuff plugged in, just the bare minimum (1 HD)...

 

[TheRyuu]

Originally posted by: Vallybally
Thank you for the quick replies! 3 quick follow up questions and thank you in advance:

1) Does my ASRock 939Dual-SATA2 Socket 939 ULi M1695 ATX AMD Motherboard support true PCI-Express x16 to fully take advantage of a new hot rod ATI card? I believe the specs say it does. Keep in mind this is a value (but highly popular) board that I don't OC.

2) I will consider those 2 1900XT Links at good price points. But I am hearing good things about HIS Radeons, are their cooling solutions better, particularly this new "Ice" model? Not bad at $349.99 AR ATI (HIS) Radeon X1900 XT IceQ3 512MB GDDR3/PCI-E/AVIVO/Dual-DVI-DL (Retail Box) (ETA 7/28)

3) Do these hot rod X1900 XT/X models have new (particularly useful to Oblivion) features or heavy shader technologies that the cheaper GT/GTO or X1800 models do not?

1.) Yes, it has a full x16 PCIe slot, not that it matter, I doubt a X1900XT would saturate even a x8 slot.

2.) If you can afford the HIS one then get it. The Cooler is quiter and slightly better.

3.) The X1900XT is faster then then any of Nvidia's Cards especally when you OC it to XTX levels. Also the X1900XT has HDR+AA support which is REALLY USEFULL in obivion with the Chuck patch. Also the HQAF is better then any of Nvidia's AF types.

This is all coming from a person that has 7900GT's in SLI
The X1900XT probably performs better than my two cards.

 

[Vallybally]

Boy, I'm really leaning towards selling my 6800 vanilla (modded to Ultra). The extra pipes have been successfully unlocked and the performance is between the vanilla and true Ultra. I suppose it could theoretically sell anywhere from $50 to $150, so I'd be perfectly happy to get rid of it in the middle at $100 shipped...

Right now I'm torn between the $289 (after $100 rebate) OEM X1900XT with limited warranty, and the $350 AR new retail HIS X1900XT with the "ice" cooling system...hmm, maybe I should just get the XBOX 360 and Oblivion jk lol...

 

[Vallybally]

Bump, any other thoughts?

After doing more research, I was sold on the best bang for the buck high end card as the HIS X1900XT IceQ3 (the quiter slightly cooler thing sold me) for $344 AR. So I think I'm happy with my decision, but in the back of my head I was thinking would $200 more be worth it for that 7950 GX2 (dual GPU, single slot SLI solution) monster...

 

[Ackmed]

newegg has a X1900GT for $185 after MIR... thats pretty sweet.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814142068

 

[akshayt]

For Oblivion 1900XTX>any nvidia single card in minimum fps and according to the benchmarks it even beats 7900GT or 7900GTX SLi, which ever it was in terms of minimum fps.

For Oblivion, get 1900XT PERIOD, should be around 320$ or so after rebate

else get 512mb X1800XT

For most cases, not all and not specifically for Oblivion either,
1900XT>1800XT 512>7900GT 512>1800XT>7900GT

By and large

7900GTX and 1900XT/XTX
7800GTX/7900GT and 1800XT/1900GT
7800GT and 1800XL
7600GT and 1800GTO
go together
for oblivion, for min fps atleast most times might see ati as the leader.

there will be marginal performance gain from 512 1800xt to 1900xt today but with future shader intensive games, there can be night and day difference as i saw in a comp magazine, 10X7 MAX AA AF AOE3, 1900XT : 75fps, X1800XT 512 : 33fps

1800XT 256mb to 1900XT should be a singnificant diff but not worth upgrading unless you think that that much money is no big deal, however while buying a new card, 1900XT is recommended

anything below this will see a significant diff while upgrading esepecially to 1900XT

trythese sites
xbitlabs.com
firingsquad.com
hardocp.com