Please Help Guys.... Buying Tonight!

[Blurred Reality]

Allright, before I start, please don't think that at any point in here, or just because I bring up two higher priced cards, I'm trying to be an Elitest, I'm far from it, just a 22 year old guy earning a crappy $13 a hour whose saved up.

I had a 7800GT I ordered with my new computer I built about three weeks ago, well both the Monitor and the 7800GT were having problems. So I RMA'D both. Being that I've had an extra paycheck since that, I can go up from where I was a little bit.

I purchased the DELL 2005FPW 20.1'' WS LCD Monitor, figuring that with the coupon code, $385 for that is a steal, and should last me a -LONG- time. That's the thing with this computer, I want it to last along time, It's not often I have enough cash to do something like this, moving back home for two months has helped, and before I move back out, I would like to get this rig ready to go, so I don't have to worry about it for awhile.

I'm really torn between the 1900XTX and the 7900GTX. They both seem to have incredible raw power. I've mainly had nothing but NVIDIA for the last... well, almost as long as I can remember, excpet my original one that had a Voodoo II card in it! And I'm wondering if it's time to try something else.

The benchmarks all seem extremley close, alot of games I play happen to be MMORPG's on about 6 month cycles. I'll play hardcore 6 months, get burntout, play some FPS and casual stuff for 6 months, repeat. From what I've read it seems ATI has a damn good Image Quality, which obviously would be quite important.

Basically, I'm just asking for help, please guys, which of these would you go with and why? Also, the rest of my specs:

AMD 64 3700+
2GB G.SKILL RAM (PC 3200)
160GB WD HDD
ASUS VENTO 3600

And the other random crap nobody needs to, or wants to, read about. Also curious, will this power supply be enough to run both of those? I'm thinking it will, good brand name, and while there's only 18amps on the 12V rail, it has the additional 18amps on the 2nd 12v line that connects right into the GPU.

Note: I don't plan to go Multi-GPU, wether Crossfire or SLI.

 

[Elfear]

After having played with the 7800 series (which is basically just a less powerful 7900 series) and the X1900 series, I 'd have to give the nod to ATI's solution this round. My reasons are these:

1) Better IQ
2) Less hit enabling AA in most cases
3) Easier to oc
4) Faster in the games that I play
5) HDR+AA (some people like this some don't, I really think it's a plus though after playing a few games with that option.)

I switched from two 7800GTs@550/1300 for my current X1900XT and I'm very happy about the decision.

 

[Unkno]

You would barely notice the performance difference between the two....get the one that's cheaper

If I were you...I would try to sell your 3700+ and buy an X2 or opty...you don't really need ALL that performance in video card (unless your only goal is to game and don't plan/care on using other applications since you mentioned you would be keeping the system for a long time...)

 

[Blurred Reality]

I actually plan on getting a Opty or X2, probaly in 5-6 months. I got the 3700+ 3 weeks ago like I mentioned so I'm outisde of my 15 day option to return it to ZZF. Still a good processor though, and I usually dont run that many other programs.

Thanks for the replies so far guys. There both about the same price, I noticed someone bought a 7900GTX despite allready having a 1900XTX (on 1st page of the thread) and have to just shake my head. I mean I can understand upgrading, but that's like... the same thing.

There both about the same price really, theres a OEM Powercolor 1900XT on Newegg for $434 right now, not sure how I feel about OEM however. 7900GTX's are obviously $499.99 or so.

Also, is my power supply sufficent in this case? Everywhere I checked would say yes, just because I can get 32amps off the dual 12V rails...

 

[fliguy84]

Originally posted by: Elfear
After having played with the 7800 series (which is basically just a less powerful 7900 series) and the X1900 series, I 'd have to give the nod to ATI's solution this round. My reasons are these:

1) Better IQ
2) Less hit enabling AA in most cases
3) Easier to oc
4) Faster in the games that I play
5) HDR+AA (some people like this some don't, I really think it's a plus though after playing a few games with that option.)

I switched from two 7800GTs@550/1300 for my current X1900XT and I'm very happy about the decision.

while I almost agree with most of your argument, I can't quite agree with #3. nvidia has an excellent built in OCing utility (albeit has to use reg hack to get it).

 

[Capt Caveman]

Your PSU should be fine. I have 18A and 17A on my 12v rails and I had no issues w/ my 7800GTX 512 which uses more juice than the 7900GTX plus running six hard drives and four 120mm fans.

 

[moonboy403]

since you're goin for single card configuration, i'd give the nod to xtx

 

[Blurred Reality]

Thanks guys, think I'm getting close to getting the 1900XTX... Just hope that's the best route to go, for the games I play, and what not. I would like to do SLI maybe sometime, but honestly if I was gonna spend $500 on 1 GPU, I just can't see myself going back and spending another $500 on a second one. Just getting everything setup for Oblivion as well.

Are there any other opinions? Anything else I need to know?

 

[Gamer X]

Just get the sapphire one,it's the cheapest.

 

[moonboy403]

going sli isn't much more expensive than getting a single high end card

xtx and gtx cost around $500 (less if you count rebate)

getting yourself a 7900 gt sli or x1800xt crossfire is only $600

either multi gpu solution is faster than any single card configuration

 

[Blurred Reality]

True. I guess I could keep that in mind, the problem is my Motherboard doesn't support that. So... I mean yea, I could get a x1800xt or a 7900GT.... however until I could get a SLI or CROSSFIRE motherboard, wouldn't I be taking a decent hit in performance?

*sigh* It's so confusing >_> I'm not sure how either of those cards would handle Oblivion...

 

[n7]

I'd likely suggest going with whichever you can get cheapest, or whichever one does better with the games you like to play.

Personally, i'd actually go with the nVidia if pricing was the same, since i can't really see IQ differences myself, i dislike CCC (though this is minor), i like the fact that the 7900 is more power efficient, & i quite prefer the nVidia cooler.
Also, UT2k4 is the main game i play, & since UT2k7 is going to be a "The way it's meant to be played" title, i assume it will run slightly better on nVidia hardware (like 2k4 does).

 

[akugami]

What games do you think you will be playing that's coming out in 2006? Which card is more likely to perform better on those games? For instance, OpenGL games run better on nVidia hardware. There's your new card. Picking up the 2005FPW is a great pick btw. I have one and while it's true that you lose some vertical screen space, the wider aspect is great.

 

[Wreckage]

Originally posted by: Blurred Reality
however until I could get a SLI or CROSSFIRE motherboard, wouldn't I be taking a decent hit in performance? Oblivion...

At 1680x1050 you should be alright.

 

[Luckyboy1]

akugami makes an excellent point about applications. Some games look and play better on one or the other. Still, the differences usually are slight at best. This is the rare case where frames per second are so close as to not be the make or break point.

Depending on the application running, most who have used both report they like the overall look of ATI and as a bonus, the crossfire thingy promises to be work with more applications with less problems... you notice I said less and not none! Find me something with no problems and I can safely bet you've picked up a rock. The nVidia dual card system promises possible performance increases over dual aTI, but again, the check's in the mail, so we don't know yet and even if it pans out, it still won't be a deciding factor in my opinion.

I like to use the analogy of Kodak film vs. Fuji. They both reproduce the colors with a bit of a different slant. One is not wrong and the other more right. It's just a matter of taste.

Sorry I couldn't say something like...

Yah Dude, get the XYZ card, it rocks!

because going fanboy here won't help anybody.

 

[CaiNaM]

i'd lean towards the 1900... but is an extra couple fps worth the premium price of an xtx? doesn't seem to be much value there... i'd be putting that money into another part of my system that would be more useful.

 

[Blurred Reality]

The above posters are right too, theres a 1900XT on sale on newegg for $434... I could use the extra $70 I save to get another 1GB Ram. (I posted 2GB as my current specs because I'm planning on ordering that tonight as well, along with whatever card...) So for the total of a XTX I could get a XT plus 1GB G.Skill ram.

As far as the games I play, like I said mainly MMORPG's, I'll also play some more minor games that don't require insane graphics, I feel like I might start getting into the FPS Genere. I'm not sure which is best, going with a single card solution like 7900GTX or 1900XT, or just getting something cheaper like the 7900GT for now, and then having the option of getting a 2nd one in the future.

 

[Luckyboy1]

I find that in general, the sweet spot on value in most things PC hardware sits just behind the latest and greatest benchmarking champion.

 

[Jules]

People who say the ATI 1900 has better IQ, try playing BF2 with a 7900GTX and see how crappy the shadows and the terrain look compared to a x1900xt

 

[Blurred Reality]

Not sure why the Shadows would be much better with a 7900GTX compared to a 1900XT. So really I have three choices, 7900GT, 7900GTX, and 1900XT(X). I really hate how there all so similar and with their own advantages and dis-advantages. I just don't want to feel like, whichever I pick up, I went with the wrong one. No room for buyers remorse here !

 

[Luckyboy1]

Relax! The great news is no matter which one you choose, you get a great card!

 

[M0RPH]

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth
People who say the ATI 1900 has better IQ, try playing BF2 with a 7900GTX and see how crappy the shadows and the terrain look compared to a x1900xt

You don't make much sense. Is English your first language? Anyway I think you're trying to say that the 1900xt has bad IQ in BF2. I think you're full of it. My ATI card looks great in BF2. There is no blockiness to the shadows as you claimed in your other thread. If you're gonna go around repeating this nonsense in the forum, how about posting some screenshots to back it up? Along with a screenshot to show that you're using the latest Catalyst drivers.

 

[Jules]

Originally posted by: M0RPH

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth
People who say the ATI 1900 has better IQ, try playing BF2 with a 7900GTX and see how crappy the shadows and the terrain look compared to a x1900xt

You don't make much sense. Is English your first language? Anyway I think you're trying to say that the 1900xt has bad IQ in BF2. I think you're full of it. My ATI card looks great in BF2. There is no blockiness to the shadows as you claimed in your other thread. If you're gonna go around repeating this nonsense in the forum, how about posting some screenshots to back it up? Along with a screenshot to show that you're using the latest Catalyst drivers.

Do you own a 7900gtx and can compare the 2? Then Leave it to PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY OWN IT.

And what are you? the grammar police? Stfu.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: Blurred Reality
The above posters are right too, theres a 1900XT on sale on newegg for $434... I could use the extra $70 I save to get another 1GB Ram. (I posted 2GB as my current specs because I'm planning on ordering that tonight as well, along with whatever card...) So for the total of a XTX I could get a XT plus 1GB G.Skill ram.

As far as the games I play, like I said mainly MMORPG's, I'll also play some more minor games that don't require insane graphics, I feel like I might start getting into the FPS Genere. I'm not sure which is best, going with a single card solution like 7900GTX or 1900XT, or just getting something cheaper like the 7900GT for now, and then having the option of getting a 2nd one in the future.

thought dual gpu wasn't an option for you?

while i prefer sli over crossfire (mainly for lack of decent motherboards), ati's "super aa" modes beat out "sli aa", and if you play mmorpg's, you may benefit from the aa modes, as well as ati's HiQ AF mode.

overall, after spending alot of time before ordering, this is what i concluded:

- performance is about equal
- gtx quieter (gt's are apparently quite loud tho), cooler, and uses less power than x1900
- AA slight edge nvidia
- ati AF > nv AF
- avivo > purevideo
- sli > crossfire for maturity, features (ati southbridge issues and requirement of master card)
- crossfire > sli for AA modes/performance

anyway, after considering those points i decided to go ati this round. my gaming habit seems a lot like yours atm (playing daoc & wow, bf2 and cod2 in between), and felt the better quality AF and overall less performance penalty from higher AA modes benefitted the rpg's gamestyles.... for me anyway.. good luck w/ whatever you choose.

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth

Originally posted by: M0RPH

Originally posted by: MyStupidMouth
People who say the ATI 1900 has better IQ, try playing BF2 with a 7900GTX and see how crappy the shadows and the terrain look compared to a x1900xt

You don't make much sense. Is English your first language? Anyway I think you're trying to say that the 1900xt has bad IQ in BF2. I think you're full of it. My ATI card looks great in BF2. There is no blockiness to the shadows as you claimed in your other thread. If you're gonna go around repeating this nonsense in the forum, how about posting some screenshots to back it up? Along with a screenshot to show that you're using the latest Catalyst drivers.

Do you own a 7900gtx and can compare the 2? Then Leave it to PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY OWN IT.

And what are you? the grammar police? Stfu.

why so obnoxious? he has an ati card and doesn't experience the issues you claim (no less valid than those who aren't bothered by "shimmering"). he simply asked for you to share examples of what you're talking about.

certainly did not call for a response like that....

so how about posting some pics and sharing the issues with us?