POLL: Worthwhile upgrade or wait?

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: apoppin
once the drivers mature ... *agreed*

sure ... but 4GB is SO much better

you were ... tolerant

doubt it
--which year?

/you mind only

Seriously, on my 9700Pro, the game ran great at launch unpatched.

Crysis will be the game of the year whenever it's released, this year in all likelihood (it looks like they're making very good progress based on the videos I've seen of it).

2GB and a good flash drive for ReadyBoost make Vista far more responsive than XP, believe me. The new UI is nice too, along with the plethora of hardware analysis and diagnostic tools, widgets, and accessories. I love the backup tool too. I've enjoyed my upgrade so far, aside from the buggy nVidia drivers (yes, they suck, and I can't run Far Cry!).

P.S. I did pwn you.

 

[apoppin]

lucky you ... it ran like utter garbage until 1.03 on mine [and i thankfully got it late]

STAKLKER is already GotY, imo ... crysis has a high bar to hit .. and i don't mean gfx

Vista is *awesome* for everything - except gaming

PS: you thought so

 

[SickBeast]

Originally posted by: apoppin
Vista is *awesome* for everything - except gaming

Yeah and that's ironic due to the fact that soon enough everyone that wants to play DX10 games will be forced to upgrade to it. That's why I bought it, which rather irriates me. I figured I would eventually need it for my 8800GTS, and since MS rarely drops the price of their OSes, I might as well use it now and enjoy it. I paid around $140 for it, which was the same as the cost of an XP Pro licence.

 

[Cheex]

1) I think I'm really missing out on some of the eye candy by not having SM 3.0, please tell me if I'm wrong. My X850XT only has SM 2.0 & VM 2.0.

2) Also, I would like some clarification on the pixel pipeline question. My card has 16 pipes. The X1900GT that I'm thinking about getting has 12 pipelines (36 pixel shader processors). What exactly does this mean??!

 

[Canterwood]

Originally posted by: SickBeast

Originally posted by: apoppin
Vista is *awesome* for everything - except gaming

Yeah and that's ironic due to the fact that soon enough everyone that wants to play DX10 games will be forced to upgrade to it. That's why I bought it, which rather irriates me. I figured I would eventually need it for my 8800GTS, and since MS rarely drops the price of their OSes, I might as well use it now and enjoy it. I paid around $140 for it, which was the same as the cost of an XP Pro license.

I can't be bothered with the hassle of Vista right now.
XP is serving me well, and I won't 'upgrade' to Vista until the end of the year.

Why, well let me tell you,

1) Service Pack 1, bug fixes and the inclusion of those 'features' that were cut from Vista.

2) Much more mature drivers

3) Some actual DX10 games.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Cheex
1) I think I'm really missing out on some of the eye candy by not having SM 3.0, please tell me if I'm wrong. My X850XT only has SM 2.0 & VM 2.0.

2) Also, I would like some clarification on the pixel pipeline question. My card has 16 pipes. The X1900GT that I'm thinking about getting has 12 pipelines (36 pixel shader processors). What exactly does this mean??!

1) no
[you are right you ARE missing out ... 1 or 2 games won't even run on your ancient GPU]

2) i think your card has 8

at any rate

the GT is considerably faster

haven't you got it already?


and check hot deals ... i *think* the GT is on sale
[after MIR]

 

[evolucion8]

Originally posted by: Cheex
1) I think I'm really missing out on some of the eye candy by not having SM 3.0, please tell me if I'm wrong. My X850XT only has SM 2.0 & VM 2.0.

2) Also, I would like some clarification on the pixel pipeline question. My card has 16 pipes. The X1900GT that I'm thinking about getting has 12 pipelines (36 pixel shader processors). What exactly does this mean??!

Your X850XT has 16 pixel pipelines with 16 pixel shaders, 6 vertex shader processors an can process up to 16ROP's and 16 Z values. The X1950PRO has only 12 pixel pipelines with 36 pixel shaders, 8 vertex shaders and can process only up to 12ROP's and 12 Z values. The X1950PRO will still be faster in current games due to a more efficient architecture, games are approaching at math power and not texture power, that's why even though the X1950PRO has a pixel fillrate deficit against the X850XT, still able to outperform it.

 

[apoppin]

oops

thanks for clarifying e8

...

... actually the OP is getting a x1950GT ... not a pro ... but it is still faster than the old x850xt

anyway

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102034

Sapphire Technology Limited
SAPPHIRE 100199L Radeon X1950GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express x16 HDCP Video Card - Retail

$109.99 after $30.00 Mail-In Rebate

*In Stock*

now there's NO excuse for waiting


did i just recommend a Sapphire ?
:Q

at least newegg will exchange them for a full year
:thumbsup:

NM about the Sapphire $15 rma "processing fee" ... that's after they newegg year
:roll:

i'll spare you all the lecture

 

[Cheex]

How much faster is the X1950GT ($140) than the X1900GT ($130)??

A point of note: I live in Jamaica so the MIR does not apply to me.


PS: Great explanation evolucion8...Thanx.

 

[Cheex]

I am asking because the the X1950GT isn't listed on Tom's Hardware VGA Charts.

Is there an "equal" card that I could use to compare it with the X1900GT in the charts??

 

[apoppin]

search for anand's article on the 1950GT

or any other reliable site ... they discuss the 'upgrade'

i just don't remember the difference being very much

 

[Cookie Monster]

I suggest the OP waits.

Most of the cards you have on your poll crawl in modern games right now, unless your turning down the settings abit (ingame settings, AA/AF, res etc).

By then, the prices on the 8800GTS wouldve fell quite abit. And plus, the R600XL might show up during that time so. There also the RV630XT and the 8600GTS around the corner.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
I suggest the OP waits.

Most of the cards you have on your poll crawl in modern games right now, unless your turning down the settings abit (ingame settings, AA/AF, res etc).

By then, the prices on the 8800GTS wouldve fell quite abit. And plus, the R600XL might show up during that time so. There also the RV630XT and the 8600GTS around the corner.

*excuse me*

i have a x1950p which is a bit faster than his proposed GT ... and *all* my latest '05-'07 games play at my 14x9 resolution fluidly with most details maxed including most shadow options AND with some AA/AF .. 2-4xAA/4-16xAF

letsee ... i got STALKER which is BRAND NEW '07 ... and Oblivion's Kts/9 is still pretty new ... SI certainly is ... FEAR's Xpack is demanding as hell ... also from '06 ... all very smooth
-and i have Zero FPS below 25 [of course the CPU is also capable] in Extraction Point

did you also realize this is a THIRTY dollar upgrade over his HDR-less x850xt?
:Q



what are you talking about? ... if you mean High res, then yeah - it will make it slow ... but the x1950p or gt is ideal for 10x12

he plans to get a DX10 card for Crysis and can probably sell the GT, late next year for $80

 

[Cookie Monster]

Originally posted by: apoppin

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
I suggest the OP waits.

Most of the cards you have on your poll crawl in modern games right now, unless your turning down the settings abit (ingame settings, AA/AF, res etc).

By then, the prices on the 8800GTS wouldve fell quite abit. And plus, the R600XL might show up during that time so. There also the RV630XT and the 8600GTS around the corner.

*excuse me*

i have a x1950p which is a bit faster than his proposed GT ... and *all* my latest '05-'07 games play at my 14x9 resolution fluidly with most details maxed including most shadow options AND with some AA/AF .. 2-4xAA/4-16xAF

letsee ... i got STALKER which is BRAND NEW '07 ... and Oblivion's Kts/9 is still pretty new ... SI certainly is ... FEAR's Xpack is demanding as hell ... also from '06 ... all very smooth
-and i have Zero FPS below 25 [of course the CPU is also capable] in Extraction Point

did you also realize this is a THIRTY dollar upgrade over his HDR-less x850xt?
:Q



what are you talking about? ... if you mean High res, then yeah - it will make it slow ... but the x1950p or gt is ideal for 10x12

he plans to get a DX10 card for Crysis and can probably sell the GT, late next year for $80

And whats your ingame settings? Try max sliders for oblivion while your at it, and how about fear's ingame settings? are they maxed out? how about stalker? im also talking 4xAA/16xAF as a basic setting.

Notice i said "...unless your turning down the settings abit (ingame settings, AA/AF, res etc).."

Yet the OP whats to max those games out for once. So i suggest him to wait and save abit more money to buy a card that will play decently on upcoming titles, while allowing him to max out on older games like F.E.A.R etc.

I would suggest a 8800GTS 320mb (perfect for 12x10 res and easily beats all those cards in the poll by a big margin), but its probably not in his price range yet.

Actually, i agree with sickbeast. 8800GTS 320mb will be quite a leap from the X850XT and play all those games at settings OP never dreamed of.

 

[apoppin]

yes .. yes ... and ... yes .. generally only no "soft shadows" ... "no self shadows" ... or ... "shadows on grass" ...

*Specifically* in STALKER i get their 4x"AA" + HDR . ... *everything* 'on' and *max* ... --sliders all the way to the right

---except for 1) 'shadows on grass' [sun shadows ARE 'on'], 2) lighting distance 60% and 3) grass density down low

pretty damn good for a x1950p at 14x9 .... [imo]

and absolutely something my old rig with my x850xt could not do ... in fact FEAR is now maxed ... the x850 couldn't do it with mid details ... chug chug chug ... and instability at 11x8 or 12x9

there is NO doubt the GTS is faster ... but that would be 'it' for my CPU ... anything beyond my pro is bottlenecked by my CPU pretty badly

anyway for the OP ... he could use a faster GPU but only wants to spend $30

the GT would do it for him, i think ... as an *interim* upgrade ... which he understands

who knows? ... his friend will probably pay $100 for it next year

 

[Cheex]

I might be able to get $100 for any card i buy now, later this year.

What makes the X1950GT better than the X1900GT (they are both similarly clocked and have the same number of shader processors)????

 

[Cheex]

With all the buzz right now and judging from the poll....Since I'm not going to be waiting...I think I want the X1950PRO.
I hope this is a wise choice at $160 - $100 = $60....Any comments from this angle???

 

[apoppin]

yes ... do what *i* did ... i do NOT regret it

get the Pro

go for it

how many more angles to you want me to cover?

what are you waiting for?


you might have it by the Weekend if you order now

oh ... which one are you getting 256 or 512MB vRAM?

 

[Cheex]

I won't be able to get it by weekend. I might be able to order it by the weekend though, if my friend comes through with the $100.

I live in Jamaica so...
Newegg will get it to my mailing address in Florida in 3 days, my courier (who unfortunately only flies in once a week (Tuesday)) will get it to me in a week. So thats like 1.5 - 2 weeks. Anyway....I don't mind the wait....everything I buy is cheaper than it is locally (sometimes not even available here) and worth the wait.

I'll be getting the 256MB version. The 512MB version is too expensive at this point and IMHO, not worth it because I'll upgrade again in maybe less than a year.

 

[Cheex]

I now realize that I keep pushing my price up BUT...I think I have found a card that I can live with....


ULTIMATE ATI RADEON? X1950 PRO


Your thoughts and comments are valued and appreciated.

 

[apoppin]

if you're gonna spend that much .. get the 'XT'

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: apoppin
if you're gonna spend that much .. get the 'XT'

179.00$ after rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067

 

[Cheex]

Originally posted by: happy medium

Originally posted by: apoppin
if you're gonna spend that much .. get the 'XT'

179.00$ after rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067

To you both....I live in Jamaica so the rebate doesn't apply to me.

Also, I think this is the limit on my budget right now.

 

[Cheex]

Oh man...All you guys have done is give me a headache now...

The X1950XT looks SOOOOOOO attractive for $200 - $100 = $100.
As I said before, I think my pocket will currently max out at $75 (Ultimate X1950 PRO).

Now I really want the X1950XT and I'm unsure how to get it....

 

[apoppin]

just get the XT and quit giving *us* a headache
:roll:

[... have your friend get the rebate for you]