questions about getting an X1900 XT

[nikko]

So I'm in the market for a video card upgrade. I currently have an overclocked BFG 6800 GT. I haven't been keeping up with the hardware scene since then, so I'm not sure what I need to be aware of before making a purchase. Would love some informed input.

A quick search of Anandtech leads me to believe that the ATI X1900 XT is considered the best available card right now performance wise. Is that accurate? And is that a fairly universal opinion? How does whatever the best nVidia has to offer right now compare?

Is there any reason I shouldn't get the X1900 XT? If I end up getting that card, I was thinking I would just buy the version put out by ATI, as opposed to one by Power Color, Saphire, Asus, etc. What's the difference? Is one better than the other?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[Cooler]

Originally posted by: nikko
So I'm in the market for a video card upgrade. I currently have an overclocked BFG 6800 GT. I haven't been keeping up with the hardware scene since then, so I'm not sure what I need to be aware of before making a purchase. Would love some informed input.

A quick search of Anandtech leads me to believe that the ATI X1900 XT is considered the best available card right now performance wise. Is that accurate? And is that a fairly universal opinion? How does whatever the best nVidia has to offer right now compare?

Is there any reason I shouldn't get the X1900 XT? If I end up getting that card, I was thinking I would just buy the version put out by ATI, as opposed to one by Power Color, Saphire, Asus, etc. What's the difference? Is one better than the other?

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

if you want high end then x1900xt is for you.

 

[mwmorph]

x1900xtx is a little faster for a huge increase in price. Powercolor has lifetime warranty. Saoohure has a 3 year warranty Ati has a 1 year. Asus has 3 and a custom fan i think for a much higher price.

 

[LW07]

Get the X1900XT

 

[Beef Taco]

Is your current card in the AGP interface? Because if it is, you will have to get a whole new rig. By that i mean a new CPU, new motherboard, and possibly a new PSU. You should however, be able to resuse your RAM, HDD, and CD drives ect.

 

[CaiNaM]

it's pretty clear the x1900xt is the fastest single card out there.

they are also the most expensive (tho some can now be found for a little under $500)

they are very power hungry, and they are loud - some ppl have nor problem with that, but a couple people over at rage even returned them due to the "dustbusteresque" noise. guess it depends on how sensitive you are to stuff like that.

might wait a bit as the nvidia refreshes are coming in a couple of weeks, and the gtx is supposed to be almost as fast, or as fast, and quite a bit cheaper (tho who knows if x1900 prices will come down or not) and i've also heard rumors of an x1900xl (little slower, but single slot and much quieter) coming very shortly.

i'm in a similar situation myself, and not sure if i'm gonna wait or get one this week.....

 

[nikko]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
x1900xtx is a little faster for a huge increase in price. Powercolor has lifetime warranty. Saoohure has a 3 year warranty Ati has a 1 year. Asus has 3 and a custom fan i think for a much higher price.

Ok, thanks. So is the general consensus that the primary difference between all the manufacturers is the warranty? Is the ATI version as overclockable as the other manufacturers'?

Originally posted by: CaiNaM

they are very power hungry, and they are loud - some ppl have nor problem with that, but a couple people over at rage even returned them due to the "dustbusteresque" noise. guess it depends on how sensitive you are to stuff like that.

Thanks for the info. Does anyone know if there there are any effective fixes for the noise? Maybe a special HSF or something?

 

[CaiNaM]

Originally posted by: nikko
Thanks for the info. Does anyone know if there there are any effective fixes for the noise? Maybe a special HSF or something?

heh.. ck out this solution: Sapphire X1900XT meets Thermalright V1 Ultra

 

[Elfear]

There are a few aftermarket hsf's for the X1900 series out already. They do cut down on the noise but they run about as hot as the stock hsf, from what I've seen. I used the stock cooler for about a week and I honestly didn't think it was that loud. CaiNaM did bring up a good point, but unless you have very poor airflow through your case, the stock fan won't spin up to annoying speeds. This has been the experience of quite a few people that I've seen

Most of the cards will overclock the same. There seems to be a rumor going around that the Sapphire brand cards oc better but it's somewhat unsubstantiated right now. Your warranty is nil and void if you oc anyway so get whatever card is cheapest.

 

[sodcha0s]

CaiNaM did bring up a good point, but unless you have very poor airflow through your case, the stock fan won't spin up to annoying speeds. This has been the experience of quite a few people that I've seen

This is what I've been thinking, as I have an X1900XTX and in all honesty, it isn't loud. I can play Quake4 all day long and the fan never spins up, or if it does it's not by much and I can't hear it. At full speed like when you first boot, it is insanely loud...LOL but it never gets near that speed gaming or otherwise for me. Obviously, if your case temps are high or you have hot CPU air getting sucked straight into the cards cooler, your experience might be different.

 

[Yreka]

Originally posted by: Elfear
There are a few aftermarket hsf's for the X1900 series out already. They do cut down on the noise but they run about as hot as the stock hsf, from what I've seen. I used the stock cooler for about a week and I honestly didn't think it was that loud. CaiNaM did bring up a good point, but unless you have very poor airflow through your case, the stock fan won't spin up to annoying speeds. This has been the experience of quite a few people that I've seen

Most of the cards will overclock the same. There seems to be a rumor going around that the Sapphire brand cards oc better but it's somewhat unsubstantiated right now. Your warranty is nil and void if you oc anyway so get whatever card is cheapest.

Elfear, do you have a water block on that card yet ? If so which one are you using ? I'm most likely going back to water next week.

 

[Wreckage]

Originally posted by: nikko

Is there any reason I shouldn't get the X1900 XT?

A lot of things may change in a few weeks when the 7900GTX is released.

At the very least the prices of the XTX could come down.

 

[Robor]

Originally posted by: sodcha0s

CaiNaM did bring up a good point, but unless you have very poor airflow through your case, the stock fan won't spin up to annoying speeds. This has been the experience of quite a few people that I've seen

This is what I've been thinking, as I have an X1900XTX and in all honesty, it isn't loud. I can play Quake4 all day long and the fan never spins up, or if it does it's not by much and I can't hear it. At full speed like when you first boot, it is insanely loud...LOL but it never gets near that speed gaming or otherwise for me. Obviously, if your case temps are high or you have hot CPU air getting sucked straight into the cards cooler, your experience might be different.

I can echo that statement. I played HL2 for about 90 minutes today and I never heard the fan spin up any higher than when I'm not gaming. I guess it helps to have a well ventilated case. Mine is in a Sonata and I think it moves the air pretty well.

 

[Soccerman06]

The only 2 reasons why you should wait is:

1. 7900GTX might be faster (probably not)
2. DX10/unified shader architecture will be out in a few months

 

[nib95]

Originally posted by: Soccerman06
The only 2 reasons why you should wait is:

1. 7900GTX might be faster (probably not)
2. DX10/unified shader architecture will be out in a few months

To both of those (not so much the first) I say it doesnt matter, as you can always sell a card just before a new cards release and get nearly all your money back, and afford the new one.
It just means for a week or two your stuck with integrated graphics.

Why wait?

If you play it smart you could potentially be always using the best GPU's for only £50 a year loss. Which imo is worth it, I know to some it definately wouldnt be.

 

[Yreka]

The noise of the stock cooler isnt all that bad. I have a Seasonic PSU, other than that I have 3 total 120mm fans undervolted in a Silverstone TJ02 so its a failry quiet system. Don't get me wrong, its easily the loudest thing in my case, but under normal use I don't find it any more obscene than my old 7800GT SLI setup.

As has been stated, it is only loud running at full bore and I have NEVER seen it get up to that speed on auto control except bootup. I find when I am manually playing with the fan speed, my annoyance threshold is about 70%. I am more concerned with the d&$# temps. It was getting up to 85c on me earlier, and the fan still hovered around 60-70% *est* If my only options are cranking the fan >70 or changing coolers, ruby is getting yanked.

I can tell you what I DONT like about the card, if you are looking for some cons.

#1 ATI drivers.. I know I know I went there.. For the most part, everything works fine. There are just little quirks that irritate me, and they mostly revolve around minimizing game windows. Things like changing gamma when switching from full to windowed in D3D apps. Having a D3D app running windowed, moving the cursor off the screen causes the window to slideshow.
#2 warm reboots, I get a sync error with my 2005fpw. I have to cycle inputs, or do a cold reboot to get it back to a workable display.
#3 temps as mentioned above. They dont cause me any problem directly, just make me a bit uncomfortable

Thats really it, other than that it has been a stellar card.