Radeon X1950 - relic or usable

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taltamir

Lifer
Mar 21, 2004
13,576
6
76
Use the integrated GPU, it will be just as fast and have recent drivers.

Interesting thing about drivers, is that newer versions improve performance.
I wonder how they compare with latest drivers.

OP, what you are looking at is rather obscure so you aren't gonna find hard info, no professional "wastes" his time on hardware this old yet it is an important question to many people (my own video card is being omitted from modern comparisons too, shame).

What I suggest is that you benchmark it yourself, share the results with the world, and make your decision based on benchmark results
 

Tempered81

Diamond Member
Jan 29, 2007
6,374
1
81
I bet the x1950 would give decent frames being pushed by a 3570K. I think you should at least test it out in a game or two before you pass it along.

I'm fairly certain it would be more powerful than the igp.
 

PingSpike

Lifer
Feb 25, 2004
21,729
559
126
I'd really love to see some comparisons between the x1950 and the hd4000. My gut feeling is the hd4000 will not do as well as people suggest. Even modern IGP's are hamstrung by memory bandwidth when compared to old dedicated cards.
 

guskline

Diamond Member
Apr 17, 2006
5,338
476
126
My present system has a x1950 card and I have new stuff on the way-
GA Z77X-ud3h and a i5 3570

Is the x-1950 any use at all on the new system? I have a brother that I am going to see next week and he would like the card. His system is as old as mine. I wanted to take it to him and use the on chip video until I have time to decide what to about a new card. I plan to decide what games I want to take up and play. I would expect that will take about a month and then I will have more of an idea about what card to buy. Now retired and have the time but living on a fixed income and value is taking on a more important meaning.

Been away a long time - sorry if this question is out of line.
Tell us more about your system upgrade. What operating system. How much ram etc. From my research the x1950 can clearly be used and might have some advantage over the integrated video on the 3570. Will your brother pay you anything for the x1950?
 

bigsnyder

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2004
1,568
2
81
I am willing to bet a nickel that X1950 (Pro variant at least) will outpace HD4000, especially at higher resolutions. Bottom line, if you already have it, no reason not to try it.
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
7,949
48
91
www.techbuyersguru.com
If it's a single-slot 1950gt, get rid of it, it's a dog. Just took one to a scrap recycler because it would overheat itself to shutdown at the desktop (90C).

If it's a dual-slot x1950xt, it's worth keeping around. As others have said, it's about equivalent to Ivy's built-in graphics, so don't use it in that system. For an older system in need of a video card, it's definitely fine.
 

D Cup

Junior Member
May 14, 2012
12
0
0
My new system will be Gigabyte GA-Z77X-ud3h with an i5 3570 with Win 7 32 bit so only 4gb ram. I have two programs I use that 2 of us have not been able to get to run on 64 bit Windoze. Although I had planned to wait I am about to pull the trigger on a Samsung 830 ssd. I tried and tried to justify the Plextor pro but $110 for the 128gb Samsung 830 is just too cheap. I will try to run some test and report back the numbers late next week if everything gets here - SSD probably wont make it
 

fuzzymath10

Senior member
Feb 17, 2010
520
2
81
From an efficiency perspective, doesn't seem worth it to run an ancient fast GPU that will draw as much as the CPU+IGP combined, when it might be in the same performance ballpark, particularly since your new GPU is "free" (if you had to choose between paying $50 for a new low end card or using a fast old card, then the argument is different).

I think there is still a noticeable stigma against the newer Intel IGP (HD 2000-4000) even though they are quite good relatively speaking. We aren't talking about the GMA 950 anymore.
 

vailr

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
5,365
54
91
My new system will be Gigabyte GA-Z77X-ud3h with an i5 3570 with Win 7 32 bit so only 4gb ram. I have two programs I use that 2 of us have not been able to get to run on 64 bit Windoze.

What programs? that can't run in compatability mode on 64-bit Windows 7.
 

2is

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2012
4,281
131
106
From an efficiency perspective, doesn't seem worth it to run an ancient fast GPU that will draw as much as the CPU+IGP combined, when it might be in the same performance ballpark, particularly since your new GPU is "free" (if you had to choose between paying $50 for a new low end card or using a fast old card, then the argument is different).

I think there is still a noticeable stigma against the newer Intel IGP (HD 2000-4000) even though they are quite good relatively speaking. We aren't talking about the GMA 950 anymore.

The 1950 is free too, he's not talking about buying it, he's talking about using it. If you want to game, the 1950 is going to be better.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4000

1950 scores 827 in passmark g3d while HD 4000 scores 602. Which equates to the 1950 being 37% faster.

That's the difference between running a game at 30fps vs 41 fps. Not exactly insignificant.

If you're not gaming, then by all means the HD 4000 is certainly the way to go.
 

borisvodofsky

Diamond Member
Feb 12, 2010
3,606
0
0
The 1950 is free too, he's not talking about buying it, he's talking about using it. If you want to game, the 1950 is going to be better.

http://www.videocardbenchmark.net/video_lookup.php?gpu=Intel+HD+4000

1950 scores 827 in passmark g3d while HD 4000 scores 602. Which equates to the 1950 being 37% faster.

That's the difference between running a game at 30fps vs 41 fps. Not exactly insignificant.

If you're not gaming, then by all means the HD 4000 is certainly the way to go.

It's significantly more than 37% faster in a REAL game. :D

Not to mention the increased visual effects qualities, which may even be missing on the iGPU

Oh yea, AA and AF actually works well on a gfx card vs the dreaded igpu.