TOrn between 7900gt and X1800XT

[Chris2wire]

At stock settings the X1800XT appears to be a better card... Except for the few titles where nvidia cards blow the atis away...

But when overclocked there appears so much headroom for the nvidia cards like the 7900gt...

Im just torn. Someone make the decision for me.

 

[Looney]

Do you plan on OCing? If so, get the 7900GT then. If you don't, get the X1800XT.

 

[hclarkjr]

SAPPHIRE Radeon X1800XT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card - Retail $321
there is a 512 meg video card for a 7900GT price with an extra 256 meg of memory

 

[jtgameover]

i got the X1800xt 512MB when it was $309. i need the extra 256 MB because i have a widescreen 1680x1050 monitor.

 

[Chris2wire]

wait, enlighten me on that last comment..

What does having a widescreen monitor matter? THis is important because Ill be upgrading to a 19" widescreen... Let me know

And yes I do want to overclock, but am unsure about just how much.

 

[hclarkjr]

read here for comparison of 256 vs 512

 

[JEDIYoda]

Originally posted by: jtgameover
i got the X1800xt 512MB when it was $309. i need the extra 256 MB because i have a widescreen 1680x1050 monitor.

What does having an extra 256 MB have to do with having a wide screen...hmmmmm

 

[hclarkjr]

i think what he meant by that comment is that with the higher resolutions that you use on a widescreen that the extra memory would make a difference.

 

[Looney]

Originally posted by: hclarkjr
i think what he meant by that comment is that with the higher resolutions that you use on a widescreen that the extra memory would make a difference.

Except that widescreen has less resolution than a typical 20" (which is 1600x1200).

 

[hclarkjr]

here is the last page of that review i posted above of 256 vs 512 -
Final words

It?s very difficult to write a conclusion to this article, which is why I?m not even calling it a conclusion, it?s been named final words?
In every game under different testing methods we saw that 512MB does make a difference, and in some cases a large one. Quake 4?s performance increases in Ultra mode were the most impressive here, but HL2: Lost Coast also showed some credible boosts. F.E.A.R was not so impressive but in real world testing 512Mb showed its worth, especially on a system with 1GB RAM.

We saw that most games in medium to high quality settings used far more than 256MB to hold all the texture data, and so the overspill is already happening ? you do need 512MB of VRAM to hold all the texture and geometry data in VRAM. The question is, does using system memory for some of this have an impact on performance, and the answer seems to be only in extreme cases where 100MB or larger spills into system memory.

It?s so difficult to choose either way really. You could buy a 256MB card today and it would most definitely serve you well for a year or two, but on the other hand there is no reason not to get a 512Mb card other than price. The performance increase 512MB offers over 256MB is here today in game we all play and the gap will only increase with the next generation of titles, think UE3 and you?ll get what I mean.

I should also point out that this article assumes we are talking about cards like the 7800 GT or higher ? don?t waste your time with cards from the mid to low end, the extra memory won?t give you anything.

So, should you buy a 512MB card? Probably, but you?ll have to look hard at the data in this article to decide that one for yourself. Personally if I were looking for a new video card to last me a few years I would not even consider a 256MB card. If you?re like me and seem to have a new card at least once a year or less, don?t worry too much, 256MB will do you fine.


so for the same money as a 256 7900GT i would say that the ATI card is the better choice

 

[Praxis1452]

X1800XT can be oc'd as well. The 7900gt overclock's very well though. Just know you will void your warranty with any volt mod. X1800XT can use software volt mods. ATI has better image quality. X1800XT is loud. Not as loud as the X1900XT's or XTX's less heat but not by THAT much. Nvidia runs cooler and quieter but that 7900gt cooler is pathetic!

I don't like nvidia. But here are most of the pro's/cons. Feel free to list more.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

^^ wtf are you talking about. x1800 and x1900 uses the same cooler. they are not loud. they only spin up after 1.5-2 hours of gaming and when gaming i doubt a little fan noise will make u cry. i've owned the x1900 and x1800. do u have all 3 of those cards to state those OPINIONS?

-ati cards do have better quality when gaming as their frame rates dont drop sub60fps with aa/af/hdr on. my 6800 used to. even when playing on 1024x768. the fan on the 6800 used to squeal like a mouse when swimming fast, much like those small chipset fans on nf4 mbs.