Upgrading from a 1800XT

[napes22]

I have had this build since August of 2006 and have upgraded everything at least once with the exception of the video card (and of course the mobo) - Specs are in my sig.

I'd like to upgrade my card - the 1800XT is pretty outdated at this point, and my Cooler (VF1-Plus) has been making really frustrating noises and I think it's on its way out. I haven't really paid much attention to new cards and technologies out since then, mainly because of working way too much.

I've heard nothing but good things about the two cards below. Are these good for me given my build below? Any other suggestions?

Radeon HD 4830:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102803

MSI N9800GT:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814127387

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Yeh, those cards would be a good fit for your system.

 

[severus]

I upgraded from an X1950Pro to an 8800gt in September of last year. I game on 1440X900 an honestly I didn't notice a "huge" improvement on my res. I say it depends on your res before you go an upgrade. I'd probably chose the 4830 over the 8800/9800gt if I were you. My friend has an extremely similar setup to mine and his 4830 seems to marginally outperform my card and the quality of visuals looks better.

 

[Denithor]

What resolution do you use for gaming? What games do you play? Is your CPU overclocked or stock?

The 4830 @ $90AR is a much better deal than the 9800GT @ $115AR. In terms of performance these cards are pretty well even so it comes down to price and the 4830 clearly wins this comparison.

A full generation back the 3850 beat up the x1950xtx. The 4830 has more muscle than the 3850 and the x1950xtx is considerably stronger than your x1800xt so I would imagine you will see a nice improvement in gaming performance.

EDIT: The reason I ask about your CPU & resolution is at lower resolutions (about 1280x1024 & below) your CPU has a lot more impact on game performance than it does at higher resolutions. So if you're running at low res you may not see much improvement from a GPU upgrade if your CPU doesn't hold up its end of the workload.

EDIT2: Nice old-school gaming rigs there, severus! The jump from x1950pro to 9800GT isn't as big as the jump napes22 is considering, from x1800xt to 4830 (3 generations versus 5 generations).

EDIT3: And it looks like there's a $5 coupon code for that 4830 also: EMCABBEAK. GL!

 

[SlowSpyder]

Those cards are pretty equal. I dont' see why anyone would spend the extra for the 9800GT in this case. Get the 4830. :thumbsup:

 

[napes22]

Thanks guys - I play on 1680x1050. Most of the games I play are Valve related (CS Source, Portal, Team Fortress) but also Fallout 3, and Bioshock.

My card isn't slow, but I figured it's about time I upgraded. I've been thinking about getting a new build together, but I'd rather just get the new card for now, and build later in the year.

 

[Bryf50]

Yea definatly a worthwhile upgrade. I use 1680x1050 as well and went from an x1800xt 256mb to an 8800gt. I'm pretty sure the 4830 performs about the same as the 8800gt. I even used it with an oced x2 3800+ for a while and it was still a night and day difference.

 

[napes22]

I just realized my motherboard doesn't have any PCI-e 2.0 slots. I haven't bought the card yet - would I experience any drop in performance if I bought the 4830 and put it in a normal PCI-e x16 slot, as opposed to a 2.0 slot?

 

[Concillian]

Originally posted by: napes22
I just realized my motherboard doesn't have any PCI-e 2.0 slots. I haven't bought the card yet - would I experience any drop in performance if I bought the 4830 and put it in a normal PCI-e x16 slot, as opposed to a 2.0 slot?

No. nothing noticeable anyway. Very minor impact, especially when you're talking about a single card at the $100 performance level.

 

[Marty502]

I'd suggest overclocking the crap out of that X2 CPU.

I'm on a pretty fast video card right now, and if I keep the CPU at it's stock 2 Ghz, the difference is pretty noticeable to 2.6 Ghz. Particularly in games like GTA 4 and Crysis Warhead. And I play at 1680x1050 too.

So get the 4830, take that X2 to at least 2.6 Ghz, and you'll be set for a while.

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: Marty502
I'd suggest overclocking the crap out of that X2 CPU.

I'm on a pretty fast video card right now, and if I keep the CPU at it's stock 2 Ghz, the difference is pretty noticeable to 2.6 Ghz. Particularly in games like GTA 4 and Crysis Warhead. And I play at 1680x1050 too.

So get the 4830, take that X2 to at least 2.6 Ghz, and you'll be set for a while.

yeah even at 2.6 the X2 is sluggish compared to a decent Core 2. I had a 5000 X2 and had a massive increase performance going to a Core 2 cpu. hell when I had a 5000 X2 no video card upgrade could give me better minimum framerates than I had with an 8600gt so that tells you just how bad that cpu can hold you back. sure my max and averages went up but overall gameplay was irritating in newer games becasue of the low minimums.

 

[napes22]

I forgot to update my sig... I had upgraded to a 6000+ about a year ago. I won't need to OC now right? I'd notice the difference right off the bat?

 

[toyota]

Originally posted by: napes22
I forgot to update my sig... I had upgraded to a 6000+ about a year ago. I won't need to OC now right? I'd notice the difference right off the bat?

well that will certainly help over the other X2 that you had. still though with any of the high end cards you wont be getting all they have to offer especially in some newer titles. with a 4830 or 9800gt it would not be a terrible mismatch though.