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Video card for new PC - Advice Appreciated

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anonymousvkfan

Member
I amazingly didn't stumble onto this site until just recently. Been using TigerDirect for years, and anandtech happened to be mentioned in one of the user reviews. First off, let me just say thanks to all the posters here. I've been using the search function and reading up on some hardware (which I get into below) and it's great to have objective analysis from fellow consumers (and seemingly educated ones, at that).

I recently graduated from college and will be moving soon. I don't have the heart to leave my little bro devoid of a PC, so I am looking to build a new one in the near future. Here is a brief description of the system I'm looking to construct:

AMD X2 3800+
Asus A8N-E / Asus A8N5X / Asus A8R MVP
Thermaltake TR2
Ultra X-Finity 500 Watt
Corsair Value 1GB Dual Channel DDR ( 2 x 512 )
Seagate 250GB SATA HDD
X-FI Platinum
Cooler Master Centurion 5

I am looking for advice regarding a video card for this system. I wouldn't say I'm a heavy gamer, but I'm enough of one to want a high end graphics card.

My little brother purchased FarCry when it came out. It ran horribly with the integrated graphics. I told him to buy a better video card, and he dropped about $150 for a nVidia FX5200 AGP at BestBuy. That was a huge mistake. FarCry still wouldn't run nicely. I did some research and eventually suggested a ATI Radeon 9600 series card, which provided an astounding leap in performance, and all parties were happy.

At the time, I swore I would never purchase another nVidia chipset video card. Now I have a dilemna. I'm looking at high-end 256MB video cards, and according to this site's performance reviews, the 7900 GT performs better than the comparibly-priced ATI options. I'm skeptical, and comments here seem to be mixed between nVidia and ATI supporters.

Right now the front runner is the XFX 7900 GT 520M XTREME video card ($290 after rebate at TigerDirect). I'm also looking at the Radeon X1800GTO ($230 at NewEgg) and some other comparably-priced ATI cards. Just curious to know if any one owns an XFX 7900 GT and would/wouldn't recommend it over the ATI alternatives. I'd like to get some educated opinions before I purchase from nVidia again.

Any assistance would be appreciated. Thanks in advance for replies.
 
I'm glad tigerdirect has miraculously worked for you... However, for me that place is POS. In time I realized most of the things I bought from them were USED. I've been to the local Miami store and it's the pits. Worst place to shop I've EVER been to...

anyway, depends on the game. the x1800xt 256mb is about $240 @ the moment. Super cheap. Great for just about every game. However, Nvidia has the edge in OpenGL games like doom 3 and quake 4 (barf). So it depends on whatchu want, dog.

Here's a newegg.com link (pretty much the best place to shop online along with zipzoomfly, IMO).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102698
 
Thanks for the reply. Sorry TigerDirect hasn't been good to you, I only have good things to say about them. All my parts ship from the Ohio warehouse, so maybe it's different in other areas of the country. I'm definitely looking at NewEgg, too, though.

I'll do some more research on the 1800XT. To be honest, my little brother brought home Oblivion for his Xbox a month or so ago. Not a huge RPG guy outside of FF7 for PS, but must say it was enjoyable for the couple of hours I played it. I've read the article here on Oblivion graphics card performance, and the 7900 does a little better than the 1800XT.

Just read the article about the AMD price drops coming up in late July. Bittersweet for me, because I was looking to build pretty soon. Maybe I'll have to stay at home for an additional month before moving out, which sucks because my daily commute is 1 1/2 hrs each way.
 
its the x1800xt that does better than the 7900gt, zipzoomfly is also a good retailer, as well as clubit. I would change that psu tho, xfinitys just look cool, most perform like crap, however you will find some reviews that say its a pretty stable psu but i find those reviewers to be inexperienced.
 
if u go with the 7900gt, the x1800xt 256/512mb, or anything higher ur not gonna be dissapointed. Overclocking aside they perform almost identically in most games (x1800 has slight edge in D3D, 7900 has slight edge in Opengl.) On a side note one more recommendation on ur system. Throw out that xfi in exchange for a cheaper but just as good audigy 2 zs. the money u save there will allow u to grab 2 gigs of RAM which will have a MUCH bigger influence on performance than an xfi. any enermax, pc power and cooling, seasonic, thermaltake, fortron, or epower PSU is gonna be fine so go with whatcha want. the 7900gt is gonna be cooler and use less power so might wanna take that into account.

Morgash
 
Currently researching the X1800XT, and it does appear intriguing. The problem most potential buyers have it is that reviews/comparisons for it generally don't specify whether or not they used the 256MB version ( the link you provided ) or the more expensive 512 MB version.

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2746&p=4

In test 1, the X1800 XT is 2.3 fps faster than the 7900 GT.
In test 2, the X1800 XT is 0.9 fps slower than the 7900 GT.
In test 3, the X1800 XT is 7.3 fps slower than the 7900 GT.

I'm running into the same problem here. If these tests were for the 256MB version of the X1800, then I would opt to go that direction. If they were for the 512MB version, I would probably opt for the 7900 GT.
 
Thanks everyone for the advice thus far.

Morgash, I couldn't justify dropping ~ $1500+ on a machine for gaming alone. I'm a guitar player and can frequently be found mixing / recording on my PC, much more often than I would be gaming. Sound must be at a premium for me, especially when recording. That's why I was drawn to the X-Fi. I'm also crazy about X-Fi's bay slot interface, that's going to save me a bunch of room.

I appreciate the advice, though. If I weren't a stickler for premium audio I would take you up on it. I do plan on upgrading to 2GB of RAM, but this is a step I can take at my own leisure when I have a few more paychecks under my belt.
 
The X1800XT for $219 on newegg is the best bang for your buck.

$150 for a FX5200... DAMN, man. Just damn. I was nearly suckered into one of those as well as fate would have it. Thankfully I had just registered with AAtech at the time and scored a 9600XT for $70. 🙂
 
Radeon 1900XT for 370-400$ from newegg with a good 550-600 watts or higher power supply

go with atleast 2gb, else there is no point, games won't run well, also corsair value select isn't supported with asus a8n e , atleast wasn't then , and may be not with asus a8n sli series either

please check manual and go for supported memory and at least 2gb of it
 
Originally posted by: akshayt
Radeon 1900XT for 370-400$ from newegg with a good 550-600 watts or higher power supply

go with atleast 2gb, else there is no point, games won't run well, also corsair value select isn't supported with asus a8n e , atleast wasn't then , and may be not with asus a8n sli series either

please check manual and go for supported memory and at least 2gb of it
Click to expand...

I thought the 1900XTX was CRAP?
 
Thanks for all the help thus far, everybody. I'll probably go in the X1800XT direction, unless there are some drastic price changes between now and the time I buy everything.

Originally posted by: Sonikku
$150 for a FX5200... DAMN, man. Just damn. I was nearly suckered into one of those as well as fate would have it. Thankfully I had just registered with AAtech at the time and scored a 9600XT for $70. 🙂
Click to expand...
Well, it was a couple of years ago (when FarCry came out). Still a horrible deal, though. Looking through the Sunday BestBuy ad today, I see they want $200 for a X1600PRO 512MB. The Sapphire is going for $130 at NewEgg. Long story short, nobody should ever purchase a video card from BestBuy.

akshayt, I'm a little confused why the A8N-E wouldn't accept the Corsair Value RAM. The Specs on the A8N-E I've read say it accepts DDR 266/PC 2100, DDR333/PC2700, and DDR400/PC3200. The Corsair RAM I'm looking at is 2 x 512MB, 400MHz PC3200 DDR. Sorry if there's something I'm missing, but would you be able to go into more detail no the problem?

 
Originally posted by: anonymousvkfan

akshayt, I'm a little confused why the A8N-E wouldn't accept the Corsair Value RAM. The Specs on the A8N-E I've read say it accepts DDR 266/PC 2100, DDR333/PC2700, and DDR400/PC3200. The Corsair RAM I'm looking at is 2 x 512MB, 400MHz PC3200 DDR. Sorry if there's something I'm missing, but would you be able to go into more detail no the problem?
Click to expand...

Personally, I would take everything akshayt says with a huge grain of salt at this point. He's pretty clueless in regards to actually getting a computer to work. Just look at the linked thread above where he's calling the XTX crap and you can get an idea. I, myself, was very shocked to find him in here suggesting anything since so many have given him suggestions to get his setup to work properly to no avail. And the worst part is, he's been incredibly ungrateful about it, but I think there's a culture gap involved.

Anyways, your ram should work perfectly fine since it is supported. The 1800XT is a great choice and you'll be able to do HDR+AA. Not sure if you know this, but the 7900gt can be volt modded to be just as fast if not faster than the 7900gtx. But if volt modding isnt your thing, than the 1800XT would be fine.
 
I currently have a P4 2.4 that's overclocked to about 2.8. That's the only thing I've ever overclocked/modded. Maybe if I'm feeling ambitious someday I'll look it up, but not a huge desire to do it right now. Thanks for clarifying the memory issue for me.

I was originally planning on going with one of the A8N-SLI motherboards until I read up on the subject on these forums. Most people suggested the A8N-E or A8N5X for a single video card setup, which is all I intend to implement. The A8R-MVP appeared to be giving people problems, so I'll probably stay away from that one. All in all, I feel much better about the upcoming purchase now that I've heard what everyone has to say.

From what I understand, the A8N-E is just an expanded version of the A8N5X. I realize this is the video forum and I don't mean to change the subject, but one of the downpoints of both mobo's mentioned above is that they only have 2 USB port connectors (with max capability of 10). They both come with a USB module that has two additional ports (and a cord that connects to the appropriate pins on the motherboard). 4 ports would be cutting it pretty tight for me. My current mobo came with a 4-port USB module. Can anyone tell me if these can be purchased separate of the motherboard and what they are officially called? I can't seem to get a hit on them. If possible, I'd like to avoid using up a PCI slot to add more USB ports.

Again, thanks for all the assistance thus far.
 
Originally posted by: spittledip
What is the warranty like for the sapphire x1800xt? I scoured their site but could not find the info..
Click to expand...

Sapphire offers a two year warranty, however I don't think it's as comprehensive as, say, evga's warranty (meaning the warranty is void if you mount a different heatsink on the card or you sustain irreversable damage from OC's etc.)
 
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