Which ATi card? x1600 or x1800 or something else?

[Rerednaw]

Hi.

I'm putting together a game system and could use some help on video cards.

x600, x700, x800, x850, x1300, x1600, x1800, x1900?

I've been out of the loop for too long and am trying to compare all of these. Now I think that an x1600 is the same GPU series and basic features of the x1800 and x1900, just slower, am I right or is there some tweaks as well? I know that the x1800 and x1900 have more shaders...

I believe the x850 is the replacement for x800 and doesn't add any new features.

I think the x600 and x700 are budget cards and are therefore not what I am looking for.

Right now I am leaning towards an x1600 based on price to performance, is it worth going from $120 ish for a x1600 to $230 ish for a x1800?

Oh if this helps this is the rest of the system (so far and subject to change)

Antec 1050B
MSI Neo4 Platinum
Athlon 64 3000+ Socket 939
2x1 GB PC3200 400MHZ NON-ECC 184-PIN DDR DIMM
SATA-2 HD (To be determined)

Cheers.

 

[coldpower27]

All ATI??? You don't wish to consider a Nvidia based solution?

 

[Golgatha]

The x1600 is basically 1/2 everything (except pixel shaders?) of an X1900 series. The X1900 series is basically an X1800XT with 48 pixel shaders instead of 16, and has slightly higher clock speeds. The X1600 series is a piece of trash for gaming if you like to turn settings up. X1800XT is worth every penny and probably best price to performance ratio when going with ATI. X1900XT is just a X1800XT on steroids and you pay about $150 for the steroids. Now if you're thinking about ATI Crossfire in the future, then that might be better off with X1900 because the X1800 Crossfire boards are outrageously priced unless you can find one used.

 

[Rerednaw]

I'm more familiar with ATi than Nvidia. If there is a comparable Nvidia then I'm more than open to it.

 

[Golgatha]

7900GT FTW if you want nVidia.

 

[coldpower27]

Originally posted by: Golgatha
The x1600 is basically 1/2 everything (except pixel shaders?) of an X1900 series. The X1900 series is basically an X1800XT with 48 pixel shaders instead of 16, and has slightly higher clock speeds. The X1600 series is a piece of trash for gaming if you like to turn settings up. X1800XT is worth every penny and probably best price to performance ratio when going with ATI. X1900XT is just a X1800XT on steroids and you pay about $150 for the steroids. Now if you're thinking about ATI Crossfire in the future, then that might be better off with X1900 because the X1800 Crossfire boards are outrageously priced unless you can find one used.

Try 1/4 man.

 

[Rerednaw]

Originally posted by: Golgatha
7900GT FTW if you want nVidia.

A 7900GT is comparable to ??? Pricewise it is the same as a x1900.

What is the performance for price? It seems about 20-40% performance for about 100-200% price.

Cheers.

 

[Rerednaw]

Originally posted by: Golgatha
The x1600 is basically 1/2 everything (except pixel shaders?) of an X1900 series...

Thanks for the tip. I'll stick with an x1800.

 

[coldpower27]

Originally posted by: Rerednaw

Originally posted by: Golgatha
7900GT FTW if you want nVidia.

A 7900GT is comparable to ??? Pricewise it is the same as a x1900.

What is the performance for price? It seems about 20-40% performance for about 100-200% price.

Cheers.

Really? Where do you live may I ask? In the US. the 7900 GT is ~ 320US which is only inline with X1800 XT ~ 330US.

In Canada, which applies to me, 7900 GT is 400 CAN, which you won't find X1800 XT, X1900 XT, or XTX anywhere close to.

 

[Munky]

If you're not tight on cash, then I would only consider the newer cards for a gaming system. Some choices are:

x1800xt or 7900gt for ~$280 - 350
x1900xt or x1900xtx or 7900gtx for ~$450 - 550
If you're on a budget, then a 7600gt is a good card for under $200.

 

[v8envy]

Seconded. The X1600Pro is also a budget/value card. It has its uses and isn't bad for $100, but definitely not in the same league as other video cards mentioned. It is precisely 1/4 of a X1900 in terms of shaders/TMUs/ROPs/other pipeline fragments and has a 128 bit memory bus. The XT is slightly better, but not enough better than a 6600GT to warrant a $150-ish price tag.

X600 is the Radeon 9600 XT on PCIe. X700 is pretty comprable to a 9800Pro, but not worth considering at its price point. Various X800 series are zippy, but at every price level there's a better, more featureful NVidia equivalent. X1300 is even worse than an X1600, but sells for about the same price.

The only interesting ATI cards for this generation are the X1800XT and X1900XT. You'll notice a trend in the new video hardware -- lots more pixel shaders. The X1900XT has the edge here, but the X1800XT is definitely no slouch, doubly so for the price.

Your only choices for ATI are the X1900XT and X1800XT. If you don't get one of those, you're *MUCH* better off with NV's offerings.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: v8envy
Seconded. The X1600Pro is also a budget/value card. It has its uses and isn't bad for $100, but definitely not in the same league as other video cards mentioned. It is precisely 1/4 of a X1900 in terms of shaders/TMUs/ROPs/other pipeline fragments and has a 128 bit memory bus. The XT is slightly better, but not enough better than a 6600GT to warrant a $150-ish price tag.

X600 is the Radeon 9600 XT on PCIe. X700 is pretty comprable to a 9800Pro, but not worth considering at its price point. Various X800 series are zippy, but at every price level there's a better, more featureful NVidia equivalent. X1300 is even worse than an X1600, but sells for about the same price.

The only interesting ATI cards for this generation are the X1800XT and X1900XT. You'll notice a trend in the new video hardware -- lots more pixel shaders. The X1900XT has the edge here, but the X1800XT is definitely no slouch, doubly so for the price.

Your only choices for ATI are the X1900XT and X1800XT. If you don't get one of those, you're *MUCH* better off with NV's offerings.

I'd second that. Anything below an X1800 series with ATI is a waste of good money. If your budget can handle $330, then I personally think the X1800XT 512MB is worth the money. 7900GT (not GTX) is a great value too. If the budget is $200 or less, then get the 7600GT hands down.

 

[Golgatha]

Originally posted by: Rerednaw

Originally posted by: Golgatha
7900GT FTW if you want nVidia.

A 7900GT is comparable to ??? Pricewise it is the same as a x1900.

What is the performance for price? It seems about 20-40% performance for about 100-200% price.

Cheers.

A 7900GTX is comparable in price, not a 7900GT. 7900GT should run $300-$350. At this price point I think the X1800XT 512MB is a better value however, especially if you're already partial to ATI.