Which video card to buy?

[myztikgohan]

It says the X1800XT has 16 pipelines whereas the 7900GT has 24, but I heard the 16 pipelines are actually more like 48?

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: myztikgohan
It says the X1800XT has 16 pipelines whereas the 7900GT has 24, but I heard the 16 pipelines are actually more like 48?

You heard the wrong thing. The X1900s have 16 pipes but 48 pixel shaders. The X1800s are 16 pipes with 16 shaders.

That said, an X1800XT will perform at stock about the same to slightly faster than a stock 7900GT. So a factory-OCed 7900GT will be a little faster than the X1800XT. Early reports are that 7900GTs overclock pretty well, although you may have to replace the stock cooling for great results.

Also note that you can get 256MB X1800XTs for more like $290.

 

[dfloyd]

For certain newer games the 512 mb card should benefit you more overall. Both cards are similar with the X1800XT coming out on top for the most part (At least from the majority of reviews I have seen) but the extra video memory actually does help in certain newer games, or at least I understand it does in say Quake IV for instance.

 

[myztikgohan]

So...what? Which one would you recommend and does the extra 256MB on the X1800XT make a difference?

 

[RussianSensation]

If you are not going to overclock 7900GT to 540/1550 or so, I'd take X1800XT. It'll be faster in FEAR, Oblivion, and Far Cry. If you play openGL games like doom3, quake 4 and so forth, get the nvidia card. If you plan on keeping the card long-term, 512mb is worth it imo.

 

[samduhman]

evga 7900GT co superoverclocked sharkys monthy hardware picks

 

[Steelski]

Dont worry too much about the pipelines. I would go with the "what games you play" option. Personally i would go with the X1800 due to better video playback quality as demonstrated latley and also the because of the shader performance it seems to show for upcoming games. I.e. simmilar requirements to oblivion.

Oblivion firibgsquad benchmarks.
http://firingsquad.com/hardware/oblivion_high-end_performance/default.asp

 

[namityadav]

Keep a note of the power-requirements / noise of the 1800xt too. If that wasn't an issue, I'd get the 1800xt

 

[Topweasel]

Originally posted by: myztikgohan
It says the X1800XT has 16 pipelines whereas the 7900GT has 24, but I heard the 16 pipelines are actually more like 48?

Okay

Look at the bench marks and see what they are good in.

The 7900GT CO will be faster, and overclocks well with alot of people hitting 590-600 with the defualt cooler. The 600+ settings usually require a volt mod (softmod pencil or hardwireing).

So if your sticking with defaults get the 7900
If yor oc'ong get the 7900
If you plan on keeping it for 2+ years get the X1800 (but only the 512mb version)
If you Like two slot coolers get the X1800
Single slot 7900
If you have plans on going multi card in the future get the 7900
If you play alot of Oblivion or Fear go X1800
If you play Quake 4, Doom 3 or plan on playing Quake wars go 7900
If you plan on playing UT07 I would look towards the 7900 because devlopment is being done on Nvidia platforms but nothing is certain
If you play just about everything and nothing else here really sticks to you as much, then either flip a coin or buy whatever is cheapest, but over all don't get the 256MB X1800 as it is slower and any longevity value the X1800 had is thrown out the window.

 

[Bull Dog]

If you plan on playing Oblivion, then get the X1800XT. Benchmarks show the X1800XT totally pwning the 7800GT.

 

[n7]

I have an X1800XT, but at the same prices, i'd likely go for the 7900GT, if the cooler is quieter.

If it's not, get the X1800XT.

 

[Elfear]

Some reviews:

Firingsquad

BeHardware

TechReport

You can find a comparison of the two cards in question and see which card will run the games you play better.

I will also add that while the 7900GT is very overclockable, it requires hardmods to really see it stretch its legs. If you're comfortable with that than it performs very well. The X1800XT is also very overclockable and has voltage adjustments via software.

 

[ElFenix]

apparently the 7900 fan is pretty annoying, though not to the extent of the hairdryer on the 1800. either way, plan on a VF900, especially if you plan to voltmod/overclock the 7900