Which x1950pro AGP card to buy?

[anindrew]

After researching, reading site and user reviews, I have decided to purchase an x1950pro AGP card. Like so many others, I want to hold off on building a completely new system for the time being. It's only been in the last few months that games have come out that I just couldn't play well on my system.

I'm wondering which x1950pro AGP to purchase. The ones with 512MB seem like a good deal and don't seem to be that much more than ones with 256MB. Newegg.com seems to have the best prices (albeit with rebates) on them. Saphhire's card is rather plain, but the price is nice. HIS has a plain one for a great price, but some of the reviews worry me. Then I see the HIS ICEQ V2 card with the giant cooler. $199 after rebate doesn't seem too bad. Plus the card comes with a bit of an OC. I've heard some of the x1950 cards can have some heat issues, so a nicer cooler might help.

Do you think the HIS ICEQ V2 x1950 512 is worth it? Would it actually perform better than the regular version? Any recommendation for which brand's card to purchase?

Thanks for any advice you can offer!

System specs: A64 3500+, MSI K8N Neo2 Plat., 4x512 PC3200 Crucial Ballistix, 74GB WD Raptor, Evga 6800gt, Audigy 2 ZS, and a Viewsonic CRT that can go up to 19xx x 14xx resolution. I usually play at 1280x1024, though. And I'm looking to play STALKER, Oblivion, and whatever other GOOD FPS that might be out or coming out soon.

 

[Dainas]

Well, I got a really good deal with a Sapphire X1950pro 512mb. Its a single slot cooler but from what I've seen personally(unlike online reports of the Powercolor dual slot cooled Pro) this card runs icy cool. Idles at 48c with the fan set to 45% and the hottest I've seen it get up to under the riva tuner chart is 69c. Odd as this card(like all other X1950pros) is not an overclocker, which is not much of a loss as its stock clocks are 580/1400.

Before I put this card in my sisters computer, I let it do GPU folding for a few days with 4 WUs flawlessly sent. The powersource's 12V rail never went over 11.8amps(with 4 drives attached) nor the GPU core over 66c with the fan set to 60%. My sister's computer has an even cheaper PSU, but has been perfectly happy even after a month of running Oblivion maxed.

Also only set me back $190~ shipped.

 

[lavaheadache]

I think you shouuld buy Appoppin's that has been for sale in the forums for a little while. I think it's a sapphire 512 for 135 shipped


** Textedit $127.50 is his asking price

 

[MarcVenice]

Yeah, just send apoppin a message. He doesn't like overclocking his gpu, so I think his will be in good state. To bad you just can't get a PCI-e card though, nearing 200$ it be an easy choice for a 8800gts 320mb

 

[GEOrifle]

Does SAPHIRE allowing owner change for warranty? If not then NEWEGG is the way
for $ 150.
But watch out : X1950Pro requaires strong PSU with at least 21A on single or each RAIL.

 

[f4phantom2500]

i would personally suggest you get an agp x1950gt and just overclock; they usually hit x1950 pro speeds

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102093

 

[anindrew]

Hi! I got in touch with apoppin. I can't promise that I'll buy his card, but I may.

MarcVenice: Trust me, if I had PCI-e, I'd probably already have an 8800GTS 640MB. Apoppin said he OCed the card for only a half hour or so only to test it.

GEOrifle: Good point about the warranty. I'd certainly want to have one just in case. I can't find any info about the warranty on Sapphire's site. I know they have a 2 year warranty, which is better than HIS' 1 year warranty. I have a 500W Dynex P/S which will hopefully be enough. It even has a PCI-e power connector on it...not like that matters with the Sapphire card, but some of them have that.

f4phantom2500: The gt doesn't look too bad, but the 512MB pro cards aren't that much more.

I shall contemplate things and make a decision.

 

[GEOrifle]

And don't forget : in thise month HD 2600XT AGP Dx10 cards going to arrive .....

 

[anindrew]

Ohh I haven't forgotten that. I'm not planning to upgrade to Vista for a while still, so DX10 isn't yet a concern for me. But considering the reviews of the PCI-e 2600 cards show that the x1950 performs far better, I'm not expecting much from the 2600 AGP versions. Maybe drivers might improve that situation.

 

[Summitdrinker]

yep make sure you have a good enough power supply, room for the card, there long, like 9 or 10 inches, plus a a case that has good enough cooling, they put out some heat

if i was going to buy one new again I would look at the cooling of the card, and how it matches the air flow of your case/system

 

[GEOrifle]

Important isn't which one is better, but PRICE CHANGE on ALL OLD CARDS.

 

[Dainas]

There's also a good chance GTs run allot hotter as they do suck a measurable amount more off the PSU, and like you said might as well get 512MB for such a card.

 

[SolMiester]

I wouldnt get the Sapphire model myself, it only has the standard cooler. The Powercolour model has the Accerelo X2 cooler on it....Oh, and make sure you have a decent PSU for these cards too....

 

[anindrew]

Thanks for all the replies. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get apoppin's card, but he did manage to sell it. So someone out there got a good deal.

I'm comparing, contrasting, and reading reviews to figure out which one to buy new. The HIS Iceq3 V2 (or whatever it's called) with the giant cooler is still tempting me very much. There are only a few reviews for the Powercolor model on newegg, but they're all kind of iffy. I suppose I could buy one with a standard cooler and get a Zalman VGA cooler if necessary. :music:

 

[dedejean]

I was really excited to get x1950pro... but after i got it (Gecube x1950pro 256mb - only thing available in a 10mile radius!!!) yesterday, was very frustrated with the results. Performance is not what i expected. I am playing CS:S @ 1680x1050 0xAA 0xAF all high with only 35-60fps (not looking at a wall - with 4 or more players). That is not right for a x1950pro. And moreover, It doesnt scale right with non-native resolutions (4:3 ratios like 1024x768 etc) on my LG 226wtq 22". I already selected "CENTERED aspect ratio" on the control center but to no avail. SO BAD... SO BAD..

Well, tough luck for me.

 

[Dainas]

Originally posted by: SolMiester
I wouldnt get the Sapphire model myself, it only has the standard cooler. The Powercolour model has the Accerelo X2 cooler on it....Oh, and make sure you have a decent PSU for these cards too....

Originally posted by: Dainas
Its a single slot cooler but from what I've seen personally(unlike online reports of the Powercolor dual slot cooled Pro) this card runs icy cool. Idles at 48c with the fan set to 45% and the hottest I've seen it get up to under the riva tuner chart is 69c.

The overheating Accerelo powercolor pros were probably just suffering from a misaligned heatsink, but still.. the single slot cooler on the Sapphire is perfectly adequate for a X1950pro. I had to manually force the fan over 65% in Riva Tuner, as running Oblvion and HL2 could not get the core hot enough for it to spin fast enough to be audible over a 2400rpm cpu fan. Good thing too as its a irritating screamer when set to 100%.

 

[anindrew]

I'm leaning towards the Sapphire 512 card. On newegg, it's the one with the most reviews. Most people seem to have no problems with it. I just hope that I'd actually get the rebate, too.

I'm curious about the temperature controlled fan. It seems like there are a few different software options that can force the fan to run at certain speeds/percentages.

 

[Summitdrinker]

well I have the Vision tek x1950 pro, I don't know of any software for fan speed for it, is there any????????????

 

[GEOrifle]

Wait until end of thise month for releasing new series of ATI cards and prices will go down
at least 20% on all existing ones. I'm doing same thing.

 

[Stumps]

I still have my Sapphire X1950Pro AGP 512mb in my P-D 820@3.4GHz rig, I've had the Sapphire since the start of the year and it has never missed a beat.

Like other have said, make sure your PSU is fairly decent.

 

[dedejean]

UPDATE:

it seemed like my two major problems:

1. washed out colors
2. low performance in 3d games

IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT 7.6 catalyst is very poor in Vista 64 ultimate. I read lots of same issues in guru3d forums. Any of you guys have the same problem?

 

[GEOrifle]

What about gForce 7900-7950 series? They are so expencive too.

 

[anindrew]

Hi all!

With all of the recommendations here, I decided to buy the Sapphire x1950 512MB AGP card. I got it yesterday. The install was very smooth. I'm still looking at all the alternatives to the Catalyst Control Center. I'm not sure I even need to use CCC or the others, but I do like being able to monitor the temps just in case.

I can play HL2 with all settings maxed at 1600x1200, F.E.A.R. Combat at 1400 resolution, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is probably the best looking game I've played thus far; it runs very smoothly at 1280x1024 with all settings maxes. I'll have to try Oblivion and the free RB6: Vegas I got with the card.

All in all, I'm very pleased with my purchase. I suppose I'll post my older card in the for sale section. Thanks for your help everybody!

 

[Stumps]

Originally posted by: anindrew
Hi all!

With all of the recommendations here, I decided to buy the Sapphire x1950 512MB AGP card. I got it yesterday. The install was very smooth. I'm still looking at all the alternatives to the Catalyst Control Center. I'm not sure I even need to use CCC or the others, but I do like being able to monitor the temps just in case.

I can play HL2 with all settings maxed at 1600x1200, F.E.A.R. Combat at 1400 resolution, and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. is probably the best looking game I've played thus far; it runs very smoothly at 1280x1024 with all settings maxes. I'll have to try Oblivion and the free RB6: Vegas I got with the card.

All in all, I'm very pleased with my purchase. I suppose I'll post my older card in the for sale section. Thanks for your help everybody!

good to hear,

I like my Sapphire X1950Pro 512mb AGP quite a lot, it's a nice well rounded AGP card..I have no plans of getting rid of mine anytime soon, it's currently in my A64 3000+@2.87GHZ file server