X1900 XTX or 7900GTX

[EffeX]

How loud is it exactly? And is SLi gonna be better than Crossfire? Basically this is my first pc since my current pentium 2 and I want the best upgrade option and when ut2007 comes out I think that having AA+HDR will be better than having a 7900GTX that cant do that. And unless a better card is out around the time of ut2007 then I will just buy another X1900 CF Edition.
The pc is gonna be a X2 4200 and OCZ Plats. I dont wanna overclock my cpu at all because i want it to last and my case only has 3 80mm fans

 

[CKXP]

Originally posted by: EffeX
How loud is it exactly? And is SLi gonna be better than Crossfire? Basically this is my first pc since my current pentium 2 and I want the best upgrade option and when ut2007 comes out I think that having AA+HDR will be better than having a 7900GTX that cant do that. And unless a better card is out around the time of ut2007 then I will just buy another X1900 CF Edition.
The pc is gonna be a X2 4200 and OCZ Plats. I dont wanna overclock my cpu at all because i want it to last and my case only has 3 80mm fans

http://www.techreport.com/onearticle.x/9780

hear for yourself, there's a difference.

 

[EffeX]

Is the 7900GTX worth the quieter fan im just really torn on this.

 

[fierydemise]

As people have already suggested, get the X1900XT (very little performance difference) then an aftermarket cooler for the X1900 to quiet it down, you'll get performance, features and quiet.

 

[NoStateofMind]

Originally posted by: EffeX
How loud is it exactly? And is SLi gonna be better than Crossfire? Basically this is my first pc since my current pentium 2 and I want the best upgrade option and when ut2007 comes out I think that having AA+HDR will be better than having a 7900GTX that cant do that. And unless a better card is out around the time of ut2007 then I will just buy another X1900 CF Edition.
The pc is gonna be a X2 4200 and OCZ Plats. I dont wanna overclock my cpu at all because i want it to last and my case only has 3 80mm fans

I'm surprised noone said anything about those OCZ platinums, this time or last. If you are not going to overclock, save cash and get value RAM. There is no difference (very minimal) if you are running stock. Someone used to have a thread around here somewhere proving this. Can someone post it? Anyways, there's another $50 or so you can save or put towards something else. I mean if your just buying it cause it looks pretty, just buy some heat spreaders and be done with it. In the end it's up to you. And congrats on earning your toy. Have fun with it. You deserve it.

 

[EffeX]

Originally posted by: PC Surgeon

Originally posted by: EffeX
How loud is it exactly? And is SLi gonna be better than Crossfire? Basically this is my first pc since my current pentium 2 and I want the best upgrade option and when ut2007 comes out I think that having AA+HDR will be better than having a 7900GTX that cant do that. And unless a better card is out around the time of ut2007 then I will just buy another X1900 CF Edition.
The pc is gonna be a X2 4200 and OCZ Plats. I dont wanna overclock my cpu at all because i want it to last and my case only has 3 80mm fans

I'm surprised noone said anything about those OCZ platinums, this time or last. If you are not going to overclock, save cash and get value RAM. There is no difference (very minimal) if you are running stock. Someone used to have a thread around here somewhere proving this. Can someone post it? Anyways, there's another $50 or so you can save or put towards something else. I mean if your just buying it cause it looks pretty, just buy some heat spreaders and be done with it. In the end it's up to you. And congrats on earning your toy. Have fun with it. You deserve it.

Thanks, i just thought that the 2-3-2-5 timings were very important? See I have learned all this stuff from one person who is very biased and now after coming to this forum I am learning that he was not right on a bunch of information he told me.

 

[T2k]

Originally posted by: EffeX
One last question is the A8N32 with the X1900 more powerful than with the A8R?

The new ATI chipset is 110 nano vs NF4 SLIx16's 130 nano - hence the ATI eats just a few watts so a passive heatsink is enough (some ~40W less in idle, about 10-15% less in full load).
The ATI is true 40 lanes in one chip.
The ATI one is just as good if not better for OC - see Anand's and others' reviews.

TBH I went through the same story 2-3 weeks ago then I decided to go for the new ATI chipset, moreover I've preordered the new uber-DFI CFX3200.

Just my $0.02...

 

[CP5670]

Thanks, i just thought that the 2-3-2-5 timings were very important? See I have learned all this stuff from one person who is very biased and now after coming to this forum I am learning that he was not right on a bunch of information he told me.

The expensive memory seems to be about 2-3% better than value memory on average, which can basically be ignored except in benchmarks. On A64s, value memory works fine even if you're overclocking, as there is no performance hit from dividers.

That being said, there are currently a lot of heavy discounts on the high end memory (of all of the brands) and you can occasionally get it for the same price as value memory if you look around a bit. I bought some high end stuff recently while switching to 2GB, as I got it for a throwaway price on ebay.

This is that memory thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview.aspx?catid=28&threadid=1475190

 

[EffeX]

Ok, well the CFX is nice but im now thinking about the Opteron 170 but I cannot use a Seasonic with DFI right?

 

[Ackmed]

Originally posted by: fierydemise
As people have already suggested, get the X1900XT (very little performance difference) then an aftermarket cooler for the X1900 to quiet it down, you'll get performance, features and quiet.

Or he could just get the HiS X1900XT, with a very quiet cooler on it already. And keep his warranty, if that matters to him.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161014

 

[T2k]

Originally posted by: EffeX
Ok, well the CFX is nice but im now thinking about the Opteron 170 but I cannot use a Seasonic with DFI right?

Check my new config...

Hint: I have Opty 175 and Seasonic for my CFX3200.

 

[EffeX]

Your rig is sick no doubt, however I dont want to overclock due to long term system instability.

 

[T2k]

Originally posted by: EffeX
long term system instability.

? Pls elaborate...

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: EffeX
Your rig is sick no doubt, however I dont want to overclock due to long term system instability.

If you do not want to overclock, it's better to get X2 processors since they'll have faster mhz to begin with at similar price levels. As others have said get cheaper ram or something like Patriot 2-3-2-5 for $130 for 2 gigs. Finally, don't plan on crossfire. Next generation $400-500 cards will be probably faster and more user friendly (less bugs) than a crossfire setup. So get 1 X1900XT with aftermarket cooler today and nonsli $100 board and save $ towards faster fall graphics card if u plan on buying a 2nd one to begin with. It'd be better to buy stand alone sound card or a faster cpu because a $200 motherboard wont be any faster in the real world than an $80 (esp if not planning on overclocking at high HTT and 1T timings).

 

[T2k]

Finally, don't plan on crossfire. Next generation $400-500 cards will be probably faster

Newer cards are never cheaper than current one and you can wait forever iwith this mentality...

and more user friendly (less bugs) than a crossfire setup.

Sure, new technology always less buggy than a tested one... another interesting idea, huh?

So get 1 X1900XT with aftermarket cooler today and nonsli $100 board and save $ towards faster fall graphics card if u plan on buying a 2nd one to begin with.

What, he should get a non-SLI board to save money for a 2nd card in Sep-Oct or what? It's not making too much sense...

It'd be better to buy stand alone sound card or a faster cpu because a $200 motherboard wont be any faster in the real world than an $80

Neither the sound card - another weird advice.
BTW if you start with two 1900XTs, you need a twice as expensive SLI or CF board - but your setup will be much faster than a single VGA setup.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: T2k

Newer cards are never cheaper than current one and you can wait forever iwith this mentality...

Don't twist what i said. I said buy X1900XT now and then a $400-500 new gen card in 6 months. You can sell X1900XT to recoup the upgrade path. I never said dont buy a system or X1900XT now because you should wait for next gen. Instead I am saying that planning to buy X1900XT now and then crossfire later is a bad idea. Crossfire video boards are overpriced and probably wont come down in price. Availability and price of older cards is always a concern near next generation -- ask 6800GT/Ultra and 7800GT/GTX owners who planned to SLI later on.

Sure, new technology always less buggy than a tested one... another interesting idea, huh?

Ok you are buying a crossfire board with a ULi chipset with questionable long-term driver support/updates. Questioning stability of 1 next generation graphics card vs. 2 graphics card from any generation is ludicrous. More parts and complexity of components = greater chance of bugs instability and failure. If you think G80 or R600 will somehow be unstable because they are new tech, please explain why there are plenty of threads with SLI issues and far fewer hardware related threads with single cards?

What, he should get a non-SLI board to save money for a 2nd card in Sep-Oct or what? It's not making too much sense...

Yes, this makes a lot of sense. You buy a card now, sell it in the fall and buy a next generation graphics card vs. buying X1900XT and then when he gets more $ get a 2nd X1900xt which could create instability. Plus you'll be getting inferior tech (no DX10, no SM4.0, no Avivo 2); and performance of next generation has been 100% as of late (X800XT vs. 9800Pro, X1800XT vs. X850xt). The same can't be said for CF, especially not across all games. So even if he doesn't sell the single X1900XT, it'll provide enough performance for 6 months and you'll get better performance for roughly same $ in 6 months. SLI/CF makes sense for those who buy it at the very beginning of a videocard generation.

Neither the sound card - another weird advice.

$30 sound blaster live or even $60 ZS will save a lot more cpu cycles than onboard sound which uses 10-15% cpu cycles vs. 5-7% for dedicated (if not less). Getting an $80 motherboard and a standalone sound card for $60 is better than an overpriced $200 motherboard if stock performance is concered. Before you make uninformed statements, make sure you have the facts to back up the statements you are making.
Proof

Not to mention you actually spend $ towards something that improves gaming atmosphere through enhanced sound which cant be said about a $200 motherboard.

BTW if you start with two 1900XTs, you need a twice as expensive SLI or CF board - but your setup will be much faster than a single VGA setup.

Not true. He plans to play at 1280x1024 which means X1900XT CF is probably overkill for most games right now. You can buy $100 sli board JUST as good as $200 sli board if you are not going to overclock. Also ASUS A8R-MVP for $100 will work just as good as the latter A8R32-mvp revision so you don't have to spend 2x as much. Secondly, a dual setup will be faster than a single card but not without its issues (instability, not all games benefit from CF/SLI - some get 20-30% boost only for 2x the video setup, more $ on a PSU wasted unnecessarily). Recommending dual X1900XT close to EOL for the card is not a good idea imo. Plus there won't me any major games coming out until Q4 (crysis, UT2007) that really need 2x1900xt that warrant $900 "investment." A 16-year-old kid can always learn best bang for the buck and money management. Some discipline can result in a faster system with less cost if cranking 8AA/16AF at 1280x1024 is not mandatory. Plus if SLI was a concern I dont honestly believe having AA+HDR and barely faster framerates is worth $900 over $580 7900GT evga ko SLI setup.

 

[T2k]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation

Originally posted by: T2k

Newer cards are never cheaper than current one and you can wait forever iwith this mentality...

Don't twist what i said. I said buy X1900XT now and then a $400-500 new gen card in 6 months. You can sell X1900XT to recoup the upgrade path. I never said dont buy a system or X1900XT now because you should wait for next gen. Instead I am saying that planning to buy X1900XT now and then crossfire later is a bad idea. Crossfire video boards are overpriced and probably wont come down in price. Availability and price of older cards is always a concern near next generation -- ask 6800GT/Ultra and 7800GT/GTX owners who planned to SLI later on.

So why would be better to buy anything later? I sill don't see your point...

Sure, new technology always less buggy than a tested one... another interesting idea, huh?

Ok you are buying a crossfire board with a ULi chipset with questionable long-term driver support/updates.

? WTF is questionable? You don't buy anything from ULi/ALi, you buy a mobo, from DFI, Asus or whatever brand is on yours. They will provide your driver.

Let me ask you: do you know at all how this story works at all?
Sorry but so far this was sheer FUD-spreading, due to ignorance, nothing else.

Questioning stability of 1 next generation graphics card vs. 2 graphics card from any generation is ludicrous.

I agre. Newer more likely will be buggy, despite you believe vice versa.

More parts and complexity of components = greater chance of bugs instability and failure.

Ummm what? Pal: you said newer will be less buggy - but this comment just confirms me...

If you think G80 or R600 will somehow be unstable because they are new tech, please explain why there are plenty of threads with SLI issues and far fewer hardware related threads with single cards?

And WTF it has to do with the fact that you claim newer cards are less buggy? (Which is, BTW, hilarious because those cards doesn't even exist yet, let alone the fact that newer gen cards were always more buggy.)

What, he should get a non-SLI board to save money for a 2nd card in Sep-Oct or what? It's not making too much sense...

Yes, this makes a lot of sense. You buy a card now, sell it in the fall and buy a next generation graphics card vs. buying X1900XT and then when he gets more $ get a 2nd X1900xt which could create instability.

Two question:

A) where did you get this 'instability' FUD?
B) how could this make "more sense" than any other solution? It's one idea which offers zero "more sense" - he can just sell both cars as well...

Plus you'll be getting inferior tech (no DX10, no SM4.0, no Avivo 2);

Which you won't get this year either: there won't be DX10 for XP whatsoever, only in Vista which has been postponed 'til 2007 officially.

and performance of next generation has been 100% as of late (X800XT vs. 9800Pro, X1800XT vs. X850xt).

You're joking, right? :Q That won't be Fall, pal but 2007. Hence my comment that you can always wait for next card .

The same can't be said for CF, especially not across all games. So even if he doesn't sell the single X1900XT, it'll provide enough performance for 6 months and you'll get better performance for roughly same $ in 6 months. SLI/CF makes sense for those who buy it at the very beginning of a videocard generation.

I'm sorry but you either completely clueless or you don't play anything over 1024, that's for sure. See some tests, at least here:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2746&p=4
http://www.anandtech.com/mb/showdoc.aspx?i=2752&p=9
etc.

Neither the sound card - another weird advice.

$30 sound blaster live or even $60 ZS will save a lot more cpu cycles than onboard sound which uses 10-15% cpu cycles vs. 5-7% for dedicated (if not less).

Boo-hoo, wow, very impressive number... time to catch up with reality, pal: it's usually 3-4 fps difference, nothing more.
See an actually old Anand test on this: http://www.anandtech.com/multimedia/showdoc.aspx?i=2338&p=10
Some others:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/multim...splay/creative-soundblaster-xfi_9.html
http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q4/soundblaster-x-fi/index.x?pg=6
etc.

(The only thing you could have mentioned here was the quality but you missed it. )

Getting an $80 motherboard and a standalone sound card for $60 is better than an overpriced $200 motherboard if stock performance is concered.
[

WHich part you couldn't understand when I wrote "if you start with two 1900XTs, you need a twice as expensive SLI or CF board - but your setup will be much faster than a single VGA setup"?

Before you make uninformed statements, make sure you have the facts to back up the statements you are making.
Proof

Look pal, I really do not want to point out all the clueless comments you made above, so rather check your language before you call anybody else uninformed 'cause it'll make you look quite foolish...

Not to mention you actually spend $ towards something that improves gaming atmosphere through enhanced sound which cant be said about a $200 motherboard.

And once again: you can't play sh*t above ~1024 with your $80 mobo+$60craptastic Creative combo.
Get a grip.

BTW if you start with two 1900XTs, you need a twice as expensive SLI or CF board - but your setup will be much faster than a single VGA setup.

Not true. He plans to play at 1280x1024 which means X1900XT CF is probably overkill for most games right now. ..

This is where I stopped reading - man, you are really hopelessly misinformed, seriously.

Hint: check those links - almost all the new games are so badly optimized that you need a CF to be able to play most of them with full eye-candy on.

Anyway, it's EOF for me, doesn't worth it. My original poin t was that your advice didn't make any sense with this 'wait for the next gen - ie you apparently doesn't even know when DX10 will debut -, you doesn't even know the speed advantage of CF/SLI configs but you do make bold statements about the importance of saving up money for the future or buying otherwise mediocre quality Creative sound cards because they will do good, especially when - as you just said above - new games run fine on a single XT in 1280...

No comment.

 

[NoStateofMind]

OMG! LMAO! No comment??? LOL

 

[jiffylube1024]

If you're at all considering running RAID (especially RAID 1 or RAID 0 + 1) then get the A8R32MVP. I've set up RAID 0, 1 and 0+1 on NF4 and on the RD580 (the A8R32MVP), and RAID 1 and 0+1 performance is crap on NF4. Raid 0 performs pretty decently.

On the RD580, which uses the ULI southbridge, RAID performance is better across the board, especially for mirrors.

Also, the ULI RAID BIOS is uglier but more feature-packed from my experience.

 

[RussianSensation]

T2k, you really need to learn to research and read.

GPU Performance vs. CPU Clock Speed
Benchmarks for Oblivion you posted are misleading since they were tested on the fastest A64 processor. Oblivion happens to need fast cpu to take advantage of crossfire (as most games!)

With 2.2ghz A64 (ie. 4200+)
Oblivion Gate 1280x1024 HDR - CF = 34.7 vs. X1900XT = 30.4
Town Benchmark 1280x1024 HDR - CF = 38.3 vs. X1900XT = 40.5
Dungeon 1280x1024 HDR - CF = 61.3 vs. X1900XT = 61.3

Let's all recommend someone s $200 motherboard + $900 on graphics + $50 on aftermarket cooling (most likely since OP stated that noise might be a concern) = $1150 ! for roughly equal (at best 30-40% faster performance in games) with X2 4200+ cpu.
My basic argument is that for 1280x1024 without overclocking a system worth $100 mobo + $450 X1900XT + $25 cooler is far better value and CF is a total waste.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You obviously need everything stated. I said creative creates better atmosphere in gaming - that means quality of sound, but you couldn't read that properly. The links you posted show some advantages of Crossfire but nothing even remotely close to 70% or better (yet you suggest paying $450 extra for 30-40% improvement?) When X1900XT is enough to play Oblivion at 1280x1024 with everything at max.

The point about a creative card was just making a statement that you are BETTER off putting $100+ savings from a $200 board towards a faster cpu, more ram, better sound card, etc. What's there not to understand? Unless you are going to be overclocking, none of the $200 boards have any advantages over $100 board. G80 is likely not going to be a unified architecture suggesting that NV does not need to wait until 2007 to release those cards.

I will say it again for those who can't read - 2 graphics card + crossfire configuration is FAR more complex than 1 next generation graphics card. You confuse gpu complexity internally with component complexity of the overall setup.

Buying crossfire setup means buying Uli chipset from DFI, asus whoever. NV acquired ULi and there will likely be no more Uli products released after 1575. Again, you still didn't explain why getting $100 previous Asus crossfire board is in any way inferior?

EDIT: An even better value: SAPPHIRE 100149SR Radeon X1900XT - $360

 

[T2k]

.

 

[T2k]

As I said, I'm out - there's nothing I can add when somebody suggest a rather cheaper 4200+ with a single X1900 card as a good setup for not only now but for another 6 months (which, as we all know, is not 6 but most likely 8-9 in reality) - and at the same time he accepts 30 fps as playable...
OP: good luck with his setup (keep in mind open box stuff often comes with 30-90 days warranty only).

 

[T2k]

Some food for thought WRT CFX3200 w/ single vs CF:
Q4 http://www.sudhian.com/index.php?/articles/show/838/5
HL2LC http://www.sudhian.com/index.php?/articles/show/838/5
Only FEAR doesn't scale too well: http://www.sudhian.com/index.php?/articles/show/838/6

 

[LOUISSSSS]

back to OP, i would get the x1900xtx and tell all your friends you have the fastest a best graphics card on the market. nvidia card's just can't compare to ATi's AA/AF/HDR in game support. the quality can be seen during gameplay. what i dont understand is... why the a8n32-sli with the 1900xtx. thats kinda stupid no?
what would u use the second slot for? nothing? wasted money. you just fell for the marketing scheme.
at least if you get the a8r32-mvp deluxe you DO get the minimal performance increase from the bandwidth, but you can also say you have the fastest crossfire motherboard out. and CAN upgrade to crossfire by adding a cheap 1900 crossfire card later on which would be cheaper than buying a whole new card. if i were you i'd stick with the 4200X2 and the ASUS a8r motherboard over dfi because dfi will always be under asus in terms of % of market (more people can help you and answer your questions later on), stability, reliability, and less DOA products. a simple search in this forum or google for: "DFI problem" will show you all the problems that you might have if u were to purchase one.

to summarize: a8r32-mvp & x1900xt(x) & X2 processor of choice. consider a case with 2 x 120mm fans... your case with 3 x 80mm fans will probably drown the noise from the gpu cooler. the x1900xt(x) fan is not as loud as all people say, the people that say its loud dont even own one. i only hear it when turning down the volume when gaming (but who does that lol) and only when benchmarking becuase no sound comes from 3dmark

 

[T2k]

A short note: Asus had ugly voltage fluctuation problems for several BIOSes whereas DFI had almost zero problem with its CFX3200 (the shipping one had some issues with certain RAM modules but it's gone AFAIK.)