X1900XTX or wait for the G71?

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Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
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Buy what you need now. There is always faster cheaper better "right around the corner" there is also an opportunity cost involved with waiting which you have to factor in.
 

darXoul

Senior member
Jan 15, 2004
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I'm waiting for the RD580 motherboards anyway so I can wait a bit longer for G71. I probably won't wait for socket AM2 though.

I say wait. I usually don't recommend waiting because it means you'll never upgrade but in this case, I'd say some waiting is justified and reasonable.

Now, a word about G71 performance. Everything you read here is pure speculation. Sure, some preliminary conclusions could be drawn if we knew the specs for sure (shader units, texturing units, clock frequencies) but the point is no one here knows the specs, unless someone works for nVidia... but he won't tell a thing anyway.

First, I was very enthusiastic about 7900 GTX. Now, I'd take these words:

Originally posted by: Rollo
Will you be happy with you X1900XTX in a month if a product comes out that is comparably priced, and blows it away in performance?

That is a very possible scenario.

with a grain of salt. I've been using nVidia cards since 3dfx Voodoo's dethronement so I really hope Rollo (though he only speculates and doesn't really state or claim anything) is right. However, after seeing X1900's performance, I doubt G71 will be THAT great. If it wins 90% of benchmarks, so be it, but is it really going to matter? I don't know. It might not matter at all, simply because ATi delivers in these games as well, and no one will really care about a difference of 80 vs. 110 fps. What will probably matter most, are shader-heavy, new games like F.E.A.R. where the X1900 completely and utterly OWNS all nVidia cards, including the "monster" GTX 512. I really don't think G71 will be able to close this huge gap where every bit of performance is crucial. 30 vs. 50 fps is a tremendous difference, and this is more or less how much nVidia would have to recover (1600*1200, 4*AA/16*AF).

Anyway, like I said above, I'm waiting. March ain't too far away, and my still decent 6800 GT combined with my currently limited gaming time are good reasons to delay the upgrade a bit.
 

nib95

Senior member
Jan 31, 2006
997
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I'm with darXoul with this one.

I'm not waiting for the G71, just for the RD580 motherboard.
Even if the 7900 GTX ends up being better then the X1900, I assume it wont be by a huge margin.
But regardles, the main thing here is value, Nvidia cards go for horrendous amounts of money here in the UK and you always make bigger losses on them when it comes to resale.
For instance the 7800 GTX 512mb is around £540+, according to some of the guys at OverclockersUK the 7900 GTX may be £580+!
Take in to consideration the X1900 XTX is only £420 and the X1900 XT is only £360, and you can see theres a big value for money difference.

Another thing to consider, If I buy the 7900 GTX when its released, in 6 months I'll probably only get £350 for it (about a £250 loss), in 6 months if I sell an X1900 XTX, I'll probably take in about the same, £340 (only an £80 loss).
Hense my reason for going for the X1900 over the G71. First time I'm going with an ATI card in 2 gens!
 

schtuga

Member
Dec 22, 2005
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I like darxoul's reply,because,one thing nobody mentions is that whether 1 card wins by 10 or 20 fps,on a whole ,both cards are usually (on the same settings) playable or not.

It's not like 1 card can play this game and the other one can't.1 is just better than the other in this game and a reverse on a dif game.

When I read the reviews comparing the 512 and xtx,I looked at the settings that I play at,not the 3500x2400,and when you look at it that way,both cards are playable with everything maxxed out.I have a 19" lcd and a 19"crt.

Seeing as the xtx is substantially cheaper,that is the route I would go.

As for the 7900,I would only wait if you game at extreme resolutions with eye candy.If you game at 16x12 or less why wait,there are cards that will do that now.

But if you have a massive monitor and need high resolution than you should wait it out,it might be beneficial.
 

nib95

Senior member
Jan 31, 2006
997
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Originally posted by: schtuga
I like darxoul's reply,because,one thing nobody mentions is that whether 1 card wins by 10 or 20 fps,on a whole ,both cards are usually (on the same settings) playable or not.

It's not like 1 card can play this game and the other one can't.1 is just better than the other in this game and a reverse on a dif game.

When I read the reviews comparing the 512 and xtx,I looked at the settings that I play at,not the 3500x2400,and when you look at it that way,both cards are playable with everything maxxed out.I have a 19" lcd and a 19"crt.

Seeing as the xtx is substantially cheaper,that is the route I would go.

As for the 7900,I would only wait if you game at extreme resolutions with eye candy.If you game at 16x12 or less why wait,there are cards that will do that now.

But if you have a massive monitor and need high resolution than you should wait it out,it might be beneficial.


I agree, however I have a Dell 2405FPW and dont mind playing at 1680 x1050.
Really not much difference in quality when playing at un-native resolutions compared to one that had 1680 x 1050 as its native.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
19
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I thought we already know 7900 scores 13K in 3dmark05. XT scores 11K.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=4346

While we might not know how it performs exactly in games, I'd wager it's a safe bet it's gonna be faster than 1900XT. Plus - Arnt the new always faster? It's not like I'm going out on a limb here or anything predicting 7900 will trump 1900 by virture of hardware truisms..
 

Hacp

Lifer
Jun 8, 2005
13,923
2
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xt right now. Your gonna have to wait 6 more weeks for the g71 to come out. Who knows, it might be vaporware like hte 512s were.
 

Piuc2020

Golden Member
Nov 4, 2005
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Newer isn't always better, case in point, X1800XL is a lower performing card than 7800GT in 90-95% of cases.

But yes, nvidia knows they have to beat the X1900XTX with the 7900GTX, and if it takes them insane clockspeeds and phantom availability, then so be it, at least nvidia will have the throne as having the fastest card out on the market.

I'm under the impression ATI and NVIDIA get more money from the midrange segment than the high end segment, sure you sell 5 high end cards for 500$ but you sell 20 mid end cards for 200$ or 10 for 300$, the mid end cards are also cheaper to produce (you can just use cores with defective pipes, etc)and R&D costs are lower too so I'm guessing they make more money than they lose.
 

Zebo

Elite Member
Jul 29, 2001
39,398
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81


I'm not talking about crippled and middleing cards here but top end - what he's looking at.

 

RussianSensation

Elite Member
Sep 5, 2003
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The way I look at it, anyone who can afford to buy $500 card, can afford to sell it 1 month later, lose $100 and buy the faster card if necessary. If you are willing to forego gaming, then sure it makes sense to wait. Also the 90 day step up program for EVGA cards is a nice alternative. You should also consider what games you play. In games like Riddick, AOE3, Nvidia holds an advantage even over X1900xt. Finally, if you must buy, get the XT version not XTX.
 
Jun 14, 2003
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Originally posted by: Cooler
Originally posted by: vertigofm
I am ordering my computer parts in a week. I was set on getting the X1900XTX but I am wondering if I should wait for the G71.... or is it not expected to be that much better....

Well no one knows if the 7900 GTX will be a vapor ware like 7800 GTX 512 and if it is not vapor ware it will be out in about 6-7 weeks. You could always trade up later if the 7900 GTX looks like it much better but from what i have heard its only ~10-15% increase in some game.


i doubt it will be vapour ware, but ill be interested to see how it stacks up the XTX, im waiting till then for sure. no one really knows how good or bad it will be. theres been some rumours about it being limited by its memory bandwidth and from there on in its battle of the shaders which is 48 vs rumoured 32. all just rumours though
 

Elfear

Diamond Member
May 30, 2004
7,163
819
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Originally posted by: Zebo
I thought we already know 7900 scores 13K in 3dmark05. XT scores 11K.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=4346

While we might not know how it performs exactly in games, I'd wager it's a safe bet it's gonna be faster than 1900XT. Plus - Arnt the new always faster? It's not like I'm going out on a limb here or anything predicting 7900 will trump 1900 by virture of hardware truisms..


All speculation at this point. Notice the "~" sign and question mark next to the score. But you're probably right that the 7900 will be a tad faster than the X1900XT.
 

fstime

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2004
4,382
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Originally posted by: Elfear
Originally posted by: Zebo
I thought we already know 7900 scores 13K in 3dmark05. XT scores 11K.

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=4346

While we might not know how it performs exactly in games, I'd wager it's a safe bet it's gonna be faster than 1900XT. Plus - Arnt the new always faster? It's not like I'm going out on a limb here or anything predicting 7900 will trump 1900 by virture of hardware truisms..


All speculation at this point. Notice the "~" sign and question mark next to the score. But you're probably right that the 7900 will be a tad faster than the X1900XT.


Probably, but until it's released, its Rollo's job to bash the X1900 and push that card he calls the 7800 GTX 512 that has limited availbility and overpriced.
 

nib95

Senior member
Jan 31, 2006
997
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Originally posted by: Ronin
Originally posted by: BouZouki
Probably, but until it's released, its Rollo's job to bash the X1900 and push that card he calls the 7800 GTX 512 that has limited availbility and overpriced.

And this post was needed why?


And your response was required why?

The truth hurts.
I assume you made the comment on his comment because you (to a degree) share Rollo's mentality on the subject matter.
 

nRollo

Banned
Jan 11, 2002
10,460
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Originally posted by: nib95
The truth hurts.
I assume you made the comment on his comment because you (to a degree) share Rollo's mentality on the subject matter.

What did we call you before 1/31/06?
 

Ronin

Diamond Member
Mar 3, 2001
4,563
1
0
server.counter-strike.net
My point was very simple (and lost on you, obviously). His post had no meaning to the thread at hand, and was a direct beratement of someone who didn't even post in this thread. I was simply pointing out the fact that it wasn't needed, thus proving meaning to my post. :)

Was that too difficult for you to follow?

As far as my feelings on the X1900, especially in comparison to the G71, I feel that one considering between the two would find it a smart move to wait and see how the release (and the performance go), just like the 30 other threads that have been posted on the subject. If you must have a card now, the X1900XT/X is obviously the better choice over any other available offerings, but that could obviously change in a month's time (give or take a week).
 

Stoneburner

Diamond Member
May 29, 2003
3,491
0
76
always the usual suspects. IF i stick around this forum much longer i might start buying S3 or Matrox on general principle.
 

SickBeast

Lifer
Jul 21, 2000
14,377
19
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IMO the only cards worth waiting for are the DX10 R600 and NV80. The current top cards will run DX9 games extremely well. I don't see much DX9 stuff coming down the pike that will tax them much more than Far Cry, FEAR, etc.

The next Unreal game will definately benefit from a DX10 card, along with the next Crytek-produced game.