X800XTPE to X1950 Pro- Worth the upgrade?

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
1
0
alienbabeltech.com
i went x850xt >1950p/512M

depends ;)

what resolution do you game at ... what games ... what CPU and memory

and especially what PS do you have

then i'll give my opinion :)
 

Stumps

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
7,125
0
0
Depends on the CPU you are using....anything below a AXP 3000+ or a 2.8ghz P4 (800mhz FSB) is pretty much going to be a bottleneck for a X1950pro and it would be a waste of money to buy one.

And like Apoppin said, the PSU requirements (especially for the Sapphire and Diamond brands) are pretty hefty...the 512mb models need 450w and 30A on the 12v, anything less usually results in the Video card dying.
 

Paktu

Senior member
Oct 31, 2004
508
0
71
Specs:
A64 3200
1GB PC3200
2001FP monitor (so I like to run games at 1600x1200)
500 watt Antec Smartpower

Primarily I want to use it for Oblivion and Gothic 3.
 

mancunian

Senior member
May 19, 2006
404
0
0
PSU *might* be borderline.

But if it isn't and is up to the job, I'd do the following:

Get the 1950 pro
Get another Gig of RAM
Overclock that A64.

$0.02
 

happy medium

Lifer
Jun 8, 2003
14,387
480
126
Yea with that system you should be fine and grab another gig of ram if you can. Also try overclocking your cpu. It would be a good upgrade
 

Paktu

Senior member
Oct 31, 2004
508
0
71
Originally posted by: happy medium
Yea with that system you should be fine and grab another gig of ram if you can. Also try overclocking your cpu. It would be a good upgrade

I tried, but haven't had much success (it's a Clawhammer with 1MB cache). The best I've been able to do on it is setting the FSB to 215 so I get an increase from 2Ghz to 2.15. Which is frustrating especially since I use a nice aftermarket cooler for it and premium RAM (Kingston HyperX).
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
1
0
alienbabeltech.com
even a small OC is better than nothing
:gift:

you should get a decent upgrade of +30% performance ... at least ... i like my upgrade ... ultimately and i run everything so far on 14x9 ... even FEAR's x-pack doesn't fall below 25FPS with *everything maxed* [except SS] and 2xAA/4xAF ... my CPU was recently upgraded to P4 3.4EE @ 3.74Ghz

be aware there is an x1950XT in AGP coming ... :p
 

Paktu

Senior member
Oct 31, 2004
508
0
71
Originally posted by: apoppin
even a small OC is better than nothing
:gift:

you should get a decent upgrade of +30% performance ... at least ... i like my upgrade ... ultimately and i run everything so far on 14x9 ... even FEAR's x-pack doesn't fall below 25FPS with *everything maxed* [except SS] and 2xAA/4xAF ... my CPU was recently upgraded to P4 3.4EE @ 3.74Ghz

be aware there is an x1950XT in AGP coming ... :p

Any idea when?

EDIT: Nevermind, Google is my friend.

EDIT 2: Anybody know the ETA on this card?
 

swtethan

Diamond Member
Aug 5, 2005
9,083
0
0
you had the exact specs of my old system... guess what it had in it :) 1950pro smartpower 2.0
 

conlan

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2001
3,395
0
76
Your PSU has plenty of power.
Considering your specs and resolution, i think an X1950Pro and another 1Gb of ram will suit your needs very well.
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
1
0
alienbabeltech.com
AGP x1950xt is available in Germany now, i think

no, not exactly 'when' here


and you will *need* a cpu OC to take full advantage of your XT ;)

it borders on overkill



i like it

:D
 

Stumps

Diamond Member
Jun 18, 2001
7,125
0
0
Originally posted by: Paktu
Specs:
A64 3200
1GB PC3200
2001FP monitor (so I like to run games at 1600x1200)
500 watt Antec Smartpower

Primarily I want to use it for Oblivion and Gothic 3.

you should be fine, I have a similar system (see sig) and it runs fine with a Sapphire X1950Pro 512mb

your PSU should do the job fine, it has dual 12v rails rated at 19a and 17a, for a combined total of 32a...it's plent powerful for the job.

I have a spare Antec SP500 and I have tested it with my Sapphire (along with a few other Antec PSU's that weren't up to the job), it worked fine with it.
 

sieistganzfett

Senior member
Mar 2, 2005
588
0
0
i still spaz when i think of an agp x1950 due to my troubled experience with it (most of which was the 20 hours of research i did after i bought the card reading problems ppl had). all i will say is dont buy it from zipzoomfly due to their very short policy for rma. and keep away from the sapphire since they will charge you fees when you have the card die and use them to warranty rma it. and keep in mind that sapphire card needs a lot of power, runs hot, and CCC just plain sucks. when you buy it, run it through a 24hour torture test of oblivion or gothic 3 at max settings or something else that will kill the card from stress if its just too weak to last a long time so you can rma it immediately while its under warranty from the place you bought it from.
 

apoppin

Lifer
Mar 9, 2000
34,890
1
0
alienbabeltech.com
Originally posted by: sieistganzfett
i still spaz when i think of an agp x1950 due to my troubled experience with it (most of which was the 20 hours of research i did after i bought the card reading problems ppl had). all i will say is dont buy it from zipzoomfly due to their very short policy for rma. and keep away from the sapphire since they will charge you fees when you have the card die and use them to warranty rma it. and keep in mind that sapphire card needs a lot of power, runs hot, and CCC just plain sucks. when you buy it, run it through a 24hour torture test of oblivion or gothic 3 at max settings or something else that will kill the card from stress if its just too weak to last a long time so you can rma it immediately while its under warranty from the place you bought it from.

oh yeah .... how quickly i forget :)

the first batch of Sapphire x1950p appear to have a high defective rate

IF you buy a sapphire, bear in mind that there is a $15 RMA "Processing Fee" if it ever need warranty.

NewEgg "exchanges" for a year ... ZZf exchanges for 30 days
[so ZZF need to be at least $15 cheaper for a Sapphie] ;)

with that in mind, you can have a wonderful upgrade
:thumbsup: