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Will I notice the difference going from an x850xtpe??

Guru

Guru

Guru

Soldato
Joined
8 Jun 2005
Posts
5,275
Current spec:

AMD 64 4000+ San Diego
2 Gig Geil PC3200 (4x512mb @ DDR400)
1x 200gig WD Caviar (Sata)
1x 80gig IDE Maxtor Diamondmax
ATI Sapphire Radeon X850XTPE 256mb GDDR3

Am thinking about getting an X1900XT 512mb OR an X1950

Which of the 2 is better?

Are BOTH these gfx cards MUCH better than my X850XTPE?

I'm very behind on hardware knowledge, I'd imagine the 512mb would help my gaming assuming I wouldnt be held back by my cpu, I'm also thinking about upping my cpu from a 4000+ to a 6000+ is this a wise decision?

Would any of my hardware hold me back if I didn't change my cpu and just got the fgx card?

Cheers,

G
 
Both perform pretty much identically but the stock cooler on the x1950 is better so it runs cooler and quieter.

You'll notice a massive boost in performance too.

I went from an x850xt to a 7800gt 256mb and it was very apparent! :cool:

You won't be disappointed! :)

gt
 
Thanks for the reply :)

If I could only upgrade the gfx card OR the cpu would you suggest the gfx card 1st?

From x805xtpe to x1950xt

or from AMD 64 4000+ to AMD 64 6000+

Cheers,

G
 
Guru said:
Are BOTH these gfx cards MUCH better than my X850XTPE?
Click to expand...

Guess it depends on how you define MUCH better. Yes, the x1900xt is significantly faster than the x850xt-pe but personally I'd try and hang on and see what price G92 (8700GTS) arrives at. That would be a big leap up again from the x1900xt.

Regarding the cpu, you won't find a 6000+ on S939 (which I'm assuming you have as it's a single core). Personally I'd save up until you can afford to switch the whole lot for a S775 setup.

To answer your question, you would see far more gain in games from a x1950xt than any cpu upgrade you could get on your current mobo.
 
HangTime said:
Guess it depends on how you define MUCH better. Yes, the x1900xt is significantly faster than the x850xt-pe but personally I'd try and hang on and see what price G92 (8700GTS) arrives at. That would be a big leap up again from the x1900xt.

Regarding the cpu, you won't find a 6000+ on S939 (which I'm assuming you have as it's a single core). Personally I'd save up until you can afford to switch the whole lot for a S775 setup.

To answer your question, you would see far more gain in games from a x1950xt than any cpu upgrade you could get on your current mobo.
Click to expand...

Cool thanks for the info :)

I am pretty sure I won't be able to afford to pay for a G92, I bought my X850XTPE when they were like £400 quid, and I've basically had that since they came out, since then I've got a baby to think of so I can't be spending too much on a gfx card. I would say £100 is about my maximum am planning to buy 2nd hand to get as much below £100 as possible.

To be totally honest, I don't think I'll be upgrading the whole lot any time soon, if ever,as it's just not a priority for me any more. I would like the very limited time I get to use my pc for gaming to be spent playing games that run well, but thats about the end of it.

The games I've got that I want to run WELL are:

BF2
CS:S
HL2
Condition Zero
GTA: San Andreas
Pro Evo 5
COD2 or 3 can't remember, but my current rig wont run it on anything like full so I don't play it.

I was used to running everything on pretty much full settings at 1280x1024, but I've upped my monitor to 22" and am now native at 1650x1080 and I'm noticing in Condition Zero (the game I play most) that when people have spammed smoke nades my pc runs like pooh. If I could get 100fps + in smoke on azzy in CZ again I'd be happy tbh anything else would be a bonus.

Also running BF2 on full everything with no slowdown in a chopper would be awesome.

Cheers,

G
 
hehe Thats almost the exact card I'm looking at :)

Was gonna ask, does it really make any difference who made the card? I've never bought an "OCUK" card, I've had sapphire in the past, whats the difference? Is it literally just the name on the card?

Cheers,

G
 
You'll def see a boost if you go for the X1950. re: the OcUK vs others the card will be the same, they're all pretty much reference cards any way. Just just won't get a fancy box and as much bundled in the package. But unless it's a pre o/c'd, custom cooler job from one of the others the cards will be basically the same with a different sticker on.
 
I just bought a 7800gt for £50 off the members market and i would imagine an x1900 or 7900GTX would be £20-£30 more maximum.

Take into account you can get dual core a64's cheap and your onto a winner. I got a 3800+ x2 and 4200+ x2 for £30 and £35 respectively recently.

That would total an amount close to your theoretical max budget!

Remember, you can always have your cake and eat it!

gt
 
would a dual core 4000+ be twice as good as my single core? or does it not work like that? I could put a 4800+ dual core on this mobo I think. Any ideas how much they go for? if they even exist lol

and is a 7900gtx better than an x1950xt?

p.s. I like cake. :)

Cheers,

G
 
HangTime said:
Guess it depends on how you define MUCH better. Yes, the x1900xt is significantly faster than the x850xt-pe but personally I'd try and hang on and see what price G92 (8700GTS) arrives at. That would be a big leap up again from the x1900xt.

Regarding the cpu, you won't find a 6000+ on S939 (which I'm assuming you have as it's a single core). Personally I'd save up until you can afford to switch the whole lot for a S775 setup.

To answer your question, you would see far more gain in games from a x1950xt than any cpu upgrade you could get on your current mobo.
Click to expand...


I think its a bit too early to say if the 8700 will be a big jump up, I personally think it'll be slightly faster, but not a huge deal.
 
Guru said:
would a dual core 4000+ be twice as good as my single core? or does it not work like that? I could put a 4800+ dual core on this mobo I think. Any ideas how much they go for? if they even exist lol

and is a 7900gtx better than an x1950xt?

p.s. I like cake. :)

Cheers,

G
Click to expand...
The 4800+ X2's are quite pricey as (apart from the FX60) they were the fastest socket 939 dual cores. They're like hens teeth now and command an equivalent price.

As it stands i used to run a 3800 and compared to my mates 4800 the difference was not that great.

If i were you i'd consider a 3800 or 4200 and (depending on your motherboard) overclock it mildly. The 3800's cores each run at 2ghz and the 4800's run at 2.4ghz. In my experience most 3800 will clock to 2.5ghz quite easily. Lovely free performance! :cool:

As for the graphics cards both the x1900 and x1950 are slightly more powerful than the 7900gtx. However, i tend to go with the nvidia solutions since some have stonking warranties... really nice in a second hand part. Look to EVGA and BFG for their 10 year and lifetime warranties respectively. XFX also do long warranty support but they're track record for warranty replacements is poor... i'd take them on last out of the three.

gt
 
Last edited:
Guru said:
would a dual core 4000+ be twice as good as my single core? or does it not work like that?
Click to expand...

No, a dual core 4000+ would supposedly be around the same speed as a single core 4000+ (the purpose of the rating is so that you can make comparions).

However, in reality the single core would be faster in applications which aren't optimising for dual core (like most of the games you mention except COD2), and slower in multithreaded apps (audio/video editing, archiving etc).

Personally I reckon a 4000+ SD is nothing to be sniffed at on the S939 platform and I wouldn't bother replacing it - the high end S939 X2s are very rare/pricey now.
 
HangTime said:
Personally I reckon a 4000+ SD is nothing to be sniffed at on the S939 platform and I wouldn't bother replacing it - the high end S939 X2s are very rare/pricey now.
Click to expand...

Given the range of graphics cards your looking at, I'd agree. The 4000+ is still a relatively decent CPU. I wouldn't change it unless you change your whole platform.
 
Cool will stick with my current CPU.

Final check...will my PSU defo be ok with an X1950XT 512mb, just about to do the deal :D

/edit also do ALL X1950XT's have GDDR4? It's a GECUBE one I'm getting.
 
Last edited:
Guru said:
Cool will stick with my current CPU.

Final check...will my PSU defo be ok with an X1950XT 512mb, just about to do the deal :D

/edit also do ALL X1950XT's have GDDR4? It's a GECUBE one I'm getting.
Click to expand...

Only the X1950XTX had GDDR4, however don't worry, it didn't give enough of a speed boost to make it worth paying the current price.

And also, as stupid as it sounds, you ARE using PCI express right? As weren't the 6800/X800 series all AGP? Or am I wrong? :confused:
 
LoadsaMoney said:
Unless we know what PSU you have, we can't say. :p
Click to expand...

Oh DOH!!! I thought I'd put that in the original post with my spec! :o

My bad... my PSU is a Hyper or Viper? :confused: Type R 480w

Tute said:
Only the X1950XTX had GDDR4, however don't worry, it didn't give enough of a speed boost to make it worth paying the current price.

And also, as stupid as it sounds, you ARE using PCI express right? As weren't the 6800/X800 series all AGP? Or am I wrong? :confused:
Click to expand...

Defo PCI-E on the old X850XTPE :)
 
PSU will be fine, Tom|Nbk runs an 8800GTX off his, and an HD2900XT before that. :)

And I stand corrected about the X850. Was a while ago. :p
 
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