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OcUK GeForce 7900 GS difference between 256MB & 512mb?

Matrix

Matrix

Matrix

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OcUK GeForce 7900 GS 256MB GDDR3 TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-042-OK)

Price: £97.99 (£115.14 Including VAT at 17.5%)
512mb version is
Price: £119.99 (£140.99 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Is there a big difference between those 2 cards as i was looking at both of them for my new set up. I'll be using a 19" monitor.
Would i notice the difference from 256mb to 512mb?

Also are these good cards? I didn't want to go above £100 really but i could stretch for one of these cards if need be.


Thank you.
 
You'll notice very little to no improvement getting the 512mb one, unless gaming at really high resolutions - like 1600x1200 and above.

If your budget is £100, definitely try to stretch that little bit extra for the ocuk 7900gs 256mb. They've got an updated cooler and will overclock really well. Even at stock they offer great bang for buck value at the @£100 mark.

Steve.
 
yer they are very good cards make sure you get the ocuk7900gs mine has 256mb but its only a couple of quid more for 512 my fathers card has 512 and it
has no improvment over 256 when we benchmark.
and they overclock like you would'nt beleave, I have core @630 "it has hit 680"
mem is >1700
they are de-badged Gainwood samples so they are well put to gether.
Get 2 of them and go SLI

you are getting the most punch for pounds with the 7900gs than any other card
just search the reviews I did found lots on the net and there was not 1 bad word about the 7900gs cards.

dont buy anything else this is the best unless you want to pay £160 for a card
that will only just beat the 7900gs in tests
 
Thanks for the info people think i'll go for a 256 one then as i won't notice much difference.

Thanks again.
 
big difference going from 256mb to 512mb. games like doom3, quake 4, and GRAW will be better on 512mb. GRAW especially will allow you to use high rez textures and higher resolutions will become available if you have a 512mb card.
 
Cyber-Mav said:
big difference going from 256mb to 512mb. games like doom3, quake 4, and GRAW will be better on 512mb. GRAW especially will allow you to use high rez textures and higher resolutions will become available if you have a 512mb card.
Click to expand...

Whilst this is very true you also need to remember that you also need a card that will run everything maxed out at a high res. A 512mb 7900gs would struggle at a high res with the textures maxed out in GRAW. 512mb of memory is only really better on top end cards that allow you to play at high res and maxed out. If memory was everything then I'd of got a 512mb x1600xt rather than my 256mb x1800xt.
 
Would a Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO) be better than both of those 2 cards?


Thanks.
 
Matrix said:
Would a Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO) be better than both of those 2 cards?
Click to expand...
It'll spank them both, but you should keep in mind that it is hotter and louder too.
 
Ulfhedjinn said:
It'll spank them both, but you should keep in mind that it is hotter and louder too.
Click to expand...


Uhmmmm can't win then i guess.
Anything around that price that would beat the first 2 i suggested?


Thanks.
 
The first card you posted, the OCUK 7900GS 256MB is a perfect card for running on a 19" monitor, it's quiet & it fits your budget.
You should be able to run high settings on most games at the native resolution of the monitor.
Just get it & don't worry, there's ALWAYS something better for more money but it fits the needs you described.
Just my 2p anyway ;)
 
Ulfhedjinn said:
It'll spank them both, but you should keep in mind that it is hotter and louder too.
Click to expand...
Spank.. Yeah. It's also £30 more too.

If I were to recommend an ATI card in that price range.. Oh wait there isn't one. :)
 
naffa said:
Spank.. Yeah. It's also £30 more too.

If I were to recommend an ATI card in that price range.. Oh wait there isn't one. :)
Click to expand...
He asked if it was faster, so I told him that it would spank them but was hotter and louder.

I already put him off it by mentioning those two things, no need to start one of your fanboy fights. :rolleyes:
 
Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO) is a £140

How much louder is it than the the other cards?


Thanks.
 
I had one for a week or so (cheers Owen ;)) and it was noticably louder that my 7800GTX which is single slot.
 
Matrix said:
Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO) is a £140

How much louder is it than the the other cards?
Click to expand...
It's not as loud as many people make out, but it is louder than the 7900s from what I have been told.

I have owned one of these though, and it's really loud for about two seconds on boot as the fan spins up to 100% for a moment, but on the desktop and in games you'll find it probably won't ever break 60-65% fanspeed and you will probably either not notice or not hear it for the game you're playing.

On desktop it's "silent" as the card goes into 2D mode (lower clocks of 500/600.)

Not trying to push you to buy one, that's not my style, but it's my opinion the slightly increased noise is worth it as you would get a lot better performance and X1K image quality is generally regarded as superior (even before you get into HDR and antialiasing at the same time.)
 
Last edited:
Matrix said:
Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO) is a £140

How much louder is it than the the other cards?


Thanks.
Click to expand...

The x1800 and x1900 cards are loud cards.But its subjective.

The coolers on these cards are awful things.

If noise is a concern then avoid.Or get an ICEQ version.

And to answer your original question.The 7900 GS 256mb will do you fine with that monitor.

However at WS res the 512mb cards are a better bet.

If you are going to be keeping the card for some time then get the 512mb version from the off.
 
Well my personal opinion is that the ATI/Nvidia IQ difference is minimal. I didn't see any difference with a 7800GTX > X1800XT.

The MSAA + fp32 HDR is unarguable though, but I wouldn't let that sway me as Oblivion would be running at <30fps without it anyway.

The performance of the X1800XT is better than the 7900GS. And as Ulf said, the noise 'probally' isn't bad enough to warrant buying something else with lower performance. But it depends on how badly you want a silent PC.
 
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