Graphics upgrade

[Marakith]

Hello!

I'm thinking of retiring my Radeon x1900 (on a Conroe system) in favour of a beefy 8800GTX. I'm looking to get lovely smooth graphics on Conan and generally feel the love on my big new monitor.

Either the XFX: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-099-XF&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=877
Or the OcUK Value one: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-051-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=877

I have a couple of questions, and would be grateful for your help:

1] Is it worth holding off or going for it now? I mean - will the x1900 hold up? I'm 18 months into this system and I usually swap around 18 months into the lifetime of a rig, but can I hold off longer and still play the new stuff well?

2] Will I need to reinstall Windoze when swapping the cards over. I didn't need to on my last one, but they were both NVidia.

3] Will it fit into an Antec P180 case?

4] I can't remember off the top of my head if I have a 500w PSU or a 600w PSU. It's a quality Enermax or Antec PSU so it's clean power.

Thanks a million in advance for your advice!

 

[dan653]

2] Will I need to reinstall Windoze when swapping the cards over. I didn't need to on my last one, but they were both NVidia.

shouldnt need to just make sure you throughly uninstall and manually remove the drivers and related gubbins. plenty of guides on how to do this dotted around the net

 

[LoadsaMoney]

1. Yes id hold off, ATi's 4000 series are released on the 16th June, and being talked about as being decently priced, possibly around £200, one of those would be an absolute massive jump in performance from your x1900 judging by the specs, and also Nvidia's GTX280/260's are released 2 days later on the 18th, but those are probably going to be around the £400+ mark.

2. No need at all, just Add/Remove the drivers, switch off and swap cards, then boot into safe-mode and run DriverCleaner pro to get rid of the left-overs, then reboot normally, cancel the Found New Hardware Wizards, then install the drivers for your new card.

3. The 8800 GTX wont fit the P180 from the case fitting guides ive seen, and not sure on the new 4000 series, or the new Nvidia's that are coming, we'll just have to wait and see how big those are going to be.

4. PSU should be fine id have thought, they are decent brands those, and should have enough amps on the 12v rails for a decent card (which you can find out by looking on the sticker on the side of it), id say aiming around 28a or more will do nicely for powering any card.

Suppose if the 4000 series and the GTX280/260's are to big to fit also, then you could get the 8800 GTS 512mb, as thats also a cracking card, and would also be a huge jump up from your x1900, and would fit your case as its the same size as it to.

Link to DriverCleaner pro :- http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

Link to GTS also :- http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-088-OK&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=927

They could fall a bit in price to when the new cards come out.

 

[queamin]

1. Yes id hold off, ATi's 4000 series are released on the 16th June, and being talked about as being decently priced, possibly around £200, one of those would be an absolute massive jump in performance from your x1900 judging by the specs, and also Nvidia's GTX280/260's are released 2 days later on the 18th, but those are probably going to be around the £400+ mark.

2. No need at all, just Add/Remove the drivers, switch off and swap cards, then boot into safe-mode and run DriverCleaner pro to get rid of the left-overs, then reboot normally, cancel the Found New Hardware Wizards, then install the drivers for your new card.

3. The 8800 GTX wont fit the P180 from the case fitting guides ive seen, and not sure on the new 4000 series, or the new Nvidia's that are coming, we'll just have to wait and see how big those are going to be.

4. PSU should be fine id have thought, they are decent brands those, and should have enough amps on the 12v rails for a decent card (which you can find out by looking on the sticker on the side of it), id say aiming around 28a or more will do nicely for powering any card.

Suppose if the 4000 series and the GTX280/260's are to big to fit also, then you could get the 8800 GTS 512mb, as thats also a cracking card, and would also be a huge jump up from your x1900, and would fit your case as its the same size as it to.

Link to DriverCleaner pro :- http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

I would agree with loads if you can wait until ati/nvidia cards are out and if then they to big,you can get the gts and should be even cheaper, if the new cards fit then you have a very fast card if you buy one,

 

[lunarwolf]

looking forward to June so I can buy a second 8800GTX at rock bottom prices

 

[Marakith]

Wow!

Great answers! Thanks guys!

I woke early this morning and opened my system. The x1900 in there is about 240mm long. It's a snug fit in there with the power cable.

The 8800GTX is 275mm long apparently. I reckon I could possibly wedge it and the power cable in there, but I'm not sure.

I really regret getting that Antec p180 case. It's been a nightmare to setup: cramped inside and a silly non-standard PSU cage, and the USB ports on the front have snapped.

FYI - The PSU is a Tagan 580w.

I think I'll wait a wee while and see what to make of these funky new cards you mention.

Thanks again!