HD2600XT or X1950pro

[larryfingers]

Hi All,

I need a little advice.

I am currently upgrading my 250w PSU to an enermax 620w PSU and my graphics card from an X1600SE to either one of the above.

Budget is not really an issue, however I will most likey buy a new PC at some point next year (as at the moment in order to increase my ram I have to upgrade my Mobo and install Vista which will be a few hundred quid and so its better to just buy a new PC)

I am running XP and play games - not massively, but when I do I like a good, smooth, decent FPS experience.

I am unsure whether to get the x2600Xt or the X1950pro

The X2600xt looks better on paper with GRR3, 830mhz and 1860mhz

The X1950pro also has GRR3, but with 580mhz and 1400mhz

There is only a few quid (literally about a tenner) between them.

Both are 512mb memory.

Which would you guys suggest.

I am running an e6400 core 2 duo, with 2gb ram and one PCIe port 1.0.

Any suggestions welcome.

 

[phatboy]

The X1950 is faster in pretty much everything, the 2600xt does have DX10 support but its not very good at it. The 1950 owns it in DX9

I nearly had 2x 2600xt's before xmas. The only way i would consider them is in Xfire where they do excel, in single card they are rather lacking. for bnag for buck the X1950 really is a superstar. I paid £70 for my 512mb ICEQ on the MM and it was about 3wks old, as the guy upgraded to a 2900

Have a look on there before you buy new. The OCuk guys are very very trust worthy from my experience

Pick yourself up a cheap X1950, or stretch a tiny bit further and get a 256mb or 512mb 3850. friend has one of the 256mb version and for £94 I am VERY impressed, double the performance in some things of a 1950 . his Q6600 rig is running 10600 in 3dm 06 at stock!

 

[larryfingers]

so the x1950 is better than the 2600Xt - how is that possible with the GPU and clock speeds indicated?

Also - I thought it better to have 512mb than 256mb..

 

[phatboy]

the 2600 has the HUGE downfall of only having a 128bit bus on the card, so it bottlenecks massively especially with AA and high resolutions. The x1950 is 256bit, so double the bandwith and it definately shows!.

memory speed isnt always the defining factor, unless its a good card to start with with a good sized bus, if the card cant use that memory speeds without tripping over itself, there is no point.

512mb is better, but the 256mb 3850 is by no means a bad card for sub £100

 

[larryfingers]

cheers Phatboy,

I think I will go for the x1950.

Thanks for making a tough decision really easy.

 

[phatboy]

Good lad, great cards

 

[larryfingers]

One final question Phatboy!

is a 620w PSU overkill, or could I get away with a lower one?

I only have

HDD 320gb, 7200rpm
Multimedia card reader 8 in 1
Optical drive DVD+/-9
Graphics card
integrated chip set
8 USBs (one of which is connecting my Belkin wireless router and the other occasionly my creative MP3)
Monitor
Headphones
mouse
Keyboard
Remote control and reciever
core 2 duo processor e6400 ([email protected])
2 gb ddr2 ram

 

[gareth170]

One final question Phatboy!

is a 620w PSU overkill, or could I get away with a lower one?

I only have

HDD 320gb, 7200rpm
Multimedia card reader 8 in 1
Optical drive DVD+/-9
Graphics card
integrated chip set
8 USBs (one of which is connecting my Belkin wireless router and the other occasionly my creative MP3)
Monitor
Headphones
mouse
Keyboard
Remote control and reciever
core 2 duo processor e6400 ([email protected])
2 gb ddr2 ram

i would keep with the 620w then atleast if u wanna upgrade your hardware in the future u won't need to buy another psu..

 

[phatboy]

agree totally with Gareth

Im running a 380w Enermax atm, and its just enough for my system, I was offered a 580w last year for pennies and didn't take it which was foolish as im now stuck in a rut on the upgrade front due to it.

PSU's are the main culpret that hold you back on upgrades. especially power hungry GFX cards