Reasonable Upgrade.

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Hello there,

I currently have an His X1600XT 256mb and I was wondering, would I see a reasonable difference if I got my hands on an:

Connect3D ATI Radeon X1800 XT 256MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-044-CO)

From ocuk.

Also, Ive heard a few.. Well lot of people say how crap the X1600XT is.. I was just wondering what exactly is wrong with it as im a newb when it comes to these kind of things lol.

Oh yea, the rest of my rig is as follows: AMD 3700+ @ 2.6ghz, 1 gig ram.

 

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Lack of 256-bit Memory Interface is just one of the X1600XT's major bottleneck... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radeon_R520. But it all comes down to what games you play & at what res you want or can (depends also on monitor) play at

X1600XT scores (roughly) 5284, while the X1800XT scores 8975 in 3DMark05 (for more, see here)

Well I currently have a 17" monitor and play at max resolution. I was going to get, maybe an 19" widescreen one next. I mostly play any game, that looks good(graphic wise) and can get my hands on

 

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I recently came across a
512MB Connect 3D RADEON X1800XT DVI + AVIVO

It is abit more than than the 256mb, not not much, but i was wondering is it worth it. I dont know if im allowed to put the price at all, so I didnt.

 

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Before I make my decision, are there any cards on the nvidia cards, that can compete with an X1800XT 512mb for less than £200?

 

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NO !


Definitely get the X1800XT.

Yes Sir! lol

 

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*Update* Seems the card I was going to get is now "end of lfe" as they told me, so they wont be stocking it again I guess i'll get the 256mb version heh.

 

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I wouldn't worry.. Whoever says the 512MB version will give you a big boost if you run at a higher resolution/with more eye candy obviously doesn't know what they're talking about.

If thats so, then what is the 512mb version.. good for?
either is get the 256mb version on this week only or pay an extra £50 for the 512mb version, which some people say isnt worth is as it doesnt provide much of a boost from the 256mb version. I guess I just answered my own question lol..

 

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High resolutions WITH high levels of AA/AF. Cards like that can be slower at normal resolutions though (probably increased latencies).
512MB is really designed for those who will be using 1600x1200 or higher with AA/AF (Like I do). The performance difference isnt amazing, but I've heard in some circumstances can be about 20%, which at top resolutions with filtering can make the difference between playable and not.

Ah.. Well I dont do anything like that.. Thats good to know, thanks. I guess i'll get the 256mb version one, while its still on this week only

I "was" going to get an 19" widescreen monitor with my order. Thats why I was so confused in which type of card to get hehe. Sorry for the trouble.

 

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To put your mind at rest

http://www.pureoverclock.com/article33-3.html

Ah something with graphs, which I can understand.. Cheers!

 

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Ok ive ordered the X1800XT 256mb like people say, I should see a nice improvement from my X1600XT anyway. Even if it is only the 256mb version