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Which 7 series gfx card?

cracker

cracker

cracker

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Joined
9 Dec 2005
Posts
140
I'm looking to upgrade my 6800GT, mainly due to getting a new monitor and wanting to play games at 1680x1050 with max details, AA etc.

I know about the argument to wait for Vista and DX10 cards, but I think if I buy one of the first DX10 cards after Vista comes out, by the time games actually start using DX10 fully it'll be time to upgrade again.

Anyway, I've narrowed it down to 3 choices. And yes I'm an Nvidia fan :p

7900GT - Looks like a good card but I've heard lots of bad things about them failing.

7900GTX - Also looks good but is it worth the extra over the 7900GT?

7950GX - I know my current motherboard supports it, but is it true that if the game doesn't support it, it acts as just a single 7900GT? Also, I'll probably end up upgrading my mobo+CPU later, will having a 7950GX2 make choosing a new board harder or will all new boards support this card?

I've read so many reviews my head is just thrashed. Let me know what you think and thanks to anyone who replies.
 
Welcome to the forums. :)

If you want to stick to Nvidia then id go for the 7950 GX2, and steer well clear of the 7900 series as they are buggered, if you wanna try ATi, then id suggest the bargain of the decade x1800 XT 256mb in the 'This Week Only' for only £152, faster than the 7900 GT, and cheaper, or if you want a card thats on par with the 7900 GTX, then theres the x1900 XT, which is on special this week to, and which has an advantage of being able to use AA+HDR at the same time which Nvidia cards cant do, only downisde of those ATi cards is they use more power, give out more heat, and are louder. :)

I would think all the newer boards coming out should support the 7950 GX2.
 
Thanks for the reply!

Yeah I noticed the X1800 on offer this week. I think I'm starting to lean towards the 7950 though...

Power and heat aren't really an issue for me, but one thing I am a bit worried about is the 7950's length. My case is a Lian Li PC60 and my current 6800GT is pretty long, almost covering my SATA ports and it's very close to my hard drives. I might post a picture as my explanation is a bit pants :D Could someone tell me if they're longer than a 6800GT?
 
Yeah its a cracking card the 7950, theres the official thread here which will help you out, and you can also post your questions, as you might get a better response in there. :)
 
7900GT - Will struggle at 1680x1050

7900GTX - Also looks good but is it worth the extra over the 7900GT?

Yeah its worth it over the 7900 GT but thats before the 7950 GX showed its face.

7950GX - Fastest card in production so if you have the budget get one.
 
Here's what I mean about the gap between the GFX card and my hard drives:

CIMG0090.sized.jpg



CIMG0092.sized.jpg
 
PinkFloyd said:
The 7900GTX's never had a problem. and current 7900GTs are fine
Click to expand...

You must have been living under a rock then, as the GTX's are buggered as well, theres a load on here. :p

I cant see the x1800 fitting in there, in fact i cant see any card fitting in there. :eek:
 
LukeManUK said:
7900GT's appear fine now, was just a large bad batch.
Click to expand...
Nah, they tried changing the memory from Samsung to Infineon and it did nothing. They think the problem is with the voltage regulator as it's not gone away.

Also, I will have to agree with LoadsaMoney, my X1800XT almost touches my hard disks and I have a full ATX tower case. :( lol. Huge for the loss.
 
Yeah even ive got my x1800 between my 2x HD's as if i had a HD behind it, i wouldn't be able to get the IDE cable in, and even the power for my card. :(
 
LoadsaMoney said:
Yeah even ive got my x1800 between my 2x HD's as if i had a HD behind it, i wouldn't be able to get the IDE cable, and the power for my card. :(
Click to expand...
I just moved my HDDs up a few spaces, plenty of slots in my case. :D I am screwed if I want to add more though. :eek:

Doesn't look like the X1950 will be any smaller either. :mad:
 
Ive only got a midi tower jobbie, luckily ive about 5x slots there though so ive got plenty of room between my drives to fit any cards. :)

@cracker, could you not dettacth the hard drive cradle and mount it the other way, so the HD's are pointing outwards/inwards, im sure you can dso that with some cases, you would proably get the extra room to. :)

Although looking at it again, the cralde seems to be the same size all the way around like a square.
 
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LoadsaMoney said:
Ive only got a midi tower jobbie, luckily theres a bout 5x slots there though so ive got plenty of room between my drives to fit any cards. :)
Click to expand...
See, this is one thing that's annoyed me recently. I am considering going small form factor, but I don't think I'd be able to find anything that would actually fit in it. :confused: Can say goodbye to high-end graphics and my Freezer 64 Pro if I did that.
 
Yeah plenty of ppl with them cube jobs have had to cut their sides of their cases off to fit em in there, thers no way the Freezer would fit either, cracking cooler though only run mine at about 1600 rpms. :)
 
LoadsaMoney said:
Ive only got a midi tower jobbie, luckily ive about 5x slots there though so ive got plenty of room between my drives to fit any cards. :)

@cracker, could you not dettacth the hard drive cradle and mount it the other way, so the HD's are pointing outwards/inwards, im sure you can dso that with some cases, you would proably get the extra room to. :)

Although looking at it again, the cralde seems to be the same size all the way around like a square.
Click to expand...

Unfortunatly the hard drive cradle only goes in one way. Only thing I can think of is moving the drives up into the unused floppy drive bays and taking the cradle out. But then they won't benefit from the intake fans and one of them is a raptor, they get hot! :(

Anyone care to measure their 7950 and post how long it is? :p
 
Yeah stay away from the 7900GT (GTX) cars, 2 friends cards recently died & one had just been purchased. Still dont think they found the fault causing all the problems tbh.
 
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