x1800XTX or X1900XT

[Booner!]

has anyone got a link to some bencies of thees two cards? i tried google but was unsuccesful finding a review with a comparison of both.. or could someone tell me if its worth the extra (both 512mb models - powercolour)

 

[smids]

has anyone got a link to some bencies of thees two cards? i tried google but was unsuccesful finding a review with a comparison of both.. or could someone tell me if its worth the extra (both 512mb models - powercolour)

Depends on your specs and more importantly, your monitor. Personally, I'd be inclined to say no and get the X1800XT. I had this choice and went with the X1800XT just this week. It runs perfectly fine as in spec. When you factor in DX 10 cards in about 9 months, I only needed it to last about 1 year at which point I'll no doubt upgrade to DX10 for Vista so went midrange (though this is actually quite high-end).

 

[Bennah]

First off there are X1800 XT's not XTX versions. Wanted to point that out Anyways,

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/01/24/ati_radeon_x1900_heats_up_with_48_pixel_pipelines/page8.html

Have a look through that. Seems there is a large difference in single and CF mode between the X1800 XT and X1900 XTX.

What are looking at buying? X1900 XTX?

Me personally would keep with the X1800 XT 512MB if you already have it and wait till the next ATi card arrives.

 

[Booner!]

looking at the following build:
AMD Athlon 64 4000+ San Diego 90nm (Socket 939) - Retail (ADA4000BNBOX) (CP-120-AM) £201.95

DFI LanParty UT NF4 Ultra-D (Socket 939) PCI-Express Motherboard (MB-014-DF) £79.95

Corsair 2GB DDR XMS3200C2PT TwinX (2x1GB) CAS2 (MY-079-CS) £119.95

Tagan TG530-U15 530W ATX2.01 Easycon SLi Compliant Modular Silent PSU (CA-008-TG)

PowerColor ATI Radeon X1900 XT 512MB GDDR3 AVIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail (GX-060-PC) £269.95

Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB ST380011A ATA-100 2MB Cache - OEM (HD-033-SE) £32.25 (ALREADY OWN ONE - FOR RAID)

Creative Sound Blaster Audigy SE 7.1 Sound Card - OEM (SC-040-CL)
£15.95

Plextor PX-130A DVD-ROM (Black) - OEM (CD-026-PL) £18.95

Akasa Dual Blue Cold Cathodes 1 Inverter (CA-007-AK) £6.95

£946.88


Already own:
aero engine 2 case
Koolance Exos 2 water cooling system
80gb SATA
View sonic 19inch 3ms response (1280X1024 gaming)
1600dpi razor and the rest

 

[Bennah]

Change that 4000+ Sandy for a 148 / 150 Opteron. With the board and watercooling you shoud be able to overclock further.

The rest of the specs are good. You are going to get some good performance from it indeed.

 

[smids]

Looks fine to me. Looks like an all out gaming system.

1 Thing I'd suggest is dual core (perhaps a good opteron 165/170) as they should easily surpass the 2.4ghz SD. Other than that, might be worth your while getting the X1900XT especially at that price.

 

[Booner!]

im confused to whether the "48pixel shaders" is the same as 48 pipelines I HIGHLY doubt it... can someone confirm how many pixel pipelines it actually has or the equivilant of?

my cousin got the 7800GTX and san diego 4000+ says it runs nice...thats why i choose that chip, he says it will be better for gaming than an opteron or X2 (he had the 4400+ X2 before)

 

[smids]

im confused to whether the "48pixel shaders" is the same as 48 pipelines I HIGHLY doubt it... can someone confirm how many pixel pipelines it actually has or the equivilant of?

my cousin got the 7800GTX and san diego 4000+ says it runs nice...thats why i choose that chip, he says it will be better for gaming than an opteron or X2 (he had the 4400+ X2 before)

He is wrong in today's climate - both ATi and nV have produced Dual core optimised drivers which result in about a 10-15% performance increase - this wasn't the case a few months back but is now.

The X1900XT has 16 pipelines but 3 something or other which multiply together to make 48 - hope you get the picture .

 

[Bennah]

The Opteron 150 is the same as the 4000+ San Diego. 2400MHz and 1MB L2 cache. The Opteron would overclock better.

I wouldnt go with a DC cpu yet, as games dont really benefit from them.

 

[smids]

The Opteron 150 is the same as the 4000+ San Diego. 2400MHz and 1MB L2 cache. The Opteron would overclock better.

I wouldnt go with a DC cpu yet, as games dont really benefit from them.

As I said above though, they do - and new games will be multithreaded e.g. UT2007 (not long now ) and everything else will run faster in windows etc which has been multithreaded for a very long time.

 

[Booner!]

i was looking at the 165 opty originally with the X1800XT instead, however wasnt sure on the dual core being utilised for games... especially as its a server chip and i dont know if the DFI board would be compatible.

i have decided to stretch to get the X1900XT however now unsure about whether the chip is the right chip, san diego 4000+ or the opty 165 up....which is BEST for gaming and that will last me a good year of use...


though i will buy a directX10 card when their out so hope CPU is still up to it by then...

 

[Bennah]

As I said above though, they do - and new games will be multithreaded e.g. UT2007 (not long now ) and everything else will run faster in windows etc which has been multithreaded for a very long time.

Thats just one future game. Im on about games now. Im just saying that I would go for the 150 Opty and shoot for 3000MHz+ mark. That should provide better performance than any 165 Opty unless its on phase.

 

[smids]

though i will buy a directX10 card when their out so hope CPU is still up to it by then...

Buying a DC will ensure it is still capable and games will be pretty much all multithreaded by then.

Loads of people use Opti's in the DFI - the opti's are the same as the X2's.

The 165/170 are two San diegos on one chip.

@ Bennah - my X2 is at 2805mhz on water and most opti's are hitting FX60 speeds (dual 2.6ghz) on air with low volts. Are you suggesting that an FX60 is worse than a single core at gaming?

Games now might not be multithreaded but the drivers are and give a 10-15% increase as I have said over single cores. This has been proven.

 

[Bennah]

Nope Im not. Im saying that if he gets a 150 Opty (2400MHz stock) and puts it on water there is a large chance of it hitting 3000MHz and higher. Buying a 165 Opty which are even more expensive (1800MHz x 2 stock) and puts it on water, it aint gunner get near 3000MHz mark. I think about 2700Mhz would be right.

Im saying 165 @ 2700MHz or 150 @ 3000MHz, I know which one I would get

 

[smids]

Nope Im not. Im saying that if he gets a 150 Opty (2400MHz stock) and puts it on water there is a large chance of it hitting 3000MHz and higher. Buying a 165 Opty which are even more expensive (1800MHz x 2 stock) and puts it on water, it aint gunner get near 3000MHz mark. I think about 2700Mhz would be right.

Im saying 165 @ 2700MHz or 150 @ 3000MHz, I know which one I would get

Me too - the DC .

 

[Bennah]

Its all down to user preference really. What ever you decide to get, its going to be fast anyways. With a X1900 XT bundled in there too, it aint going to be too shaby.

 

[smids]

Its all down to user preference really. What ever you decide to get, its going to be fast anyways. With a X1900 XT bundled in there too, it aint going to be too shaby.

Very true - this is one of those 'agree to disagree' situations - but at least some members in the graphics forum can do this amicably .

I will admit, I do a fair share of encoding/transcoding etc as well as gaming and general multi-tasking and my X2 really shines leaps and bounds ahead of my old 3700+ SD @ 2800mhz for this task.

 

[Booner!]

so basically the 165 UP is the best opty in my price range... i havnt overclocked this chip or and AMD chip before, would i be able to get support on here?

 

[smids]

so basically the 165 UP is the best opty in my price range... i havnt overclocked this chip or and AMD chip before, would i be able to get support on here?

Loads of support - I even have that motherboard so could help out. Look at my sig - I'm an experienced clocker too .

 

[Booner!]

ok thanks, might need to PM you or something should be an interesting build then....just gotta wait for a decent GAME to come out dammit... i want Ut quake wars... ETA?