X850XT -> 1800XT or 1900XT?

[Jimbo Mahoney]

Upgrade time is looming (getting a bonus at the end of Feb and it's my birthday on 1st March).

The question is,

X1800XT @ £280 ish

or

X1900XT @ £370 ish

I know I should wait until the G71 is released (not to buy it, but because it will drop prices of other cards), but I've already waited what feels like AGES and let's face it, there is ALWAYS something better round the corner...

I also have the box and everything for my current card, so I should see, what, £100 for it?

That makes it £180 for the X1800XT and £270 for the X1900XT.

Is the X1900XT worth the extra? I'm kinda thinking yes, but I need more people to help me give myself the excuse to spend the money

Highest I'm likely to play games is 1600 x 1200 @ 85 Hz (22" CRT). The monitor can do 1920 x 1440, but only 75 Hz which is a bit flickery for me, but of course, I'll be seeing what games look like in that res!!!

 

[Jimbo Mahoney]

Hmm...

Looking at some reviews, the X1900XT is only ~ 10% faster than the X1800XT

 

[Jimbo Mahoney]

Of course it comes down to the fact that some people would not be willing to spend ~ £300 on a gfx card if they already had an X850XT.

I think the X1900XT will be too difficult to resist, as it seems like an eternity since I last upgraded.

EDIT - Just checked my receipts. X800XT bought in May, RMA'd in June for X850XT (8 - 9 months is AGES in computing terms!!!) I'm DEFFO going for the X1900XT in that case!

 

[Jimbo Mahoney]

hey man, there are still no games that really flex the X850XT,

Gotta disagree there dude. I want 1600 x 1200 @ 60 fps sustained (at least), and the X850XT can barely manage that in any game.

 

[Jimbo Mahoney]

//Raises hand//

I see it as a contribution to the furthering of humanity by investing in technology



There are many other things I don't like spending money on - cars for example.

 

[Jimbo Mahoney]

I can tell you have the upgrade itch and aren't going to be happy until someone tells you what you want to hear, so here goes:

Good work fella!

 

[Jimbo Mahoney]

Love to know where your getting that from, the X1900XT is a LOT quicker than that.

For example -

Splinter Cell - 38%
FEAR - 50%
BF2 - 32%

etc.

Sorry, I was looking at 1600 x 1200 without AA and AF. You are right, it is SOMETIMES very much faster, but on average, 10 - 15% seems typical.

Would you still go from X850XT to X1900XT if your monitor only went up to 1280 x 1024?

Almost certainly not. I might got X850XT -> X1800XT though....