Building a new system: which GPU?

[mangrove]

mczak: thanks, that's exactly the info I was looking for.

Davros: LOL! This machine have seen a few things. It started as the classic Celeron 300A overclocking rig, and then I found this 800MHz PIII processor a customer was throwing away, overclocked it to 900, and so it goes. I have never felt this machine is slow for general use -- the somewhat slow processor speed is compensated tremendously by the extremely fast disks -- and really, I could be using this machine for a while longer, but I am a little worried about something breaking, plus I want a quiet machine and it's not easy to make a Slot 1 processor really quiet. The current rig also contains an Audigy card, Adaptec 29160 SCSI card, Hauppauge TV card, and an USB2 card... sadly I had to "upgrade" my (passively cooled) Kyro2 to a nVidia GF2GTS because the Kyro couldn't do wide-screen resolutions (I am using my flatscreen TV as a monitor).

{Sniping}Waste: Thanks. I'm not looking at top-end solutions, but I am starting thinking of going active cooling with a big-ass fan as an alternative.

 

[Skrying]

I wish I felt that way. I often find myself thinking my A64 is to slow.

 

[mangrove]

I wish I felt that way. I often find myself thinking my A64 is to slow.

It's not that I'm not used to other things either -- I work in IT, consultant, I see hundreds of fast computers all the time, and I build extremely fast custom machines for technical computing. I haven't felt the need, and I admit, two years ago or so I thought "oh let's just see how long I can get this to run"

 

[poopypoo]

I dunno, I think you should keep the BH-6. It would be so pimp to have the only HTPC on the block that couldn't even decode a decent-sized xvid file. Also, it'd be pretty tits to have a PC that's worth less than 1/4 the cost of the case it's in. It's really cool to read about everyone's old Abit motherboards, too. I really miss mine. Also, I really miss the days when you had to hack together your own heatsink solutions. I mean, I'm sure it happens today, too, but the newer coolers are all so nice, and rather nicely cut to fit each processor.

 

[mangrove]

Hey! It... it... it CAN decode xvid files! See, now you hurt its feelings. Don't cry, Abit, don't cry



(the comment on the case is spot on however... I felt kind of perverted when I bought it last year and filled it with dusty old components)

 

[{Sniping}Waste]

That was a X1800GTO I linked to and its not realy a high end card. Its ATI compatition for NVs 7600GT.

 

[mangrove]

That was a X1800GTO I linked to and its not realy a high end card. Its ATI compatition for NVs 7600GT.

Sure, but the cheapest X1800GTO card here costs (at today's exchange rate) $330. Too much money for me, and I don't really need the performance, either. I have been doing the review tour, based on recommendations here, and right now Asus' passively cooled, higher clocked 7600GS looks pretty nice, or one of the cheaper 7600GTs, which is radically less expensive than the X1800GTO.

Edit: OK, I found a couple of (slightly) cheaper ones now, but they are still much too expensive and much less affordable than the NV alternative...

 

[mcsven]

On the cooling bit, I got really fed up with the noise my machine was making in the end. People would comment on it and since it doubles as my TV and stereo, I figured I needed to do something about it. So I plumped for a Zalman Reserator Plus. It's a water-cooling all-in-one package for people that don't want to get down and dirty with bespoke water pumps etc. Not cheap, but it takes care of cooling your CPU and GPU and is silent.

 

[Blazkowicz]

can you find a 7300GT? MSI (I think) is making a passive one at 400/400MHz (I use "real" memory frequency rather than doubled). pretty much like a standard 7600GS, but one quad is locked (so 8 pipes instead of 12) and the price is 90 euros instead of 120 euros.

yes that makes a slower GPU than the 7600GS, but the GS is tremendously limited by its RAM anyway (as was pointed out it's the major difference between 7600GT and GS). and supposedly it will put less heat out. best low-end card IMO.

as for a P3 800 decoding xvid, I have no problem believing you, you're using ffdshow are'nt you? just watched the CPU % while playing some anime : 20% without post-processing, around 33% with the post-processing options I really need, and 50+ % with one more filter. (on a XP2400+). ffdshow is great, I don't have to care about proprietary "video engines"

 

[mangrove]

Yup, I've looked a little at the 7300GT with DDRIII memory that is as fast as a 7600GS according to reviews. Problem is, it's hard to find here and is as expensive as a 7600GS, so there's not much to win. Anyhoo, thanks all, I think I got exactly the info I wanted to make a (somewhat) informed decision Here begins the pondering... I'll report back when I've bought the result of said pondering

Again, thanks to all who commented.

 

[mangrove]

Just thought I'd follow up with my final decision. I went with... *drumroll* ATI. I know I am trading off performance, but the deciding factor was the great VIVO support which hopefully will leave an empty PCI slot for me (no need for my hauppauge TV card). So, I bought a Asus X1600XT Silent (one of these -- http://www.motherboards.org/reviews/hardware/1613_2.html ).

Ther rest of the rig is as follows:

Intel Core 2 Duo/E6400 775 1066FSB 2.13G
Asus P5B Intel P965 Socket 775 ATX
2 x 1024 MB Corsair TWIN2X 6400 DDR2
Western Digital WD Caviar 500GB RE-2 720
bZerk 500W ATX 2.2
Samsung DVD+-RW 16x SATA bulk


...and from my old computer my old 36GB Maxtor Atlas 10kIV will be moved and paired with a new Adaptec 39160 SCSI card (or my old 29160N if it doesn't work in the only PCI slot this long 64-bit card can sit in!).

Ditto for my Audigy (1).