In need of video card advise.

Y

Yop

Newcomer
Hello,

I'm currently on the look out for a new GFX card which I'll purchase within the next couple of weeks. As of now I'm still undecided.

My thoughts currently are either ATI Radeon X1950 XT-X or GeForce 8800 GTS, from what I've been reading DX10 is coming soon and the X1950 won't be compatible but the 8800 GTS will, also I've read the 8800 out performs the X1950 on current games too.

What I really need is some advise, which to go for or maybe a 3rd option for around the same price budget, waiting another few months really isn't an option for me, I'm very impatient. Currently I'm running Windows XP and don't plan on changing to Vista anytime soon (when it comes out) and I'm wondering if the 8800 works fine with XP or will I need Vista to even run the thing?

Also the board I'm running is Asus A8V-E SE and I don't want to replace it if possible, from what I know it should be able to run these new cards but I'd like a confirmation if possible from someone with more experience.

Links:
Asus A8V-E SE: http://www.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=1&model=576&l1=3&l2=15&l3=143
ATI Radeon X1950 XT-X: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-050-CO
GeForce 8800 GTS: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-036-BG
 
You will not be able to use DirectX 10 without having Vista. You can however use the GeForce 8 series of cards in Windows XP, you simply will be limited to DirectX 9.

If you have the money to spend then the GeForce 8800GTS would be the one to get out of those two, it performs better, and more importantly it has better image quality.

Your motherboard should work fine with both cards, I'd also make sure your power supply is up to the task, and the rest of your system won't hold you back (big issue there would be if you say, only have 1GB of memory, these news cards in new games result to huge memory hogs).
 
Ditto Skrying.

The 8800GTS is the better card between the two.
 
If you're going to upgrade CPU and Memory and if you're also going the motherboard, you really should look into going with an Intel Core 2 Duo platform. They're the better system setup now.
 
I would also suggest looking into a Core 2 Duo system. The price will about the same plus a little for the motherboard.

Here's what I'd personally go with from the place you posted above:

Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-128-IN
Gigabyte GA-965P-S3 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-063-GI
G.Skill 2GB DDR2 PC6400 - http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-014-GS

All top notch from my experience. I'd say its worth the price and should give you a bit more upgrade room if you wish to do so in the future.
 
Thanks for the advice, although I'm not sure if I can realistically afford going for that processor and motherboard while still having cash to buy food as I'm already pushing the limits on my budget :) Not to mention my 21" CRT Dell which is god knows how old won't cut it with the new video card so I'll be spending big on that. This is the main reason I went with AMD X2 as my current board supports it.

Maybe I can live on stock cubes for a month and be able to afford everything though, who knows ;p
 
Yop said:
Thanks for the advice, although I'm not sure if I can realistically afford going for that processor and motherboard while still having cash to buy food as I'm already pushing the limits on my budget :) Not to mention my 21" CRT Dell which is god knows how old won't cut it with the new video card so I'll be spending big on that. This is the main reason I went with AMD X2 as my current board supports it.

Maybe I can live on stock cubes for a month and be able to afford everything though, who knows ;p
Click to expand...

Lol. Then I really wouldn't worry about it. It'd be a small increase but not big enough to push over your budget or hassle depending on how you look at things. I think you'll enjoy the upgrade a lot. :smile:
 
Yop said:
Thanks for the advice, although I'm not sure if I can realistically afford going for that processor and motherboard while still having cash to buy food as I'm already pushing the limits on my budget.
Click to expand...

The difference is only 110 pounds from the upgrade of the CPU+Memory you have mapped out. Perhaps you could put off the cpu+mem upgrades until you have time to also push in the new motherboard.
 
That might be an option, I'm more in a hurry for the gfx card and monitor (which I think I've decided on finally) as I'm currently using the AWESOME Ati X1300 and a really old DELL CRT.

Monitor: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MO-009-NE

Anyone with experience of this beast? seems really good to me, been tying to decide on a new monitor for awhile and think this could be the baby.
 
The 20WGX2 is about the best 20" gaming LCD you can get now. Its really nice. Just be aware that it has a glossy panel and therefore it might be annoying if you have a light source behind you while in use.
 
That won't be a problem, I'm usually sitting in the dark while on the PC. Thanks for the help.
 
Yop said:
t :) Not to mention my 21" CRT Dell which is god knows how old won't cut it with the new video card so I'll be spending big on that.
Click to expand...

uh? you're not forced to buy a new monitor, and the 8800 GTS feels adequate for playing 1600x1200 16x/16x (or a lower resolution such as 1280 but at 100Hz and 100fps).
(unless your monitor is really old, and it's you making the decision not me :p )
 
Even 10+ year old 21" monitors supported 1600x1200, some of them even supported 1920x1440 in my experience. I don't think you need a new monitor at all to use the eyecandy available from the GTS.
 
Skrying said:
If you have the money to spend then the GeForce 8800GTS would be the one to get out of those two, it performs better, and more importantly it has better image quality.
Click to expand...

From image comparisons I've seen it doesn't look any better than the X1950 but it does have some interesting features as well as better performance along with the option of DX10; of course it's also almost £50 more.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ANova said:
From image comparisons I've seen it doesn't look any better than the X1950 but it does have some interesting features and of course better performance, along with the option of DX10; of course it's also almost £50 more.
Click to expand...

I would find it hard for a 8800GTS to have worse image quality than a X1950Pro. Besides the fact that they both support HDR+AA, the 8800GTS has superior filtering as well.
 
Yop said:
I will also be upgrading my memory and processor shortly after replacing the video card.

AMD 64 X2 4600: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CP-128-AM
Corsair 2GB DDR TwinX: http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MY-039-CS
Click to expand...

Yop, I wonder what CPU you have at the moment and what you use your computer for, as those two issues are important to understand whether replaceing your current CPU with an AMD 64 X2 4600 is a good idea, or not. On the specific issue of the AMD X2 4600, why the 4600 ? the 4800 is a better processor owing to it having 1 + 1 megabyte L2 Cache as opposed to the 4600's 512k + 512K.

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/Default.aspx

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA4800DAA6CD

http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/details.aspx?opn=ADA4600DAA5CD

Also you do not say what RAM you currently have and one would have to judge whether obtaining fresh/additional RAM would be a good choice on that score, furthermore whilst Intel Conroe Core 2 Duo can operate with both DDR and DDR 2 , the AMD Athlon 64 x2 AM2 940 Socket uses DDR 2 and I expect the majority of motherboards for Conroe to utilize DDR 2 so by purchaseing DDR now you will be getting RAM that will be unlikely to be able to moved to your next motherboard / CPU combination.

Best and Warm Regards
Zapata
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Q
New Build - Core 2 Duo
Replies
10
Views
3K
Rys
Rys
A
Seeking upgrade advice
2
Replies
29
Views
5K
Albuquerque
Albuquerque
L
help in getting a video card for a 250 watt system (version 2)
Replies
5
Views
3K
LunchBox
L
S
After months of busting my ass.. finally.
Replies
18
Views
2K
zed
Z
Back
Top