Is 7900 GS the right card for me?

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bigforearms

Weaksauce
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I'm looking for a quiet card for a system I'm building which is primarily for 1080p playback and recording (so HDCP is a definite bonus). The current build includes a 450w PSU, so I'm hoping to avoid power-hungry solutions. I will be gaming, but I primarily play RTSs (the newest of which is Medieval Total War 2) and occasionally older FPSs (last one I played regularly was Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory). I'm thinking of trying ET: Quake Wars, but I won't be upset if I can't keep all the eye candy on as long as it hits resolution.

My budget is flexible, but I'm looking for good bang for the buck. Since I'm seeing 7900 gs cards for a little over 150 after MIR, those seemed the best choice, but I wanted some expert opinions. I originally looked at a 512mb 7950gt but it was suggested to me that it may be overkill at $300 for what I want.

Display will probably be 1680x1050. I'll be upgrading to a 1080p display in around 6 months, but don't mind buying a new graphics card at that point to work the higher resolution for my games if necessary.

I'm open to overclocking and after-market fans, but don't want to spring the extra bucks for an SLi MoBo.

All that said, is the 7900 gs the best bang for the buck for what I want to do? Would you suggest a better solution?
 
That's a big resolution for that card. I doubt you'll be able to play ET:QW will everything on high @ that res on a 7900GS, even if it's heavily oc'ed and volt modded.

You would be much better off with say.. an eVGA 7950GT 512MB (NON-oc'ed model, you can o'c it yourself and save some $). I believe it's HDCP compliant...

Also, if you go with eVGA, you can step-up to a DX10 card whenever you like.
 
Well, the 7900GS is an awesome card (its what I use) and can play anything at 1280x1024.

It probably cannot max everything at that high of a res, but you could get decent results. Main issue would be HDCP. the 7900GS does not support HDCP, you need to move up to the 7950 for HDCP.
 
i have the XFX 7900GS and i love it, i upgraded from an Ati x700 Pro and its a huge improvement. I run BF2 with everything max on it in my native resolution of 1920x1200 and all the steam games etc. its a good card and for the price its a steal.
 
Grentz said:
Well, the 7900GS is an awesome card (its what I use) and can play anything at 1280x1024.

It probably cannot max everything at that high of a res, but you could get decent results. Main issue would be HDCP. the 7900GS does not support HDCP, you need to move up to the 7950 for HDCP.
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Thats not necessarily true, EVGA makes a 7900GS that supports HDCP :)
 
7900GS aren't quite that bad for volume when in 2d mode, but their 3d mode is LOUD.
 
dderidex said:
7900GS aren't quite that bad for volume when in 2d mode, but their 3d mode is LOUD.
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Are they that loud? I'm thinking about picking one up next time BB decides to throw them at $150, but not if it's another hair dryer.
 
The 7900GS is certainly a very capable card given the $$$. I bought mine over the holidays for $159CDN (after rebates), which is significantly cheaper then an X1950 on the Canadian market. In the US, the pricing is a little closer... so the X1950 may be a better option for you.

As for my card, I went with the BFG 7900 GS OC. I know it's not HDCP capable - the 7900 GS reference doesn't require this and I don't need it. I bought for the price and gaming performance (stock OC). Some manufacturers released a couple flavours of the 79000GS's that do offer HDCP support tho. You just have to look for it. As for noise, the BFG card doesn't bother me. It's quiet when i'm just doing 2D desktop stuff but does spin up a little in games... but my attention is on the game so the noise isn't an issue. You may have a different opinion tho if you're using your machine in quiet spaces for recording and video playback tho. I suppose you could always change the cooler tho...

As for power consumption, don't buy something that's going to strain power supply. I have a 485W Enermax that is plenty beefy enough to handle the BFG and it's additional power requirements. But, if you go with a low power card you won't get the performance you're looking for. Double check that your power supply will handle whatever you buy... look at wattage and amperage.
 
Nicksterr said:
That's a big resolution for that card. I doubt you'll be able to play ET:QW will everything on high @ that res on a 7900GS, even if it's heavily oc'ed and volt modded.

You would be much better off with say.. an eVGA 7950GT 512MB (NON-oc'ed model, you can o'c it yourself and save some $). I believe it's HDCP compliant...

Also, if you go with eVGA, you can step-up to a DX10 card whenever you like.
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What are you talking about dude? Evga gives you 3 months to stepup LOL
 
Night Black said:
ATi X1950 Pro

Slightly better performance, quieter cooler
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I think I'd agree with that - but emphasis on slightly in both cases.

If you REALLY want quiet, you want a card that includes aftermarket HSFs in it. IIRC, PowerColor has a few models of X1950 Pros that include the massive Arctic Cooling solutions on that. No warranty voiding needed to put them on, and they ARE quite quiet. Needs 2 slots, of course.
 
Though the PowerColor comes with the Accelero, the HIS version comes with the tried-and-true ATi Silencer design. I'd avoid the Sapphire version as it only comes with a single slot cooler which doesn't do squat and therefore overheats.
 
Interesting to see the ATI choices. I had excluded them because I thought they were supposed to run much hotter and louder than mid-range nVidias. Thanks for all the info guys.
 
Spose you could also look at the 7900GS versions that come with big passive heatsinks, and possibly put a large slow and quiet fan over top of all of that as well.
 
I am into silent computing and at the moment, the best silent card would be the "XFX 7950GT XXX". As you can see in the below pic, it is 100% passive and looks amazing. The temps on it are great, and I have even seen two people run 2 of these passive cards in Sli right next to each other with no problem. There is a normal version of the card (not XXX) that is slightly cheaper and probably runs cooler because it has a lower clock speed (610 vs 570 MHz).

4.jpg
 
Thought about that one, but, yeah, it is REALLY big. It also runs REALLY hot - although most people react more adversely to that than they should (IE., if you have a problem with your chip running over 100C, stay away from this card. On the other hand, if you can rationally accept that it was, indeed, designed to do that with no problem - you are alright.)

However, it certainly is quiet (silent, of course, except for the effect it may have on temperature-controlled fans in your case), and it'll be the best card to try 1680x1050 resolution with. That's still a "high end" resolution, and needs "high end" cards paired with it. For midrange cards like the 7900GS and X1950Pro, you really want to stick with 1280x1024.
 
The BFG 7900GS also is one of the best performing 7900GS models stock as it comes OCed a bit (from what I saw on this comparison (forgot where it was, sorry)).

They are a little noisy, but not that bad. My case fans overpower it pretty easily and my case is not that loud.

You can also buy an aftermarket cooler and put it on for only a few $$ (25-30 or so).


Personally I went Nvidia as the ATI drivers hate me and nvidia drivers have always been flawless for me.
 
Adionik said:
Are they that loud? I'm thinking about picking one up next time BB decides to throw them at $150, but not if it's another hair dryer.
Click to expand...

Maybe it depends on which one you buy, but I have the eVGA 7900GS and it is not loud at all, even on full fan speed.

I have mine overclocked to 625 MHz and 800 MHz memory with Riva Tuner 2.0 and it was an easy overclock. The other thing you can do is underclock it for 2D performance so it runs cooler and you can adjust fan speeds to with Riva Tuner.

I have an Ultra V-series 500W power supply and it is more than adequate for the 7900 GS.

I can play Counterstrike:Source on 1280x1024 with all settings maxed and the video stress test gets about 238 fps.
 
wdn said:
Maybe it depends on which one you buy, but I have the eVGA 7900GS and it is not loud at all, even on full fan speed.
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I guess it's a matter of perspective, then. I have the eVGA 7900GS, and I would call it "deafening" in 3d mode. Of course, I have a Shuttle XPC with only a single 92mm fan in the back that is temperature-controlled to 60C on the CPU (IE., runs at 'low' or 'ultra low' settings almost all the time), and it sits on top of my desk, so the video card is probably not more than 2 feet from my ears.

The X1950Pro with stock cooler is very definitely audibly quieter than the eVGA 7900GS, but it's still not what I'd call "quiet", which is odd to me, given how many reviews are falling all over themselves praising how quiet it is. I suppose, only compared to the competition, it is, but I would never call it 'silent' even in 2d mode. It's not any louder than the 92mm, though, so that's a win.
 
Some are better than others, and it does sort of depend on what other fans are present.

And in any event an AC Accelero X1 would probably make a quiet replacement for $19.95.
 
My LCD is only 17". I went from R9800 Pro to evga 7900GS. I noticed a huge improvement. Very good card.
 
I really don't find the BFG 7900 GS OC that bad re: noise when pulling 3D duty. The fan spins up a bit so it's not silent, but it's bearable... and i'm usually listening to music or gaming when i'm at the PC anyway. Also, the rest of my machine is fairly quiet...tThe PSU is a dual-fan Enermax NoiseTaker and my case fans are 92mm Vantec Stealth's.

If you really want quiet, then I think the passively cooled XFX would be a good choice. ASUS tends to make some passively cooled cards too, but they're usually lower powered card so the GPU's may not offer what you're looking for (ie: X1600 type stuff).
 
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