Hmm, I've seen several laptops side-by-side (all TN panels) and the screens with LED backlighting have always offered a superior viewing angle. Perhaps this is a placebo effect due to the improved brightness?
In any case, LED backlighting is often a ~$50 upgrade for superior picture quality...
I've got a Dell Latitude E6400 laptop on the way and the only digital video output offered is DisplayPort. I'm not in a rush to drive my 2208WFP with VGA, as you can imagine. Wikipedia tells me DisplayPort -> DVI is technically possible without an adapter, but I can't find this (or any...
Why does everyone always tout HDR+AA for the X1950 Pro? There isn't one recent game it has the power to do HDR+AA on, so it's about as relevant as DX10 for the 8600s. Go with the X1950 Pro because it's downright faster, not cause of HDR+AA.
Whether your video card uses system RAM or not, the OS must still allocate address space for VRAM. This is the reason why if have you, for example, SLI 8800GTXs on a 32-bit system, Windows can address a max of 2.5GB of system RAM.
Unless you're gaming on a 30" LCD (though with your budget I suspect you are), hold off! We know Penryn is coming Q1 2008, which will have higher clock speeds, more cache and slightly better IPC than Conroe. Nobody really knows what's going with the speculated new NVIDIA cards, but since you can...
RMAs are probably processed automatically or by someone who either doesn't know much about video cards or isn't paid enough to care. Easiest thing for a company to compare when replacing your EOL'd video card? Retail price. That's probably why people are ending up with 8600s as replacements for...
If Nvidia releases an 8000 series variant that can own the $100-250 market, they'll make a whole lot more money for their investors than by cannibalizing 8800 sales with an 8900 or 9800.
22" is 1680x1050, right?
Then no, you will need a 8800GTS 320 to play everything with max settings and AA.
You could play many or even most games very well at that res with an X1950XT but really intense stuff like Oblivion requires an 8800.
If he has a 9800 Pro he's on AGP, so I'd suggest an AGP 7600GS if games a not a priority:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125039
Wait, so what was the X1900XTX?
Every video card company (hell, EVERY company period) brings out high-end parts that are only very marginally better than the previous top dog while being much more expensive. AMD FX series, Intel Extreme series, etc., etc. Don't pretend that ATI is immune.
You might want to look to upgrading that Pentium D (if your mobo supports C2D), because I think you might end up being bottlenecked by your CPU with either card.
X1950 Pro probably doesn't have the power to do HDR+AA in Oblivion, though. Dunno about Far Cry, however, since it doesn't seem to be in most sites' test suite anymore.
Just one suggested change to jbscotchman's build: go with an SATA DVD burner just for the sake of aesthetics (no big IDE cables):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151141
Chalk up another vote for NCIX. Service is good, shipping is fast, and the selection is the best I've seen on any Canadian site. I usually cross-check their prices against Canada Computers, which I mostly use for small purchases (tube of thermal paste, etc.) because they have actual locations in...
Good luck with that. Getting PayPal to give a damn about your complaints is like trying to get your dog to care about global warming. It just ain't gonna happen. I'd go straight to the credit card company and file a chargeback.
Only you can decide what you "need." Do you NEED the extra performance? Is it worth the $$$ for a new CPU and mobo to you?
It's your money, you make the call.
I noticed that. However, considering the huge price difference to get an EE processor, I'd say it's worth the risk to try flash the BIOS to a standard Nvidia one. If he bricks it, he can always go out and get a high-end Conroe-compatible mobo and an E6600 for maybe $500.
I've always felt that the ultra high-end parts -- Extreme Edition in Intel's case, FX series for AMD -- are a big waste of money. The performance is only marginally better than the best mainstream parts but the price premium is huge. The only time I would buy one is if money was no object.
I...