8600GTS vs 1950Pro

L

Lyquist

2[H]4U
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Aug 21, 2004
Messages
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I want to buy one of these video cards. WHich one is better??? I know that the gts supports Direct X 10, but other than that...which one is faster??? My current favorite game is Bioshock and plan on playing Half Life 2 and would like to play Starcraft 2 when it comes out. What do you guys think? I just don't know.
 
uwishurockedthishxc said:
i think you should go with the 1950 pro but thats just me
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Why is that??? I just honestly don't know about this subject. I built this computer in October of 2006 and went cheap on the video card because I wasn't into games at all at the time. Then Bioshock came out and all that has changed now:)
 
I would get an evga 8600gts and just step-up to the next dx10 card instead of getting stuck with older hardware, and the gts has some oc headroom. If you look at tom's charts you can see it gets comparable frames at 675/2016. So imo get the 8600gts
 
the 1950pro gets my vote but if you were comparing it to the 8800gts then the 8800gts would get my vote.

don't get the 8600gts.
 
8600gts
It supports dx10 and will last you longer than the ati card...
 
Not to mention, that you can get a Sapphire X1950Pro 512MB rather cheap (under $200). I have the AGP model and I like it a lot. I got mine from newegg.
 
xpsango said:
I would get an evga 8600gts and just step-up to the next dx10 card instead of getting stuck with older hardware, and the gts has some oc headroom. If you look at tom's charts you can see it gets comparable frames at 675/2016. So imo get the 8600gts
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people seem to toss around the step up as some "free" option, the person is probably looking at those cards due to the price, not to buy a card now, drop another $100 uin a monthf or another card...


the step up program is a "great program" but it is all rooted in the company making more money off you.
 
uwishurockedthishxc said:
people who link toms as a respectable source make me lawl
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well ok, if i could find a comprehensive comparison chart here at the [H] i would have i am not saying toms is the best but its a chart to at least give someone i dea of what the are looking at when it comes to performance.

but here are some links for the [H] but not one of them shows the 8600 against the 1950 at least that i could find. the link wasn't about who is better it was to this guy see the differences in cards.

http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTI5OSwxMCwsaGVudGh1c2lhc3Q=

http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTAzMyw1LCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTI2NSwyLCww

http://hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTI4NCwyLCwxMDA=
 
i would get the 8600GTS, great overclocker (1 GHz Core FTW), smaller and it doesn't sound like a cement truck when u play games and the fan is on 100%.
 
Seems like I'm not getting a straight answer:( Now I'm not sure what to do to be honest.
 
First of all, so far, DX10 is a real joke. Nothing has come out yet that has shown me to be a worthwhile upgrade to VISTA. Even Crysis, the supposed end all be all of visual gaming looks fantastic on DX9. Secondly, even if you are concerned about DX10, that 8600GTS, is just not powerful enough to play next gen games at any decent settings. So, between the choices given, definitely go with the X1950PRO. I used to have one. It's a good card.

Are you limited to AGP only or is this for a PCI express computer? If you can go with the latter, then if you look around, you can get a good deal on a X1950XT. A great card with a definite boost over the PRO. Here's one on newegg. I think it just went out of stock but it's under 200.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814241063
 
Please dont list dx10 compatibility as a plus for the 8600, its a pretty useless card and it will never be able to run any dx10 game, period.
 
Pilot53 said:
Please dont list dx10 compatibility as a plus for the 8600, its a pretty useless card and it will never be able to run any dx10 game, period.
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OH OH! but they are going to toss 1g of ddr3 ram on it!!!!!!! and and now i got to buy it cause it has 1g of ddr ram!! it is almost as fast as my fx5200 with 256mb of ram was!! :)
 
Johnny78 said:
First of all, so far, DX10 is a real joke. Nothing has come out yet that has shown me to be a worthwhile upgrade to VISTA. Even Crysis, the supposed end all be all of visual gaming looks fantastic on DX9. Secondly, even if you are concerned about DX10, that 8600GTS, is just not powerful enough to play next gen games at any decent settings. So, between the choices given, definitely go with the X1950PRO. I used to have one. It's a good card.

Are you limited to AGP only or is this for a PCI express computer? If you can go with the latter, then if you look around, you can get a good deal on a X1950XT. A great card with a definite boost over the PRO. Here's one on newegg. I think it just went out of stock but it's under 200.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814241063
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I second that video card, best deal for 200$ (if it's in stock). The 8600GTS, despite being DX10 compatible, is crippled by a 128bit bus.
 
Are games the only things that are ever going to be utilizing DX10? I don't think so. Even if the 8600GTS can't run DX10 games well, you'll be able to run apps. that use DX10 vs. the 1950 that won't be able to at all.
 
I got a HIS 1950Pro 512BM IceQ card and it was only $135 after MIR plus a few bones shipping from the egg great over clocker and pretty good performance
 
ii just switched from a x1950pro to an 8800gts 320,
performance is like night and day. 8600gts really isnt giving you what your gonna want.

bioshock ran @55-65fps @ 1400x900 on my machine (see sig) with an 1950pro
never hiccup'd or anything,

now with the 8800 i get 25-30fps high in most cases. even in "dx10"
8600 just isnt what your gonna want. performance/cost wise just keep ur eyes out on the fs section. same price u could buy a 8600gts new you could get a used 8800 and be much happier.
 
mikey976 said:
ii just switched from a x1950pro to an 8800gts 320,
performance is like night and day. 8600gts really isnt giving you what your gonna want.

bioshock ran @55-65fps @ 1400x900 on my machine (see sig) with an 1950pro
never hiccup'd or anything,

now with the 8800 i get 25-30fps high in most cases. even in "dx10"
8600 just isnt what your gonna want. performance/cost wise just keep ur eyes out on the fs section. same price u could buy a 8600gts new you could get a used 8800 and be much happier.
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I think he meant to say he now gets "25-30fps HIGHER" in most cases. You know people don't like to proof read their stuff.
 
I think I'll go with the 1950Pro. I am on a tight budget for this, but I would love an upgrade from my 1600Pro. My computer is pci express.
 
Of the two cards in the OP's post I'd take the 1950Pro. Even factoring in DX10 I'd still take the 1950Pro. Now if you want something better then grab one of the 8800GTS variants. Btw, THG Graphics Chart is just a 'guide'. Its not something written in stone nor to be taken as gospel. Its just one tool to help making a informed decision and it is good for such a tool. You should always look at other reviews and make comparisons.

Also dont get all hung up on DX10 and its hype. Its still immature and needs alot of work before it becomes a worthy successor to DX9.0c. Case in point MS just announced they were making a VISTA downgradeable option to XP. XP is going to be around for a long time to come and game developers are not going to ignore those users.

Edit: Vista downgrade to XP

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/34015/118/
 
I was looking at the same choice - X1950x vs 8600GT - based purely on a price-pint of "a little over $100". I ended up going with a X1950GT, which, after adding an Accelero S1+turbo kit, has no problem reaching 600/700 clocks and hasn't broke 50*C yet. UT2k4 is maxed out, running beautifully, and Bioshock (demo) runs fine with most details on (19" LCD puts me at 12x10 res). Bonus for me is the ability to go CF down the road, if DX10 takes a bit to catch on, or DX10.1 matters, or (what really matters) UT3/Hellgate have a significant diff between DX9 and DX10/10.1.

-bZj
 
My vote goes to the X1950. I've heard nothing but bad news regarding the 8600. Given that, I'd stay away. I upgraded to a X1950XT erliear this year and absolutely love it. I run a 1680x1050 display and have no problems on any games I own (UT2k4, SC, FEAR, CoH, HL2, etc...) Everything is silky smooth and gorgeous. I'd suggest waiting on this whole DX10 thing. It's only the beefy cards that can handle it now, anyway. I'll stick to my game plan: Wait for the next gen to come around that can truly handle DX10 like our cards handle DX9 now. This way I can, at the very least, pick a mid-range solution and not spend so much money on wasted "horsepower". To elavorate, I bought a 6600GT a long while back, as it stomped all over the previous gen's top-end cards. I then nabbed the 7600GT when I found out it, too, was great. Now I have a X1950XT, which I picked up once the big bad 8800's were released. In this way, I've spent the same amount of money one would spend on a single top-end card, and have gotten 3 well-performing cards over the past 2 years.

This is why I'd never pick up the 8600; My X1950 outperforms it in all the games I have. What kind of upgrade is that?
 
Johnny78 said:
I think he meant to say he now gets "25-30fps HIGHER" in most cases. You know people don't like to proof read their stuff.
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it happens, at least what i meant was understood.
but if money is an issue and u wanna buy new. 1950pro is way to go.
if you have patience and want to spend a lil extra dont bother with a 8600series
the dx10 just isnt worth it. even on a 8800 the dx10 isnt all that great.
its the performance difference overall is why i got an 8800
 
another for 1950 pro
my 1950pro BBA, is really quiet. i have the case open in the middle of the night an di can barely hear it. And i only have 2 silent 120mm fans in the computer
 
1950pro is the better card of the choices. DX10 is a joke on 8600 cards and overall pro wins in performance.

1950xt would be the best bet in this price cathegory, but that was not the original question :)
 
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