eVGA 7900GTO or X1900XT For VALUE

I

icenineiv

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I've been working on getting all the parts together for a new rig for about the last three weeks. Up until about two days ago I was pretty set on getting the X1900XT for about $350. Then a few days ago a front page listing on NewEgg made me aware of the 7900GTO, for a hundred bucks less.

Most people on this forum seem to think it's a great card, though not very overclockable. So basically I'm wondering which card will be best for Value.

I'll be playing Oblivion, Company of Heroes, All the Source engine stuff. My display is a 20 inch Viewsonic at 1680 x 1050. Would the GTO be cabable of handling all of that, or is it worth spending the extra hundred bucks on the X1900XT?

Any advice is greatly appreciated as I'll be placing an order either Wednesday or Thursday of this week.

Thanks.
 
The 7900 GTO is not very overclockable? A lot of people are clocking their GTO as a 7900 GTX. It has the same hardware as a GTX which makes it a great value.
 
As I don't have one I don't know, that's just the general impression I was getting from alot of threads.
 
Seriously, this question gets f'en asked every day. Why don't you just search or check out google instead asking stupid questions. I'm not going to even bother answering this question and your right, I could have answered your question instead of ranting but hopefully it prevents some !@#$-tard from asking this question again.
 
Well, I have searched, alot in fact. But as the GTO is very new I have not seen any comparisons between these two specifically. I'm not saying it's not out there, but I have not found it.
 
My GTO runs at 702/800 rock stable. Havent tried pushing the memory or core higher but its really fast for now. I would personally recommend a 7900GTO for value, its cool, its quiet, it requires less power and mine happened to come as a 7900GTX so its even better value.

It will play and Source game like butter, the only slow down i have found was with COD2 where i cant use 16xAF or 4xAA.
 
Yeah but that's a 256 version, I'm talking about the 512 version. I don't want to have to upgrade till this time next year if I can help it.
 
Personaly I would go for the X1900 even if it is more. Maybe Im just biased but it seems to me that the ATi cards dont outdate as fast if that makes any sence they arent as fast in raw speed but they do seem to produce more constant FPS. Mind you I own a 7800GT and its an amazing card but I seem to hold some prefernece to ATi.
 
Ill be getting at gto on thursday so i will be able to shed some light then. When newegg had the weekend sale i jumped on the 245 price.
 
XT is better.

The big issue for me is, at the same price the XT's only have 256 VRAM.

If they both have 512 I'd say XT. But they dont, so I'd say GTO.
 
You know, sadly, all the bickering about Image Quality aside, it really comes down to the cooler on those things. Heatsink fans for both ATI and Nvidia have generally been total crap. Loud, buzzy, rpm changing beasts that assaut my ears and barely deserve the name heatsink. My computer is whisper silent and I had to replace the cooler on my 7900GT with a Zalman because I couldn't stand listening to the POS stock heatsink on it.

Having read about how annoyingly loud the X1900 coolers are (especially the spin-up / spin-down) and how quiet the 7900GTX / GTO coolers are, I'd say you could potentially be saving yourself another 30-40 bucks by NOT having to swap out the cooler on the 7900GTO in order to save your sanity.

I like that GTO cooler.

Otherwise, just buy whichever you want. You might like the HDR+AA on the X1900 for Oblivion, but personally I don't think it's worth worrying about. I went from ATI 9500pro, to 9800pro, to X800XL, to nvidia 7900GT, and didn't really notice much difference. Turn off ansio sample optimization and clamp the negative LOD bias on my nvidia and it looks the same as ATI to me in World of Warcraft. (which supposedly has horrible shimmering with Nvidia, but I look at my 2 computers side-by-side, one with x800xl, and one with 7900gt, and I see no difference... they both suck, lol)

Meh. Save 100 bucks. You'll hate either card in a year anyway when DX10 games show up.
 
GTO is the better value and there's a good chance it will overclock to GTX speeds.
 
I don't think the extra ram is a huge deal, but I definitely prefer the nvidia cooler, it's nearly silent, whereas the XT's cooler is absurdly loud under load...

The cards are pretty much dead even on performance, other thatn that it's a trade off, if you don't care about noise, the XT has some nicer IQ features...if you do care about noise, don't even consider the XT...
 
 
shoman24v said:
FEAR: 1920x1200

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce_7900_gto/images/fear2048.gif

X1900XT is faster

Call of Duty 2 1920x1200

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce_7900_gto/images/cod22048.gif

X1900XT is faster

FarCry HDR 1920x1200

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce_7900_gto/images/fc1600.gif

X1900XT is faster

Oblivion 1920x1200

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce_7900_gto/images/fol1600.gif

X1900XT is faster

Seems easy enough for me to decide.

Article: FiringSquad
Click to expand...

Basing your conclusion off of one article? You should search around and retrieve more data before you make an assumption like that (who knows, you might be right).
 
I have both cards (X1900XT 512 and 7900 GTO.) Both cards are excellent. The X1900 seems to have more consistent framerates in Oblivion. Both cards have games that they perform a bit better in. The X1900XT is a little louder, so if noise is a concern go with the GTO. The differences in most games are fairly negligible, some are a little quicker on the XT some are quicker on the GTO. I haven't seen either card vastly outperform the other in anything yet. Image quality seems pretty level across both, however I'd give a slight nudge to ATI in this department. I'm sure with a little tweaking though you couldn't tell the difference. Anyway, I figured you could get actual numbers elsewhere, these are just some observations.

Oh, and I've OCed my GTO a little bit. It's running 680 core and 1500 mem right now. It could probably hit 1600 on the memory, but the difference really isn't worth it to me.
 
shoman24v said:
FEAR: 1920x1200

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce_7900_gto/images/fear2048.gif

X1900XT is faster

Call of Duty 2 1920x1200

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce_7900_gto/images/cod22048.gif

X1900XT is faster

FarCry HDR 1920x1200

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce_7900_gto/images/fc1600.gif

X1900XT is faster

Oblivion 1920x1200

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/evga_e-geforce_7900_gto/images/fol1600.gif

X1900XT is faster

Seems easy enough for me to decide.

Article: FiringSquad
Click to expand...

Yeah, and then take a look at the GTX, which is what my GTO is running at with no effort at all. There's a reason FS gave the GTO the Bulls Eye award and that reason is VALUE.
 
I find it hard to believe that a 256MB card is performing on par with a 512MB card. Can anyone offer me an explanation of how ATI accomplishes this? And exactly how big an effect does the VRAM have on performance?
 
Just because it has more memory doesn't mean it's going to be faster.

Performance from 256mb to 512mb is negligible.
 
You can fold on the x1900XT, not on the GTO. That means that the XT is a better value.
 
and if some of us don't give a shit about folding protiens?

jk, it's a great cause but that has nothing to do with this thread.
 
Wow, thanks for the responses everyone, specially Astral Abyss and J3RK. I was looking for more personal experience instead of raw numbers.

The GTO seems like the way to go, mostly cause this is a cost conscience build and I'll be able to upgrade in 6 months anyway. I can handle a litte frame drop in Oblivion, that's no big deal.

Thanks alot everyone who replied, it's very appreciated.
 
From what I have read about the two cards I would go with the GTO as well....at the very least you can say you have a GTO when motorheads start talking about what kinda car they have....lol


anyway, you have to love the guys that will waste the time to flame you but not help you out.
Example:
Seongmin said:
Seriously, this question gets f'en asked every day. Why don't you just search or check out google instead asking stupid questions. I'm not going to even bother answering this question and your right, I could have answered your question instead of ranting but hopefully it prevents some !@#$-tard from asking this question again.
Click to expand...
 
icenineiv said:
Wow, thanks for the responses everyone, specially Astral Abyss and J3RK. I was looking for more personal experience instead of raw numbers.

The GTO seems like the way to go, mostly cause this is a cost conscience build and I'll be able to upgrade in 6 months anyway. I can handle a litte frame drop in Oblivion, that's no big deal.

Thanks alot everyone who replied, it's very appreciated.
Click to expand...

After I wrote that post I bought 2 GTOs, lol. I'd been looking to add a 2nd 7900GT + Zalman to my computer and couldn't justify spending more on a 256MB card than the GTO costs.

I'm an SLI noob, so I'm trying to get the kinks worked out of it, but so far I'm loving it. My case is stuffed now, but those GTO heatsinks are so nice and quiet. They never spun up at all while I tried out World of Warcraft and did some 3DMark runs.

Guess I'll be putting my 7900GT on FS/FT forum this weekend. If Nvidia would have been intelligent and lowered the price of the 7900GT to like 190-200 bucks I'd have just bought a 2nd one of them instead. It makes no sense to me that most 7900GTs cost more than the GTO does.

I'm looking forward to playing around with Multisampling and 6x/8x AA :)
 
The x1900xt 256MB is probably a slightly better value in frames per dollar, but as others have said, nvidia's drivers suck less, the hardware takes less power, it runs cooler, superior cooling makes less noise, and it has double the memory. Really it's a toss-up. All things being pretty equal, as they are here, I tend to go green over red.
 
Well I have had a 512M GTO clocked at GTX and an X1900XTX, yea the XTX was a bit faster in some games, I got my GTO shipped to my door for 303 CAD, an XT would have cost me $350+6% GST and i have to pick it up =p I'd say GTO for value, and its dead quiet in games
 
To those of you saying the extra 256 isn't a huge deal, meh to you ;) If you have any intention of playing Advanced Warfighter, you will not be able to play at the highest settings unless the game sees you have a 512mb card. I don't know if any other games follow suit, though.

Bill :cool:
 
Not really into GRAW but I know I'll be hitting the Quake Wars pretty hard when that comes out.

I made the final decision, ordered my new rig today with the GTO. :D Can't wait.
 
Get the X1900XT. It's the best performance for the money. Also, alot of manufacturers are offering big rebates.
 
Ok what would you guys buy. If you can get X1900XT 512MB and 7900GTO for the same price?

Which would be faster even after overclock them both.
 
If they were the same price I would've got the x1900xt. I chose the GTO cause I saved a hundred bucks with hardly any performance loss.
 
If both are the same price (X1900XT 512MB and the 7900GTO), then go for the X1900XT for sure.
 
This is a very good thread. I have been contemplating the same thing. Which is better? I like the IQ of Ati cards but the stability of Nvidia drivers. I also have a SLi board and would love to go dual cards since some games do benefit from it. If I go Ati I will have to buy a crossfire board. Then again I may not buy 2 cards and just stick with the fastest single card solution. Any ideas on what runs World of Warcraft better in fps and IQ?

I hope to order either of these cards today, maybe evga 7900 gto is the better choice since evga has the step up program when the 8800 gtx arrives.
 
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