Going to X1950 Pro worth it?

D

Ducay

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 24, 2004
Messages
336
Hey all, I know the forums are constantly bombarded with "should I upgrade" and "what should I buy" threads, but I couldn't really find any answers I was looking for in other threads.

I currently have a AGP X800XL running on a S939 system. In your expert opinions, would it be worth it to upgrade to a X1950Pro (which means having to upgrade mobo to something with PCI-E (I don't really want to wait for the AGP version))? I know where these cards sit against Nvidia's offerings, but I'm not sure how these 2 compare against each other; and whether the difference is worth having to upgrade mobo's (which brings up the "do I change sockets or stick with my opteron" question)


Thanks
 
The answer to your question is:

NO.

A little while back would have made sense, but nVIDIA's DirectX 10 card is already out and AMD/ATI's is due soon. I think that for the money spent, you might want to wait for the new gen card so you don't kick yourself a couple months down the road.
 
That's potentially good logic, but it depends heavily on how satisfied you are with the card you have now. A new-generation card in the X1950 Pro's $200 price range won't be available for probably 3 months or so, and may or may not have better performance. The 6600 GT and 7600 GT were dynamite, but previous midrange cards have sucked, so it's no guarantee.
 
Mid range dx10 cards will be out soon... I would really wait for those if I were you...
 
The 1950 is available in AGP and is currently on sale for under $300 at Best buy, couple that with a $20 off purchases over $175 and its pretty reasonable. With reward zone certs I got it for under $210.

just do a search on bestbuy for 1950 AGP
 
Thanks guys, I think I will keep my eye open and upgrade sometime after christmas (boxing day sales anyone? ) :D
Whatever ends up being the better deal (AGP or PCI-e + mobo) I will probably go with.
 
1950 Pro AGP benchs and real life Performance:

3dmark 05:
1950 Pro 652.5/1552.5 scored a 7872 Proof

3dmark 06:
1950 Pro @ 652.5/1552.5 scored a 4079 Proof


Also I tested the following two games:
NWN2 30-40fps Avg, previous with the 7800GS SOC I was at a solid 19.99
Oblivion 30-35fps Avg, previous with the 7800GS SOC I was at 15-20fps

As you can see overall a 15fps boost, that's nothing to sneeze at. I think I have a 8k run in 05 coming with a few tweaks. Maybe a 4200 run in 06 as well.

AGP is Dead remember! :rolleyes: (read sarcasm!)
 
Ducay said:
Thanks guys, I think I will keep my eye open and upgrade sometime after christmas (boxing day sales anyone? ) :D
Whatever ends up being the better deal (AGP or PCI-e + mobo) I will probably go with.
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I guess that depends on what you consider "the better deal". If you want to finish off your AGP career with probably the fastest card ever released for it, with no future hope of upgrading, by all means get the X1950Pro. If you want to build a system you'll be able to upgrade over the next couple of years, PCI-E is the way to go.

I ended up going the new system route because my components were a little longer in the tooth than an S939 system (Northwood P4).

Now I am set for a while. You also have to consider that since you are on S939, and AMD has gone the way of AM2 and soon the next one (AM3 or whatever), that those S939 PCI-E boards will probably start (1) losing features as they're moving to low-end or (2) getting real expensive. I wouldn't wait past January (or whenever it is that ATI releases their first-gen DX10 parts) to upgrade if I were you.
 
The upgrade to the X1950Pro after the X800XL is worth every penny. Just make sure you get the ones that are $199 or cheaper.
 
Endurancevm said:
The upgrade to the X1950Pro after the X800XL is worth every penny. Just make sure you get the ones that are $199 or cheaper.
Click to expand...
He has an AGP system. There are none that are $199 or cheaper.

I say wait a few months until you can afford a bigger upgrade. The X800XL is a pretty good card anyway, so it should last long enough until you get a PCI-E mobo.
 
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