HD GPU Opinion ** HELP!

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Mmm.vap0r

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Jun 18, 2006
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I currently have an ATI Radeon x1900 XT 512 MB in my PC. I play games every now and then. I've recently been looking at some of the new HD cards offered by ATI. I watch a decent amount of HD movies and TV show on my computer now. I'm considering getting some sort of HD GPU. What HD vid card should I be looking at? The only ones I've looked at were the ones from ATI. 2900 and 2600 XT. That's it so far. And if I got an HD card, I'm assuming that playing games occasionally wouldn't be a problem...


Please give me some insight as to what ya'll would do.
 
With the 2900 HD yes, you could play games occasionally. The 2600 HD would be significantly slower than your X1900, so I really do not recommend going that route.

What are your other specs? PSU, CPU, RAM, size and resolution of you monitor? Knowing those things would be a big help in making recommendations. A budget would be just as helpful. Are you looking to spend $300? $400? Would you be willing to get closer to $500 for an 8800 GTX? I'm assuming you'll go as high as $400 if you were looking at the 2900 HD.

The 2900 HD is also one of the most power-hungry video cards on the planet, so if you went with it you'd be buying a new PSU more than likely. Also, its HD decoding ability is sort of 'broken' so you wouldn't get a performance boost with HD content over your current setup. The 2400 HD and 2600 HD both decode HD content very well, but are pretty much useless for games.

ATI isn't holding the performance or even price-to-performance crown right now, as a 8800 GTS 640MB (and in many cases a 8800 GTS 320MB) will beat out the 2900 HD, and will /always/ beat out a 2600 HD. The 8800 GTX and Ultra are on top pretty consistently, especially with high levels of AA/AF enabled. You might also need a new PSU with an 8800 GTS/GTX, depending on the wattage/amperage rating on the 12v rail/rails and quality of the unit you're using now.
 
Are you having problems playing HD movies? IF not you should be good with your 1900xt.

1900xt is still a great gaming card.
 
silent-circuit said:
With the 2900 HD yes, you could play games occasionally. The 2600 HD would be significantly slower than your X1900, so I really do not recommend going that route.

What are your other specs? PSU, CPU, RAM, size and resolution of you monitor? Knowing those things would be a big help in making recommendations. A budget would be just as helpful. Are you looking to spend $300? $400? Would you be willing to get closer to $500 for an 8800 GTX? I'm assuming you'll go as high as $400 if you were looking at the 2900 HD.

The 2900 HD is also one of the most power-hungry video cards on the planet, so if you went with it you'd be buying a new PSU more than likely. Also, its HD decoding ability is sort of 'broken' so you wouldn't get a performance boost with HD content over your current setup. The 2400 HD and 2600 HD both decode HD content very well, but are pretty much useless for games.

ATI isn't holding the performance or even price-to-performance crown right now, as a 8800 GTS 640MB (and in many cases a 8800 GTS 320MB) will beat out the 2900 HD, and will /always/ beat out a 2600 HD. The 8800 GTX and Ultra are on top pretty consistently, especially with high levels of AA/AF enabled. You might also need a new PSU with an 8800 GTS/GTX, depending on the wattage/amperage rating on the 12v rail/rails and quality of the unit you're using now.
Click to expand...

PSU = 500 Watt dual 12v
CPU = Pentium D 950 :(
RAM = 2 gigs
19" monitor (res = 1280x1024)

I'd like to spend around $400. yes. I'm running Vista 32-bit. not sure if that matters



My HD content that I watch on here is good. I think it could be better.....maybe.

Just a guess, what kind of (if any) improvement in video quality would you expect a change to create?
 
If you really want your HD content to be better, get a 24" LCD. You can get a refurbished version of the second-best 24" LCD for $430 + shipping from benqshopper.com, which is run by BenQ. The best 24" LCD is something like $1,400 since it's an S-IPS panel and is by NEC. Only a 24" or bigger monitor will allow you to view HD content in true HD, which is 1920x1080.

The "HD GPU's" are extremely crappy gaming cards (much slower than your X1900 XT 512MB) that have a built-in HD decoder on them which allows them to accelerate HD video to use less CPU power. If you are having slow-downs while playing HD content, then get one of these. This includes the HD 2600, the 8600GT, 8600GTS, etc. The Radeons are better for decoding but worse for gaming.

The HD 2900XT is NOT an HD card! It does not have the decoder on it and will thus not make any difference playing HD movies than your X1900XT except for the HDMI out, etc.

Also, video enhancements on HD content are less important since the resolution of HD content is already so high that enhancements will be much less noticeable.
 
Mmm.vap0r said:
PSU = 500 Watt dual 12v
CPU = Pentium D 950 :(
RAM = 2 gigs
19" monitor (res = 1280x1024)

I'd like to spend around $400. yes. I'm running Vista 32-bit. not sure if that matters



My HD content that I watch on here is good. I think it could be better.....maybe.

Just a guess, what kind of (if any) improvement in video quality would you expect a change to create?
Click to expand...

I don't know what your expecting with HD movies. If you aren't having problems playing your movies I wouldn't worried about it.

If you have money to blow get a 8800gtx or the ultra.

I would upgrade your monitor more than anything else then maybe the processor. A good monitor makes all the difference in the world when watching movies or playing games.
 
The PSU may not hold out with one of the higher end current generation cards, dependent on specifics like manufacturer and model. All "500 watt dual 12v rails" are not created equal. Not even close.

I agree with the others -- a monitor upgrade seems to be the next logical step for you.
 
silent-circuit said:
Though I'd made this fairly clear in my first post.
Click to expand...
You said that its HD decoding was "broken". It in fact has no HD decoding at all. But whatever. Just because you said something before doesn't mean that someone else can't repeat it.
 
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