Help deciding on a video card for the average gamer.

L

logiclxm

n00b
Joined
Jun 6, 2007
Messages
13
Hi,
I want to build a new system w/ an E4300 CPU.

I narrowed down the choices of video cards to the 2 following:

1)Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950XT PCI-E 16X 256MB GDDR3 Dual DVI VIVO Lite - $214(CAD)

2)Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 PRO PCI-E 16X 256MB GDDR3 DVI TV-Out Lite - $166(CAD)

I noticed that most of the ppl have the: GeForce 8800GTS 320mb - $325 (CAN) video cards and looks like this card is among the top cards right now w/ some great reviews..

I am not a serious gamer, I don't need max resolutions for my games. Although I do plan to enjoy some current and future games that will come out (i.e. COD2, Company of Heroes, Half Life 3, future Rainbow Six releases, NFS releases and GTA IV). I would expect those games to run smoothly on adequate resolution. I would also like smooth video playback online for the next 2-3 yrs.

Should I go for option 1 or 2? Is there a significant difference between the X1950 PRO & X1950XT?
Also, If I'm not a hardcore gamer, should I spend an extra $110 for the 8800 GTS? I understand that the 2 Radeon cards don't have DX10 support. But looks like even by choosing the 8800GTS 320mb at the moment is not the ultimate choice as Nvidia is planning to release the G92 video card later this year, which is supposed to be on a completely different level than the 8800GTS 320mb.

Replies and advice would be welcomed!
 
If you want 2-3 years out of a card, you're better off with the 8800gts. It's a great value. It's going to be faster than the previous cards you mentioned, even SLI'd. Those x1950s are good cards, but they won't be as good for getting 2-3 years out of.
 
ya, the 8800GTS 320mb sounds good for you. its perfect for decent resolutions right now and should be able to run games for a while to come.
 
there will probably be some dx10 only games in the next 2-3 years, so you'd probably want a dx10 card

if you get an evga card you have the option of stepping up to the g92 if it comes out in 90 days
 
I would go EVGA anyway for customer support reasons, but don't bet on the G92 hitting in 90 days. I don't see that happening.
 
Think of the x1950 pro as being 3/4 of the x1900xt, it has 36 pixel shaders v3.0 versus the x1900 xt's 48 shaders, and the core/mem speeds (depending on the card manufacturer) place the x1950 pro at around 75% of an x1900xt.

good resource to compare some basic vidcard specs and their relation to each other:

http://www.playtool.com/pages/vidtable/table.html

I would really like to see nvidia release a card between 8800gts 320mb and 8600gts 256mb, using 64 stream processors and which will have 256bit memory access, I think that;s still a sweet spot if using gddr3 ram. Such a card would be a better fit than the 8600, without overdoing it with 8800gts. nvidia may not want to cannibalize sales of 8800 series though?
 
a 1950 pro is plenty for a midrange gamer. I have an x1800XT and it is plenty for my resolution 1440x900. Save the money and get the pro. It will do you a few years.
 
I'd say, maybe take a look at the 8600gt(s) depending on price. Or find a cheap card now and wait for the next gen to be released and see if there are any good mid-range cards.

Right now there is a big gap between the 86 and 88 series performance wise. If something were in the middle and around $250 it would be perfect for most gamers.
 
8500 and 8600 cards are not (in my opinion) good choices for anyone save HD video enthusiasts who are not gamers. The severely crippled 8-series hardware (from the stream processor standpoint at least, and since it's a unified architecture this is very important) used in them does not appear as if it will be capable of running any DX10 titles at mid to high resolutions, and there are faster DX9 cards out there for less money.
 
X1950XT, I would also suggest you to get the 512MB version. X1950XT is not far behind the 8800GTS but it is a lot cheaper. I don't think that buying a DX10 card now is a good choice, what DX10 game can you play now? By the time DX10 games come out, the next gen DX10 cards will also be out so you can either get a newer DX10 card later or get a current DX10 card cheaper later.
 
I would say something with the g80 GPU... at least you will run DX10 in the future
 
Thanks a lot for the replies guys.
Unfortunately, they are mixed. I guess I've expected it... :(

I can afford the X1950XT (256mb). I will really have to make some extra $ if I want to purchase the much talked about Nvidia 8800 GTS 320mb.
I read some more reviews and they all mention the fact that the difference between the
ATI X1950Xt 256mb and the Nvidia 8800GTS 320mb is quite visible; in other words, u get what u pay for.

I expected to build a midrange rig for around $1000, but the more research I did on the various PC components, the more I realized that more buck=more quality and better performance. It is frustrating, but thats how the PC market works...

So with the recommended Nvidia 8800GTS 320mb and other components I will have to spend $1300-1400. I would probably gonna have to work some extra hours for the rig. And the more time passes, the more the date when Intel should drop their prices on their Quadcores approaches (July 22nd). So now I'm back to the question of whether I should wait for the price drops and get the Q6600 or just go out and buy the E4300 I initially thought of.

Frustrating... :(
 
Save up. What you get for the same amount of cash will only get better with time, and you'll have more to spend (if you're so inclined) on top of that. Win-win, really.
 
Allright.
After giving the topic some thought, I decided not to purchase the E4300. Instead I will wait for the expected price drop on July 22nd for the Q6600. I will also get the Nvidia 8800GTS 320mb, which should be cheaper in July as well...

Thanks for the replies!
 
logiclxm said:
Allright.
After giving the topic some thought, I decided not to purchase the E4300. Instead I will wait for the expected price drop on July 22nd for the Q6600. I will also get the Nvidia 8800GTS 320mb, which should be cheaper in July as well...

Thanks for the replies!
Click to expand...

Good call :)
 
How much cheaper can the 4300 be dropping in July anyway?
Im planning on building a computer also and the parts you listed are the same parts on my list that I cant deicide.

First I was gonna go with 4300 with 1950pro then I heard price drop so I moved up to
q6600 with 8800gts 320 video card. Now i might be changing my mind again. I just wanna see benchmarks on Unreal 3 so I can build a computer that can run it at at least steady 50-60 frames. Unreal and its mods will last me many years tell I need to upgrade again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top