I'm currently using a GeForce 5950, worth an upgrade?

G

GRAFiZ

2[H]4U
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Ok, so with all the new games coming out lately, I've found my computer stuttering just a bit, especially on NFSU:2 and the like.

I usually run at 1024x768... without AA or AF.

My system is a 3.2ghz P4, 512 ram, GeForce 5950 and while some games run smooth as silk, others get a bit chunky.

With all the new Radeons and GeForce's out now I'm wondering if it would be worth an upgrade.

If so, what would get me the best bang for the buck? I wouldnt go top of the line, but instead upper middle range.

Any help is appreciated!
 
A 6800 will blow your mind then. I went from a 5900 to a 6800 and it is a big jump, now running a 6800gt in my main rig, and the 6800 in a backup! Either is much faster than the 59 series. Well worth it in my opinion.
 
DEVILDOG said:
A 6800 will blow your mind then. I went from a 5900 to a 6800 and it is a big jump, now running a 6800gt in my main rig, and the 6800 in a backup! Either is much faster than the 59 series. Well worth it in my opinion.
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Thanks for the info... I was looking at the 6800 GT 128 and the 6800 Ultra 128. The ultra is $20 dollars less, I really cant figure out what the difference is.

I like the specs of the 256 version but I just cant afford it, the 6800 128 seems a nice upgrade.

Any ideas on the GT or Ultra???
 
More ram might help too, many newer games can use upwards of 512mb. Oh, and the 6800NU is a good card, much faster than the 5950. ;)
 
I wouldn't buy an upgrade yet. Buying a card of every new generation coming out isn't really recommendable - first because you don't need it really and second it's devastating of you look @ money^^ . I would wait for maybe 1 or 2 new generations (the radeon X850s are not so far away anymore) and then buy it - the difference will be blasting your mind ;)
 
Well.. the 5900 is a good card but in dx9 it's lacking, unless you play HL1 mods all the time and no other new games it's not worth it to keep it. This is obviously the problem you are running into, dx9 on fx series is not good. Thus, upgrade if you dislike your performance.

I'd suggest a 6800 as well, good cards, especially if you can find one for ~220-230 & unlock the extra 4 pipes for the extra 1k 3dmark 03 performance.

~Adam
 
Saying the FX series "isn't good" at DX9 is misleading. It's not GREAT, no, but saying that makes it sound like it's bad - and it definately does quite alright.

And he's got a 5950 Ultra, for crying out loud - that's an AWESOME card.

Just responding with a kneejerk "FX sucks, FX suck, FX sucks" isn't going to help his problem because it's not true. At least, not for this game - lots of FX users are playing it with no problem at all.

In fact, if you need the 'Need for Speed Underground 2' forums, you'll find that even the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra is a recommended card by the gamers there, as it offers awesome performance in NFSU2. The 5950 pwns the 5900 in every way.

Now, what's his problem, then? Well, since he's saying it happens in "other games", too, I'd put good money it's just a badly configured PC. Spyware, viruses, badly fragmented disk, too much crap running in the tasktray/background, etc.

A 5950 should be able to run anything thrown at it to this point with no problem at all, unless you are trying 1600x1200 4xFSAA and 8xAniso in 'max details' Far Cry or something that's obviously too far.

If it CAN'T run something, then upgrading to a 6800 isn't going to change anything, since it's not the video card causing the problems, here.
 
dderidex said:
Saying the FX series "isn't good" at DX9 is misleading. It's not GREAT, no, but saying that makes it sound like it's bad - and it definately does quite alright.

And he's got a 5950 Ultra, for crying out loud - that's an AWESOME card.

Just responding with a kneejerk "FX sucks, FX suck, FX sucks" isn't going to help his problem because it's not true. At least, not for this game - lots of FX users are playing it with no problem at all.

In fact, if you need the 'Need for Speed Underground 2' forums, you'll find that even the GeForce FX 5900 Ultra is a recommended card by the gamers there, as it offers awesome performance in NFSU2. The 5950 pwns the 5900 in every way.

Now, what's his problem, then? Well, since he's saying it happens in "other games", too, I'd put good money it's just a badly configured PC. Spyware, viruses, badly fragmented disk, too much crap running in the tasktray/background, etc.

A 5950 should be able to run anything thrown at it to this point with no problem at all, unless you are trying 1600x1200 4xFSAA and 8xAniso in 'max details' Far Cry or something that's obviously too far.

If it CAN'T run something, then upgrading to a 6800 isn't going to change anything, since it's not the video card causing the problems, here.
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^^ What he said.

And, going to a 6600 or vanilla 6800 from a 5950 would be just throwing your money away basically. You wouldn't see much of any improvement.

The stuttering you're getting is because you only have 512MB of memory. The games your're playing are utilizing more than the 512MB you have, so the hard drive has to be used to make up the difference, and accessing that time after time causes the stuttering.

Add more memory, preferably another 512 so you have 1 gig, and I'll bet all your stuttering goes away.
 
Lord said:
I wouldn't buy an upgrade yet. Buying a card of every new generation coming out isn't really recommendable - first because you don't need it really and second it's devastating of you look @ money^^ . I would wait for maybe 1 or 2 new generations (the radeon X850s are not so far away anymore) and then buy it - the difference will be blasting your mind ;)
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all of that is really up the individual isn't that

you can't say its not recommendable and that he doesn't need it, and you can't say its devastating, or cause of money

each persons needs/wants are different
 
Badger_sly said:
^^ What he said.

And, going to a 6600 or vanilla 6800 from a 5950 would be just throwing your money away basically. You wouldn't see much of any improvement.

The stuttering you're getting is because you only have 512MB of memory. The games your're playing are utilizing more than the 512MB you have, so the hard drive has to be used to make up the difference, and accessing that time after time causes the stuttering.

Add more memory, preferably another 512 so you have 1 gig, and I'll bet all your stuttering goes away.
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Dude, the 9800pro is on-par or better than the 5950 and a 6800 is >30% faster than a 9800p from what I hear.

I'd like to see you prove that with benchmarks. (that 5950 is almost equal to a 6800)

~Adam
 
Brent_Justice said:
its not really misleading, its true, it has slow shader performance in PS/VS 2.0
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Haha Pwnt.
Anywho... I stand by my recommendation, if he doesn't like the way his system performs as is and he's done all that he can software-wise to get it to his liking- then an upgrade is the obvious choice and a 6800nu/gt is the obvious choice for his wants IMO.

~Adam
 
compusa is supposed to have the 6800 nu on sale for the 26th for 200 bucks after rebates.

you might look into that.
 
according to microsoft, dx9 is here to stay for a while. so upgrade now to a high end card and you should be good for a few years.
 
CleanSlate said:
Dude, the 9800pro is on-par or better than the 5950 and a 6800 is >30% faster than a 9800p from what I hear.

I'd like to see you prove that with benchmarks. (that 5950 is almost equal to a 6800)

~Adam
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I didn't say that a 5950 = a 6800, I said that he wouldn't see much of an improvement, thus it's not worth the cost. His problem is not video, it's lack of memory. Even if he put a 6800 card in his system, those certain games would still stutter.
 
Badger_sly said:
I didn't say that a 5950 = a 6800, I said that he wouldn't see much of an improvement, thus it's not worth the cost. His problem is not video, it's lack of memory. Even if he put a 6800 card in his system, those certain games would still stutter.
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That's the point I was making.

It's not that the 6800 isn't faster than the 5950, everyone knows that.

It's just that his problem isn't his graphics card, it's the lack of ram (or other spyware/task tray items, etc).

A 6800 isn't going to solve 'stuttering' problems that a 5950 has. Will be he able to run higher res? Sure! Will he be able to use higher FSAA settings? Of course! The image quality will improve a bunch.

But if he's having 'stuttering'...it's not the video card causing that. And 512mb of ram is just NOT enough for modern games.
 
Lets put it this way:

If you have 400 some bucks to spend, go buy a 6800GT 256mb or a X800Pro Vivo (If you feel like flashing), and have a ball.

If you don't wanna spend over 400 bucks, don't bother. Buying a 6800nu from a 5950 is a step up, but not a step up that you want to spend 300 dollars on. (These are all 'normal' prices, so if you can find a better price, then by all means...)

As reports and reviews show, the 6800 line is nice, yes, but if you own the high end video cards from last generation, it's hardly worth the upgrade at the moment. Unless you feel you need a higher preformance, and you have lots of money to blow.
 
I have a 5900nu oc'd to about ultra speeds, and it only has 128megs of ram. And I can run HL2 at 1280/1024 at 2xAA 4xAF.

Im running a p4 2.4 @ 3.0 with a gig of memory. Iv'e been contemplating getting a 6800gt, but I just can't seem to justify it when I get great frames at that resolution. I also was playing WoW at 1600x1200 with those same AA and AF settings.

I would have to agree that there is somthing else giong on with that setup. Yes the 6800 is way faster than the 5900 or 5950, but if you can only run games at 1024 now, a new video card isn't going to help you as much as it should.
 
Ram *could* be the problem, I suppose dropping 100 on more ram (which is always good) would be less troublesome than spending 250 on a 6800nu. I'm sure it'd help alot as well, with everything in general, especially gaming.

Go for the gig or two total of ram, after you clean up your OS to see if that fixes the problem, I'm a big enough of a man to admit when I was wrong about something.

~Adam
 
ummm u can't run nfsu2 @ 1024x980 with NO AA or AF and get stuutering on that badass 5950U????? haha... yes get more ram and is that don't solve it figure out what's wrong because with that card u should be running 1280x960 with some aa and af with no problem just my opinion..
 
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