Which card for Oblivion ?

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Ehren8879

Supreme [H]ardness
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A friend of mine is ready to upgrade his video card for Oblivion and wants which ever one will run this game better. However he is torn between two cards, the X1800XT 256Mb edition or a 7900GT. His budget is roughly $300 which both cards can be had for, give or take. I've tried to sell him on a $350 512Mb X1800XT, but that's too much cash for him to part with.
He's eager to start playing and would like to make a purchase ASAP. All opinions are welcome, but please justify your recommendation. Thanks.

Please also post deals on the 7900GT's and where to find them. When they first came out a bunch were going for less than $315 now most, when in stock, are going for $330+. Where oh where did the $299 eVGA go?

Thanks again
 
I haven't seen any benchmarks on ATI stuff since the game launched. Since Nvidia launched the 84.25 beta drivers things have been very good for people on nv cards who play that game. Some people with 7900GTX cards are having issues and I have a hunch why. I would give the nod to a 7900GT

It's currently in stock here for $299.99

https://pnyestore.pny.com/AWWebStore/Products.asp?Category=VIDEO*PNYPRODUCTS

Everywhere else I check the cards are over $320.00 plus you gotta pay 4 shipping.
 
PNY don't even have an email address on their website. I'd be a little leery in dealing with a company that you can't contact directly.
 
Nothing wrong with PNY, they make good cards. I've owned a 5200 PCI and a 6800GS from them, not had a single problem, and can usually get some very good overclocks. If PNY has a 7800GT, look at getting it.
 
I'd definately go with the 7900GT, it doesn't really matter what brand you get.
 
Anime_Fan said:
I'd definately go with the 7900GT, it doesn't really matter what brand you get.
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thats not entirely the case....although companies generally don't do bundles anymore, there are still significant differences in clocks between companies, and also warranties differ greatly.
 
Yeah I meant performance wise typically all cards are pretty close to each other.

The thing that gets my money today is the warranty. Thats how I choose my products now. If it costs $20 more but it has a lifetime warranty... it is worth the 20
 
"FighterAce124 n00bie
FighterAce124 is offline Report Bad Post
Nothing wrong with PNY, they make good cards. I've owned a 5200 PCI and a 6800GS from them, not had a single problem, and can usually get some very good overclocks. If PNY has a 7800GT, look at getting it."

Yeah, you should call them and tell them that. Oh wait, you can't because they don't give their customers a way to either email them or call them. Great company. :D
 
truthfully...the 7900GT is awesome....but teh x1800xt is faster at stock..but when you OC the 7900 things start to change..they're easily overclockable where as the x1800xt is a freakin heat monster..
I just bought an x1800XT 256mb it runs hot as hell, which diminishes the overclocking ability but it scores 10k in 3dmark05 and it looks beautiful in games.....but so does a 7900GT. I figure you might want to go with whatever sticks out to ya. If your an nvidia !!!!!! get Nvidia , ATi get ATi. Or if you want to try something new like me :)
 
So nobody anywhere on the face of the earth has run this game with two different video cards on the same processor and posted it online?
 
Either card is fine.

My 7900GT plays it nicely at 1600x1200 with 16xAF/4xAA/bloom/max or 16xAF/HDR/max with AF optimzations turned off. I'd imagine an overclocked X1800 could also do the same.
 
pxc said:
Either card is fine.

My 7900GT plays it nicely at 1600x1200 with 16xAF/4xAA/bloom/max or 16xAF/HDR/max with AF optimzations turned off. I'd imagine an overclocked X1800 could also do the same.
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x1900 series are performing better than the nvidia variants so i assume that the x1800series will be able to match if not beat the nvidia variants

so x1800xt = 7900gt + more maybe in oblivion
 
X1900 cards perform admirably with Oblivion. Here's some shots I took w/my XTX and fps avgs 25+ outdoors and 60+ indoors:

removed for bandwidth.

1680x1050 all settings maxed (except self shadows), ini tweaks for max IQ, HDR+8xAF.
 
With all of this interest you'd think some reviewer would clue in and write an article.
 
now that you can get a x1800xt 256mb retail for 289 I think that might be the way to go. Really, it's almost a toss-up 7900gt/x1800xt
 
Mayhs said:
so x1800xt = 7900gt + more maybe in oblivion
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Not necessarily with the 256MB X1800XT version. But both cards overclocked should make most people happy for around $300 (if the 10-15% gouge tax on 7900GT cards end soon). :p
 
well i can run everything smooth, 25-30 FPS outside usually and ~60 FPS indoors, everthing enabled (maxed) HDR, no AA, 1280X1024 and i have a 7800GT....
 
How hard is it to put an aftermarket cooler onto an x1800xt? Is it just unscrewing the original heatsink/fan and screwing on a new one? Add thermal grease?
 
silverwolf0 said:
How hard is it to put an aftermarket cooler onto an x1800xt? Is it just unscrewing the original heatsink/fan and screwing on a new one? Add thermal grease?
Click to expand...

With all aftermarket coolers the hardest part is removing the stock heatsink/fan, as all of the popular after market offerings from both Arctic-cooling and Zalman are extremely easy to install.

You will have to remove the old thermal paste (using rubbing alcohol and a lint-free cloth) and replace it with either the paste that comes with the cooler or ArcticSilver 5 or Ceramique.
 
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