Which card should I get?

R

RalliartEvo

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 28, 2004
Messages
321
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512MB eVGA 7950GT (single slot)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130061

$297.99 + $6 shipping + tax

OR

512MB MSI Radeon X1900XTX (dual slot)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127205

$276.99 (after $150 MIR) + $6 shipping + tax
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Need a card to pair with an E6400, 2GB OCZ PC2-6400, and LCD TV or monitor. Rig will be used for gaming mostly and should be able to handle an upgrade to Windows Vista 64-bit.

eVGA is great because I built my dad a rig recently with a 512MB eVGA 7900GTX and it runs perfectly. Plus he can use the step up program when the new cards come out.

What about MSI? Are they reliable?

[rant] I remember buying x2 BFG 6800GTs and it was a disaster from day one. I couldn't get both cards to run SLI, at all, I called BFG multiple times and they never solved my problems. Then I RMA'd both cards and they said I only sent one back :mad:

I had to argue with a manager for a week becase I was told to send both cards in the same package! Finally they sent me the other card and it still didn't work. I gave up and just ended up selling both cards.

There customer service is non-existant (an hour on hold?) and their lifetime warranty is very deceptive. I will never buy a BFG card again and I hope MSI isn't like that, otherwise I'll pass.[/rant]

I might be upgrading to the new GeForce or ATI cards this November, but I keep hearing they will be delayed until March 2007, so I need to make a small investment now and a big investment later :D
 
The X1900XT is faster than the 7950GT, it also has better AF. However, the 7950 consumes less power, single slot, quieter, and has random problems where people have to RMA multiple times.
 
Endurancevm said:
The X1900XT is faster than the 7950GT, it also has better AF. However, the 7950 consumes less power, single slot, quieter, and has random problems where people have to RMA multiple times.
Click to expand...

It sounded good until that last part. What kind of problems?
 
all the 79xx cards have had some problems, it seems.

luckily, eVGA is awesome.
 
They die. There is a whole thread and write up about it here:


http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1059136&highlight=burn+baby

Maybe the 7950s arent affected as much by it as the 7900s, but most likely they probably are as nVidia doesnt usually fix things.

For example when your computer is on and you take out the DVI to hook up to something else and then plug it back into the original computer, ForceWare detects new hardware and then uploads corrupted EDID data to your brand new LCD monitor through the DVI port and then your monitor is junk. nVidia has known about this since the 6800s came out...and they havent even tried to fix it.

http://www.geocities.com/jgeneedid/
 
I've used multiple MSI cards, and all of them have been rock solid. None of them have been factory overclocked or anything like that, but I have never had a single problem with them. On the other hand, having no experience with eVGA I can't compare the two, but I do know that MSI is not a unreliable brand.

Since I haven't had any problems with thier cards, I can't comment on their tech support either.

good luck
 
Least said:
all the 79xx cards have had some problems, it seems.

luckily, eVGA is awesome.
Click to expand...

My dad's rig is powered by an eVGA 7900GTX that I bought for him the night Newegg put the 7900 series up for sale and it hasn't had any problems. He's using a Dell 2007FPW monitor.

Is he safe or will it die soon?
 
Endurancevm said:
They die. There is a whole thread and write up about it here:


http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1059136&highlight=burn+baby

Maybe the 7950s arent affected as much by it as the 7900s, but most likely they probably are as nVidia doesnt usually fix things.

For example when your computer is on and you take out the DVI to hook up to something else and then plug it back into the original computer, ForceWare detects new hardware and then uploads corrupted EDID data to your brand new LCD monitor through the DVI port and then your monitor is junk. nVidia has known about this since the 6800s came out...and they havent even tried to fix it.

http://www.geocities.com/jgeneedid/
Click to expand...

That doesn't sound like something I want to go through.

I noticed all the fuss is about cards that were OC'ed out-of-the-box, but in that [H]ardforum thread people are saying their cards are fine.

Did they really not fix this issue? No new firmware or graphic driver updates? :(
 
RalliartEvo said:
My dad's rig is powered by an eVGA 7900GTX that I bought for him the night Newegg put the 7900 series up for sale and it hasn't had any problems. He's using a Dell 2007FPW monitor.

Is he safe or will it die soon?
Click to expand...

He is probably alright.
 
Least said:
He is probably alright.
Click to expand...

The link above says some guy had a stock 7900GTX from eVGA and it started having the same problems.

So I guess I should be going with the X1900XTX? Hmmm.......
 
Not necessarily. Some die, some dont, some overheat, some explode. the 79xx series of cards isnt the most reliable of the bunch as i have read and noted. My choice would be an X1900 series card because they offer better overall image quality than g71 and are priced cheaper in performance comparison. They dont have the EDID issue as well as they are more reliable.

Your 7900GTX is like a brand new car. It could be a lemon(dead card) and then you would have to use the lemon law(RMA). And if the second card is bad then you just keep RMAing until you get it. All card theoretically could be lemons, its just that the 79xx has a much higher chance.
 
have to admid that i'm nvidia fan boy, but 1900XTX makes much more sense to me just because it's cheaper, and the speed difference is not that noticable between these two cards. unless you play 1600/1200 or higher resolutions.
 
I'm sure some people are just posting b/c of typos but I believe the original poster is trying to compare between the XTX version and the 7950GT. In terms of performance, the 512MB version of the XTX will mop the floor compared to the 7950GT. The 7950GT would be more appropriate to compare to the 256MB X1900XT.

Use the difference in price between the XTX and the GT to buy yourself a nice quiet cooler and you'll be set. Personally, I think you should go with the X1900XT (512) as the XTX version is just a small overclock over the XT, but you may be hard pressed to find a good deal on the XT these days. Your posted X1900XTX is currently out of stock btw.
 
RalliartEvo said:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
512MB eVGA 7950GT (single slot)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130061

$297.99 + $6 shipping + tax

OR

512MB MSI Radeon X1900XTX (dual slot)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127205

$276.99 (after $150 MIR) + $6 shipping + tax
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Need a card to pair with an E6400, 2GB OCZ PC2-6400, and LCD TV or monitor. Rig will be used for gaming mostly and should be able to handle an upgrade to Windows Vista 64-bit.

eVGA is great because I built my dad a rig recently with a 512MB eVGA 7900GTX and it runs perfectly. Plus he can use the step up program when the new cards come out.

What about MSI? Are they reliable?

[rant] I remember buying x2 BFG 6800GTs and it was a disaster from day one. I couldn't get both cards to run SLI, at all, I called BFG multiple times and they never solved my problems. Then I RMA'd both cards and they said I only sent one back :mad:

I had to argue with a manager for a week becase I was told to send both cards in the same package! Finally they sent me the other card and it still didn't work. I gave up and just ended up selling both cards.

There customer service is non-existant (an hour on hold?) and their lifetime warranty is very deceptive. I will never buy a BFG card again and I hope MSI isn't like that, otherwise I'll pass.[/rant]

I might be upgrading to the new GeForce or ATI cards this November, but I keep hearing they will be delayed until March 2007, so I need to make a small investment now and a big investment later :D
Click to expand...


Get the NVIDIA!
 
I would be all over the ATI card. I've been an NVidia fanatic for years now, ecspecially once SLI hit the market, however, I've owned and SLI'ed 6600gt's, 6800Ultra's, 7800GT's, and games played great, but there was always random pausing, freezing (non- oc'ed) extreme amount of stuttering, etc.... Then I tried my friends PC which at the time had a SINGLE x1900xt, and HL2 episode 1 played as good, if not better then my SLIed 7800GT's. No stutter, no pausing, PERFECT! I think ATI has the better product.......
 
The question is moot now since if it ever comes back in stock now if more than likely will not be at the same price and have the free game. But Yeah, a X1900XTX at $300 the price point of a 7950GT 512MB is a much better buy. It is the more powerful card.
 
Oletymer said:
The question is moot now since if it ever comes back in stock now if more than likely will not be at the same price and have the free game. But Yeah, a X1900XTX at $300 the price point of a 7950GT 512MB is a much better buy. It is the more powerful card.
Click to expand...

Looks like it was supposed to come back in stock today at 4PM, but it says sold out, so I guess you guys grabbed them all.

I found this new link though, so let's see if my order goes through:

http://www.3gplaza.com/estore/control/Computer3G/productdetails?id=55426&srccode=PW

XFX 7900GTX Xtreme Edition for $243.98! :D
 
Honestly if I were you I would get a 7900GT and overclock it, you would be wasting your money unless you "really need" that much of a performance boost to your machine.. dont forget the G80 is just around the corner and uses DX10
 
Krenum said:
Honestly if I were you I would get a 7900GT and overclock it, you would be wasting your money unless you "really need" that much of a performance boost to your machine.. dont forget the G80 is just around the corner and uses DX10
Click to expand...

I didn't forget it, don't worry ;)

I just want a good cheap card right now, until I upgrade to either the G80/R800 :p
 
Zoogle said:
Personally, I think you should go with the X1900XT (512) as the XTX version is just a small overclock over the XT, but you may be hard pressed to find a good deal on the XT these days. Your posted X1900XTX is currently out of stock btw.
Click to expand...

Definitely. The XT is a much better deal than XTX. Who wants to deal with a $150 rebate ?
They were selling for less than $300 at newegg last week but ewiz has them in stock for $318. http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=AT-1900XT

For all intents and purposes an XT is just as good as an XTX.
It's a small 25mhz difference on the core, and 50mhz memory.
Which can be easily made up by overclocking. It's not anywhere
near as large of gap as between a 7900GT and a 7950GT.
Or a 7950GT to a 7900GTX.

In the recent [H] review, 7950GT loses to a 256mb XT.
The 512mb XT/XTX models are comparable to a 7900GTX.
Although they perform much better in Oblivion.
The 256mb XT for $240 is probably the best bang for the buck enthusiast card around.
 
I would just go for an X1900XT 512mb for around 300$. Or if that's not available the X1900XT 256mb, I would get an after market cooler though.
The performance is just plainly better (most of the time).
 
RalliartEvo said:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
512MB eVGA 7950GT (single slot)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130061

$297.99 + $6 shipping + tax

OR

512MB MSI Radeon X1900XTX (dual slot)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127205

$276.99 (after $150 MIR) + $6 shipping + tax
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Need a card to pair with an E6400, 2GB OCZ PC2-6400, and LCD TV or monitor. Rig will be used for gaming mostly and should be able to handle an upgrade to Windows Vista 64-bit.

eVGA is great because I built my dad a rig recently with a 512MB eVGA 7900GTX and it runs perfectly. Plus he can use the step up program when the new cards come out.

What about MSI? Are they reliable?

[rant] I remember buying x2 BFG 6800GTs and it was a disaster from day one. I couldn't get both cards to run SLI, at all, I called BFG multiple times and they never solved my problems. Then I RMA'd both cards and they said I only sent one back :mad:

I had to argue with a manager for a week becase I was told to send both cards in the same package! Finally they sent me the other card and it still didn't work. I gave up and just ended up selling both cards.

There customer service is non-existant (an hour on hold?) and their lifetime warranty is very deceptive. I will never buy a BFG card again and I hope MSI isn't like that, otherwise I'll pass.[/rant]

I might be upgrading to the new GeForce or ATI cards this November, but I keep hearing they will be delayed until March 2007, so I need to make a small investment now and a big investment later :D
Click to expand...


the 1900XTX is the best mix of speed and IQ out there( and even comes to close to or beating a 7950 GX2 in benchmarks)...and will kill a 7900GT . I love my 1900XTX its very fast and quiet. 7900GT is a great card too but lacks that extra 256 megs of memory and considering future games are planning on 512 megs or greater for max performance it helps. When i first got my 1900XTX i only had 1 gig of ram and it made a difference in BF2 to have the extra 256 megs of memory ..it stopped the memory swapping some which improved the smoothness of the game. Either card is fast in the end so choose what best suites your needs.
 
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