X1800XT or 7900GT?

[tsn | spazz]

From what I've seen, the 1800 is better than the 7800GTX by quite a bit, and sicne the 7900GT is practically at 7800GTX equivalent, would the 1800 be a better buy?

And so, would 512mb be beneficial if I only play at 1280*1024?

 

[CaiNaM]

From what I've seen, the 1800 is better than the 7800GTX by quite a bit, and sicne the 7900GT is practically at 7800GTX equivalent, would the 1800 be a better buy?

it's a tradeoff for the most part. both have their strengths, the XT has a slight feature advantage, better texture filtering (HQ AF) mode, and the GT is probably a bit faster due to it's overclockability.

there are other differences, but it's largely a matter of personal preference. they are both good products.

And so, would 512mb be beneficial if I only play at 1280*1024?

yes. in some games, the difference is inconsequential (couple fps), however in other other games it's quite significant when running AA/AF (FEAR, COD2).

 

[TitaniumZX]

ATI will play MPEG2 and MPEG4 files with better quality.

 

[DangerIsGo]

tsn, what board do you have? if depends if you want SLI or crossfire. if you dont and just have the board, than id recommend the evga 7900gt that way you can use their step-up program within 90 days to get a GTX (or something better maybe if released) thats what id do.

 

[MelchiorZ]

Yes its a better buy if you can get the 512mb Built by ATI for the same price ($300) as the 7900GT.

Otherwise, the price difference (if $50, if more then $50, then 7900GT is better) makes them pretty much equally good buys. Just depends on how much you want to spend.