X1900XT or 7800GTX?
So...I've ordered a load of computer parts, but I'm waiting on an opty 170 to come back into stock... so I have a chance to change my order. I originally ordered the XFX 256MB 7800GTX (490MHz core) because I currently have a 6800GT and it's a cool card. Anyway, browsing the site I see they have a sapphire x1900XT 512MB for the same price. So, should I switch? If I do, would an ATI chipset board be a better match than my current choice (MSI diamond plus)?
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According to The Inquirer, Nvidia's Nextgen G71 will have to run at 700mhz+ to beat the X1900XTX
you sir are a very wise man....look past all the marketing hype and you will be fine!!!
and btw i agree that right now the x1900xt 512mb is a better choice than the 7800gtx 256mb. enjoy!
Sounds like you control some kind of neighborhood syndicate. What, they all keep you stocked with Scotch and ale or something?
Clock for Clock (in general) Opterons will run cooler, use less power and OC further than AMD's consumer series CPUs
Just caught this thread and needed to reply.
Upping the GPU/GDDR speed on the card does not make it a preformance win. Thats actually a functionality loss on ATI's part because their card is nothing innovative like the 7800 series was. They basically slapped on some more memory and knocked up the core speed. Hell anyone can do that, and its not worth the $$ to go buy a catch-up card from anyone.
All those benchmarks they did showed the same thing that has been happening for years. Nvidia = Pixel Shader ATI = Vertex. What ATI needs to do, instead of scrounging for ways to catch up to the market after coming in late is to actually make a revelotionary card that puts Nvidia in the wake.
Wait for the 7900 series. Supposedly they are going to be "cheaper" then the 7800s....yet better.
48 pixel shaders isn't innovative?
and the x1900xt is the fastest card on the planet right now....so how does that not equal a perfomance win?
i agree that the architecture isn't groundbreaking, but i say whatever works to get the consumers the fastest card available. there's nothing wrong with tweaking a design---i mean the 7900 is basically gonna be a suped-up version of the 7800, so does that mean it is any less of a card? i think not.
and the x1900xtx is around $595 (not $650)...while the x1900xt can be found for just over $500.
so for $500 you can have a 512mb x1900xt or a 256mb 7800gtx. seems like a no brainer to me.
You can get a 1900XT for less than a 7800GTX 512MB (Assuming you can find one).
And the 1900XT spanks the 7800GTX.
What's the issue here? Newegg is selling the PowerColor 1900X's for a little under $500 if you can catch a MIR, or about $530 without one.
The lowest I've seen a 1900XTX go is $549 after a MIR, but I'm not a fan of MIR and the XT is the exact same card except for clock... We all know that that can be remedied in short order.
Oh you haven't seen the A8R32-MVP review yet have you?
Which bench would you like to see?
Sorry I just had to throw that in there!
It doen't mean its going to be any less...but it does mean that all were getting is a supped up G70 core instead of some brand new core (This is if the core doesn't change). What these companies need to do is make something thats really gonna change the way we look at things on the screen. Seems like Intel and AMD atleast do that frequently with socket changes and new core processes.
The last complete redesign from Nvidia came with the 6800 series, and the last one from ati came with the x1800... but AMD have been pushing the A64 architecture for longer than that, and intel have been on netburst for a good few years. It seems to me that the graphics card manufacturers are moving quicker than Intel / AMD when it comes to architecture changes.
edit: by the way, for any interested spectators I ended up getting the X1900XT. Price / performance was too good to miss
Nvidia has ceased production of the 7800GTX 512MB. Suppliers already ordered their last batches. The card will be extinct in a month, as if it isn't already. When shopping around, I initially planned on going with a 7800GTX but Newegg only had ONE on its website and it was out of stock. And it wasn't a brand I would use for overclocking.
I think the situation is dramatically different from how you paint it.
Also, RD580 is due out in a matter of weeks or short months, and it should dramatically change the performance of X1900XTX's in Crossfire.
Oh yeah, and the X1900XT drivers aren't even mature yet.
Bottom line, Nvidia has been spanked. We'll see if the 7900GTX can bring them redemption, but like someone else said, it will need to run at around 700Mhz to match the performance.
Of course, SLI is much more mature than Crossfire so the performance is better right now, but as a long term investment, Crossfire is a much safer bet at this point since it is more probable for ATI to release a better Crossfire chipset than Nvidia to release a video card that spanks the X1900XT.
Besides, motherboards are a lot cheaper than two video cards. Right now, Nvidia's problem is the video card and ATI's problem is the motherboards. The 7800GTX, if it's even available in a month, is not going to see any performance gains. Meanwhile, the X1900XT can only go up with newer drivers and better chipsets.
Investment win = ATI
Edit: I just realized that I misread Omega's post. Sorry dude. That being said, I just don't see what you point is??? Initially you favor 7800GTX 512's as an investment due to SLI being superior to Crossfire, and then you turn right around and admit that you won't even be able to buy the 7800GTX soon? I'm even more confused now.
I dont favor either the ATI card or the Nvidia card. Both are cards are fast.
I was simply answering the question of why the 7800 512MB cost more than the X1900, since you said you were confused. I also didn't say nor admit anything about the future availablity of the cards. I simply said that since Supply was constrained (@ 110nm they can make plenty of 430mhz but very few 550mhz chips) and demand is high, the Price is high.
I'm aware of the 7800GTX production status - I do post news for the site from time to time.....
And IMO I expect the G71 90nm CPU (7900GTX) to be fully competitve with the X1900XT. Now that's an opinion as the truth is, no one knows for sure. But few people were expecting the 7800 512MB to spank the 1800XT as much as it did. It helps when you know what your competitor can do before you finalize your design.
PCIe Videocards dont stress/overload a 8x or 16x PCIe bus. Current SLI testing shows a well designed 8x/8x SLI can be just as fast as a 16x/16x SLI. Whenever RD580 arrives, it may be better for Crossfire because of it's higher internal throughput & OCing abilities but I dont think the extra PCIe lanes (while nice to have) wont matter much in and of themselves.
I do agree that ATI's drivers are definately better. Nvidia released 2 drivers total last year for Gforce cards...and thats really pathetic. ATI released like 3 or 4.
There really is no safe GPU investment as long as they are coming out with new ones.
The biggest + Nvidia has going for it is that when they say "Look! We made a new card!" you can guarentee that a store in your town has it that same day. Nvidia's ability to provide a card on announcement day is what gave them a nice slice of the market at G70 time. ATI's stance: "Were still working on our GPU, but we plan to have it ready around 4th quarter."
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