Which card under 3 bills would give me the biggest increase over my current 6800gt? (either ati or nvidia) I'm fairly sure that would be the 7950gts on the nvidia side, but I haven't kept up with ati in years so I have no clue what ati card is the best choice in that price range. I'm not only interested in highest benches, but also stability, good drivers, etc. p.s. not interested in DX10.
I was just looking at the 1950xt pro 256mb, I read where many people say the IQ is better than the GF7950gt, and the price is lower. Is this pretty much the ati card that's comparible to the 7950gt?
Six if you have pcie Then the best card uner 300 for ati would be a X1900xt/X1950xt 256mb there the same as there 512 counter parts just half the memory.
Yes, they're in the same price class but from a performance point of view the 19x0 XT 256's are somewhere between 7900GTO and 7900GTX so they're a better value. That ATi card that competes directly with the 7950GT is 1950 Pro, PCIe version. This 1950 Pro can be had for as little as $200, while $300 will get you the 1950XT 256. The 1900XT 256, which is slightly slower but overclocks better, sells for the same price but unfortunately it's become hard to find because ATi doesn't want it to compete with the 1950 XT which for some unfathomable reason is cheaper to build. Personally I tend to believe that the 256Mb version of the X1900XT, as well as the 1900GT, were sold at or under cost in order to consolidate ATi's edge in the high-end DX9 market by attracting performance seeking gamers who weren't willing to fork out the $400+ price tag of the 512Mb version of the X1900XT, let alone the $500+ commanded by the XTX. Price of the memory chips alone cannot account for a 40% difference in price, this is to say that the XT 256's are exceptional values even though they are still expensive compared with mainstream cards. The same cannot be said of the 1300's and 1600's though, those are clearly overpriced, especially the 512Mb versions.
I would say either wait for the new Nvidia mainstream cards coming soon, or just get 2 1950pro and CF it. I think newegg is selling a few with rebates around $150 but I'm not sure. That would be your best bang for the buck, and the 1950pro is faster then the 7900GS in some benches and matches the 7950GT in some. Edited, you can get one for $154 with rebate. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814161060
I like the 1950XT 256 but the pro is a very nice value as well. Especially for $150. I wouldn't really play with Crossfire tho. Dual GPU are a pain in the but. The 1950XT256 is a surprisingly fast card. I still think it might be the best price/value deal for DX9. It's pretty close to a XTX or a GTX and faster than the 7950GT or the 7900GTO. I couldn't be happier with mine until it's time to upgrade for DX10. The sapphire one has a pretty quiet stock cooler that rarely speeds to annoying noise levels.
Thanks VERY much everyone. I'm going with the x1950XT 256, then I'll upgrade to a dx10 card after there are more choices and better prices, and more games. Why is the x1950XT 512 advertised as "crossfire"? What makes it any more crossfire able than any other ati pci express card?
the 1950xtx version you are referring to is most likely the crossfire master card. the newer version of CF does not need a master card, i.e. the version implemented on the 1950pros and 1650xts. hope that helps
Asking on behalf of someone else I presume? I ask 'cause your current card is faster than the 1950 Pro.
You'll be able to play BF2 but you'll have to hold back on those settings that are CPU dependent because, well, errm... that dreaded word... bottleneck.
Basically the faster videocard wont relief certain cpu stress,thus giving the impression your system is hold back. While in fact your cpu is lacking. You still need a decent cpu for the BF series.
Well, what graphic card do you suggest? I can't afford to upgrade mobo and processor right now. Also, it has 2g of dual channel memory.
