ATI Radeon X1950 Pro?

[djstevie]

Thinking of buying one of these graphics cards:

GeCube ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI

- Powered by ATI Radeon X1950 PRO - 575MHz (RV570 80nm)
- 256MB-256bit 8 channel GDDR3 memory - 1.38GHz
- 36 Pixel shader processor
- Ultra-threaded SM 3.0 Engine
- 512-bit Ring-bus
- HDCP Ready!!
- Low power consumption (Consumes 60W less than equivalent X1900 XT)


At the moment im running a Geforce 6600GT so was thinking of getting something with a bit more oomph within the next month...can get this card for £180...im still running AGP btw...Will i notice a big difference with this card compared to the 6600GT or would i be better keeping my money?

[MovedGoalPosts]

You'll notice a difference, but how much of a difference will depend on the games, or other software, you run. Only the most recent are likely to really push it, and then it also depends on your monitor's resolution. The frame rate at lesser resolutions may also improve, but only to the limit that the game can support.

You don't say if this card is AGP or PCIe. If AGP I wonder if the performance would really be worth it, or if the AGP bus would become a bottleneck. The other thing to consider is your CPU and RAM. No point having a top range GPU if the rest of the systme is a modest spec.

[NoKnowledge]

As Rob said.

Also unless you do benchies or play intensive games like Oblivion you won't notice.

My recommendation - wait for DX10 cards coming out very shortly.

Originally Posted by Rob C

You'll notice a difference, but how much of a difference will depend on the games, or other software, you run. Only the most recent are likely to really push it, and then it also depends on your monitor's resolution. The frame rate at lesser resolutions may also improve, but only to the limit that the game can support.

You don't say if this card is AGP or PCIe. If AGP I wonder if the performance would really be worth it, or if the AGP bus would become a bottleneck. The other thing to consider is your CPU and RAM. No point having a top range GPU if the rest of the systme is a modest spec.

AFAIK there isnt a new agp ati card over the x1650.EDIT im totally wrong here looked on ocuk and there is a x1950 which appears to be the card in question. The answer here then is a save up a bit more and upgrqade mobo when you do your card.What cou are you running???


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatal...ics_Cards.html second card down is this the chappie?

I would say its all in the resoultion as Rob says I can play my games at 1680 : 1050 on my screen but if you have a 17 or 19 inch TFT the optimal resolution is 1280 : 1020 and the 6600GT will manage well at that resolution.

---------- Post added at 08:56 ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 ----------

Originally Posted by NoKnowledge

As Rob said.

Also unless you do benchies or play intensive games like Oblivion you won't notice.

My recommendation - wait for DX10 cards coming out very shortly.

Im worried about directx 10 its only really going to be properly supported in Vista there is no hardware backwards compatability with older versions of direct x with means any older games without dx10 support will be run in a kind of emulation.Im sure its all going to be fine but only time will tell

[DocDutch]

Eeeeeeeek didnt know Ati made X1950 for AGP...need to have that checked out but I think its an errr on the OC'uk website.

oc'uk have made a mistake.

http://ati.amd.com/products/RadeonX1950/specs.html
Native PCI Express x16 bus interface (taken from the ATI website)

[MovedGoalPosts]

OcUK are showing it asn unavailable until end of November, so it's something in the pipeline?

I think its a ploy by ATI to beat the poo out of the 7800GS agp nvidia cards and id imagine this will do that lol

[DocDutch]

yeah but looking at the price I find that a bit strange that low for a AGP card :O ... if it is not a misprint on the OC site then I'm soo tempted to get it. or still upgrade my pc to c2q ??

---------- Post added at 10:49 ---------- Previous post was at 10:46 ----------

also the card isnt listed on the gecube website as AGP. only PCI Ex so I guess its an err.

[djstevie]

Originally Posted by zinglebarb

AFAIK there isnt a new agp ati card over the x1650.EDIT im totally wrong here looked on ocuk and there is a x1950 which appears to be the card in question. The answer here then is a save up a bit more and upgrqade mobo when you do your card.What cou are you running???


http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatal...ics_Cards.html second card down is this the chappie?

I would say its all in the resoultion as Rob says I can play my games at 1680 : 1050 on my screen but if you have a 17 or 19 inch TFT the optimal resolution is 1280 : 1020 and the 6600GT will manage well at that resolution.

---------- Post added at 08:56 ---------- Previous post was at 08:54 ----------



Im worried about directx 10 its only really going to be properly supported in Vista there is no hardware backwards compatability with older versions of direct x with means any older games without dx10 support will be run in a kind of emulation.Im sure its all going to be fine but only time will tell

My mobo is an Asus A8V and im running a AMD64 3200. I've got a 19" tft so the 1280 resolution is the highest it can go.
That link you posted is indeed the card. Thought it would have been an improvement over my 6600GT althoguh from what you guys say , i might just hold off a bit.
Cheers

[DocDutch]

well Stevie, I think that this card might be the last AGP card that is going to be made, so yes you can either upgrade to this or save the dosh and go for a PCI Express mobo thats socket 939.

[MovedGoalPosts]

I wouldn't bother with a socket 939 motherboard as an upgrade. The 939 chips are at the end of their life cycle, so just like AGP you would be locking yourself into technology that has no upgrade potential.

[djstevie]

Originally Posted by Rob C

I wouldn't bother with a socket 939 motherboard as an upgrade. The 939 chips are at the end of their life cycle, so just like AGP you would be locking yourself into technology that has no upgrade potential.

I only got the mobo and cpu over a year ago...didnt realise they were phasing out 939 chips ....Whats the new ones now? If its worthwhile me doing i might just wait till xmas and get a new mobo and cpu as well then. Wish they wouldnt keep messing about with the chips

[MovedGoalPosts]

AMD have moved over to X2 CPUs and have a new socket to go with the IIRC. Most things in IT seem to have lifespans of no more than 18 months before it's succeeded by something else. I'm sure PCIe must be due for new and improving soon

You just cannot keep up with it all.

Originally Posted by Rob C

AMD have moved over to X2 CPUs and have a new socket to go with the IIRC. Most things in IT seem to have lifespans of no more than 18 months before it's succeeded by something else. I'm sure PCIe must be due for new and improving soon

You just cannot keep up with it all.

AM2 i think you mean x2 is 939 and am2

[NoKnowledge]

PCI X 2 is already in the works by Intel for 07/08 and AMD are talking about AM3 never mind AM2 and DDR3 memory which is already used in graphics card.