Video Card Thread (Mostly Gecube x1950xt)

I remember seeing somewhere where they showed a photo of a level in crysis (first one I believe) and it showed rocks in the water. With everything on highest, you could see the shadows from the rocks on the 3870, but in the 8800GT photo, there were none!

I will try and find that link.

 

Sure, well I'm sure that things will change for both cards with driver releases and tweaks in the future. It really just comes down to what you prioritize personally. For me if the options are playing a photo slideshow or a slightly grainy film, I'd go with the film. (crude analogy but I think it works) I'd rather have the smoothness bottom line. And if the 3870 can't keep up now, it's not going to be any better in 6mths time which pretty much voids the 'futureproof' argument. It might have extra features, but if it can only knock out 15fps in 6 mths time what's the point? (even if it does look very pretty while you wait for the next frame!)

 

Oh dear, you really do think the 8800GT is faster don't you? I pity that, I really do.
Oh and by the way
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102713
$33 less for an almost equal frame rate (very rarely a noticeable difference anyway) and better graphics, I know what I'd choose.

 

How come when I search for "3870" on newegg, only 3 cards come up, and they're all sold out? Also, why did they take some of the other 3870s off, like the HIS version that I wanted?

Kindof a random question, but is Futuremark ever going to come out with a newer 3dmark version? Like 3dmark07? 3dmark06 doesnt seem to strees peoples pcs anymore since they have moved onto duel/quad cores and SLi Ultras.

 

Ooh I dunno, turn the resolution up and you'll soon see!
There was no 3dmark02 or 3dmark04, so it may simply be we have to wait until next year for a new 3dmark...

 

Been rethinking my upgrade options... I could get a Q6600 G0 and duel 3870s for xmas, or wait for the 3870x2 and the new quad cores. However, as sam was saying, if games dont allow crossfire, then only half of the 3870xt would function, so it would be the exact same as a regular 3870.

Next, will there really be that much of a difference between the Q6600 and the newer one (not sure what they call it, its the $365 one though). Could you tell the difference?

Lastly, for a PSU to power this stuff, I really like these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371010

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371010

But which one should I get? As you know, I have a Antec 900 case, and that's really the only reason why I would choose the neopower over the Kingwin. Are there any bad things about the Kingwin? I think it's a reliable brand.

 

I don't think Kingwin is a reliable brand. I've never seen any reviews saying Kingwin are good, and with power supplies you assume the worst if that's the case, you simply can't afford to take any chances. I'm not really a great fan of the Neopower units either, I'd go with a Corsair HX unit, they're better than pretty much all the Antec power supplies. Solidly built, deliver plenty of power, and also very quiet (not that that matters to you if you have a 900).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139001

 

oops, I put links both to the Antec. Stupid me.

Heres the Kingwin: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121025

(It needs to look cool too, so the blue lights are a definite turn on)

Getting away from that, so do you think there will be much of an improvement in 3870 CF vs a regular 3870x2? And the same with the Q6600 vs the Core 2 Quad Q9450?

 

Since crossfire support will screw it over I think the normal HD3870 will be better for you.

 

So dont get the 3870xt, get 2x 3870s?

That was my plan... I will be playing mostly Crysis, and since Crysis already works with Sli and crossfire (the hotfix), then this is good.

Maybe when Ati and Nvidia release their duel GPU cards, gaming companies will start to make more games that are compatible with Sli and Crossfire or the cards will go to waste.

 

Get one HD3870, ONE.
As for Crysis supporting Crossfire, that's news to me. Not sure I'd bother getting crossfire just for Crysis though, it's one of the worst looking games this year, and I'm not joking either. COD4 looks infinitely better imo.

 

Well I got everything, bought an Inno3d card clocked at 650/1.9 instead as stock of 8800s and 3870s here in the UK is non-existent at the mo.
New 3dmark with cpu at 2.33ghz, ram 667 and 8800 at stock speeds is;
10204
4822
5001
2085
I think there's plenty more if I overclock more aggressively. I noticed that gfx performance has scaled well with the cpu overclock so far as the stock everything score was 8920 and fps were noticeably a couple lower.
I did find the issue I mentioned earlier with the auto fan speed control, I ran a quick benchmark and fan stayed at 29% and temp was climbing up to the 100c mark! Rivatuner sorted that one out.

 

So what card did you end up buying?

 

He got an 8800GT me thinks.

Ha! My score is higher with a HD 3850!

 

Now that's some lolz right there. No offense MaccerM, but er well, looks like your new-found nvidia fanboyism didn't reap the rewards you were hoping for.

 

It makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Also it might be because everything else in my machine is much better

It might offset the 8800 advantage, although 3Dmark is a GRAPHICS test so maybe not TOO much.

 

Well, I may as well share this with you:

X1900XT stock (625/725), E4300 stock (1.8Ghz): 4600 3dmarks
X1900XT stock (625/725), E4300 OC'ed (3.0Ghz): 5500 3dmarks
X1900XT OC'ed (663/873), E4300 OC'ed (3.0Ghz): 6700 3dmarks
X1900XT OC'ed (663/873), E4300 OC'ed (3.15Ghz): 6870 3dmarks

I'd still say it's mostly down to the graphics card, but the CPU helps. With a 3.0Ghz CPU I reckon his score would have been about 11,000.

I thought to myself the other day, "If I had the money would I upgrade to an 8800GT or 8800GTX?" after some thought, my answer was "no". I pretty much obsess over image quality in games (hence why I'm the only one who goes around shouting that Crysis looks rubbish), and no matter how much money I had, I'm not swapping to a graphics card that makes games look worse than they do now, full stop. What use is a higher resolution when the shadows are all wrong?

Does this make me an ATi fanboy?
No not really. I'm still willing to recommend the G92-8800GTS and 8800GTX to people who have the money to spend on them, because they probably won't find all the missing details in games. As for me though, I'll stick with what gets me the best image. If that means using ATi for now, so be it.

 

Well I’m a happy bunny anyway. It’s nearly doubled my score from the x1950xt and that’s really it isn’t it? Essentially the same pc now goes much faster and uses 30w less juice! Everything looks sweet, UT3 maxed at 1280x1024 a constant 60fps (I use vsync so that is max) and Crysis with everything high, 2xAA, same res, and min framerates are 20ish in complex cut scenes and 27-35 in game. That is double the real-world performance too.
As for whether the 3870 would have been better in my system or not, I can’t say. What I do know is that you can’t get a 3870 in the UK at the moment and I had another system to build before xmas so I couldn’t wait around for stock. An equivalent 3870 (with a clockspeed over 800) would have cost me £15 more too. And I went on the basis that the vast majority of the reviews I read tipped the 8800 as the more powerful card.
What’s your score with your 3870 abuzar? I think you said it was 11500 or something with the GTX, you change your cards so much I have no idea! I think I should be able to hit 11000 easily, just with a bit more on the cpu and ram.
Going from 1.86 stock to 2.33 gave me an extra 1280 points, so 2.8ghz and were well over 11000, probably about 11300 but maybe even 11500 if you extrapolate in a straight line. Facts are the cards are roughly equivalent either is a good buy and at the resolutions I play I’ll probably only notice the extra speed in a few titles. Bottom line I’m happy with it, great card!!
Finally tho Sam, you wouldn’t buy one if you had the money? (You'd get a 3870 right? - sure) But seriously, play on a 8800GT and then tell me it looks worse than on a x1950xt, I can tell you having owned both that’s rubbish! I can also tell you that I'm glad I got it to replace my old x1950xt!

 

Maccer, I have a HD 3850, not 3870. My score is like 10,480+.

 

Well that's a pretty hot score then!! You do have a E6750 tho compared to my lowly E6320! What are you clocked at? Have you tweaked you card at all either?