X1950 or 8600GT?

Mousey · Nov 18, 2007, 07:06 AM

I've been told i'm allowed £100 for a christmas present, and i can't decide if i should ask for an X1950 pro or an 8600GT...
Here's the CCL Links;

XFX Fatal1ty 8600GT
Buy 256MB XFX Fatal1ty GeForce 8600GT*PV-T84J-U1D4 from CCL - Online Retailer of the Year 2006

X1950 Pro
Buy 512MB CCL Value X1950 Pro*Value X1950Pro 512mb from CCL - Online Retailer of the Year 2006

Dyre Straits · Nov 18, 2007, 08:02 AM

I've got an ATI X1950 Pro, PCIe, 256 MB card that I've loved to death.

I've just upgraded to a VisionTek HD2600 XT 512 MB DDR3 card about two weeks ago. I'm really enjoying it, too.

However, here's what I can tell you from my experience:

The X1950 Pro with its 256-bit memory bandwidth provides some hefty 'grunt' when running 3D games. If you're not going to upgrade anytime soon to Vista (and DirectX 10) I think you'd be very, very happy with the X1950 Pro card. I'd love to see what mine could do with double the VRAM.

I really can't say anything yay or nay about the 8600GT except that, just on paper, the memory bandwidth is 128-bit. That, coupled with the 256 MB DDR3, I think you'd be cheating yourself to get it. (Again, it likely depends on what your plans are re: Vista.) But, even if you were to go to Vista, I don't think this card should be your first choice.

(And, Merry Early Christmas.

)

**kris23** · Nov 18, 2007, 11:25 AM

cant you buy one of the el cheapo HD3850 series? they are very close in price

Buy ATi Radeon HD 3850 256MB* from CCL - Online Retailer of the Year 2006

jp306 · Nov 18, 2007, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyre Straits

I've got an ATI X1950 Pro, PCIe, 256 MB card that I've loved to death.

I've just upgraded to a VisionTek HD2600 XT 512 MB DDR3 card about two weeks ago. I'm really enjoying it, too.

How is a HD2600XT an upgrade from a X1950pro? I would think that the X1950pro would be faster. The only thing the HD2600XT would have on the 1950pro is DX10, but the card would be to slow to really take advantage of DX10. So this puzzles me...

And I agree with kris, look for a HD3850 in that price range...

Mousey · Nov 18, 2007, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kris23

cant you buy one of the el cheapo HD3850 series? they are very close in price

Buy ATi Radeon HD 3850 256MB* from CCL - Online Retailer of the Year 2006

Sounds like a plan, i'll ask my grandma if she'll stretch the extra £11

And i'm not particularly bothered about DX10 really, used vista and got bored of it so now i'm back on good ol' XP with all my favourite games (Quake 4, Doom 3, WoW, HL2, TF2, Portal ect..) which are all DX9.

If she won't stretch for the 3850 i'll ask for the X1950 instead

**kris23** · Nov 18, 2007, 02:51 PM

the 3850 is closer to the performance of the 2900XT than anything really....

**ChaosMinionX** · Nov 18, 2007, 03:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kris23

the 3850 is closer to the performance of the 2900XT than anything really....

Yeah it is, but a clock 2900XT is gonna be faster, only real upgrade toa 2900 is going with 3850s...then again Mousey could buy a 2nd 3850 and crossfire when he gets the money.

**kris23** · Nov 18, 2007, 03:38 PM

looking at how he goes about things, he'll probably is gonna get another much better one by the time he does....

i doubt he can get a 3870 since its already a stretch for him to get a 3850

Dyre Straits · Nov 18, 2007, 03:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp306

How is a HD2600XT an upgrade from a X1950pro? I would think that the X1950pro would be faster. The only thing the HD2600XT would have on the 1950pro is DX10, but the card would be to slow to really take advantage of DX10. So this puzzles me...

And I agree with kris, look for a HD3850 in that price range...

For the price I paid for the HD2600XT, I'm not complaining one bit. So far, it's performing quite well:

1280x1024 on all my games:

Oblivion (70-80 FPS)
The Witcher (60-80 FPS)
Call of Duty 4 (50-70 FPS)

Notice, I also didn't recommend this card in my reply.

I was just stating my own experience so far. I don't think the 8600 GT would be a wise choice, either. Looks like he's making a good one so far.

**ChaosMinionX** · Nov 18, 2007, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kris23

looking at how he goes about things, he'll probably is gonna get another much better one by the time he does....

i doubt he can get a 3870 since its already a stretch for him to get a 3850

I meant 3850s

I mistyped haha

Mousey · Nov 18, 2007, 05:20 PM

Well i've got pretty much no chance of getting a HD3850/HD3870 according to my grandma XD
So atm it's between a 2600XT and a 1950 Pro, pah this is getting difficult

I can't find any comparisons between a 1950pro and a 2600XT eitheir. Hmm...

Buy HIS HD 2600XT IceQ Turbo 256MB*HIS-H260XTQT256DD-R from CCL - Online Retailer of the Year 2006

Now the beast of a cooler on that card looks interesting to me, the crappy little cooler on this X1550 is so damned loud if the cooler's cold (i presume), it really whines when i turn on my system as well. I've established it is definately the gfx card that's the source of all the noise though so i presume the HIS Card would be a worth investment.
Plus i've got 2 uv cathodes and it says it's uv reactive so it should look sweet

**kris23** · Nov 18, 2007, 05:40 PM

X1950Pro man.....

**ChaosMinionX** · Nov 18, 2007, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mousey

Well i've got pretty much no chance of getting a HD3850/HD3870 according to my grandma XD
So atm it's between a 2600XT and a 1950 Pro, pah this is getting difficult

I can't find any comparisons between a 1950pro and a 2600XT eitheir. Hmm...

Buy HIS HD 2600XT IceQ Turbo 256MB*HIS-H260XTQT256DD-R from CCL - Online Retailer of the Year 2006

Now the beast of a cooler on that card looks interesting to me, the crappy little cooler on this X1550 is so damned loud if the cooler's cold (i presume), it really whines when i turn on my system as well. I've established it is definately the gfx card that's the source of all the noise though so i presume the HIS Card would be a worth investment.
Plus i've got 2 uv cathodes and it says it's uv reactive so it should look sweet

How much were you off from an 3850?

EDIT: Kris you got a QX9650?

**kris23** · Nov 18, 2007, 06:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosMinionX

How much were you off from an 3850?

EDIT: Kris you got a QX9650?

hes off by like 11EUR

and noooo i wish

the rig is almost complete minus the mobo, RAM, GPU, CPU but i MAY have a chance at a QX9650

i probably will finish it over thanksgiving if im lucky

the stuff in my sig is what i really have.... the parts that matter in the rig anyway.... i use it like my checklist, just waiting for either newegg or zipzoomfly to get their stock of corsair memory before i buy

**ChaosMinionX** · Nov 18, 2007, 06:45 PM

QX9650 is a waste of money if your not OCing. Wait till jan.....Q9450/9550

RoyBatty · Nov 18, 2007, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mousey

I can't find any comparisons between a 1950pro and a 2600XT eitheir. Hmm...

ComputerBase - Test: ATi Radeon HD 3870 - Seite 28
It's in German but there are nice interactive charts

jp306 · Nov 18, 2007, 07:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dyre Straits

For the price I paid for the HD2600XT, I'm not complaining one bit. So far, it's performing quite well:

1280x1024 on all my games:

Oblivion (70-80 FPS)
The Witcher (60-80 FPS)
Call of Duty 4 (50-70 FPS)

Notice, I also didn't recommend this card in my reply.

I was just stating my own experience so far. I don't think the 8600 GT would be a wise choice, either. Looks like he's making a good one so far.

I still don't see the how the HD2600XT is an upgrade?(from a X1950pro)...I'm not implying that for the price it isn't a good deal, I just don't see it as an upgrade.

**kris23** · Nov 18, 2007, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChaosMinionX

QX9650 is a waste of money if your not OCing. Wait till jan.....Q9450/9550

while i am probably gonna get a GTX 480 based watercooling setup, the QX9650 is a bit of a waste as.... the price is just too high....

ill probably buy the memory, mobo, and RAM and just get a cheap dual core like the e2160 to hold me over until the real quad cores come out.

Judas · Nov 18, 2007, 07:44 PM

A HD2600xt is roughly 15-25% slower then a x1900xtx

and a x1950pro isn't quite as powerful as a x1900xtx... so the upgrade isn't really an upgrade... it's likely like trading a little bit of performance for a little bit more functionality.... including full HDCP support which is starting to become a big deal now.

just for factual reference

stock clocked hd2600xt = 4200 3dmarks in 06 (give or take)
stock clocked x1900xtx = 5200 3dmarks in 06 (give or take)

all ran on the same system...

Dyre Straits · Nov 18, 2007, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jp306

I still don't see the how the HD2600XT is an upgrade?(from a X1950pro)...I'm not implying that for the price it isn't a good deal, I just don't see it as an upgrade.

Well, since I'm using Vista Home Premium and can play Crysis at 1280x1024, settings all on Medium and in DirectX 10, AND, since the card has only cost me +/- $149 US, I consider it an 'upgrade' in the sense that I can play with the DX10 games fine.....so far.

Also, I haven't even applied the ATI Crysis Hotfix that seems so many others are needing. I'm using the official CAT 7.10s and the game is OUTSTANDING!!

I'm reading that some people with much more expensive cards are having all kinds of problems. So far, for what I've spent on it, I'm quite happy.