Graphics Card (again!)

[Almost_Austwick]

I know that there have been a load of threads on this topic but having read through them I find it still a little confusing.

I currently have an ATI Radeon x1600 card but would to upgrade it to something with a bit more power. Can anyone recommend me what to go for (nVidia or ATI, I'm not fussed), what if any compatibility issues I may face from my current pc set-up and just anything else that I may need to be aware of.

Current pc specs are:
XP service pack 2
Intel core 2 duo E6600 @ 2400 MHz
2 gig of ram
Radeon X1600 Series (currently at 512mb shared memory (256mb dedicated))

Thanks in advance for any help etc.

 

[siddharth2002]

Geforce 7600Gt 256 MB.

 

[Kshitiz_Indian]

Nvidia 8600GT / 8800GTS 320

 

[cnbd_novice]

GeForce 8800 GTS 320 MB or Radeon X1950 XTX 512 MB

 

[Almost_Austwick]

Is it worthwhile going for the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS OC 640MB?

 

[blackleopard92]

Is it worthwhile going for the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS OC 640MB?

yup, 8800 GTS OC ed versions are absolute bang for bucks. they offer quite a nice perfromance increase over non oced ones.

http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2953

 

[cnbd_novice]

This is a review on Nvidia Geforce 8800 GTS 640MB VS 320MB:
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=633

An extract from the Conclsion section:

Bottom-line is those with 19” LCD’s and even 22” widescreen LCD monitors will get away with the 320MB card and should be happy to pocket the $100 US in savings. However, those with more expensive 24”, 27” and 30” LCD monitors are certainly going to want the 640MB version. Furthermore, if you are a big fan of AA/AF image quality then the 640MB version is really a must. All in all I have found that at $300 US the 320MB 8800 GTS fits the price bracket very well and the same can be said about the 640MB version in the $400 US price bracket!

 

[Almost_Austwick]

A few things to chew over, also, will these cards benefit from being run on Vista with direct x 10?

 

[Abhas]

certainly, a directx 10 based card, will perform best in directx10 conditions...

 

[The_gas]

HD Radeon 2900XT of course.

http://www.scan.co.uk/search/search.asp?criteria=2900xt

 

[Kshitiz_Indian]

The Gas i sback - and he is still with ATI

 

[The_gas]

Just a flying visit im afraid.

Im currently working out if i should upgrade to one of these, i am tempted. However i can still run anygame at the highest settings and then some with these cards.

 

[blackleopard92]

A few things to chew over, also, will these cards benefit from being run on Vista with direct x 10?

vista is directx 9.0c based interface.
however, only these cards can run dx10 based games, dx 9.0c cards can't do it.even in vista.

u see, the difference in directx 10 and other previous versions is that while a directx 8 based cards can run dx9 games (with some things switched off) but that isn't possible with dx10 games.

in fact, if u have this card, then u should also have vista by the time dx10 based games come out.

Just a flying visit im afraid.

Im currently working out if i should upgrade to one of these, i am tempted. However i can still run anygame at the highest settings and then some with these cards.

finally these monsters are released, any reviews over net?

 

[The_gas]

finally these monsters are released, any reviews over net?

Yep, ill add some to this post shortly. The price of this card is excellent, amd/ati may not have the fastest card, but 250 for a high end dx10 card is exceptional. People seem to forget that the 2900xt is designed to compete with the gts, not the gtx.

Its a shame something went seriously wrong the the xtx version and its been put off till Q3 of this year.

 

[blackleopard92]

Yep, ill add some to this post shortly. The price of this card is excellent, amd/ati may not have the fastest card, but 250 for a high end dx10 card is exceptional. People seem to forget that the 2900xt is designed to compete with the gts, not the gtx.

Its a shame something went seriously wrong the the xtx version and its been put off till Q3 of this year.

last i heard, AMD allowed ATi branding for GFX cards. so we can safely say ATi GFX cards

and frankly, i had really high expectations with ATI's hardware... very disappointed