pc build

budget gaming upgrade:

1 x Intel Pentium Dual Core E2180 2GHz Socket 775 800MHz FSB L2 1MB Cache Retail Box Processor 132064 £46.75 £46.75
2 x Crucial 1GB DDR2 667MHz/PC2-5300 Memory Unbuffered CL5 Non-ECC 1.8V 106114 £21.27 £42.54
1 x Xpertvision 8500GT Sonic edition 256MB 128bit DDR3 DVI TVO PCI-E 128084 £41.69 £41.69
1 x Asus P5ND2-SE Socket 775 NVNF570 onboard Audio FSB1066 ATX 123750 £40.44 £40.44

£201.44 (inc. vat free shipping)

any other suggestions for arround same price? (needs the 2 pata on mobo)

i will also consider o/c.. is it worthit or will its reduce cpu lifespan & do i req. another fan e.g zalman?

 

Crap graphics card chap, stretch the budget a wee bit or look secondhand.

 

lol its funny u say that every user of this card has given it 100% and said that forums would slate it

go to my other forum:

http://www.avforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=614750

the choices i have are at that thread and i can't really stretch the budget beyond £60 for gpu

 

I have had a 6600GT (for general use, high res, etc. - was totally inadequate) and a 7600GT (for HTPC use only - was too noisy and not really fast enough for a card without h/a) - I now have an X1950Pro (for general / high res 2048x1536 photo and video editing, etc.) and a 2400XT (which is a slower card than all of them, but was suited to purpose) - nuff said really.
If you REALLY need DX10 then at least get an 8600GT, but the 2600XT is probably a safer bet, or the X1950Pro which is the best DX9 card for vfm according to pretty much everyone - check out the Toms Hardware graphics card lineup.

If you can't do an extra fiver, what about this - http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/128946 - 60 quid
This - http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...y+ATi+Radeon+X1950+Pro+256MB+?productId=27834 - 65 quid
Otherwise (DX10) this - http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/126985 - 70 quid

 

wel i could do £65 but i want the free shipping as well.

which of the 2 would be better of the hd 2600XT?

Sapphire http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/128946
or
Gecube http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/130589

 

should i consider: ?

dx9 cards:

Sapphire RADEON X1650 PRO ATI 256 MB GDDR3 Digital Visual Interface ( HDCP ) HDTV out lite retail PCI-E £52.61

Sapphire X1650XT 256MB GDDR3 DVI TVO PCI-E Graphics Card £59.99

Point Of View 7600GT 256mb DDR3 DVI HDTV TV Out PCI-E Graphics Card £59.99

 

not a good review for the sapphire 2600XT..
Sapphire 2600XT 256MB GDDR2/GDDR3/GDDR4 Review
it seems the dx10 capability is useless in the low end dx10 cards according to this as well at the 8600GT being useless & even the x1650 defeats it

 

The 8600GT is meant to be slightly better than the HD2600XT for gaming, but then the cards do seem out of your budget...

 

Wait a little longer and save up the extra for the 1950Pro.

 

Save up money on a better graphics card, if you intend to game waste of time bunging in a 8500. Like fitting a 1.1 Metro engine into a Ferrari.

Get 1950Pro, or a second hand X1900XT. I believe the X1900XT is slightly faster? Both around £100.

 

lmao... screw it i'm gettin the x1950gt £72.83 or x1950 pro (i'm willing to pay up to £85) is it worth paying £94.65 for the HIS Pro IceQ 3 Turbo (with the double slot arctic cooling?

here's the website i'm looking at:

ebuyer click here

 

Nope, get a basic one, cheap as you can, 512 meg if you can stretch to it, then get the completely passive arctic cooler for 12 quid (from ebuyer you'll be pleased to know)

 

ok should i get gt or should i go pro (better) is it worthit? ASUS X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 DVI HDCP HDTV out PCI E Graphics Card for £81.95 (£9 more than the cheapest (sapphire) on ebuyer)

 

cheapest 512mb is a x1950 pro gddr3 £97.94 way outa my budget...

 

What resolution is your monitor? Generally you only need 512MB for higher resolution displays.

 

r u sure about that i'm running sapphire x700 256mb ddr1 with my lgm208wa (20.1" 1680 x 1050) DVI pure AV cable no problem plays css at dx9 med-high settings HDR & full res on my sempron 3800+ msi mobo skt 939 1gb ddr1 kingston value no prbs. get average fps of about 45

 

That's because Half-Life 2 scales well. It's even playable on a Nvidia MX400! Try playing Quake 4 on ultra high textures at that res. I run at 1680x1080 too.

Also HL2 engine is optimized for ATI graphics cards. Doom/Quake engine runs faster on Nvidia (but ultra high textures requires 512MB)

 

r u certain that i would need a 512mb x1950 @ 1680x1050?

wouldn't the 256mb gddr3 ram & the extra 81/80Mhz increase from GT to Pro core speed account for the high res?

 

Others have said once you go over 1360x768 you should look into 512MB cards. I guess you need to find tests between cards, there were 1900XT 256MB and 512MB versions (I also believe X1800XT) try googling for those. I guess it depends on the game also.

 

yeah can't afford it.. erm the x1650 pro goes up to 512mb but only ddr2 for only £40.65, but i'm not really interested in that card for reasons which u would prob know

hd 2600xt 512mb same again only ddr2 £55.99 but again for gaming some reviews even say the x1650 is better

 

badbob please also send me a link to that thread about gddr & resolutions

 

Well if you're looking at those cards, then the extra memory won't help because it's a slow card in the first place.

I'm just talking about a fast card anyway, in this case X1900XT, and comparing 256MB versus 512MB, when running at higher resolutions, and with AA applied.

1650 and 2600 are lousy cards not suitable for gaming.

 

yes i know i'm just saying the pricing its funny u say rubbish for gaming even though ati tried to rip off gamers with a rip off x1950 (x1650). howa bout i go the nvidia 7 series route with a 7600GT? or will i have the same issue with ram or am i wrong to even consider a 7600gt instead of a x1950

 

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/10...50gt_testing_256mb_vs_512mb_memory/index.html


http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/gigabyte-foxconn-gf7950gt_11.html#sect0

Seems that some games pull ahead at 1600 vertical, at lower res no difference.

Google search for "256 v 512 benchmarks"

 

cheers 4 the links & serach entry!

 

I'd say go with the 7600Gt, it's probably going to offer the best compromise at a £60ish price. A 1950Pro costs 50% more, I don't know if it would deliver 50% more enjoyment. Performance maybe but enjoyment?

 

lol ah yes.. u must b a nv user/fan no bias there

 

An exponent of value for money. Compared to other cards at that price you're unlikely to get better performance from anything else. Spend £30 more and the 1950Pro is your only choice, spend £130 more and it's an 8800GTS.

With the 7600Gt you're going to have to make more compromises than with the 1950Pro but less than with the 2400/2600s for gaming.



Dabs currently have a 1950Pro with 512 for £80 which seems a bit of a bargain.

 

I run a X1950Pro 256MB at 1680x1050 and for certain texture-heavy games like Bioshock, I wish I had gone for the 512MB, as it does judder meaning I have to lower the resolution.

 

I notice the difference between the 256 1600Pro i have now and my mums X600 128MB. I know the cards are alot faster, but have to lower the res and drop texture quality rifght down on 2142 otherwise I get loads of disk thrashing entering the Titan when it tries to loads loads of new textures. 512 is the way to go if you can manage it IMO.