Author Topic: nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2  (Read 1158 times)

Offline Brenjen

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« on: June 16, 2006, 12:57:09 PM »
Skuzzy, this question is for you. Is this new graphics card going to work with AHII like a normal SLI set-up or is it going to be a problem like the dual core CPU's?

 I have a chance to get one of these new GeForce 7950 GX2 cards on the ultra cheap (under $100) but I don't care to have it if it's going to cause me issues with AH.


 Edit: Here's a link to a couple reviews for everyone interested;

Here

 &

here
« Last Edit: June 16, 2006, 12:59:32 PM by Brenjen »

Offline Bronk

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #1 on: June 16, 2006, 01:06:02 PM »
My question is will you need a sli mobo to use this card.


Bronk
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Offline eagl

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #2 on: June 16, 2006, 01:10:12 PM »
You don't need a SLI mobo for the 7950 GX2, but you may need a bios update.  Check the compatibility list before buying.

Brenjen, for $100 just buy it and see :)  If you don't like it (and it's not broken/defective), I'll buy it from you for your cost plus shipping.
Everyone I know, goes away, in the end.

Offline Bronk

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #3 on: June 16, 2006, 01:17:17 PM »
Well it's on the list. Ummm bren I'll send ya the $$ if ya don't want it .:D

My little 6600gt cuold use upgradin.


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Offline x0847Marine

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #4 on: June 16, 2006, 01:39:00 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by Bronk
Well it's on the list. Ummm bren I'll send ya the $$ if ya don't want it .:D

My little 6600gt cuold use upgradin.


Bronk


I have the 6600go and used coolbits to overclock the poop out of it.... much happier since it had been underclocked.

Coolbits

Offline Brenjen

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #5 on: June 16, 2006, 01:41:47 PM »
ROFLMAO...well folks, I forgot to mention the fact that I'll get it for under a hundred bucks ( $83 & change actually) only by sending in my 7900GTX as a trade in.

 If you guys are interested in a 2 month old 7900GTX for $525 I'll be glad to sell you a card:D

Offline Krusty

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #6 on: June 16, 2006, 01:42:53 PM »
You folks make me SICK! What with your high card numbers, and your DX9 cards! And... and!!!!


damn I'm envious ;)

Offline Bronk

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #7 on: June 16, 2006, 01:50:00 PM »
Quote
Originally posted by x0847Marine
I have the 6600go and used coolbits to overclock the poop out of it.... much happier since it had been underclocked.

Coolbits



The 6600 gt runs hot enough. I think OCing it would be bad unless i invest in better cooling for it.


Bronk
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Offline Brenjen

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #8 on: June 19, 2006, 07:17:38 PM »
*bump* sorry but I need to know if AH is going to have problem with this card really soon. I am time restricted with the offer.

Offline Krusty

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #9 on: June 19, 2006, 11:43:06 PM »
Bren, it's such a new card I don't think anybody has tried it with AH yet.

Offline eagl

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #10 on: June 20, 2006, 04:38:57 AM »
You're not going to see much of a speed increase from a 7900GTX...  I doubt you'll see any problems but each 7950 gpu is clocked at GT speeds, not GTX speeds, so if the game doesn't work well with SLI then you'll actually see a slowdown.

Dig the 7950 review out of http://www.hardocp.com and http://www.anandtech.com.  They have decent explanations of what this card can and cannot do.
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Offline Brenjen

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #11 on: June 20, 2006, 06:33:59 AM »
Quote
so if the game doesn't work well with SLI then you'll actually see a slowdown.


 ROFLMAO...um, I know. That's why I specifically said "Skuzzy, this question is for you."

 I don't mind everyone else chiming in, but I only have a set number of days to take advantage of the offer & I need to know if this hardware will perform in AHII or if it is going to have the same problems as the dual core processors ran into.

 Did you read the reviews I posted Eagl?

 That's what I'm afraid of Krusty..that I'll be the guinea pig. I'm hoping it will be like a normal SLI but being bridged gpu's in one socket it's causing me to wonder.

 I'm getting so short on time, I'll probably just go ahead & pay for it & takes me chances.

Offline eagl

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« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2006, 06:49:05 AM »
Yea I read those reviews pretty much the day they came out.  And pretty much all of them show that the card is no faster than a pair of regular 7900GT's in SLI, and in some cases slower than a single 7900GTX.

So "no problem" with AH is not really the question you want answered...  Yea it'll probably run but since you're probably the only person who's ever seriously considered getting one and playing AH with it, you're pretty much the crash test dummy on this experiment :eek:

I think the only way to really find out is to either buy a rig for yourself, or buy an SLI rig for HT and bribe him with scotch until he agrees to spend a week writing a few SLI optimizations.

The con would be a good place to make your case, but I wouldn't place any bets on the outcome :)

edit - regarding why you specifically asked skuzzy, if you browse back through this forum you'll find that (at least to the limit of my memory) HTC has almost never intentionally made recommendations about hardware purchases for the game.  The closest they have come in the last few years is when the latest graphics engine initially worked a LOT better on nvidia cards than on ATI cards, and skuzzy favors intel cpus in general over AMD cpus.  I think the performance on various video cards has evened out a bit but I also recollect that they caught a bit of hate over the simple admission that they hadn't gotten AH to run on ATI cards as well as Nvidia cards.

Couple that with the general grumpiness from when the original CK beta had S3 card specific optimizations, and like I said above you might have to corner HT or pyro with a few liquid bribes to get them to speak off the record on the subject of game rig hardware choices.

Plus they coad on rigs many of us would consider hopelessly antiquated, so it's possible they've never even seen their game run on the latest hardware.  Seeing the crickets chirping from the lack of response from skuzzy, some of us have tried to fill in the blanks.  Sorry if that upsets you.
« Last Edit: June 20, 2006, 06:56:15 AM by eagl »
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Offline Brenjen

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #13 on: June 20, 2006, 05:47:50 PM »
You're killing me over here eagl :D


 I already know how it performs VS. the 7900 GTX & I had a twin 7800GT SLI rig already.

 What I want to know specifically from the Skuzz man is NOT "what he recommends"

 All I want to know is "will this card be issue free with AH programming or is it going to run into the same issues as the dual core CPU's"

 That is a tech question about hardware compatability; not his opinion about what I should or should not buy.

 If he doesn't know, he can say so. I want to find out before I purchase the card, but for $80 I might get it anyway whether it works with AH or not; try it out & if it sucks I can just sell it & get another 7900GTX.

 I'll be the crash test dummy....I like you guys that much :eek:

Offline Kev367th

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nVidia’s GeForce 7950 GX2
« Reply #14 on: June 20, 2006, 08:32:55 PM »
If it works with the mobo, should work with AH2.

List of compatible motherboards and BIOS version needed.

http://www.nvidia.com/content/geforce_gx2_sbios/us.asp
AMD Phenom II X6 1100T
Asus M3N-HT mobo
2 x 2Gb Corsair 1066 DDR2 memory