Aces High Bulletin Board

General Forums => Hardware and Software => Topic started by: Motherland on August 07, 2007, 12:51:30 AM

Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 07, 2007, 12:51:30 AM
Ive been looking for a decent card that does not break the budget. (Im looking for low $200 range) From what I can tell, the X1950 fits the bill. Im not a computer expert though, by any means. So... how is this card?
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Keiler on August 07, 2007, 01:00:32 AM
I have one, its fast!
Even with a slightly sub-par AMD 64 3000+ CPU I call my own I am able to play the most recent games on highest detail in many cases.

Matt
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Krusty on August 07, 2007, 09:19:13 AM
Probably neck and neck with the GeForce 7900/7950 series. From the specs it's a good card.

Just make sure you have the right PSU for it (it's a higher end card, 350W minimum I think, 400+ better)
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 07, 2007, 01:14:59 PM
Guess I have good searching skills, then... and a little luck.

Quote
Originally posted by Krusty
Probably neck and neck with the GeForce 7900/7950 series. From the specs it's a good card.

Just make sure you have the right PSU for it (it's a higher end card, 350W minimum I think, 400+ better)


How would I check this? If the PSU is too low, what would I do about it?
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Krusty on August 07, 2007, 02:06:34 PM
The PSU should have a sticker on the side of it when you open the case. It will have different Amps on the different rails, but it should say "total output: 250W" or whatever the wattage is.

If you don't have enough power you could run into performance problems. It may not send enough to the card and it could "clock down" to compensate or some similar de-rating. Or it could shut down. Or it could do many things that slow you down. Having good power is important (and not just for the video card :D )
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 07, 2007, 07:19:40 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Krusty
The PSU should have a sticker on the side of it when you open the case. It will have different Amps on the different rails, but it should say "total output: 250W" or whatever the wattage is.

If you don't have enough power you could run into performance problems. It may not send enough to the card and it could "clock down" to compensate or some similar de-rating. Or it could shut down. Or it could do many things that slow you down. Having good power is important (and not just for the video card :D )

What do I do if the output is to low? What do I need to buy or adjust or whatever?
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Fulmar on August 07, 2007, 07:26:18 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Motherland
What do I do if the output is to low? What do I need to buy or adjust or whatever?


You need to buy a larger PSU.
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 07, 2007, 07:41:32 PM
Is there any difference in quality of PSUs? I just checked, it's rated to 305w. I guess Ill start looking for a PSU, too...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817148027
Hows this? 500w, $40. If its a good value, this will be my new PSU...
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Ack-Ack on August 07, 2007, 08:26:25 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Motherland
Guess I have good searching skills, then... and a little luck.

 

How would I check this? If the PSU is too low, what would I do about it?



If you're getting a new PSU, 550w is the minimum you should be looking at.


ack-ack
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 07, 2007, 08:46:54 PM
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=58&page=2
Hows that?
Forgive me, Im new to computer hardware.:(
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 09, 2007, 10:42:56 PM
I know that Im asking stupid questions, but you didnt have to cut me off from all information....

:rolleyes:
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Krusty on August 10, 2007, 09:16:51 AM
We don't always see every response, man.

That PSU looks fine by me. Antec is a decent brand name. However, if you already have a 350W PSU you could try the new card with what you've got, just to see if you need a new PSU or not.


If you have performance issues, then maybe get the new PSU. Just tryin' to save some money :aok
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 10, 2007, 02:08:31 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Krusty
We don't always see every response, man.

That PSU looks fine by me. Antec is a decent brand name. However, if you already have a 350W PSU you could try the new card with what you've got, just to see if you need a new PSU or not.


If you have performance issues, then maybe get the new PSU. Just tryin' to save some money :aok


Just messin around, I know.

My PSU is 305W, so Ill try that one. Would it be possible that my current PSU isnt allowing the full potential of my current card (an ATI 9250 Pro, bad card, I know now) and just getting a new PSU will increase my performance by a fraction? I know it wont give me uber performance, but maybe an extra frame or two per second?
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Ack-Ack on August 10, 2007, 02:16:23 PM
If you were referring to the 500w PSU, it should be okay unless you have a lot of peripherials connected to your computer.  

ack-ack
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 10, 2007, 03:07:38 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Ack-Ack
If you were referring to the 500w PSU, it should be okay unless you have a lot of peripherials connected to your computer.  

ack-ack

Dunno why it linked to that page... I copied the product page...

All I have linked to my computer is my stick (Saitek Cyborg Evo) headset, and occaisionally an iPod. I was looking at the Thermaltake 500W, that should be fine, right?
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Krusty on August 10, 2007, 03:29:18 PM
No, what's holding your current card back is your current card. It shouldn't drain enough power to require a higher PSU max rating. I think the 9200s don't even have fans on them (just heatsinks). That's an indication of their low power consumption levels if they don't even need a fan.

If you're going X1950, then the PSU you linked looks good at first glance. Seems to be a "good quality" manufacturer.
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 10, 2007, 09:51:07 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Krusty
No, what's holding your current card back is your current card. It shouldn't drain enough power to require a higher PSU max rating. I think the 9200s don't even have fans on them (just heatsinks). That's an indication of their low power consumption levels if they don't even need a fan.
 

Meh, I figured that. Wishful thinking.

Thanks for your help, all. I cant wait to leave my 8 FPS days behind :aok
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: OOZ662 on August 11, 2007, 10:43:41 AM
Remember that Aces High is actually very CPU intensive. If you have an older and slower CPU that isn't even sending data fast enough to work the card you've got to the max (which doesn't apply to you, seeing your current card, but this is an example :D), then shove the top of the line video card in, you aren't going to get any performance increase except for things like Anti-Aliasing, which are on-card calculations.
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: Motherland on August 11, 2007, 08:22:32 PM
Ive got an Intel Pentium D 820 2.8 GHz Dual Core Processor :aok
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: OOZ662 on August 12, 2007, 12:07:03 AM
Decent, I'd say. :p

I think I got the magic CPU or something; it's a Pentium 4 3GHz Northwood core and nothing even bothers it.
Title: ATI Radeon X1950?
Post by: acetnt367th on August 16, 2007, 12:47:13 PM
If you have a X1950 AGP card DO NOT INSTALL Cat 7.8


Acetnt