new rig so far..help with vid card

[WhiteHawk]

So far I have a abit k8n ultra mobo/ amd 3700 sandiego/ 1 gig ocz gamer exprss pc 3500/ ddr 433 RAM.  I am thinking of the ati AIW x800 for 299.  Any thoughts, and what is the nvidia equivilant of the AIW's?  I have heard that nVidia is ahead by a nose in the vid cards these days

Thnx for any help.

[buzkill]

JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE GF 7800GT.....NVIDIA DOES EDGE OUT IN PERFORMANCE....FOR $520.  THERE IS A 512MEG VERSION BUT I COULDN'T FIND IT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143036

[WhiteHawk]

Originally posted by buzkill
JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE GF 7800GT.....NVIDIA DOES EDGE OUT IN PERFORMANCE....FOR $520.  THERE IS A 512MEG VERSION BUT I COULDN'T FIND IT http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143036

thnx but 520 is a bit pricey.

[TequilaChaser]

just bought the wifey the following whiteHawk:

ASUS A8N-E PCIE MB
AMD athlon64 3700 sandiego core ( this thing will clock out to the FX-57 speed and not even overheat with regular aircool )
Corsair Extreme pc3200 2x  1Gig  memory dualchannel
Hitachi 160 gig SATAII  3.0Gig/sec transfer speed 7200 rpm
Asus XA850PRO 256 meg DDR3 video whcih will flash to an XT version easily ( only diff is 12 pipeline vs 16 pipeline ) but the coreclock and other speed is 500+ /1020+  

you can get the 850XT for just few bucks more, her's ( the 850pro cost 229.00 retail )

550 watt antec truepower with 120mm fan, which helps keep system running cool

under full load , running EQ2, TEC RPG, 3 different message proggys, and having webbrowser open surfing, it runs around 34c to 39c ( 39 max ) and doesn't faulter 1 instance, and nothing is running overclocked, is solid as a rock...... all graphics details maxed out to quality in every setting/game , yet she is running 1024x768 screen res at 85 mhz refresh rate.....

idle temp is 30 to 34 c......

the 850 is old tech by the current standards, but her whole system case included was built for less than 1grand, includes ASUS DVDRom, ASUS DVDRW (including RAM ), floppy drive 3 1/2 with 6 other card readers built in, new case with ducted fan for processor, using AMD heatsink & fan which came with processor in the retail kit...

also, the XT version has a cooling fan, ducted to thru the rear thru a pci slot, which helps even more disipaite the heat generated.....

just another opinion, could not see where there was much difference between the 7800s verses the 800/850 ATI versions that truely justified the cost increase.....

[WhiteHawk]

wow, sounds like i am on the right track here with my system.   Thnx for the info.

[Roscoroo]

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=54&card2=323

here ya go for quick side by side comparison

[WhiteHawk]

Originally posted by Roscoroo
http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php?card1=54&card2=323

here ya go for quick side by side comparison

Thnx, roo

[FireOf59]

Without tearing my "Off The Shelf" PC apart, is there a utility that tells me what size Power supply I have?
(that GF 7800GT looks sweet; I just need to make sure my present ciomputer will support it)
Besides the rest of the Obvious requirements, RAM, HD space, etc, how do I find is I have the rest of the reqs?

[OOZ662]

From my experience, the only way to tell what size the PSU is is to take the door off and read the sticker. It's not that hard; just take the door of the case off and, IIRC, it's required by law to be there.

EDIT: Also, do an image search for "AGP slot" and "PCI-E slot" to see what they look like. Find out which kind your motherboard has by looking at it, and buy the appropriate version of the card.

[buzkill]

ya...the 7800 is pci-e only as far as i've seen

[OOZ662]

Originally posted by buzkill
ya...the 7800 is pci-e only as far as i've seen

Nah, I saw an ad on tomshardware.com saying that "nVidia hasn't forgotten AGP with the FX7800" or something like that.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+1067919571+1069609639&Subcategory=48&description=&srchInDesc=&minPrice=&maxPrice=&ATTR1=&ATTR2=&ATTR3=2010380048+1067919571&ATTR4=&ATTR5=&ATTR6=&ATTR7=&ATTR8=&ATTR9=&ATTR10=2010380048+1069609639&ATTR11=&ATTR12=&ATTR13=&ATTR14=&ATTR15=&ATTR16=&ATTR17=&ATTR18=

[38ruk]

There's a 7800GS for agp , it's around 280 last i looked . It's a bit slower than a 7800gt , but the only other agp card that compares to it is a x850xtpe .

[Skuzzy]

ATi is always the better when the functionality of the AIW's are required.  NVidia is spotty and you may be required to purchases additional liceses/software after-the-fact.

[Krusty]

Originally posted by FireOf59
Without tearing my "Off The Shelf" PC apart, is there a utility that tells me what size Power supply I have?
(that GF 7800GT looks sweet; I just need to make sure my present ciomputer will support it)
Besides the rest of the Obvious requirements, RAM, HD space, etc, how do I find is I have the rest of the reqs?

Well, when I go to desktop properties, "Settings", hit "Advanced", then select "GeForce4 Ti 4400" (the type of card I have) it says right there that I have an AGP card.

As for power supply, you have to open the case. There's a sticker with lots of numbers, but you're looking for the part that says "Max continuous power" -- should say 200W or 350W or however many watts you've got.

[Brooke]

For $200, the nVidia 6800 GS seems to be the current best performer.