Author Topic: Lookin to upgrade Video Card (Read 1247 times)

eagl · « **Reply #30 on:** May 22, 2006, 03:30:33 AM »

I'd never buy a vid card on ebay. There are SOOO many vid cards that don't work right and can't be RMA'd... I had a 6800GT that would work fine for an hour and then die. If I underclocked it it would run a bit longer. So I could probably have sold it on ebay and then blamed any future failures on the buyer.

Why not RMA it if it's defective? Because a lot of people lose their RMA rights because they do stupid stuff like bios mods or ripping the heatsink off. So guys will burn out the gpu or damage the memory with a bios mod that ups the voltage, and since it doesn't have the factory or approved bios, they can't RMA it. But it sort of runs, so they sell it on ebay.

Yea some stuff on ebay is legit but life is too short to have to deal with the crooks so I'll spend a bit more money and get a new product with a warranty from a reputable company.

eagl · « **Reply #31 on:** May 22, 2006, 03:37:01 AM »

If you go ahead with the ebay purchase, You might be interested in something I'm selling. I have *right here in my hand* a real diamond worn by the queen of england! It's worth $50,000 but I can't report that much income on my taxes so you can have it for $10,000, if you send a certified check. It's in "like new" condition...

Just like the "like new" book I bought used from amazon.com that was really a highschool library book complete with that indestructable ugly orange vinyl binding that was pulled from circulation. It was "like new" because I guess not many people were checking it out...

68DevilM · « **Reply #32 on:** May 27, 2006, 03:27:05 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by eagl
If you go ahead with the ebay purchase, You might be interested in something I'm selling. I have *right here in my hand* a real diamond worn by the queen of england! It's worth $50,000 but I can't report that much income on my taxes so you can have it for $10,000, if you send a certified check. It's in "like new" condition...

Just like the "like new" book I bought used from amazon.com that was really a highschool library book complete with that indestructable ugly orange vinyl binding that was pulled from circulation. It was "like new" because I guess not many people were checking it out...

lol...i just read this........ok eagl,.....

update though, 7800 was just too pricey right now for me. but i need a better video card than i have rigth now......

went with the SAPPHIRE 100152SR Radeon X850PRO 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 VIVO AGP 4X/8X Video Card $215.99 from newegg

Performance boost to my PC......ill let you be the judge, system spec in first original post.

eagl · « **Reply #33 on:** May 29, 2006, 05:42:47 AM »

Let us know how it turns out.

38ruk · « **Reply #34 on:** May 29, 2006, 10:16:04 PM »

If your into tinkerin with bios flashes , the X800 gto is easily flashed from 12 to 16 pipes . Thats 4 more pipes for less money ($169) that the X850 pro . The X850 has a higher core and memory speed , but the gto;s overclock well . It just depends on how comfortable you are with bios flashes . Normally i wouldnt suggest this , but the mid-higher end agp market is really crappy .

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102609

68DevilM · « **Reply #35 on:** May 31, 2006, 05:59:39 AM »

never attempted a bios flash before, kinda scared to even try it, not knowing what im doing and all......

68DevilM · « **Reply #36 on:** June 01, 2006, 01:14:09 PM »

been trying to find reweiws and 3d marks on this card but there is no reference to this particular card, only to the 850xt, and 800xt series cards, so is this a card made in limited numbers and is compairable to what?
heres the stats on it.

Brand SAPPHIRE
Model 100152SR
Interface
Interface AGP 4X/8X
Chipset
Chipset Manufacturer ATI
GPU Radeon X850PRO
PixelPipelines 12
Memory
Memory Size 256MB
Memory Interface 256-bit
Memory Type GDDR3
3D API
DirectX DirectX 9
OpenGL OpenGL 2.0
Ports
D-SUB 1
DVI 1
TV-Out HDTV/S-Video/Composite Out
VIVO Yes
General
Tuner None
RAMDAC 400 MHz
Max Resolution 2048x1536@85Hz
Cooler Heatsink and Fan
Operating Systems Supported Windows 2000/XP
System Requirements 300-Watt Power Supply or higher recommended
Intel Pentium 4 / AMD Athlon or higher CPU
One power extension cable
128MB system memory
CD-ROM drive
Features
Features SMARTSHADER HD technology
SMOOTHVISION HD technology
3Dc
VIDEOSHADER HD engine
HYPER Z HD
Packaging
Package Contents HDTV Cable
S-Video Cable
Composite Cable
VIVO Cable
Power Cable
DVI to VGA Adapter
Driver CD
Manual

38ruk · « **Reply #37 on:** June 01, 2006, 11:03:15 PM »

Unfortunately ATI released the X800XL around the sme time the X850pro came out . The 800XL had 16 pixel pipes , 4 more that the 850 , and was close to 75 dollars cheaper . The X850 has 12 pipes , higher clock rates on the core and the memory than the 800XL , but they performed almost the same due to extra pipes . I remember this because i had bought a x800pro about 2 months before they released the 800XL and was slightly mad i hadnt waited .
Dont take this the wrong way , the X850 is a great card , it just wasnt real popular due to the way ATI priced it , and how they released the XL .

EDIT: Here is a 3dmark05 bench

http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx

EDIT X2: Here is a better one , It's a pcie chart , but that doesnt matter because AGP and PCIE are within 1-2 fps when comparing the same cards .
http://www.tomshardware.com/2005/05/24/vga_charts_vi/page3.html

38ruk · « **Reply #38 on:** June 01, 2006, 11:51:35 PM »

Well it looks like the X850pro is also able to unlock the extra 4 pipes on VIVO models . 16 pipes on that card gives it a bump of around 10% . Dont know if its worth taking the chance with a dead card , but here it is .

http://www.overclock.net/faqs/69552-info-guide-x850pro-modding.html

68DevilM · « **Reply #39 on:** June 02, 2006, 09:46:29 AM »

im running omega drivers, would i need atis instead to unlock those?

eagl · « **Reply #40 on:** June 02, 2006, 09:04:16 PM »

If you play around with goofy bios updates and unlocking disabled card features, you deserve what you get. If it works, that's fine. But there's a good chance you'll either completely kill your card, or you'll start having massive graphics corruption because those locked pipelines were locked due to being defective.

It's possible for a slightly defective chip to still be released as one of those lesser models, with the bad parts locked out.

There is no free lunch, not on ebay, not with modified bios, and not with overclocking. They all have risks that can result in a completely non-functional part that can't be returned, because you voided the warranty by messing with it.

Yes there's a chance you can bump your performance up a bit, but why not give the thing a chance BEFORE you try to destroy it? Then if it's not fast enough and you're willing to risk destroying it for a little more performance, go ahead and modify it. But give it a chance before you mess with it.

68DevilM · « **Reply #41 on:** June 03, 2006, 09:36:08 AM »

im not gonna everything looks preety good where thier at right now

eagl · « **Reply #42 on:** June 03, 2006, 09:46:21 AM »

Good choice

38ruk · « **Reply #43 on:** June 03, 2006, 11:24:07 PM »

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102570

16 pipes Devil

68DevilM · « **Reply #44 on:** June 04, 2006, 12:37:32 AM »

after rebate i payed 50 dollars less for the pro.....im preety happy so far, water never looked so refreshing,......lol....last week when i first got the card, we had a hot spell out here in the land of retards:p

anyways, i wanted to jump off the cv into the water it looked so good.......

no doubt the xt isnt a nicer card, i was looking at the price this time. im likeing what i have, its preety nice right now, you boys liveing in the 16 pix pipes, what do you think the overall qulity over 12 is?