Curse

Lurid · May 13, 2006, 05:59 PM // 17:59

As far as a $300 dollar range GPU is concerned I would pick an X1800XT hands down aswell, and i'm not a fan boy for either company. I'm using a 7800GT right now, it at the time was the best in its price range, which is as far as i'm concerned the only way to buy hardware.

lord_shar · May 14, 2006, 12:41 AM // 00:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cybergasm

...<SNIP>...

As for the card, I would personally suggest ATI x1800xt 512 version. While the 7900GTX has more pipelines, the 512 allows for a higher capacity of texture storage for quicker recall and paint. I'm also an ATI-fanboy, so, to counter the negative conotation, I will admit you can't go wrong with either *crosses himself*.

...<SNIP>...

The 7900GTX in my laptop came with 512MB DDR2 video memory.

ATI x1800 and x1900's do have the advantage of being able to run HDR + AA simultaneously. The current NVidia product line cannot do the latter. HDR + AA looks absolutely gorgeous.

Chris1986 · May 14, 2006, 10:27 AM // 10:27

If you're just playing Guild Wars, anything past the 9800-series runs the game flawlessly.

Guild Wars is the type of game that runs the cataract / blurry type of shading (ala the first Prince of Persia).

RAM is more important then graphics, as far as Guild Wars goes.

Cybergasm · May 14, 2006, 03:30 PM // 15:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by lord_shar

The 7900GTX in my laptop came with 512MB DDR2 video memory.

ATI x1800 and x1900's do have the advantage of being able to run HDR + AA simultaneously. The current NVidia product line cannot do the latter. HDR + AA looks absolutely gorgeous.

I didn't know they started 7900GTX's with 512's. Thats pretty impressive. Did it retain its pipeline numbers?

lord_shar · May 15, 2006, 01:22 PM // 13:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cybergasm

I didn't know they started 7900GTX's with 512's. Thats pretty impressive. Did it retain its pipeline numbers?

From Notebook Reviews Forum:
7900GTXgo = 24 pipes, 8 vertex units, 256 bit mem (500/600)

So the answer appears to be "yes" -- the notebook version has the same number of pipes (24) as the desktop version.

Oberon Shadowking · May 15, 2006, 01:40 PM // 13:40

In general:

SLI is better than Crossfire
SLI is more expensive than Crossfire

You don't need SLI or Crossfire to run Guild Wars, but if you're planning to play next gen and current gen games cranked up, you might want them.

It all depends on how much money you have. In order, the things you should be spending your money on are:

CPU
RAM
GPU

The CPU will give you the largest increase in speed for the lowest amount of money. RAM is all important for everyday operations AND gaming, and a good GPU will blow games out of the water.

Lurid · May 15, 2006, 08:16 PM // 20:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by lord_shar

From Notebook Reviews Forum:
7900GTXgo = 24 pipes, 8 vertex units, 256 bit mem (500/600)

So the answer appears to be "yes" -- the notebook version has the same number of pipes (24) as the desktop version.

Yes, the only difference in laptop GPU's vs desktop GPUs are:

Some are clocked slightly less, to decrease heat.
They are made differently, in various ways.
They are made to use less energy / produce less heat in various ways.

You cannot use a laptop GPU, in any (that I know of), desktop motherboard. The same is true in reverse.

sh4ft3d · May 15, 2006, 08:29 PM // 20:29

Many people like SLI better than Crossfire for various reasons, or because they have a (slight) advantage in GPU's right now, but I personally like Crossfire for the multiple rendering mods it offers, to get the most performanceout of the card per game graphics/physics. Btw, NVidia is supposed to have a MUCH better shader.
<-----Biased towards ATI

lightblade · May 15, 2006, 08:38 PM // 20:38

Well, it's not really about Crossfire or SLi

ATI makes cards that's better with physic accelerating (high frequency), and only FPS games really uses physics.

Nvidia's 7000 series uses 24 pixel pipeline, which accelerates 3D graphics. So it's good for all games in general. (Just leave all the physic accelerating to CPU)

I'm using GeForce 7800GTX, which has less frequency as its ATi counter part. But Nvidia's 7900 pumped it's processor's frequency to make it better.

I have to say currently sli takes the lead, but there's no telling what the future holds.

In term of value, I really recommend Sli GeForce 6800. Because 2 of these is better than 1 7900 or x1900, and it's cheaper.

Lurid · May 15, 2006, 08:51 PM // 20:51

"ATI makes cards that's better with physic accelerating (high frequency), and only FPS games really uses physics."

I'm relatively uncertain of this information, clock speeds have little to do with performance. Its more about how the data is processed than how quickly it is done. Otherwise Intel would be an obvious winner due to its higher clock speeds.

"Nvidia's 7000 series uses 24 pixel pipeline, which accelerates 3D graphics. So it's good for all games in general. (Just leave all the physic accelerating to CPU)"

No, it doesn't. Nvidia's 7 series uses a range of pixel pipelines, ranging from 4 to 24. Again, the sheer numbers aren't as important as how efficient they are.

"I'm using GeForce 7800GTX, which has less frequency as its ATi counter part. But Nvidia's 7900 pumped it's processor's frequency to make it better."

Yes, it is faster in sheer Mhz, but thats the least of the performance upgrades that make it better. The different die sizes and upgrades to known issues made it produce less heat and use less energy. Which is a big plus in almost every aspect.

"I have to say currently sli takes the lead, but there's no telling what the future holds."

Meh, perhaps. Though thats atleast partly due to the lack of good chipsets for ATI.

"In term of value, I really recommend Sli GeForce 6800. Because 2 of these is better than 1 7900 or x1900, and it's cheaper."

How that makes sense to you is beyond me. Lets pay for two $200 GPU's, that produce more heat, then pay for a SLI motherboad, and possibly a more powerful PSU.

Raw performance values shows us that SLI'd 6800GS lose to a 7800GT. In order to beat the 7800GT (stock) at any real margin we must first volt mod the 6800GS's and overclock them well beyond spec. Which often requires more cooling (more money) Thats _without_ factoring in the 7900GT and X1800XT, I have no clue if the 6800GS's would beat them. My guess is not.