Buying tomorrow - x1950pro or Fatal1ty 8600GT?

Den_M

Could someone tell me which of the following would be a better purchase, I need to get a gfx card tomorrow and I have it narrowed down to this:

Sapphire Radeon X1950PRO 256MB GDDR3, PCI-Express, HDCP, 2xDVI-I, Lite-Retail

or

XFX GeForce 8600GT Fatal1ty 256MB GDDR3

Now, I have seen better x1950 pro's out there (with 1.6 memory and 600 core) but this seems to be the best 1950 available on komplett.ie at the moment and I need to order from there as part of a larger order (Havok has been a great help in the Building and Upgrading section).

The memory and core clock speed on the Nvidia does seem to be quite a bit faster, then again it is a bit more expensive.

But it's a completely different card and company isn't it? I'm a bit confused about whether to go for Nvidia or ATI, both seem to have their admirers. I'll be playing a lot of FPS games if that makes a difference (FEAR, Half Life, Quake/Doom series...) Which card would require the more power to run? I heard 1950's are pretty undemanding.

Any thoughts (or alternatives close to the price of these) would be greatly appreciated.

AlmightyCushion

Go for the x1950, it's a much better card.

TerrorFirmer

X1950Pro will kill it, skin it and eat it.

The 8600GT is a considerable downwards step, despite the price....

Check this out:

You will find this very helpful in comparing cards. Granted the 8600GT you linked to is overclocked but still. Not a worthy purchase at all.

Den_M

Thanks fellas. Wow, I wouldn't have thought that, guess it must be because of the 'celebrity gamer' that endorses it. The 1950pro is 127 quid, I really wouldn't mind paying about 30 quid more for a 1950 while I'm at it, and get the best one I can afford. Is there any alternatives on komplett.ie or am I doing an over-kill here?

TerrorFirmer

You won't really get much better for an extra 30 quid as all the current mid range cards are frankly, rubbish. Nvidia messed up their mid range and then somehow Ati managed the same. Not that the cards are terrible performers in their own right, just that they offer poor performance in relation to what they cost. All the cheap high end Dx9 parts are way better then the current Dx10 mid range. Traditionally the new mid range would equal or surpass the old higher end. But not this time...

Over-kill, definitely not. Assuming you like to play games at good settings and reasonable resolution, the X1950Pro is fast approaching the end of its life. Not just yet; it handles current games quite well. But in the next few months you'll see it gradually start to show its limits.....but not as horribly as I'm making it sound!! It's a solid performer in new titles at normal resolutions (17"). But for a new gaming build, it really would want to be the minimum choice.

Den_M

What I was prepared to shell out another bit was something like this :

RADEON X1950PRO ULTIMATE 256MB DDR3

The only difference I can see from the one on komplett is this one on dabs (which isn't in stock) has a 1.6 memory clock speed (1.4 on the komplett one)

Would this make that much of a difference? If not I think i'll just go for the one on komplett. My head is wrecked from model numbers, speeds and the like.

TerrorFirmer

Well it will work out more expensive again, if you're ordering other stuff from Komplett and then also have to pay Elara for delivery, so keep that in mind.

The faster memory would help yes, and give you a few frames especially at higher resolutions but it's only overclocked; you can overclock the one from Komplett yourself, though the one on Elara comes with a much better fan.

All in all, I really wouldn't bother though, but that's a personal preference.

Den_M

Thats decided then, What's the minimum PSU wattage I'd need to run the card. I'll have 2 internal hard drives if that makes a difference. Only have a Dell 305w at the moment, gah! - more expense!

christophicus

Personally I would get at least a 600w PSU from a well known vender. To try and semi future proof.

TerrorFirmer

For the X1950Pro any semi-decent psu of about 400w would be fine, but you might as well get something that's reasonably future proof (and of reasonable quality). If you're not looking to spend a whole lot this one is pretty good value for money.