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Nvidia 5900 128 MB Card - Upgrade?

Associate
Joined
30 Oct 2002
Posts
309
Hi,

I have a Gainward Nvidia FX 5900 128 MB Card running on a Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz Processor & 2 GB DDR 400 Memory.

I was looking at upgrading this year, but decided to wait until next year with Visita and DX10 etc.

Is it worth upgrading my card to a newer model? I am running a Gigabyte 8KNXP Motherboard and so using AGP 8x. What card would you recommend for good value for money / performance. I would like to run FEAR at good resolutions etc, but do not want to sped 'lots' of money!

Thanks
 
Associate
Joined
30 Nov 2002
Posts
1,851
Location
Birmingham
No point 'waiting for DX10' for now really. It'll be at least 2 years before it becomes anything like essential.

7800gs is a good AGP choice as mentioned above. If your budget isn't that high the X800 will serve you well too.
 
Man of Honour
Joined
27 Sep 2004
Posts
25,821
Location
Glasgow
How much money are you willing to spend and do you want new or would secondhand do? If new then a 7800gs which are roughly the same as a 6800ultra(Gainward however offer versions based on 78/7900gt cores which are the fastest you will get on AGP and comparable more or less to the PCI-E equivalents).

If going secondhand then a 6800gt or higher for Nvidia, an X800pro or higher for ATI would be my recommendation.
 
Associate
Joined
19 Nov 2005
Posts
152
x1600 has some of the problems that your 5900 does, a poorly thought out memory controller for a high end card ,better to get a X800gt/gto/gto16, or 6800gs. bohth feature the more modern 256bit mem bus which makes a good difference, don't be swung by the 512 ram you get with the x1600, only buy anything with an x800/6800 or 7800 in the name. lower=not worth the upgrade that much, still better but just not, whole new grade better
 
Associate
OP
Joined
30 Oct 2002
Posts
309
Hi,

Thanks for comments.

How about this card then :) - Radeon X800 GTO 256MB AGP

But, will I get that much more perforamce with this, or should I consider a new PC?

Thanks

Robert
 
Man of Honour
Joined
27 Sep 2004
Posts
25,821
Location
Glasgow
The X800GTO should extend the length of time that you can keep your PC acceptable for, if the graphics are the only thing letting your PC down then it makes sense to upgrade them. However if there is more than that wrong with your system then getting a whole new PC might be the better option.

That is a far better card than the X1600 Pro and considerably better than your existing 5900 :)
 
Associate
OP
Joined
30 Oct 2002
Posts
309
Thnaks for reply,

Here are my System Specs : -

Intel Pentium 4 2.8 Ghz 800 FSB 512 KB Cache
Gigabyte 8KNXP Motherboard
2 GB Dual Channel DDR 400 Memory
240 SATA (Hardware RAID 0) - Maxtor 9's
Creative Labs Audigity
NEC DVD Writer
Pionner Slot Loading DVD
Nvidia Geforce FX 5900

Shall I keep system and just upgrade Graphics Card? Will the system last about another year?

Thanks

Robert
 
Associate
OP
Joined
30 Oct 2002
Posts
309
Hi,

Cheers. Thta makes me feel much better now. At least I can hold on now for the new Intel Chips :)

So how does this card compare to the Nvidia range. What is the equivalent to this from Nvidia ? Geforce FX 7600?

Thanks

Robert

In the end Guys, I will be lead by yourselfs. If you think I should go Nvidia, then I will! Just want FEAR to run better :)
 
Associate
OP
Joined
30 Oct 2002
Posts
309
Okies,

But does the Nvidia card have more features. I read something about Shading 3.0!!! or Does the ATI have everything for both windows / gaming use?

Thanks

Robert
 
Soldato
Joined
7 Mar 2005
Posts
17,481
rlculver said:
Okies,

But does the Nvidia card have more features. I read something about Shading 3.0!!! or Does the ATI have everything for both windows / gaming use?

Thanks

Robert

If SM 3.0 is a big deal to you, get the 6800GS.
 
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