Ok final decision help

[Zad]

Rivatuner doesn't work, Coolbits doesn't work, nor does the multiple-rebooting method. Other 7800GT cards do/did have the same problem, but they seem to have a different hardware design, with a driver transistor located physically near to the fan connector, which so far as I can see is missing in the black pcb / Molex connector version of this XFX Extreme.

What is more annoying than the fan, is XFX's response to the issue. It seems to be "problem? what problem?" despite vociferous comments over several weeks, and the fact that other manufacturers have experienced problems with the 7800gt reference design. On the XFXForce.com forum thread, there is one posting of "thanks for bringing this to our attention, we are investigating" followed several days later by "we don't know of any such problem". I'm going to give it a couple more weeks anyway, before I talk to Scan and see what they can do. As I said, it's a shame because it's a cracking good card, fast as a fast thing on steroids, nice copper heatsink, VIVO and all the rest.

Memo to XFX: It's not how you fall down, it's how you pick yourself up.

Mike

[Rhyth]

Didnt Hexus review that gfx card? I don't know wether the one hexus reviewd had that problem, but if it did I would have thought they'd have drawn attention to the fact? Shame you didnt get a heads-up on that issue before you made a purchase; the small issues count when your paying in excess of £200, let alone virtualy a third more at the time of review.

[Clunk]

hi Rhyth,

the majority of the xfx cards reviewed on the tinternet are the "F" model which is the Nvidia spec one as far as the layout of the card goes. the new "E" model has a shorter, black pcb, a smaller heatsink which is copper, and the 4 pin molex connector instead of the pci-e. the layout of the components on the pcb is different as well.

when i ordered mine from scan, they were showing the "F" models in stock, and that is what they had even booked out to me on the invoice. the "F" models came with COD2, MotoGP2 and X2, whereas the "E" model came only with COD2.

i agree totally that when you are paying for a high end card, that is what you should receive. also high end service should come as standard too.

[KowShak]

Remember that even the flagship X1800XT only have 16 pipe, with ATI atm at least the lack of pipeline is compensated by the architecture and the clock speed.

Performance is not as simple as the number of pipelines. Yes the Nvidia cards have more pipes BUT the ATI ones do more pixel operations per pipe.

Personally I'd be buying the GT, Nvidia seems to have the edge right now and ATI is struggling to keep up.

If you're talking about todays games, all of those cards will run the newest games the way they're meant to be run, with the res maxxed out and all the detail turned on. Tomorrows games are a whole different question because the architectures are different and becoming more different. A game written for Nvidia / ATI will run badly on the other type of card and as the two become more different the difference in performance of games not written for that card will grow.

[StormPC]

I personally prefer ATi cards. I have both a 7800GTX and an X1800XL. The XL is not noisey unless you turn the fan speed up to 100%. Also, you can fully program the fan speed in ATITool.

Even if a graphics card is noisey, I don't understand gamers wanting quiet. Most of the gamers I know set the box on the floor and turn the speaker volume up so high that they couldn't possibly hear anything else. What's up with that?

Out of that group the Gigabyte 7800GT is the best value, but the X1800XL is a stronger card overall.

[Rhyth]

Out of that group the Gigabyte 7800GT is the best value, but the X1800XT is a stronger card overall.

I think Storm ment XL; the XT at nearly £100 more I would hope so.