X1800XT v 7900 GT

[Koolpc]

So, i am still unsure which card to go for!

The X1800XT looks like a great card to buy. I just want a great card that does not cost a lot. I don't want to Volt mod a 7900.

My mate had a 7900 GT 256 and it looked great except he did have some artifacting on Tomb Raider! He did not overclock the card. Caused problems in windows too. He is thinking of getting an X1800XT instead now.

Do ATI have any problems with some games or are they 100% ok with most of them these days?

Someone give me push and tell me to buy the X1800XT 256mb card. Which one though? Sapphire? Connect? etc etc

[sawyen]

I'm not sure about others, but my X1800XT works fine.. 100% satisfied other than.. well.. CCC.. and its sinister .NET stuff, if you don't install that.. its a very good card no doubt..

Sapphire or Connect are both similar, as both as are just using reference design.. Don't forget other brands such as Powercolour and Gecube..

[[DW]Cougho]

Your friend has the evil 7900gt memory problem.

The same reason im now playing quake2 on my Voodoo2. Let me guess, random polygons in games and the card getting stuck in reset loops which can only be cured by a system restart.

RMA it.

[Koolpc]

Yea, thats the trouble he was having. Also, sometimes, when he came out of Tomb Raider, the screen would be part black and or flash too!!

Is the X1800XT easy to overclock? What program do you use?

[sawyen]

I used to have those problems when I push my old 6800GT too far..

One day, had a couple of pints.. thought I was superman and ran the poor 6800GT 1000MHz mem at 1300MHz.. then the whole system froze, I cant see anything on teh screen, forgot to save all my work..

The most painful reset button press ever made.. Had to shower myself sober and redo 1/2 a dyas work..

Lesson: Never go out for a pint with ur mates when ur work is idling at home..

back on topic, go for the X1800XT if you're not volt modding..

EDIT: I used that Overclocker tool, you can get that from DriverHeaven I think.. or was it TweakZone? X1800XT isnt TOO hard to overclock, just follow a few basic steps.. like disabling CCC and all.. and it should work fine.. got mine to 720/1620 highest.. cant be bothered as my system is severely limited anyways.. went back running stock, not much difference at the res I'm running 1440x900.. FEAR runs above 50-60fps with everything on max, so Im not complaining..

[Koolpc]

So you are well happy with the X1800XT then sawyen. What TFT do you have?

[sawyen]

2x19'' Acer Widescreens.. The card handles 2 monitors like its chewing peanuts.. never let me down even once..

[Koolpc]

Very nice Sawyen. I had a 19" WS Acer but was having trouble with the text on the right of the screen looking blurry!! I sent it back. Just been reading on the Widescreen gaming forum and one guy had the same problem. Turns out he fixed it by doing something in the on-screen display menu!

Looks like i will defo get the X1800XT 256mb card now. Waiting to see if i can find it for a great price!!

[sawyen]

there's an internal function where it allows u to focus different areas in the monitor.. I guess that should be the tool the guy's talking about..

[Koolpc]

Yea, must be. To think i sent mine back!!

[jonathan_phang]

Another one here for the Acer AL1619WS and X1800XT fan club!!! Just got my Sapphire 512 variant today along with a nice Hiper PSU and glad to say that the system is up and running fine now. I havent really had a chance to play around too much will all my games so far, at the moment I am replaying HL2 (in glorious WS...only got the TFT recently) and have it running on full whack - and although i havent given it a full testing yet, i must say that it seems great. I havent experienced the fan on full speed though (due to the fact that i havent had a gaming session yet) so i guess the temps arent that bad, but i will let y'all know how it pans out...

Lets see, about 180 for the 256 version or 225ish for the 512. Its up to you i guess, but maybe the 512 could be more future proof - especially if you have a high res TFT. Cant wait to try out all my games again....in WS...and now with a decent card to power it!!!

Let us all know what you get

JP

[Smokey21]

For less than 200quid, the 256mb X1800XT is unbeatable. Just get one.

[Dark Horse]

EDIT: I used that Overclocker tool, you can get that from DriverHeaven I think..

The only thing you have to watch with Overclocker is that it lowers your memory timings to allow your memory to overclock more. Makes the overclocks harder to compare to Atitool where they are straight overclocks with no funny business.

[ash_rm]

I'm seriously considering an X1800XT to replace my 7800GT. What are the noise levels like with the stock cooler?

I'm currently using a Zalman VF700 on the 7800GT so it's pretty much silent.

[sawyen]

I have both, if u remember the stock cooler on the 7800GT.. it has this noisy whine to it.. while the X1800XT certainly is louder.. but has a more 'wooshh' feeling to it..

but cutting a sentence short.. its loud... during load that is.. 2d is fine..

[Koolpc]

I will put my Zalman V700 CU on the X1800XT. Would the 256mb version be ok for a widescreen TFT?

EDIT: Had to send it back! Problems galore, yikes!