ATI Radeon x1650 Crossfire

mnijee

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Dec 24, 2009
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Hi,

New to this board. You guys seem friendly. :pt1cable:

So, my system is a few yrs old now and I am looking to up the GFX. I cant get a steady 100frames off of a measly game called CounterStrike 1.6, so I am looking for an upgrade.

Current Specs:
AMD X2 64 4200+
4Gigs DDR2 Kingston HyperX
ECS KA3 MVP V1.0A ATI (CROSSFIRE XPRESS 3200 CHIPSET )
ATI Radeon x1650 Pro PCI-e (1)
400W PSU

My goal is to max out my gfx settings so I can at least get the full frame rate that this game deserves. All the while, i am indeed trying to save me some money. I am considering getting another ATI x1650 and enabling the Crossfire (app. $40 off ebay), but it seems I will have to up the PSU wattage by doing so, and a 500watter will seem to work with this set up (app. $50-60).

What do you guys think? Do i have other options within the same budget (total $100)?



 

hardwaretechy

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Jun 15, 2008
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Buying a ATI x16xx series is a waste of money, they were only mediocre 4 years ago and by today's standards they are slower than slow.

+1

If you've got $100 pick up a single Nvidia GTS 250 (also consider the ATI 4770, 4850, 4870, 5770)

-1, please don't post unless you know what you're talking about. All of those cards are in the $125-$160 range. While amazing cards for the money, its not $100 or sub-$100.

The card you are looking for that meets both the power requirements and will perform far better than XfireX x1650 is the ATI 4670.

This is the one you want:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161287

Under $100 shipped. Again, you should be fine with your 400W PSU. Don't try to OC it much, that *might* put it over the top -- but if you have a UPS, it can tell you how much juice you are pulling. Just for reference, i have a 4870 & a beefier CPU + 4 HDDs and i'm pulling only 230W at idle, just over 300 during games.

One more recommendation: Dude, its time to move on from CS 1.6. Its 2010 in a few days, there are newer, better games for competition out there (no offense meant, just saying). With a new vid card at least trying/playing those new games is now a reality for you :)
 

mnijee

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Dec 24, 2009
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Hey guys/gals,

At this point, I really do appreciate all the recommendations. Although BDDazza, it seems like the cards you are recommending require a higher wattage PSU. With Christmas and all i am just so |3 |2 () |< e.

Although I would def like to stay within my budget, I would also like a card that wont be outdated so quickly. My power supply is a loud sucker, so I plan to "eventually" upgrade my psu. In all, I dont mind going a little over the budget, as long as the yield is far superior. I guess if it is worth it that I just may bite on it.

But so far, it seems the consensus is the ATI 4670. When I have a few extra bucks I'll find another card to crossfire it, and up my PSU as well.

Fair enough? I will gladly accept further recs.

Thx.

 

damien12g

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-1, please don't post unless you know what you're talking about. All of those cards are in the $125-$160 range. While amazing cards for the money, its not $100 or sub-$100.


The GTS 250 and 4850 are only $10-15 above $100.

The 4770 is less than $100.

I think my post was accurate.


Please show me where to get a 4770 for $100...not on newegg...so where??
 

damien12g

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Nov 22, 2009
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Ok sure


ATI Sappire 4770 $99

and guess where I found it....newegg.com

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102853&cm_re=ATU_4770-_-14-102-853-_-Product


where's the "add to cart" button?? oh that's right....NOT IN STOCK!
try again...
 
It is true that adding another 1650 would increase your performance, but certainly not to the level you expect. That card was before crossfire chips were integrated into the GPU so there would be considerably more CPU overhead for one and thus it's not really worth the cost of both another card and a better PSU (the 1650XT is another story).

It would be cheaper to simply go with either a GT240 or a Radeon 4670. Both of which should work with your current PSU. The GDDR3 version of the 240 can be had for around $90 while the 4670 is even less. Even though the GT240 is more powerful, you would likely get the same frame rates out of both on your system, due to the 4200. For that reason I'd recommend you save money and go with the 4670, unless of course you overclock your CPU to help take advantage of the extra power in the GT240
 
BTW, I should also ad that getting a 100 fps in counter strike is rather pointless. Few people notice the difference in anything over 60fps, and most are actually fine with a minimum (not an average) of 30fps. Almost no one is going to notice the difference between 60fps and 6000fps. After all, broadcast TV runs at under 30fps.
 

mnijee

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Dec 24, 2009
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alright...

the dust is slowly settling. I have come to the conclusion I will either go with:

a.) ati 4670 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814161287), or
b.) nvidia 9800gt (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150316&cm_re=XFX_GeForce_9800_GT-_-14-150-316-_-Product) which seems to be going for about $80 off ebay.

In both options above, I get to keep my psu.