X1950XT vs HD2600

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
W

Warlord88

Distinguished
Oct 21, 2007
23
0
18,510
Hi
I want to upgrade my current old system
AMD Athlon64 3000+
Asus K8V-X Motherboard
ATI Radeon 9550
1 GB DDR 400Mhz

I want to buy a new GPU. The motherboard has AGP 8x interface. I saw the shortlist at http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/169937-33-short-list-gaming-videocards-money and was going to go for Radeon X1950 XT. But there is this new card Radeon HD 2600XT which is for AGP and supports DirectX 10 also. I'm confused as which card to go for, compatibility with my system, etc.

Please help!
 


I'm pretty sure that the 1950XT requires more power than an HD2600XT. I also believe that the 1950XT has more processing power than the HD2600XT.
 
Agreed, the x1950XT is much faster then either the x1950pro or the 2600XT. I know the x1950XT did make it to the AGP bus, but seeing as x1950XT PCIe video cards are hard to come by, I can only imagine how bad it is to find an AGP version of it. x1950pro vs 2600XT is getting harder to decide between all the time. The newest version of Unreal works better on the 2600XT, though I still believe that the x1950pro is the better card overall.

In my opinion, if you are on the AGP bus, just get the x1950pro. There might be a card here or there in some situations that are better, but for the money spent, the x1950pro is best overall.
 
I'd vote for a x1950pro, it'll need a decent PSU to run it, so consider that into your costs. Last time I checked the x1950xt AGP was over $200, so that is way too much for AGP, if you ask me. If you need to get a new PSU and buy the x1950pro that will put you somewhere over the $200 mark.

Edit: forgot some links :)
GPU - $179 shipped
SAPPHIRE 100171L Radeon X1950PRO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102071
or
$181 shipped - $25 MIR = $156
HIS Hightech H195PRF512DDAN-R Radeon X1950PRO 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161071

PSU's
Minimum here: Not much left over for upgrades.
8800gtx on 380w PSU!
http://www.overclockers.com/articles1452/

PSU - $45 shipped - $35 w/Goggle checkout Can power 8800gtx and an OC'd e6600 See link above for proof!
Antec Earthwatt 380W P/Satx 12V v.2.2 80MM P/S2 Fan 80-Plus Certified - EA380
http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-earthwatt-380w-p-satx-12v-v-2-2-80mm-p-s2-fan-80-plus-certified/q/loc/101/203477214.html

PSU - $68 shipped
Antec EA430 EarthWatts Series 430W Power Supply (80 PLUS efficiency) Retail ***Free Shipping***
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=273511

PSU - $76 shipped - $10 MIR = $66! Can run a single 8800gtx system easily and room for upgrades later.
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX 450W Active Power Supply Retail ***Free Shipping***
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=10006428

PSU - $78 shipped - $30 MIR = $48 Hard to beat for this price, plus allows better upgrade path.
Antec NeoHE 430 High Efficiency 430W Power Supply Retail ***Free Shipping***
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=269999
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814241049

(Edited as I see this AGP XT has only 1.4GHz GDDR3 not 1.8GHz like the PCI-e, still the best AGP, but worth even less now.)

There is the best AGP gaming card, but at $240 shipped it is hard to recommend as lunyone said. It seems to me the $130-150 HD2600XT and X1950 pro will offer better bang for the buck. The HD2600XT can match the X1950 pro in some games but loses in others without fsaa, but turn on fsaa and the X1950 pro is much better.

Some links:
no fsaa: http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/digest3d/0607/itogi-video-pr-wxp-1600-pcie.html
with fsaa the HD2600's struggle:
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/digest3d/0607/itogi-video-pr-wxp-aaa-1600-pcie.html

Other games:
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/digest3d/index0706.html

As you can see above, the 512MB X1950XT is very close to the XTX, and the AGP one is 256MB and slower clocked memory but overclocked core, so you can look at the XT numbers and definately deduct a few fps for most cases (where amount of ram isn't a factor). Hard to say with 400MHz less DDR speeds.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3128&p=4


ANyway, all in all if you don't know what fsaa is or have not bothered to use it, the HD2600XT is a fine AGP card for $130. If jaggies bother you and you are an FSAA junky, DO NOT buy the HD2600XT but rather the X1950 pro or XT. As was said, You will need a beefier power supply with about 30 amp on the 12v rails for the X1950's. The HD2600's can get by with less than that. Also, compared to your R9550, any these is a HUGE step up from what you have now, so don't feel you need to go all out on a $240 upgrade card.
 
Whoa.. I didn't expect this many replies for a noob 😛
I forgot to mention. Price is not an issue since my cousin is gonna get it for me. And I don't want to go for PCIE card since that would mean almost total system upgrade (else risk my old CPU bottlenecking the card).
I can afford to get a new PSU though..
The one I'm currently eying is the diamond one: http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Viper-X1950PRO-512MB-Video/dp/B000K8P96C/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6889432-2172918?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1192695006&sr=1-1

I'll check out all the links provided.
Thanks a lot folks!
 
Well, if money is no object.... 😉

I like the iceQ cooled HIS better than that diamond card. Better, quieter cooler and higher clock speeds. Persoanlly I like the dual slot coolers that pump the hot GPU air out of the case rather than circulate it within the case. Priced the same but you get a $40 rebate back on top with the HIS.
 
Now I'm again confused.. I just realized that the one I was eying and posted the link is X1950 Pro with 512 MB Memory:
http://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Viper-X1950PRO-512MB-Video/dp/B000K8P96C/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6889432-2172918?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1193062593&sr=1-1

And the one that 'shortlist' recommends is X1950XT. The one on amazon is GeCube one but with 256 MB Memory:
http://www.amazon.com/GeCube-Radeon-X1950-256MB-GDDR3/dp/B000RKB9QW/ref=pd_bbs_2/102-6889432-2172918?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1193062593&sr=1-2

Again, which is better?
 
Well the x1950xt would be better, but more importantly, what is your current PSU? If your PSU can't handle either card, than what is the point. You said that your not buying a new PSU, so we need to know what PSU you do have, so we can be for sure that it will work with your projected GPU. We need to know the make and model of the PSU and if possible the amperage on the 12v rail(s). Look below for an example.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage.aspx?CurImage=17-152-029-04.jpg&Image=17-152-029-09.jpg%2c17-152-029-03.jpg%2c17-152-029-04.jpg%2c17-152-029-05.jpg%2c17-152-029-06.jpg%2c17-152-029-07.jpg%2c17-152-029-08.jpg&S7ImageFlag=0&Depa=1&Description=RAIDMAX+RX-500S+500W+Power+Supply
If you look closely at the +12V rail, it states that it has 28A on that rail, which equates to 28 amps. If you can get that info off of your PSU, we can help you better.
 

The x1950XT may be "too" fast. Sure it's fast, but even if you have a good enough PSU, your CPU may be the bottleneck. This leaves the X1950Pro or perhaps the Nv 7800GS or 7600GT, some like the X850XT.
If you can upgrade to a AMD X2, then the X1950XT will fly. I don't know if you can find a X2 for your motherboard.
Forget about 2600XT and DX10 games. Yes the HD 2600 supports DX10, but the card will be too slow to run games with all the good DX10 features and eye candy anyway. The HD 2600XT may be a better choice if you use it for other things, like play HD video to a big 1080p screen.
If it was my dollar, I'll get new everything or wait until Nehalem at end of 2008.
 
Well I checked out my PSU. It has only 280W rating and gives 15A on the +12 rail. Which means neither card will work on my current system. But I am willing to purchase the new PSU. I don't think there should be compatibility problem of new PSU with my current system, i.e. CPU and motherboard (or could there be).

@lunyone: I said I can afford to buy the PSU myself. The only requirement is that I should have 28A on +12V rail (apart from 400W power rating), correct? Thanks for that info.. I thought only wattage was important.

@enewmen: Thats exactly what I feared - bottleneck. As I mentioned, the money is not mine and so I cannot go for a new system as much as I would like to. So I'm even content with GPU which will play all the games in next one and half years at medium settings (at least). I won't be watching any HD video so I'll go for X1950.

So should I go for X1950Pro and get a new PSU?
 
I think you need a complete PC overhaul in my own opinion. I don't think the x1950XT will be fully utilized on an AGP bus let alone with an AMD 3000+.

Also when you say AMD 3000+ do you mean an AMD 64 3000+ or Athlon XP 3000+?
 


um, ... thanks for the support?
 
Being an x1950xt owner, I can highly recommend this card. However, you will, without a doubt, need a much heavier PSU. I was running my card on a 26A 12v rail, but games would crash and when they didn't they would often drop to very low frame rates. ATI recommends a 30A 12v rail, so buying a psu that offers this kind of power should factor in and, frankly, they can get a little expensive for a quality psu with this many amps.

To reiterate, you will have a bottleneck issue. The x1950xt is pushing past the limits that an AGP interface can support. Also, it's probably a little too much card for your cpu. But, if you're not paying for it, then there's really no reason to buy the inferior 2600.
 
I corrected the info.. I have Athlon64 and when I purchased this system three years ago, there was no 939 socket here. And since the money is money is not mine, I cannot go for total system upgrade for at least one and half years. Also, now that its clear that XT OR PRO is going to bottleneck my system, I'll just ask my cousin to bring the cheaper card. No point in burdening him too :)

Also, according to Vista scores, My current system rating is 3.3 due to graphics. The next lowest score is that of CPU and that is 4.1. So, as some guys said, I should get a major boost in gaming experience anyway. After I pass out after 1.5 years, I'll go for total system upgrade and shift this system to home for light use.

Just one question remains - Is there any reason I cannot plug in a new PSU in my system which is compatible with the card? If there is none, I'll get another GB RAM and a PSU with my internship money :) once I get the card.
 
If you have a typical ATX power supply, you can just plug in a new one assuming you have all the connectors you need. But if you have a micro ATX or a proprietary PSU like comes in a Dell, then you can't just plug in any new PSU. Check your current PSU, is there a make and model #?
 
1.5 years? I don't know if you system will last for games at the rate they are firing out system requirements.

Vista? That will kill your gaming right there. Vista is a big fat pig and will hurt your gaming in itself. XP would actually give you better performance. I was monkeying with my friends Vista laptop last night and it sat idle at 800MB, mine sits at 390MB and thats because the ATI Video drivers take up 100MB themself. Just a thought. Vista is all warm and fuzzy looking, but is a hog.

I don't see a reason you can't as long as the PSU physically fits in your case and has the proper mobo connectors, which it should. You could always go for like a 1950PRO AGP card, it costs less and I believe it has lower power requirements and is still better than a 2600.
 


Umm.. mine is some 'Mercury' power supply. Its certainly not proprietary since its an assembled system and it doesn't seem micro ATX. I can't see the model number w/o disconnecting completely. But I just saw a 500W power supply with my friend and from its size and connectors, I think it'll fit mine system too.

@jay2tall: Yeah.. you are right. I definitely may not be able to play the latest games at max res. and settings. But what I wish currently is that I can play at least low-end games (like Pro Evolution Soccer, my favorite) at full settings and new ones at medium setting. Maybe not all, but quite a few of them. Since my current 9550 is able to play games like NFS Carbon, Tiberium Wars, etc. at low to medium settings, I think I should expect to get much higher performance with X1950.
And regarding Vista: I have spent lots of time tweaking to reduce idle RAM requirement to 30-35%. Its difficult to go back to XP right now. If you insist that gaming performance will be better on XP, I think I'll experiment with dual booting with XP and installing games there; once I get my card.

Thanks a lot to all you guys. I'll definitely post my experience with the new GPU when I get one. I'll finalize X1950Pro then.
 
You should be fine with a new PSU then, double check it will have the connectors you need so you aren't out looking for adaptors.

Since you mention Carbon, look just how good the X1950 pro is at Carbon. I had an X1800XT when I bought that game and had to turn down fsaa and off motion blur. I upgraded to a X1950XT and huge difference int hat game, it could handle 4xaa/8xaf and motion blur.
http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=193&Itemid=29&limit=1&limitstart=3

edit if that link doesn't work to the performance charts, here is page one of review:
http://www.elitebastards.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=193&Itemid=29

Considering in games of it's time the 7950GT usually beat the X1950 pro, and the X1800XT was an even match overall, both a bit better than the 7900GS, the X1950 pro really shines in carbon beating the 7950GT and X1800Xt so bad.


I agree you'd be better off with Win XP.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom