Topic: Video Card Question from One Out of the Market for a While (Read 8449 times)

Dracho · « **Reply #20 on:** January 29, 2008, 12:32:48 pm »

PCI-Express also allows 16-bit commmunication up-and-down the channel, between 2 locations, which is why 2 cards in Crossfire or SLI mode are able to work.

IMHO PCI-e doesn't really "shine" until you're dealing with multiple graphics cards.

Don Karnage · « **Reply #21 on:** January 29, 2008, 01:21:27 pm »

what will you do with 2 graphic card?

Dracho · « **Reply #22 on:** January 29, 2008, 01:30:44 pm »

I use 2 HD2600 XT cards in Crossfire mode, which basically lets the 2 cards act as one "supercard". They split the load between themselves and will run far more detail far faster than a single card alone.

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics_sli2007.html

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Specific.aspx?ArticleId=14474

Don Karnage · « **Reply #23 on:** January 29, 2008, 02:48:27 pm »

seem good, so you need to identical card for that?

Dracho · « **Reply #24 on:** January 29, 2008, 03:15:06 pm »

For crossfire the cards need to be in the same "family". You can match a 2600 X with a 2600 pro, for instance.

With SLI, cards must be identical, and one card must be an SLI edition.

Don Karnage · « **Reply #25 on:** January 29, 2008, 03:50:50 pm »

how doest it work?, how the card work together?

Dracho · « **Reply #26 on:** January 29, 2008, 04:08:44 pm »

Well, that depends (of course)..

Some models require an internal cable between cards, some require an external cable, and the X1600 family uses software.

If you click the second link I gave you, that's actually a several page article that goes into some depth about the differences between SLI (Nvidia) & Crossfire (ATI) and how they work.

Don Karnage · « **Reply #27 on:** January 29, 2008, 05:10:08 pm »

so you use that for a game that required a lot of graphic, is it good for sfc?

E_Look · « **Reply #28 on:** January 29, 2008, 08:40:01 pm »

Hey, about those ATI Radeon HD 2600XT cards- is there really that much of a performance difference between the 256 MB and the 512 MB versions?

Javora · « **Reply #29 on:** January 29, 2008, 11:33:40 pm »

Quote from: E_Look NCC-9091 on January 29, 2008, 08:40:01 pm

Hey, about those ATI Radeon HD 2600XT cards- is there really that much of a performance difference between the 256 MB and the 512 MB versions?

I don't think there is a difference but others may disagree. But given the machine you are planning on putting that card in I wouldn't worry about that extra 256 MB of Ram on a video card.

Dracho · « **Reply #30 on:** January 30, 2008, 12:05:00 am »

I think the bigger difference is to get one with DDR3 or DDR4, instead of DDR2. Where 512 comes in is if you have an explosion with smoke or something, it might be a tad smoother.

I am running a 939 board, so I am going to have a 128 memory bottleneck regardless. That's part of why I decided not to splurge on a Hd 2900.

Lloyd007 · « **Reply #31 on:** January 30, 2008, 01:24:09 am »

Having enormous amounts of memory is useful for the special bells and whistles that require lots of textures and blooms and such at 1600x1200 with full AA, AF and etc. I got the 320mb version of the 8800gts and so far I've yet to meet a game that slows my card down (except Supreme Commander with thousands of units on screen but from what I gather even the best vid card struggles with that game).

Pestalence_XC · « **Reply #32 on:** January 30, 2008, 02:22:55 am »

Why crossfire ATI cards .. you only get the same performance as 1 NVidia 8800 GTX card.. the GTX 8800 I am getting with my taxes is running twin 626 Mhs GPU's at 128 but thru put taking 1 PCIe slot and has 740 MB gDDR3 memory.. then you can connect SLI for 2 cards if you have 2 PCIe slots.. makes Radeon look like kids cards..

Also Radeon is having trouble with the newer systems like Vista systems, where NVidia is built and designed for Intel and Microsoft.. Radeon is designed for AMD and has trouble with support for Vista and some XP system configs.. Case in point.. I have an ATI All In Wonder 2006 x1300 card.. Vista supports the GPU and gDDR2 memory but the TV Tuner does not work on Vista and ATI refuses to support the card and it is not even 14 months old..

However my sister has a NVidia Geforce 7600 PCIe running about the same specs (GPU is a little faster) and it wnet into the vista machine without having to install drivers.. flawless.. the haupauge TV Tuner card worked just fine as well..

ATI has not yet answered my service tickets as to why they won't support the card I paid $215.99 for...

The only thing I have to do to my system with my new card coming up is upgrade the power supply.. and I am getting an Ultimate SLI ready 750w power supply for $79

I don't mind ATI except their history of lack of support and poor drivers... that is something Nvidia hardly ever has...

The customer support I have recieved from ATI has made me vow to never buy their faulty equipment ever again.

the All In Wonder card above was even broke for XP.. they never supported full channel functionality of the card )channels would not tune in) and the card was supposedly XPSP 2 MCE 2005 designed.. but it never worked correctly.. out of the 4000 service tickets ATI recieved on the issue, it was still never fixed after a year and a half...

that is customer service for you..

their latest response to me was to buy another vid card if you can believe that.. so I am.. NVidia !!!

Bonk · « **Reply #33 on:** January 30, 2008, 02:38:38 am »

Video cards are like cars. Buying the latest model new is a complete ripoff. Look at 2 year and older technology only. At this point the advances in two years are not significant compared to the overall technology level. Seriously, take that 600 bucks and buy an old beater of a car and total it, you'll have way more fun in an afternoon than GTA-IXIVLLXVII will ever provide.

Dracho · « **Reply #34 on:** January 30, 2008, 07:05:40 am »

I'm on Crossfire because of the technology I have and not wanting to replace the entire inside of my computer.

The next time I upgrade I'll go Intel Quad Core with Nvidia SLI, but it's going to be another 2-3 years, and like Bonk said, I don't need the latest, greatest, most expensive.

E_Look · « **Reply #35 on:** January 30, 2008, 12:16:01 pm »

Hmmm...

... great conversation so far.

So, in my kid's rig, with its dated components like the Athlon XP chip, AGP port, and simple DDR RAM, could Call of Duty 4 run properly in it with either the ATI HD 2600 XT or one of the nVidia 7000 series cards?

Pestalence_XC · « **Reply #36 on:** January 30, 2008, 12:44:57 pm »

Should work no problem.. so long as the card says AGP slot..

Dracho · « **Reply #37 on:** January 30, 2008, 12:47:47 pm »

Yep.. you may have to set some graphic settings below maximum detail, but you should still be able to see plenty of body parts.

I'm playing Brothers in Arms, Earned in Blood again and loving it on max detail.

E_Look · « **Reply #38 on:** January 31, 2008, 09:43:19 am »

Ah, Pestalence, you have to just hope that AMD might improve ATI's handling of drivers and customer service.

* * *

Well, I'm in no real hurry to upgrade his video card. I'll sit on this to see how prices move over the next little while. In the meantime, maybe I'll dig that 512 MB stick of RAM out of the basement and pop it in for a total of 1.5 GB and see if it might do as short term quick fix.

Don Karnage · « **Reply #39 on:** January 31, 2008, 10:17:13 am »

this should be good for you

http://www.nvidia.com/object/graphics_cards_buy_now.html

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