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Video Card Thread (Mostly Gecube x1950xt)
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 11:02 |
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Triple SLI is being done by a lot of system manufacturers using the 780i platform now, now that the rest of the PC parts industry has lowered prices, that leaves enough room to buy one more 8800 card that still costs as much as it was released 15 months ago. If I had £5000 to spend on PC parts would I do it? Probably not. A 780i board and three8800 Ultras would set me back £1850. A Crossfire-based Gigabyte board and a pair of HD3870s would cost me £360 and would achieve similar results. In a lot of games, a single PCIe board and one HD3870 would get a similar score, and that's only £210 worth. I think you can see my point here, right?
Typical game that supports multiple graphics:
Triple 8800GTX solution: 75fps - £25/fps
HD3870 CF solution: 40fps £9/fps
Single HD3870: 25fps £8/fps
Properly Crossfire-supported game:
Triple 8800GTX solution: 105fps - £18/fps
HD3870 CF solution: 60fps - £6/fps
Single HD3870: 30fps - £7/fps
The other 50% of games on the market:
Triple 8800GTX: 28fps - £66/fps
HD3870 CF solution: 26fps - £14/fps
Single HD3870: 30fps - £7/fps
Triple 8800GTX average: £36/fps
HD3870 CF average: £10/fps
Single HD3870 average: £7/fps
As far as the CS831 goes, it's a stunning case (especially for watercoolers) but it carries the usual top-end case price tag. Equivalent models from Lian Li and Silverstone are equally expensive. The P190 isn't quite so bad because it comes with power supplies.
I wouldn't be too surprised if the Twelve Hundred is far from cheap either, if it comes with that reservoir it'll probably command a price tag of $250 or so I reckon.
Remember: A CS831 at its RRP, with two PSUs in it will probably set you back $550. That third 8800 Ultra is $650...
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. January 2008 @ 11:09
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 11:09 |
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Sam you know what I mean. Fine if not Crysis then COD4 or something. Can't I turn down the resolution? Anyway I'll still enjoy the fact that the screen is so big lol.
That case, well only one pic loaded for me. It's OK, not anything to rave about. Maybe if I could have that display I'd stick it in my case and call it a day. Seriously I don't see what's so good about it. Just a big matte piece of plastic.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 11:13 |
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Lol the Sentry LX is sold separately.
We all have our different tastes in cases, I personally dislike the Cosmos and the Armor, but there you go.
The Cs831 is good because of what's inside it.
I've no idea why you can't load those other photos, but they're well worth looking at.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 11:20 |
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I don't thing have 9 freakin fan still justifies the 400 dollars price mark. Other cases cool fine with have dual intake, dual exhaust, and triple fans on the bottom.
Ray, you're REALLY gonna spend 400 on a new case? Shouldn't you get a decent case for around 200 and buy your self some better RAM?
EDIT: For what it's worth the Stacker 830 is a nice case too.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. January 2008 @ 11:22
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MaccerM
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18. January 2008 @ 11:35 |
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Jeeeesus H! Would anyone here seriously spend £200/$400 on a case!? Does this thing get you up in the morning with a hot cuppa, some toast and a BJ!? That is just ridiculous - that's when you know you've crossed the line from being 'interested' in computers, even past enthusiast that is major 'spotty-kid-bullied-at-school-billy-nomates-massive-geek' sessions!
Q9550 @ 3.4Ghz-1.275v & TRUE, Asus P5N-T Deluxe, 4Gb Dominator 1066 (5-5-5-15), Inno3d OC 8800GTs in SLi with TT Duorbs, 580w 5.1 Setup, 2x DVD-RAM, 320&160Gb SATA2 HDDs, 17" 3ms Hyundai TFT, 700w Jeantech PSU.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 11:38 |
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Haha, yeah maybe he is. You honestly should have to spend more than 170 on a case.
I got mine for 70!
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Senior Member
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18. January 2008 @ 11:45 |
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Well doesnt the CM stacker cost $400 too? Or something around there...
I love the case same recommended because:
Dual 120mm front intake
Dual 120mm rear exhaust
Triple 120mm center fans
Dual PSU slots(not that I'd be using 2 PSUs)
Made of aluminum
Its got a cool screen in the front, although I'm not sure if it really comes with that.
Also, the $400 was an estimate, hopefully the prices will drop quite a bit as I dont plan on getting a new case for quite some time, maybe 4 or 6 months from now as my 900 suits me fine.
Heres some more info on it: http://www.nzxt.com/forum/showthread.php?t=5002
BTW sam, where did you get those photos from??
This was my option before: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811144205
The only thing I dont like about it is that there's only 1 front 120mm fan, but thats ok.
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MaccerM
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18. January 2008 @ 11:47 |
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That's crazy. My current case was bought as a 'performance' P4 system for £800 about 3 years ago. Can't imagine it cost them more than £10 and I certainly wouldn't pay more than £50 for a box to put my bits in!!
Q9550 @ 3.4Ghz-1.275v & TRUE, Asus P5N-T Deluxe, 4Gb Dominator 1066 (5-5-5-15), Inno3d OC 8800GTs in SLi with TT Duorbs, 580w 5.1 Setup, 2x DVD-RAM, 320&160Gb SATA2 HDDs, 17" 3ms Hyundai TFT, 700w Jeantech PSU.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 11:50 |
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The stacker is about 170 with free shipping.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 12:46 |
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The stacker 830 evo costs £170 in the UK, around $330.
Waymon: I got the photos because i'm an active member at NZXT. Lounge.
An Apevia case? Lol for $160 you've got to be yanking my chain. All Apevia/Aspire do is buy out old unused designs, mess around with the fans and add blue LEDs. $400 may be a lot for The CS831, but I'd say $160 for the X-Jupiter is just as much a rip off.
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Senior Member
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18. January 2008 @ 12:52 |
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Oh ok, I just found out the one I saw came with a PSU... So I guess thats why it was more money.
I still would either take the Aprevia or the soon to be released NZXT over the stacker though, as I would image those cases are designed more for watercooling than aircooling (unlike my 900...).
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 13:00 |
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Man you spent so much money on that watercooling setup. If you head over to anandtech they show you that air cooling actually cools BETTER than water cooling.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 13:04 |
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Apevia PSUs aren't worth anything. I'd pay someone to take one off my hands, they're so shoddy.
Abuzar: Now you know that isn't true. It's just that some watercooling setups are beaten by some air cooling setups (namely WC kits are crap, but properly designed systems will beat any air cooling setup, full stop)
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 13:08 |
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I don't know much about them but the Corsair Nautullus(sp?) was beaten out by the Thermalright 120.
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Senior Member
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18. January 2008 @ 13:11 |
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 14:21 |
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VR-Zone! I knew one site had pointed out the differences, I couldn't remember which...
Abuzar: The Corsair Nautilus is one of the worst watercooling kits ever made...
What's worth mentioning is that this is a stunt nvidia have been pulling for years - reduced rendering detail in favour of better fps. It's enough to make someone obsessed with image quality like myself favour ATi products, but I don't consider myself a fanboy, because I happily recommend nvidia's products to other people if they're not going to care as much.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. January 2008 @ 14:39
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MaccerM
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18. January 2008 @ 16:09 |
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Interesting screens. I had seen them all before apart from the top two, and the 8800 looks appalling in comparison in those. In the others I cannot see a difference apart from the contrast seems higher in the 3870 shots, which makes the shadows that are there seem more rich. But yes, no shadows in the water - that's pretty rubbish really! And the bottom left corner on the beach looks like a completely different texture. I can't believe though that the non-rendering of these shadows accounts for the whole performance gap between the cards. Surely the 8800 is actually be able to render these? If so, a cynicist might deduce that Nvidia thinks that many people in the market for a new graphics card will be making their choice based upon Crysis performance and therefore as Sam says the bigger the fps gap the more likely Joe pub is to buy a 8800. Does anyone know of this rendering disparity in any other titles?
Edit: Apart from Tomb raider!
Q9550 @ 3.4Ghz-1.275v & TRUE, Asus P5N-T Deluxe, 4Gb Dominator 1066 (5-5-5-15), Inno3d OC 8800GTs in SLi with TT Duorbs, 580w 5.1 Setup, 2x DVD-RAM, 320&160Gb SATA2 HDDs, 17" 3ms Hyundai TFT, 700w Jeantech PSU.
This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 18. January 2008 @ 16:11
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 16:22 |
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It's supposed to be really prominent in Oblivion too, but I've not seen any direct comparisons... I think all the big hitting games exhibit it, it's just an underhand tactic really to attract fanboys.
3dmark03 is probably the worst.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 17:08 |
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Senior Member
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18. January 2008 @ 18:24 |
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Is it 3DMark06 stable? I mean, surely you can clock it to that but can you go about playing games on it?
And where does it say it's on air?
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 18:33 |
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It says it's on a Thermal Right 120. The thing is that G0 stepping CPUs don't get that hot so you don't need water cooling.
No hard feeling Ray, I'm not trying to downplay what you have. I'm just saying for the people here that can't afford water cooling that air cooling is an excellent option of you get good enough parts.
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MaccerM
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18. January 2008 @ 18:47 |
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Ok, so I've re-installed Crysis, and I've installed the very high quality mod that Ray posted. I took a dip into the water on the first level and this is what I got:
Sorry it's a bit dark but I hope you should be able to see some shadows of rocks in the water. Now, according to the 'no 8800GT shadows in the water' rule, does this apply to every rock in every bit of water or does the 8800 only miss out some? I'll have to play on a bit and find the scenes from the VRzone sshots. One thing is for sure, with vhq I have two options; 1024x768 with 4xAA or 1280x1024 with no AA. In high it would run 1280 with AA but now it's noAA or 20fps!
Q9550 @ 3.4Ghz-1.275v & TRUE, Asus P5N-T Deluxe, 4Gb Dominator 1066 (5-5-5-15), Inno3d OC 8800GTs in SLi with TT Duorbs, 580w 5.1 Setup, 2x DVD-RAM, 320&160Gb SATA2 HDDs, 17" 3ms Hyundai TFT, 700w Jeantech PSU.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 19:45 |
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It only misses out some, surely you an just look at the picture and see that. It's not that there aren't any shadows, it's just that some don't look right. Without a 3870 for comparison you may not even notice - hence why nvidia do it.
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AfterDawn Addict
2 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 19:58 |
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Sorry guys but I think I might go with a 8800GT in my next build. I didn't notice a big difference in those pics and it IS faster. If it were up to me I would still get a 3870, but honestly it's easier to sell a computer with a 8800 series card.
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AfterDawn Addict
4 product reviews
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18. January 2008 @ 20:00 |
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Another downside of the continual sales process eh?
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