Updating Video Card and Motherboard S939, Suggestions Please

[EllisD420]

Hi Everybody,

I have been thinking lately that i have always been a few years behind in buying video hardware (i just got my Radeon 9800 AIW 128MB about 6 months ago for its rich feature set and decent gaming performance) so i wanted to spice things up a bit and get an ATI Radeon X1900XT.

My first question is...i have seen these boards put out by ATi's partners (Sapphire, Asus, Powercolor, HIS) as well as ATI. Am i best to stick with a "built by ati" card or go with a "powered by ati" card? No matter which way i look at it all the specs look identical (and the boards do too) so is it just personal preference?

At the moment i have an ASrock 939Dual-SATAII mobo which i think is pretty solid, but with the purchace of a new PCI-E video card, i think i want to upgrade this too...possibly to a DFI board because i have heard that they overclock really well. (currently with my board, i can get no more than %10 increase on my AMD64 3500+ venice. Im just starting in this whole overclocking world, but am fascinated by it and want to get hardware with good capabilities)

This leads to my second question. What S939 motherboard would be a good choice? I see the same asus, dfi, msi SLI motherboards in all the forums so i assume they are good but truthfully, i dont see myself using SLI|Crossfire technology so i dont necessairly need a board that will support this. Just a good quality board that will overclock well and handle my current hardware minus my current video card. Also, mobo price dosnt matter.

Thanks in advance for your help.

EllisD

 

[illicitsc]

go for the cheapest x1900. they'll all be good.
as for the ocing i have the same ram as u but i got 44% oc. lower your timings and raise vcore and vdimm. and dont get xfire boards. stick to single card. so just get a nforce4 ultra board from dfi/asus/abit w/e. u should hit 2.8 pretty easily providing your chip aint a dud.

 

[EllisD420]

Thanks for the input. I looked up a review or 2 on that motherboard that you suggested and i liked what i saw. I know for sure that i will get the video card when i get my tax return back and when i go get that, i will decide on a motherboard. But that EpoX board is one of the best one for my needs that i have seen yet. One thing though, i dont know if anyone knows off hand, but i have heard that my PSU (antec neo he550) dosnt like some motherboards, ive heard asus and possibly dfi. Im hoping this boards isnt one of the incompatible ones.

Also, illicitsc, what motherboard do you have? i am curious to know what your oc settings are. I am a total nOOb when it comes to overclocking, my 1st and only attempt was when i over-cautiously bumped up to 11.0 X 219mhz with everything else stock. Ive read quite a few guides but with the way i learn stuff, they dont paint a clear enough picture to give me confidence. Im sure it will pass though.

Thanks again.

 

[baracuda73]

The Powercolor cards are usually clocked slighty slower than the rest of the manufacturers you listed. Asus in general has a good rep and HIS cards have seen very good reviews. Only real difference between the ATI and the powered by ATI would be HIS usually runs a larger heat sink and cooler so some models of the partner boards could be louder or quieter than the ATI.

 

[EllisD420]

WooHooooo ! I got an Ati x1900XT today and it screams!! System specs in my sig, old scores are with my ATI AIW 9800 Pro 128MB. Here are some comparisons:

Old 3D Mark Scores

01' SE Build 330 - 18757
03' v3.6.0 - 6061
05' v1.2.0 - 2634
06' v1.0.2 - 611

New 3d Mark Scores

01' SE Build 330 - 25465
03' v3.6.0 - 16672
05' v1.2.0 - 9582 Web Lilnk 05'
06' v1.0.2 - 4409 Web Link 06'

I am definetly more than pleased, can play all my games at max eye candy. NFS Most Wanted has never looked so sweeeet.