Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Your question

Is the X1900XT worth the premium?

Tags:
  • Radeon
  • Games
  • Graphics
Last response: in Graphics & Displays
Share
June 15, 2006 4:35:19 PM

Hello,

I'm currently giving my system a small upgrade, and was wondering if the X1900XT is worth the 50% premium over a X1800XT. Prices being 228€ for the X1800XT, and 336€ for the X1900XT. The system in which they would run is a Venice 3200+ @ ~2.5Ghz, 2x 512Mb Twinx3200C2 on an ASUS A8N-E. Current games they should run are FFXI :roll:, Oblivion, Titan Quest. Future games are things like Bioshock, Supreme Commander, Spore and probably some Unreal Engine 3 RPG/MMORPGs. Games are played at 1280x1024. As you can see I'm not into fps, and thus not very interested in high framerates. Either video-card would be hooked up to a pre-existing watercooling setup, and probably overclocked as far as they go. The reason I ask this is because most benchmarks I come across show very little improvement going from an 1800 to a 1900.

So, is it worth it?

More about : x1900xt worth premium

June 15, 2006 4:55:42 PM

You have to take a few things into account:
What games do you plan on playing?
When will you replace your videocard next?
What else can you do with that extra money?

If you're playing a lot of F.E.A.R. and Oblivion the X1900XT would be worth it.
June 15, 2006 5:19:00 PM

If you are playing Oblivion and you need a card NOW then yes, the X1900XT is worth it.
More so at 1900x1200
at 1280x1024 you can get by with a little less.
About frame-rates. You need framerates even if you think you don't care. Most big cards have good max framerates, but in Oblivon, you need to worry about the min framerates. That is what make games look really choppy sometimes.

I have a 7800GS and I always wish I had something a little faster.

I will personaly rather wait a few months when the next gen cards come out.
Related resources
June 15, 2006 5:28:24 PM

In my opinion, its worth it. As time goes on and more games come out that are even more demanding, the benefit of the 1900 XT will become more apparent. Of course, there's your bank account to keep in balance. If you can afford the 1900 XT, I'd say get it.
June 15, 2006 5:38:57 PM

for any upgrade my philosophy has always been to buy the most that you can afford at the time. I have seen first hand that the higher end the given component is the longer of a lifespan it has. Thus, if you can afford the 1900, get it.

The 1800 is being phased out, and not that it is a bad card at all, but new driver revs will keep revealing the 1900s performance, while the 1800 may be at its peak.

JMO
June 15, 2006 5:41:24 PM

I would personnally buy a x1800xt and in 1 or 2 years
I would get another card of the next gen if you're really into gaming.
The x1800xt runs oblivion (very smooth with HDR) without any problem.
Your CPU will be the bottleneck anyway... ( for future games)


Even a 1900xtx will not run the Unreal Engine 3 with all details at the highest setting. (IMHO)


but the next generation will have no problem.

It's up to you. the +50% is not worth it right now in my opinion.
June 15, 2006 5:44:36 PM

Just want to know the stock speed of a 3200+?
A 3200+ would be the bottleneck, but I have no idea how good the overclock is...

thx
June 15, 2006 6:46:08 PM

Quote:
Just want to know the stock speed of a 3200+?
A 3200+ would be the bottleneck, but I have no idea how good the overclock is...

thx


The stock speed of a 3200+ is 2GHz. He's got a pretty nice overclock at 2.5GHz, and the CPU will not bottleneck the graphics card.
June 15, 2006 6:55:54 PM

Quote:
I'm currently giving my system a small upgrade, and was wondering if the X1900XT is worth the 50% premium over a X1800XT. Prices being 228€ for the X1800XT, and 336€ for the X1900XT. The system in which they would run is a Venice 3200+ @ ~2.5Ghz, 2x 512Mb Twinx3200C2 on an ASUS A8N-E. Current games they should run are FFXI :roll:, Oblivion, Titan Quest. Future games are things like Bioshock, Supreme Commander, Spore and probably some Unreal Engine 3 RPG/MMORPGs. Games are played at 1280x1024. As you can see I'm not into fps, and thus not very interested in high framerates. Either video-card would be hooked up to a pre-existing watercooling setup, and probably overclocked as far as they go.


I've got both cards on AMD rigs and have played Oblivion and other demanding games on both. The 1900XT is clearly superior at 1600x1200 and noticeably smoother at 1280x1024. I found it trivial to OC the 1900 way up but the 1800 doesn't want to budge much.

Quote:
The reason I ask this is because most benchmarks I come across show very little improvement going from an 1800 to a 1900.


I'm not so sure I agree with that statement...

Quote:
So, is it worth it?


Value is too personal for me to make the call for you. I think you can get an HIS 1900XT for something like $430 and a Sapphire 512MB 1800 for $320. A 256MB Sapphire can be had for under $220. So if you go with the 1800 you save $110 to $190.
June 15, 2006 6:57:54 PM

to be honest i wanted to buy myselfe the aiw ati's 1900 but now i think i would be geting the ati's 1900xt and a swparate tv tuner the new chip series (forgot which one lol) althou althou it adds about 40 W more to the power consumption, but to be honest after watching some crisis videos im begining to think that maby just waiting for the next gen gpus till 2007 will the best thing to do........cant stand the wait .. i got my pc in 2001 :(  ...but i think its beter to wait than throw away $$ now on a mediocore card and then be stuck with such hardware .....my advice wait if u can till the dx10 generation cards
June 15, 2006 7:01:22 PM

Oh god YES it is!! It absolutely kills every game there is at the moment at 1280 x 1024 res. Future games probably will stress this card more, but I reckon it could take them on easily (obviously not at full graphical settings, but close I would guess). I have a 4200+ though... so the X1900XT compliments it better. For your 3200+, I reckon maybe the X1800XT would be better choice, but the X1900XT is still a very good option.... its just so POWERFUL... *glee!*
!