Card comparisons, X1800XT v. X1900 v. X AIW X1900

[DrLee]

Good sirs, I need some assistance... I've been lurking the boards looking for advice to choose between some cards. From what I've seen... the 1800xt's beat 7900's (for what I want). So that's taken care off... generally the 1800xt's are a better choice than the 1900 GT. But i'm wary because of similar pricing and to make sure I'm getting what I need.

The setup i'm looking to create will essentially have two 21" monitors rigged in... i'm using the card mainly for gaming, XP system with a Amd X2 Am2 5000x chip. Power isn't really an issue since I will have a 600w or 700w PSU. Heat also shouldnt be an issue for the case/fan setup I'm using.

The Cards in Canadian prices:

ATI Radeon X1900 GT(575MHz) 256MB GDDR3/256 Bit(1.2GHz) 36 Pixel Processors Dual DVI TV-Out PCI Express Graphics Card $359

ATI Radeon X1800 XT CrossFire Ready 256-bit 512MB GDDR3 Dual DVI VIVO PCI Express x16 Video Card $349-399

ATI All-In-Wonder Radeon X1900 256MB GDDR3 Multimedia PCI Express Graphic Card $389

Or...

ATI Radeon X1900 XT(625 MHz) 512MB GDDR3(1.45GHz) Dual DVI TV-Out PCI Express Graphics Card $549

Is it worth the jump to the X1900 XT, the main difference I see is a doubling of the 256MB mem, but meh... years of being a hardware geek suggests to me that, that really isn't as big of a deal as 2x would suggest.
Also, the the 1900 xt has Dual DVI outputs... isnt that the same as the Dual DVI VIVO from the 1800XT, but just worded differently?

From what i've read from you knowledgeable folks... the 1800xt is the way to go, but with the setup i've described... is it still so?

Thanks for any help you folks provide.

 

[prozac26]

X1900XT is best. More pixel shaders, and high clock speeds. Very good card, I recommend you the X1900XT.

 

[enforcerfx]

Agreed. If you short on money though, then i would go with the x1800xt. Both x19 and x18 series are overall good cards.

 

[illicitsc]

go on red flag deals and pick up a x1900xtx for 550 cad flat

 

[DrLee]

go on red flag deals and pick up a x1900xtx for 550 cad flat

Oh dear... 550? What an unforunate price! Yeah, I can pick up the 1900XT for 550 from my local computer shop at retail. I've been looking around at some places for ATI OEM's and found a couple X1900XT's in the range of 420-440 CDN, 350-390 US. I'm a little confused by some of them though since the revision numbers appear to be different (ie. 100-### vs. 102-### etc.) Does it make a big difference?

 

[illicitsc]

i said XTX not xt. oems have 30 day warantee dont they? you sure you ok with that?

 

[DrLee]

i said XTX not xt. oems have 30 day warantee dont they? you sure you ok with that?

Ah sorry, yes I missed that X. Well, they have a limited warranty from the retailers normally, but manufacturers generally still have the 1 year warranty included. It's based on the time of purchase from the retailer.

 

[DrLee]

And yes, you are right perhaps.... 50$ isnt that much of a savings if i can find a 550 pricetag on a 1900XTX, continuing to search on Redflag, nothing yet hehe.

 

[Frankzoola]

either x1800xt or x1900xt, u can get an x1900xt for around 350 on newegg.com, an x1800xt for 230 on newegg , the x1900 AIW is just a tv tuner and video card, dont recommend it, and the x1900gt is worse than the x1800xt that is cheaper, may i suggest to get a cheap card and hold out until DX10? and then either X-FIRE an x1900xt/x1800xt, the x1900xtx is just an oc'ed x1900xt, theres no real differnce, just 75mhz i believe, not worth it

 

[DrLee]

Hey folks, thanks for all your suggestions! I settled on a x1900xtx because i found a great deal... i'm paying $470 CDN ($415 US) for a brand new, sealed built by ati, x1900xtx... couldnt resist!

 

[pauldh]

Good deal; enjoy that beast!

 

[illicitsc]

hey drlee i noticed you in rfd

 

[DrLee]

Hehe, yes, i've been busy collecting parts . Thx for the tip! Whats your RFD alias btw?

 

[illicitsc]

"makubex." is my alias