Is it worth the extra $70?

If you have the dough and you can't stand your x800GTO, I would go with the X1900GT. I myself am waiting for the DX10 cards but then again I have a 7800GT so it is a lot easier for me to wait  

lol.. I could wait too, if I had a 7800GT. But, the X800GTO, while a nice card, has been 'unhappy' ever since I bought a widescreen monitor..  

I just don't know if the performance jump from an X800GTO to a 7600GT would be significant enough (or make me happy enough) to warrant not spending the $65-70 for the X1900GT.

The only reason I chose the X1900 was because of the 128-bit difference for the memory interface. The extra 128-bit will give you some more power but not that much. If you are just trying to get a cheap card that will last you until DX10 I would get the 7600GT.

new drivers don't help? Maybe contact ATI and see what they say...

I really believe you should save up for DX10 especially since its only one more month when we will have some concrete data.

Yes, I did download new drivers and the resolution is supported. I was just use to running 1024x768 or 800x600 with everything turned up (well turned up enough to run stuff fluidly and still look good). I can't lower my resolution and do that now, since the monitor is fixed. Well, I can lower the resolution, but I'd really rather not.

I know in a month Nvidia is suppose to (hopefully) release their DX10 cards, but I usually don't like to jump on the first cards which come out, either.. *shrugs*.

If it's worth it to just save and deal with the video card I have now, I'll go for that too. I'm just looking for as many opinions as I can get and hopefully be able to decide the best route to go.  

Thank you all so far!

There's an open box X1800XT for $170. It's faster than the GT. 625Mhz core and 1500mhz memory and has 16 pixelpipelines. But it's an Openbox, I don't know what happened to it. But I think it would last you till DX10 card.

First, I'd personally wait for Dx10 generation of VPU to come out before upgrading.

In case you have more $ than me   , good for you and yes, the X1900GT is definitly worth the extra 70$. First reason is 256-bit bus ve 128 for the 7600. Other one is more "horse power" in general.

I would hold out if you could. I think DX10 GPUs should be available in December from nVidia. That's just two months away.

Then again, I been putting up with my Radeon 9800Pro until this past August when I built a C2D E6600 system with the X1900XT.

The money issue is not really relevant, when it comes to sub-$200. Just trying to find the better bang for the buck. If waiting is more worth it, the x1900 or the 7600GT.

I'm just a bit unhappy with the x800gto at the moment..

I'd really like to go.. "WOOHOOO pretty graphics!" Again.   Considering when I got the x800gto, I had a 9600Pro.. It almost feels like I'm at that point again.

There is this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E1681...

Are open-box cards decent from Newegg though, or is it running too big of a risk?

Sorry, guys, not trying to spam here.. I should have edited my previous post (instead of making two in a row), but I'm still trying to get use to the board's software.

Considering you can get the eVGA 7900 GTO for only 50 bucks more than an X1900GT and OC the memory on the GTO back to GTX speeds, I'd suggest getting the 7900GTO or wait 1 month for Nvidia to release their DX10 card.

This will make DX9 cards "obsolete" and a big price drop will probably follow for these cards.

Alright, thanks everyone so far for all your help.

I'm getting the idea/hint that it's probably best to just wait a month or two and get a new card as they're released.

I'd prefer ATI, honestly, but until real data comes out on DX10 cards, it'll be hard to judge until then.

If you want to play at that high resolution, you're best bet is to spend the $250 for an X1900 XT 256mb or a 7900 GTO.

I really have no choice but to play at that resolution.  

I don't like scaling down the resolution on an LCD monitor. I thought I wouldn't like gaming at all on an LCD, but the one I bought has proven that thought wrong.

The two card i was pondering. I went with the GTO and hope it's a pretty good upgrade to my 7800GT. I think i'm going to try my first over clock on this 7900GTO and play around with it until DX10 games are out. I am convinced by these post that since the GTO runs cooler after OC it will be faster than the X1900XT 256 card. My vote goes the the 7900GTO.

I've heard storys how it is actually a GTX card and they sticker over the GTX with the letters GTO? If this is true $245 I paid was one heck of a deal from newegg. By looking at the cooler i'm sure NVIDIA probably just getting rid of stock at a low profit margin. Perhaps it's one of those limited editon special cards but I wouldn't want to pass up a great deal.

From your orginal card i'm sure you would want to make a larger upgrade than the 7600GT. If you're sick of playing games at lower resolution go with the GTO probably can last thru until the DX10 matures.

IMO, no. The x1900gt doesn't exactly whoop the 7600gt or the x850xt pe. The 7600 and x850 actually beat the 1900gt in a few benchmarks. I would say if you are going to shell out the money, get the x1900xt for $235. I personally would wait until DX10, that GTO should be holding up fine at your resolution. (which actuall has less pixels then 1280x1024)

Thats probably the best answer posted so far, defintely supporting cleeve once again  

Remember that if you want to play dx10, you need to factor in more then just a new video card. Vista does cost a bit of money. DX10 will not come to Windows XP (correct me if they have changed this). So if you want to upgrade to the best dx9 card you will still be limited in what you can do when dx10 comes out, AND games for dx10 start showing up.


I would spend the least amount of money now, if need be, then save for the new DX10 cards and the new OS.

And you would not want to buy a DX10 card UNTIL a DX10 required game comes out that you like. No reason to buy one as soon as they come out unless you want to play Crisis with full I candy. Other then that game, i cant think of any dx10 games comming out that is worth while (at dx10 launch).

At higher resolutions, or high image quality settings - where the difference counts - I think it does.

I wish they would still benchmark games in 640x480.

Anyway... he did say hes running high resolutions so the beter card would make a beter difference.

Sure, I agree, I think the gt is a better card, almost obviously, but I don't think it justifys the price difference when the x850 can still handle all the games out well. Given the lack of SM3 and HDR, but like everyone says, DX10 is coming out soon, and I think most would be just as satisfied with a 7600gt or the x850 as the 1900gt.

It is a big decision, but you mostly want to consider the games that you plan to play. For me, it was going from an ATI 9200SE/Intel Graphics to the x850, which is obviously, night and day.

Okay, thank you everyone for responding.

I think I'll take the advice of Cleeve and some others and grab either the 7900GTO or x1900xt. Which ever is a better deal next Wednesday, will probably be the one I spring for. I think I'll go this route, since I don't want to jump on a 1st generation dx10 video card, though even if they do turn out to be nice cards right off the bat, I can always put the 7900/x1900 in my son's computer.  

What kind of PSU is suggested for either one of those?

No, each generation of videocard has architecture that will natively support certain features. That's why some cards are 'DirectX 8' cards, others are 'DirectX 9', even others are 'DirectX 9b', etc.

A machine with a DirectX 8 card can run DirectX 9 API - which includes alot of things other than graphical stuff - but it still won't support the DirectX 9 visual features.

Hope that helped.

I just talked to a guy who works at gamestop who just went to a huge gaming conference in Dallas. They let them play/preview a demo of a game using DX9, which looked great, and then let them play the DX10 version, and he said he was stunned at how much better the DX10 version was.

If DX10 was 6+ months away, I would say go for a new card now. But seeing how the manufacturers are probably busting ass to get them to market for Christmas, I WOULD WAIT.

Then again, my son would be quite happy with a hand-me down x1900xt/7900GTO, while I get a new dx10 card (after they've matured a little bit).. would he not?   Currently he's running a basic 6600 pci-e.

It really is a toss-up whether to go with the 7900GTO or x1900xt.. Depending on who you listen to, or what you read about, it really goes back and forth over which is better...

Your son will love you for your decision. It isn't like these cards will become obsolete. Think about it, people with 9800s are still able to play alot of games today. That x1900 or GTO should last you a good while, given, some of the more demanding games in the near future may stress it out a little, that is always going to be the case with the tech world.

I'm still not sure which one to go with.. the only bonus for me, that the Nvidia has over the ATI card is that it runs cooler, with it's stock cooling setup. Other than that, I'd rather stick with ATI.

Decisions, decisions.  

at this point, comparing the GTO and xt 256, it comes down to brand preference. If you are more comfortable with ATI, get the xt, and vice versa. The xt is about $15 cheaper, and I would probably go with it if it were me.