Sapphire or Diamond X1950 PRO AGP 512?

MaxLatG

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I've got the following arriving tomorrow, which do I keep?
Sapphire Radeon X1950 PRO AGP 512
Diamond Radeon X1950 PRO AGP 512

System:
Velocity Micro
3.2 P4
2GB Corsair XMS
750W Thermaltake PS
2) 10K RPM 150GB WD HD, RAID 1
2) 7500 RPM 160GB WD HD
Creative X-Fi Platnium
Logitech Z-5500
Samsung 24 in Widescreen
Saitek Backlit keyboard

Yeah, I know all about PCI-E, but this system was it in the day, and it
still kicks tail to most of the computers out there, and if I can wait a year before moving to Vista, then it's worth it.
 

Talon

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Simple answer? Whichever is cheaper. Its doubtful one if much better than the other unless they have a non-standard cooling system or one has a nicer bundle than the other. All things being equal though keep the cheaper and get $ back on the other.
 

MaxLatG

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Those little "Back in stock notification" buttons really work! I actually ordered the Diamond first but 6 hours later recieved a email about the Sapphire, which was $30 less. I've heard good things about Sapphire, but not as much about Diamond.
 

Talon

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Those little "Back in stock notification" buttons really work! I actually ordered the Diamond first but 6 hours later recieved a email about the Sapphire, which was $30 less. I've heard good things about Sapphire, but not as much about Diamond.


Good to know the buttons work :)

Out of curiosity, are you ordering from NCIX.com? Its the only place I've seen both of those listed. Definitely go for the sapphire card.

I made out an order with them today just to see what it would come to after tax etc. It would cost me $285.10 I think it was to get that sapphire card. I really intended to do a complete new build by now but we spent way too much on the kids over Christmas so although I have purchased several things like power supply etc. nothing I've bought ages fast like CPU and GPUs. Back to the drawing board since we spent way more than we planned on xmas and thinking of buying 1950Pro to hold me over til mid to late summer. I just am not happy as I want to be with the 6800GT I have and I can't go full out and finish the system I started just yet.

Must have priorities and first one for me is have the $ saved for a GSXR-750 in the Spring 8O :!:

Can you tell I'm trying to talk myself into the same card yet? hehe hmm better gaming plus a crazy bike in the Spring. Sounds like the perfect compromise to me :D
 

MaxLatG

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Sapphire: allstarshop.com
Diamond: newegg.com

Thanks guys, appreciate your input.

I like your priorities Talon, I'm saving for a 07' ZX-6R.
 

Reubonic

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I've just got a quick question about whether or not my system would bottleneck too terribly if I was to get a x1950 pro 512mb agp card.

Here are my system specs:

a7n8x deluxe
amd 2500+ oc to 3200+
1 gb corsair xms
460w power supply that meets 12v 30a rail requirements
80gb hd

I just don't want to upgrade my entire system yet. This is my last purchase for it probably. My graphics card right now is a 9800 pro.

thx
 

rabbitweasel

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I support Sapphire over Diamond. I've had bad experiences with Diamond such as bogus rebates that nobody gets. Customer support isn't a strong point of them either. While over at Sapphire's side, I've had better results. I'm currently using a X1600XT by them which performs like the competition but their customer service is great.
 

kaotao

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Your setup should be fine for an X1950pro. You PSU should provide just enough juice for it. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but 30A on 12V rail is just about bare minimum.
 

Fulmar

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I'm currently using a X1600XT by them which performs like the competition but their customer service is great.

Worth its weight in gold. Once I find a brand with good customer support, I usually stick with them, even if the price is higher. Finding someone speaking english well is always a challenge.
 

Reubonic

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my power supply technically supports up to 33a but I was just saying it complied with that requirement. I assumed my comps specs are just about as close as you can cut it for this card while still getting a large performance gain from the purchase. 9800 pro vs. x1950 pro should be quite a difference. Maybe I can finally run FEAR at a decent framerate with normal resolutions and put WoW at a larger resolution with better frames.
 

Talon

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Sapphire: allstarshop.com
Diamond: newegg.com

Thanks guys, appreciate your input.

I like your priorities Talon, I'm saving for a 07' ZX-6R.

Thanks for the info MaxLatG. I was looking at a canadian site and maybe I can save a couple pennies going with allstarshop.

Yep its been a few years since I've had a bike. I can almost taste it right now I want that bike so bad. hehe Soon, soon.
 

nevesis

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Why not try them both out, see which one overclocks better, produces highest benchmark results and runs coolest. Then decide
 

blade85

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Your setup should be fine for an X1950pro. You PSU should provide just enough juice for it. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but 30A on 12V rail is just about bare minimum.

not really. My PSU supplies 22amps on the +12V rail and my sapphire x1950 pro runs without a flaw.
 

blade85

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my power supply technically supports up to 33a but I was just saying it complied with that requirement. I assumed my comps specs are just about as close as you can cut it for this card while still getting a large performance gain from the purchase. 9800 pro vs. x1950 pro should be quite a difference. Maybe I can finally run FEAR at a decent framerate with normal resolutions and put WoW at a larger resolution with better frames.

you can real fear at max settings....I run it at max at about an average of 75 fps...going upto 300 at places.
 

Reubonic

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I've got another question about the requirements. Every site for the 512mb cards instead of the 256mb x1950 pro agp card say that you need an Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon 64 FX Cpu, CPU Running at 2.4 GHZ or higher......well, which is it cause my comp is an older Barton 2500+ oc to 3200+ which isn't an athlon 64 by any means...but it still is up there in clock speeds nonetheless.
 

Talon

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Hey MaxLatG, just an update. Newegg posted the sapphire card on their site today for $239.99 so I dove in head first. Was tired of trying to convince myself and just hit SUBMIT and let it work itself out :)

This should be a nice boost to my current system until I can save the side cash again for the rest of the new build components I need. Either way its not a waste to me, friends can always come over and use this system once my new is built probably around early summer now.

To Reubonic: You don't need a specific CPU for this card. Not sure if its written that way on the website or if you're reading too much into it. It could be said that most might recommend a 2.4Ghz Pentium (or equivalent AMD) or above to get the most out of the card and not bottleneck it. But to need that proc just to run the card, absolutely not. Hope that was a clear enough answer.
 

VChuck

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last I checked ZZ&F has em back in stock too.I preordered mine at
Excaliber PC and that was over a month ago still no show with no eta
Yeah they suck [/b]:evil:
 

Valtiel

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the package reads:

"450-Watt power supply or greater, 30 Amps on 12 volt rail recommended"

I don't know how you could be comfortably running it with 8 amps less than reccomended. You must be really stressing your Power Supply. I think the reason you can run it on such a low amount of amps is that you aren't stressing the card very much. I wouldn't make it a big problem unless you were having troubles though.
 

MaxLatG

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Quick update:

I decided to install the Sapphire and I love my computer again. Sweeet! Well worth the $250. Never liked the BFG Geforce 7800 GS OC that was a warrenty install (had a 9700 PRO) after the PS belched flames & took out the mobo and vid card - at least it was 3 months before the warrenty expired.
Now if only MS would fix FSX, you practically need a Cray supercomputer to run that with all of the eye candy on.