Is a sapphire x1950xt beter than a gecube x1950xt? (256 vs 512)?

[illuminatirex]

hi, i was planning on getting a sapphire x1950xt card with 256mb's but i noticed a gecube one with 512 or memory, both are ddr3, which one is better?
I initially would go with sapphire since i have one of their cards currently and did not had a single problem with it at all, but i notices that teh gecube has the new heatsink, is it better than the old one? more quiet? cooler?

sapphire:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168141 020 67


gcube:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814241063



Thank You for all comments.

 

[4745454b]

As long as the clock and bus speeds are the same, there shouldn't be much difference between the two. The one with more memory should allow for higher resolutions and better textures, but at lower resolutions there wouldn't be much difference frame wise. Its very possible one has a better cooling solution then the other, whether thats worth extra money is up to you.

 

[illuminatirex]

hi, thx for the reply, i forgot to mentione teh important part ...my monitor will only reach 1280x1024 rexolution, and my other specs are 2 gigs of ram, and a core 2 du o E6600, and also a sapphire x850xt.

so would the extra 256 bm's be worth that $30 more? is teh new cooling beter? than the old one? i couldnt find any review of the gecube card , which card is a better buy?

 

[4745454b]

I can't answer that as I can't get your first link to work. (not your fault, Toms has really crappy forum software now...) HIS often has really good cooling solutions, and $30 for double the ram is a pretty good price. While the res you play doesn't need it, if you can swing it I'd get the card with more ram. IMO, $30 is a low price to pay for what the card offers.

 

[illuminatirex]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814241063
hopefull it will work now (first link)

btw is it beter maby to wait for a 2900 PRO card?
but guess a good dx9 card is better than a mediocore dx10, and 9 card

 

[4745454b]

Its the Gcube one that has always worked, the Sapphire link has issues. And I meant to say gcube when I said HIS.

 

[illuminatirex]

lol sorry here is teh sapphire one:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102067

 

[4745454b]

Random thoughts.

At the res you play at, I doubt there would be a difference at all. The Gcube because it has more memory is able to display uncompressed textures (ultra or high settings depending on the game). If you are a gamer, this might be worth it.

They are the same price, but only if you are willing to wait for the rebate.

The gcube lacks VIVO, while the sapphire has it. If you ever wanted to try recording stuff, this card would let you do it.

I still think I'd get the gcube. VIVO is nice, but the gcube allows for higher game settings.

 

[illuminatirex]

i have a tv wonder 650 and i often record tv shows on it (about 2 hours or an hour per week), but i guess the x850xt does not have the VIVO and i still am happy with the vizual quality that i get fom it (using that maximal mp4 encoding)
so i think i will go with the Gecube, althou I never had one of their cards ...btw i would be able to record the tv shows and such as well or even better than I am at present , is that correct? (since the 1950xt is a better card)
btw I searched online for some info about the cooler that that gecube card has , in relation the the sapphire cooler, but I can not find any info anywhere , hopefully its more efficient, and quieter, since my current x850xt is sometimes driving me nuts, since i usually dont turn on the game sound so loud, nor do i like using headphones much)
thx again for teh comments, all were very helpful, if there is anythign more I am eager to know, I will probably read up some more and maby order teh gecube in about 6 or 7 hours, or tommorow afternoon, just to be certain im making the right choice.

 

[illuminatirex]

Lemme get this right. Your asking if 512mb on your video card is better than 256mb??
I would think that common sense would tell you the more memory the better....guess not.

lol i dind not ask if 512 is beter than 256, i asked if the mamory will have any influence in watching videos/recording them, considering that gecube does not have avivo,, and had 512 bm's of memory, and the 256mb sapphire has avivo....thats what i ment

 

[4745454b]

Whoa, hold up here. I said the Gcube doesn't have VIVO. As a product from the x1k series, it should still have AVIVO. There is a difference between VIVO and AVIVO. VIVO simply allows for video inputs along with the video outputs commonly found on video cards these days. AVIVO is built into the x1k series of cards and has NOTHING to do with inputting or outputting video. AVIVO is the feature that can transcode video using your AMD video card, or apply filters to video files so that they look better. While it lacks VIVO (not a biggie for you seeing as you have a dedicated card.), it should still support AVIVO.

Common sense? More like retarded thinking. Gone are the days where you know which card is faster because it has more memory. If you think more memory = better performance, please buy a 7600GS with 512MBs of ram. I'll buy a 7900GS with "only" 256MBs of ram. You tell me your frame rates, and I'll tell you mine. I suggest educating yourself with how video cards work. Look up the term clock speeds, bus width, pixel pipelines, pixel shader, and memory bandwith. Perhaps after doing some reading you'll understand how things work.

 

[illuminatirex]

Whoa, hold up here. I said the Gcube doesn't have VIVO. As a product from the x1k series, it should still have AVIVO. There is a difference between VIVO and AVIVO. VIVO simply allows for video inputs along with the video outputs commonly found on video cards these days. AVIVO is built into the x1k series of cards and has NOTHING to do with inputting or outputting video. AVIVO is the feature that can transcode video using your AMD video card, or apply filters to video files so that they look better. While it lacks VIVO (not a biggie for you seeing as you have a dedicated card.), it should still support AVIVO.

Common sense? More like retarded thinking. Gone are the days where you know which card is faster because it has more memory. If you think more memory = better performance, please buy a 7600GS with 512MBs of ram. I'll buy a 7900GS with "only" 256MBs of ram. You tell me your frame rates, and I'll tell you mine. I suggest educating yourself with how video cards work. Look up the term clock speeds, bus width, pixel pipelines, pixel shader, and memory bandwith. Perhaps after doing some reading you'll understand how things work.

Thank You for all the information...and the patience with me , lol sorry i read it as avivo(dint have much sleap since saturday...my reading got sloppy)
I guess ill go with the Gecube card, since i Usually do not connect teh card to any other monitors, and teh added 2 times more memory I guess would help me squieez some more life out fo the card later on in that year or 2.
thank You once again for all the help, the only thing now is to just find out wheather gecube is a reliable comapny , and wheather their new(er) cooling solution is a good one, it looks like its a all copper hs, so thats good, and i read that its quite heavy, so i guess its really copper ...not painted aluminum(like it was teh case of my P5W - DH deluxe motherboards, pipes connecting the nothbridge, and southbridge )
the only thing ifound out about teh gecube cars is taht it has a 628MHz core clock and the sapphire one has a 625MHz core clock, that was the info on neweggs site(not even the gecube has the clocking info, nor does the ati site, they only have the xtx clocks), is this correct, i thought usually the clocks are rather simmilar, but i guess thats because its an "x series" lol overclocked by 3MHz lol

 

[SEALBoy]

I would say pay the extra $30, for double the RAM that is a small price to pay, and will help you in newer games and also allow you to turn up AA and stuff.

 

[illuminatirex]

^ thx for teh advice, I also think I will go with this (512) card, Im currently looking at a decent PSU, to match my power requirements....something not too big, with good efficiency, and possibly "disconnectable" cables, lol and maby 4 more new fans for my case, since i am still using the original thermaltake ones that came with my case about 3 years ago or so.

 

[SEALBoy]

"disconnectable" cables, the proper term is "modular"

Glad that you made your choice. good luck.

 

[illuminatirex]

"disconnectable" cables, the proper term is "modular"

Glad that you made your choice. good luck.

thx , I forgot the exact name of it ...sorry ...had less than 2 hours of sleep since saturday morning...I guess that might be the cause

 

[Guest]

Hey guys, i was also looking into that same GeCube 1950XT and Sapphire one. I have a question concerning my power supply though. I cant find any info on how many amps or watts they take. If anyone has that info, please tell me.

My current PSU is rated at 460W max, Dual 12V rails both at 16Amps a rail. The link to it http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817374001. Now I now its not a good name PSU manufact., but could I run this card without upgrading PSU for a while?

My other PC specs are:
Giga-byte M55SLI-N4
3800+ Orleans AM2
1GB DDR2 800
1*250GB SATA
1*DVD Drive
4*120mm LED fans and fan controller

I used the calculator at xtreme psu site and found that i should have enough watts, but im scared about the ampage.

 

[illuminatirex]

^ hi, im also concerned about my amps, and thats why i have to get a new psu, but not certain which one a 650W or a 700W one, to stay a bit "futureproof" for my next dx10 card which ill get in about a year or 2

 

[4745454b]

Check AMDs website, but I think the XT takes either 28 or 30A on the 12V rail. The PSU you linked to can output a max of 320W on the 12V rail, which works out to 26.6A. (320 / 12) Considering the quality of the PSU, I would get a new one.

 

[illuminatirex]

hi, just found a good (i think psu), is this a good one?
would a 700W psu be an overkill?

 

[4745454b]

No link, can't say if its good or not.

 

[illuminatirex]

the 700W is here, and i think it has much more wiring that i need, so i will be able to save smoe space since it modular:
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Power/ToughPower/W0106/w0106.asp

the second one is a 650W:

http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Power/ToughPower/W0128/w0128.asp

both are SLI certified, and are up to 85% efficient
the 700W one has a pciexpress 2.0 plug, and has lots of safety, and other certificates, so i was leaning more towards that one, even thou i think its a major overkill, and was initially thinking about going with a 650W PSU

 

[illuminatirex]

btw here is a complete list of thermaltake psu's:
http://www.thermaltakeusa.com/product/Power/power_index.asp

btw is the imput current 10A mean that it takes 10A all the time or only at the peak, and takes in less when less power is consumed? im asking since my pc is plugged to a socket (in wall) that has a breaker of only 15Amps, and i also have a airconditioner connected to the came circuitbreaker in teh apartment which uses 4.9 Amps, so hopefully ill be able to use both at teh same time without straining the circuitry much.

 

[RetiredChief]

Ref to 10 Amp input current. That rating would be for surge current when fully loaded. I would estimate a max of 5 A, more likely about 4A.
Based on 120V input, 80% eff. and 450 Watt required for computer system (Majority of 450 W required for 12V rail)

 

[illuminatirex]

^ thank You for the help so then i shouldnt be worried about it, i thought the GPU would used 10A all th eime. thank you agin.