Is this 7900 GT with zalman v900 worth $100?

[devilray26]

what do you think guys? its either this or 2900GT

 

[mactronix]

Personally no from my price point in the UK i can get a new 1950PRO shipped for a little shy of £80.
Mactronix.

 

[Dahak]

Yes it is.First,you have the fact that it's an EVGA video card,which comes with a limited lifetime warranty,including overclocking.The performance is very nice for what it is.Also that ZALMAN 900 series after market coolers are very good and worth at least 50 dollars anyways.So ya,for 100 dollars I would buy it.Goodluck.

Dahak

M2N32-SLI DELUXE WE
X2 5600+ STOCK (2.8GHZ)
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TOUGHPOWER 850WATT PSU
EVGA 7950 GX2 550/1400
SMILIDON RAIDMAX GAMING CASE
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250GIG HD/320GIG HD
G5 GAMING MOUSE
LOGITECH Z-5500 5.1 SURROUND SYSTEM
500WATS CONTINUOUS,1000 PEAK
WIN XP MCE SP2

 

[delluser1]

Yes it is.First,you have the fact that it's an EVGA video card,which comes with a limited lifetime warranty,including overclocking.

If the card has never been registered this would be a good thing, the fact that the card is modded and that the seller does not have the original cooler negates the warranty even if it is unregistered.

 

[pauldh]

I would not pay that much for a used 7900GT. $100 for a used card I would want a X1900XT, which is alot better. Also, X1950 pro's are about equal overall in performance, but way better in some new games, and they can be found for just a little more brand new.

Here is an example: His Ice Q X1950 pro Turbo, for $113 AR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161088

Take a new game like UT3, COD4, Crysis, etc. this card is much better performing. Plus not only does it have a quiet cooler, but it blows the hot air out of the case. I'll take the iceQ cooler over that Zalman myself any day and I have both.

edit: here are some gaming examples at both cards stock speeds, and remember, while you can OC a 7900GT, that HIS card is overclocked from the factory with a decent mem speed boost.

COD4 50% lead
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/call_of_duty_4_demo_performance/page3.asp

UT3 spanking
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=693&p=5

Beats the 7900GTX even:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3128&p=4

Crysis 10% lead
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=698&p=2

Anyway, no IMO it's not worth it. New sure, used no. If that's your budget, and you want to play the big new/upcoming games, the His X1950 pro ice Q turbo is the better card and just a bit more brand new. If you like buying used, search for a X1900XT for $100. It's a 7900GTX level card overall and spanking the GTX in some of these new games.

Also, the 2900GT doesn't outperform the X1950 pro. So it's not worth the $170 asking price IMO. Either wait a week for the HD3850 reviews and pricing, or go with a X1950 pro. My $0.02 anyway.

 

[spoonboy]

What nobody has mentioned at all is that you can get a spanking overclock on 7900gt's, especially with that cooler which is pretty much top-notch. Ive got an EVGA 7900gt, but a bit higher up the scale than this one I think - ko superclocked - and I got mine up to 700mhz core 850 mhz memory, on a lower quality cooler (zalman vf700) which is not the absolute stable maximum by the way, I just dont want to stress the card too much. If this card has the 1.4v vcore like mine (what the gtx has) you can say hello to stellar clock speeds, ...or just volt mod it yourself if not.

I got 6495 on 3dmark06 with cpu score of about 2000, in a real game, well colin mcrae DiRT runs at 23-25fps (MINIMUM) @ 1400x900 with all settings on high (not ultra) and 2xAA in the intense multi-car dune buggy type races (the most graphically demanding ones.) The x1950pro will overclock, but NOT like a 7900gt will. Think mine is not far off a x1900 xtx performance wise.

(btw i know about a 7900gt running at 765mhz core with the cooler on that ebay card you posted the link for!)

 

[spoonboy]

"Crysis 10% lead
http://www.legionhardware.com/docu [...] id=698&p=2 "

btw, you can gain the 3.4 fps the x1950pro has over the 7900gt in crysis @1280x800 with overclocking, pretty easily I should think. (if youve got the vcore that is)

 

[pauldh]

What nobody has mentioned at all is that you can get a spanking overclock on 7900gt's

I mentioned they overclock. They also burn up (early cards moreso). I myself never fully trusted the 7900GT's after seeing the hundred and hundreds of cards that burnt up on the evga forums alone. I sure wouldn't pay top dollar for a used one. Articles were written about their burning issues too. Probably a small percentage, but even so too many for my liking. I did buy a couple 7900GS's though.

Think mine is not far off a x1900 xtx performance wise.

It would have to match/beat a 7900GTX to be near a X1900XTX overall. And even so, in some of these new big titles the X1900XTX would spank it. UT3, COD4, and Crysis are huge titles, and the X1900XTX > 7900GTX in those for sure.

btw, you can gain the 3.4 fps the x1950pro has over the 7900gt in crysis @1280x800 with overclocking, pretty easily I should think.

Yeah, you should be able to make up that 3-4 fps and equal that out in Crysis. But the HIS card has a decent overclock itself out of the box and would be higher than a stock X1950 pro like used in that review(you can't compare overclocked to stock). But look at UT3 and COD4 and no way no how will you OC a 7900GT to beat that His X1950 pro.


Anyway, it's not a bad card, and brand new with warranty, sure it's worth it. If he plays certain games that the GF79's excel in, he may find it worth it too. I just don't think it's worth $100 used given what you can buy new for under $120. I sure wouldn't buy it for that price. I would want 7900GTX/X1900XT level performance for $100 used.

 

[fatcat]

I certainly would buy a 1900 XT used for a 100.00 $ but it seems that people are not willing to let them go at that price, at least I haven't seen any.......

 

[kpo6969]

Brand new 7950GT 512mb with double warranty $160.00
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150197
If the 8800GT didn't fit in my case this is the card I would of went with.

 

[pauldh]

IMO a 7950GT isn't worth $160's either. It's behind a X1950 pro, HD2600XT, and 8600GTS in some new games(look at links above) and they are much cheaper. Really, the $150-200 price range has had little to offer with the X1950XT 256MB ($165-170) dissapearing. Simply almost nothing worth buying above $140 USD besides ths 8800GT IMO. I'm hoping the HD3850 pro will be available well under $200 and offer performance between the X1950XT and 8800GTS 320MB. If they sell like mad, hopefully NV will counter with available 256MB 8800GT or even try their hand at an 8800GS type card. Not sure I'd want a card as powerful as an 8800GT with 256MB of ram, even if it was under $200. A 512MB somewhat slower GS would be nice.

 

[spoonboy]

What nobody has mentioned at all is that you can get a spanking overclock on 7900gt's

I mentioned they overclock. They also burn up (early cards moreso). I myself never fully trusted the 7900GT's after seeing the hundred and hundreds of cards that burnt up on the evga forums alone. I sure wouldn't pay top dollar for a used one. Articles were written about their burning issues too. Probably a small percentage, but even so too many for my liking. I did buy a couple 7900GS's though.

Think mine is not far off a x1900 xtx performance wise.

It would have to match/beat a 7900GTX to be near a X1900XTX overall. And even so, in some of these new big titles the X1900XTX would spank it. UT3, COD4, and Crysis are huge titles, and the X1900XTX > 7900GTX in those for sure.

btw, you can gain the 3.4 fps the x1950pro has over the 7900gt in crysis @1280x800 with overclocking, pretty easily I should think.

Yeah, you should be able to make up that 3-4 fps and equal that out in Crysis. But the HIS card has a decent overclock itself out of the box and would be higher than a stock X1950 pro like used in that review(you can't compare overclocked to stock). But look at UT3 and COD4 and no way no how will you OC a 7900GT to beat that His X1950 pro.

Yeah early gt's had issues with power regulators i believe, they didnt have the capacity to handle a higher than stock power draw. Later ones should be ok. Mines an evga one, and quite recent so it should have some durability in there. I mentioned mine might not be far off a x1900 xtx performance wise because its got higher core and memory clocks than a 7900gtx, and at my monitors max resolution 1400x900 a 256mb frame buffer isnt really a performance issue, so I think its got the gtx licked. I did some quick and rough maths with a benchmark i saw and worked out i would need a 850mhz core clock on my 7900gt to equal an xtx, so yeah its miles behind. But then again a x1950pro and a heavily overclocked gt should be pretty close. If you get that ebay 7900 youve always got the snazzy zalman cooler though.


Anyway, it's not a bad card, and brand new with warranty, sure it's worth it. If he plays certain games that the GF79's excel in, he may find it worth it too. I just don't think it's worth $100 used given what you can buy new for under $120. I sure wouldn't buy it for that price. I would want 7900GTX/X1900XT level performance for $100 used.

 

[spoonboy]

Sorry my post came out all mixed up. Clicked on 'quote' but hey ho.

 

[Shadow703793]

I would get it for probably about $70 max. this is because of the Zalman.

 

[pauldh]

Hmm, a $100 bid was cancelled and the current price went down.

 

[caamsa]

The 7950GT is a great card. Yes it is a little behind the ATI X1950 pro cards but not by much. Plus it runs cool, is quiet...I can't even hear the fan on mine.... and it uses less power. The problem with the card is that the price should be a little lower. But I would say avoid ebay......

 

[spoonboy]

I would get it for probably about $70 max. this is because of the Zalman.

The zalman cooler is pretty sweet, that must be like $40 worth out of the $100.