X1900XTX

HBC

Distinguished
Jan 16, 2008
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I'm building my first self-built PC, could someone advise with choosing the right graphic card.

I come across a used Radeon X1900xtx asking for USD$100. It was an high-end card, but it's pretty much out of dated, I am not sure if I should get it.
I mainly use my PC for
1. Movies
2. Stock trading(I need to run several online trading platforms concurrently)
3. I don't play PC game at all.

I've done my research about X1900XTX, btw it's made by Asus.
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=2&l2=8&l3=264&l4=0&model=1025&modelmenu=1

My questions are :
1. Is Radeon X1900xtx support for "Avivo HD" as in other ATI new cards?
2. Or just the older version -- "Avivo™ Video and Display Engine"? Are they differ?
3. Can I upgrade to Avivo HD thru updating the card’s driver, etc?
4. Should I buy this used X1900XTX 512MB or get a brand new HD3850 256MB for USD$200?



 

IndigoMoss

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Nov 30, 2007
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The HD3850 would be better, but if you don't do ANY PC gaming, then just go with a 2600Pro or something, since it will decode HD content onboard and it has HDMI support.