Video Card Thread

[[W33T] Jetfuel]

I have been watching the forum very very closely for talk about video cards. and there is a lot. very knowledgeable peeps up in here.
I was thinking a single thread to bring it all together ..

so my questions are as follows:

any idea when DX 10 cards are going to be coming out? and will the current crop of dx9 be upgrade-able to 10?

what do you guys think about this card coming with NO FAN?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814150189

I have a great set of RAID hd's and a great 550 psu and a great case ... now i am in need of a great mobo and vid card. I am hoping to build around this card. is it the one. should i buy it a diamond ring? the sli setup being a year away (money wise) i will buying a new mobo that can handle it in the next 6mo's ~


also, i can't figure out the differences between the different service plans on newegg ~ I usually stay away from spending extra money, but $250 is a lot of money in my world. any help?

Also, what is the following: ~ (looks a lot like gibber jabber)
NVIDIA CineFX 4.0 Engine NVIDIA Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) 3.0 Technology NVIDIA Intellisample 4.0 Technology NVIDIA PureVideo Technology NVIDIA UltraShadow II Technology nView Multi-Display Technology 90nm Process Technology

and what is ~ "RoHS complaint"

[sir_digalot]

dx10 is here with the nvida 8800, dx 9 cards will not be upgradable, wait until at least 2nd gen dx10 cards they will be cheaper more stable and better catered for in terms of drivers and software to use them, and remember you also need vista to run one.

[[W33T] Jetfuel]

dx10 is here with the nvida 8800, dx 9 cards will not be upgradable, wait until at least 2nd gen dx10 cards they will be cheaper more stable and better catered for in terms of drivers and software to use them, and remember you also need vista to run one.

good to know, thank you sir digalot

anyone have this no-fan model?

[Shadowryche]

As far as I've read DirectX ten will support anything newer than the GeForce 6100, or Radeon x1100. Unless of course HP, Dell, and all those guys intend to include a GeForce 8800 with all those free Vista upgrades they've been handing out.

[antigen]

As far as I've read DirectX ten will support anything newer than the GeForce 6100, or Radeon x1100. Unless of course HP, Dell, and all those guys intend to include a GeForce 8800 with all those free Vista upgrades they've been handing out.

Ummm... no.

DX10 cards are all new. Vista, on the otherhand, will support both DX10 and DX9 cards- but it uses a different form of DX9. Basically, if you have a DX10-capable card, then you will be able to take full advantage of not only Vista, but games based on DX10 as well.

Currently, only the nvidia 8800's are DX10 capable, with the ati version in testing.

[Smurf]

Antigen is right... So with that I will answer your second question. I don't have that card and I would buy it if you are NOT going with SLI and already have good air flow. Otherwise look into other cards. If you want the card to be a "diamond ring" for your system, go with a Geforce 8800GTS or 8800GTX. (GTX is faster FYI)

[[W33T] Jetfuel]

i was planning on moving on to sli in the future. why is this a bad card for SLI?

[CHAOS]

thats a good question.. i can tell you y i may not go SLI with it... Refer to the this post..

http://www.warishellgaming.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=5143&d=1169085663

Notice how big and thick that card is.. I just added in my X- FI card today to the pci slot about an inch below it (hidden from view, that other PCI slot you see is the one after the second PCI 16 slot).. However the next PCI-16 slot is right next to that PCI slo and I think that my capacitors on the X-FI are going to rub against that heatsink on the back of the 8800.. Mind you this is the 8800GTX KO w/ACS3 cooler, so it may be a bit beefer then the stock 8800GTX. I was to tired and just wanted to finish up my cabling, but i will move my vid card tomorrow and see if indeed there is room.

[vortex19103]

Chaos, thats what I was talking about at lunch, two 8800 just like my two 7900 GTX's took up so much room and then the X-Fi - i overheated the second card (artificating). youre best to go with one expensive card and leave it at that or go with two lower end SLI boards that don't generate a lot of heat.

[[W33T] Jetfuel]

ugh
i just want the fastest silent system ever. is that too much to ask?

i want to run this rig in my living room on a 50 inch sony hdtv. ~ so silent and cool are going to end up being important.
i'll keep looking.~

advice is welcome.

[Paul30]

I need a what to do who????

I'm running a 8800 on XP Pro...you only need vista for DX 10...but you better upgrade more than the video card if you plan on running Arrow...

.................................... More on the video card ..............................
Nvidia has initially launch two graphics boards based on its next-generation 'G80' GPU in the middle of November. The boards are also the first to tout a new physics processing system.

The GeForce 8800 GTXcontains a G80 running at 575MHz and connected over a 384-bit bus to 768MB of GDDR 3 clocked to 900MHz. That's enough for 86GBps of memory bandwidth.

G80 is to be Nvidia's first GPU with a unified shader architecture - each processing unit can handle either pixel colour or geometry data, depending on the needs of the application. The shaders are clocked independently, running at 1350MHz, the report claims, on the 8800 GTX, which has 128 of them.

The GeForce 8800 GTS has 96 shaders, clocked to 1200MHz. The rest of the core runs at 500MHz, the memory at 900MHz. The board's contain 640MB of GDDR 3 connected over a 320-bit bus yielding 64GBps of bandwidth.

The GTX and GTS boards are HDCP compliant and sport dual-slot cooling set-ups.

More interesting is the rumoured but as yet unconfirmed Quantum Effects engine, which appears to be Nvidia's pitch for physics processing. Quantum Effects essentially leverages the G80 shaders' processing power for physics calculations, much as PureVideo uses today and tomorrow's GPU shaders for video processing.

Quantum Effects will, I'd guess, tie in to Havok FX's physics API and to Microsoft's anticipated DirectX physics API.

Nvidia is also developing a standalone games physics processing card, motherboard maker Asus has let slip. Announcing a new mobo equipped with three PCI Express x16 slots, the Taiwanese firm said the third connector was specifically for "Nvidia's upcoming Physics card".

The revelation comes days after it emerged ATI will be likewise pitching its graphics chip technology as a co-processor for compute-intensive scientific and engineering applications, not just games physics.

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For Jet Fuel - to make your computer more silent you need to switch from using PSU's with blower fans and high output case fans to slow speed large surfance fans..

Example : http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std/sku=NX-5000

Now I'm not trying to sell you on Nexus...I just want you to see a good visual of what I'm talking about. Personly I like the "Antec Phantom 500"

Also add one or two front fans of the same type...Any case fan from 80mm to 200mm in length will be relativly silent in operation. (Keep in mind that a 80mm fan on high speed will be heard)

For your high end video cards and procs try a high capacity liquid cooling system. The high capacity moves less liquid around so the pump works less making it quieter.

[Smurf]

Jetfuel;183066']i was planning on moving on to sli in the future. why is this a bad card for SLI?

It is bad because silent CPU's disperse the heat around them. So, with just one, you have this "heat bubble" so to speak. If you add two, you can almost double the intensity of the "heat bubble." Hence you need good airflow to prevent the heat from staying around the cards. If you want to play on a 50in, go with a 8800GTS at least. High res is good on large screens AFAIK.


As for cooling an awesome gaming machine silently, you may want to look into Zalman's water cooling Reserator series.

[CHAOS]

yeah Vortex, I totally see what you are saying now..lol guess that is the price of getting first gen. Hopefully later they make the board a tad bit longer and space out the slots a bit more.. Oh well I think i am doing fine right now and totally glad that you told me to hold off on the SLI. Thanks!! As it is now I think i am going to enjoy this new rig and would not be able to tell the difference between SLI and non SLI.. considering i am upgradeing from a 5 year old system..lol

[z3speed4me]

ATI IS DONEEEEE as much as i like them, they are down for the count, whenever their next card comes out, the 8800gtx will still be faster, and if its not there will be something right around the corner that will be, theyll make an ultra or something just to be top dog again

nvidia is king, and will remain that way bc amd screwed this up big time

[vortex19103]

Nice M Z:thumbsup: (I like the fence job)

[z3speed4me]

large screens indeed...i play everything on my 1080p now....

[Gruthar]

Jetfuel;182931']
also, i can't figure out the differences between the different service plans on newegg ~ I usually stay away from spending extra money, but $250 is a lot of money in my world. any help?

Also, what is the following: ~ (looks a lot like gibber jabber)
NVIDIA CineFX 4.0 Engine NVIDIA Digital Vibrance Control (DVC) 3.0 Technology NVIDIA Intellisample 4.0 Technology NVIDIA PureVideo Technology NVIDIA UltraShadow II Technology nView Multi-Display Technology 90nm Process Technology

and what is ~ "RoHS complaint"

I've never used the service plans from Newegg, so I know nothing about them. In my experience, if you have defective hardware, it'll usually die/manifest itself within its warranty period.

Most of the jibber jabber is just that: marketing BS. The 90nm process just refers to the size of semiconductors (transistors) on the card. It's not really indicative of anything other than how advanced the lithography methods used in manufacturing the GPU are. Intel CPUs are down to 65nm, for reference. Smaller is better, as it means you can cram more transistors on a die.

The RoHS is a European Union mandate for greener electronics. It stands for "Restriction of Hazardous Substances" or something like that. Like the name implies, it restricts what materials can be used in manufacturing electronics. For instance, solders can't use lead in order for a device to be RoHS compliant... though there are exceptions. You can read more about it here: http://www.rohs.gov.uk/

[Gruthar]

ATI IS DONEEEEE as much as i like them, they are down for the count, whenever their next card comes out, the 8800gtx will still be faster, and if its not there will be something right around the corner that will be, theyll make an ultra or something just to be top dog again

nvidia is king, and will remain that way bc amd screwed this up big time

Um, not sure what you're basing all this on. I do remember similar claims back in the days of the NV30, though. Yeah, nVidia will top ATI's next card. Then ATI will top nVidia. Then nVidia will top ATI. It goes back and forth, with the lesser performing card remaining competetive by having a much better bang/buck ratio. Occasionally one of them will release a turd (like said NV30), but both companies are large enough that I don't see either of them being 'done' or 'down for the count' any time soon.

All that said, if the specs I've seen are even remotely accurate, the R600 core will smoke the 8800.

[z3speed4me]

but its SOOOOO behind teh 8800 that you know nvidia already has their comback in preparation


ok the 7800 was top dog, the 1900 came out, like a MONTH later nvidia was on top again, and THEN topped themselves again with the 8000's


ati's card will come out.....well we have no idea bc its taking FOREVER...and nvidia will have a new better card out weeks after


dont say i didnt tell you when you see it happen

[sir_digalot]

if ATI get it right they will implement all the technology they had in the xbox 360 core, to offer things like AA pretty much withouth the current overhead...

it will not change my mind right now though i have gone through hell and high water to get a working card, and i am sticking with the 7900gs *L*

the new cards do look inviting, but not worth the pricetag

[z3speed4me]

yea i will not buy a card unless someone buys my 1900 first

[Gruthar]

but its SOOOOO behind teh 8800 that you know nvidia already has their comback in preparation


ok the 7800 was top dog, the 1900 came out, like a MONTH later nvidia was on top again, and THEN topped themselves again with the 8000's


ati's card will come out.....well we have no idea bc its taking FOREVER...and nvidia will have a new better card out weeks after


dont say i didnt tell you when you see it happen

I've heard mixed things, but I think the reason ATI is holding off on the R600 is because of Vista. ATI has run into trouble before releasing a card months before the DX version it was based on. Again citing the NV30 example, nVidia had similar problems with MS with SM 2.0. A reasonable release date guess is March, though I've heard rumours that there may be a lesser R600 released sooner than that. So while the 8800 is a pretty sweet card, it could face a lot of problems when DX10 comes out because it was put out so early. Also keep in mind that the 8800 uses 90nm tech, which means that nVidia will have to catch up a bit if they're going to release a better card weeks after.

[StevenNevets]

new ATI cards may be slightly slower but I bet you they will be a lot cheaper and beat any Nvidia card in the price range:smack:

[z3speed4me]

well price..... meh whatever its just money

[StevenNevets]

well price..... meh whatever its just moneywell you can just give me some then.... meh whatever its just money

[kippendrecht]

well you can just give me some then.... meh whatever its just money

:lol: :thumbsup:

[[W33T] Jetfuel]

hey ~ between these ~ ok, i am downgrading my wish ... so that it can be a purchase.

i am down to two ~
the 7900gs gpu ~
want to throw in your 2 cents?

here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814130056

and here
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150202

[Gruthar]

Well, the XFX card has a higher core and memory clock, but above all, is actually in stock. :D

I have no idea how XFX is as a company, but that card looks to be faster/cheaper than the eVGA card after MIRs.

[z3speed4me]

200 and u get my 1900xt...with a zalman cooler on it

[Smurf]

Up to you, but I bought the eVga card there. Mostly due to the cooler. So, I will suggest you buy that one. :thumbsup:

eVga cooler provides coverage for the RAM chips unlike XFX. Also, as a company XFX is just as good as eVga.

[[W33T] Jetfuel]

I got the 7900gs Extreme ~ BUT I am all about getting an after-market cooler and heat-sinks ~
the new build is about to start in earnest ~ updates soon ~
any ideas on the mobo to get for a 6600 conroe?

[kippendrecht]

I always liked asus, and i really like the P5N32-SLI premium I have now.

but the next gen mobo's with a better chipset just came out, so I'll have to take a look.