7900 GS Issues

SpecTrE3353

SpecTrE3353

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It's that time again for another "Which should I buy? or ?"

I'm trying to decide between an Nvidia GeForce 8600 GTS 256mb and a Radeon X1950 Pro 256mb.

The 8600 is DX10, smaller and cooler but slightly more expensive (around $160-$170) and has slightly lower performance (up to 25% slower at high resolutions than the X1950 Pro).

The X1950 is DX9, huge and runs hot as hell but is less expensive (around $150) and has better performance than the 8600.

I know the X1950 sounds like a clear winner but I'm worried about the size and power consumption and heat generated by the card might make it:
(1) Not a good match for my system (AMD X2 3800+, 1 gb Ram, 430 PSW).
(2) Considerably less reliable (I have friends who had X1900 level cards die on them not long after purchase).

The third option is just keeping my current 4 year old Radeon 9800 Pro 256mb and waiting until better options become available. It runs source engine games surprisingly well but I doubt it will be able to handle newer stuff like Crysis or anything based on the Unreal 3 engine.

Any suggestions?
 
Mmm 430 Watt PSU is really small for either of those cards. I am not sure but I think both cards require at Least 500 Watt PSU. I have a 7600GT and it requires a 450 Watt PSU and I have a Radeon 1650 512 MB and it requires a 550 Watt PSU.
 
[quote name='SpecTrE3353']I actually already changed my mind and decided to spend $110 on a 7900GS for now.[/quote]

Good Choice my friend, those are much better if you ask me.
 
I personally would have waited til crysis comes out as I suspect card manufacters to drop prices to influence a surge of new buyers.

In comparison of the two cards I would spend the extra $10-20 and get the Nvidia dx10 card as dx9 is old news and shouldn't command such a high price IMO.
 
Well the idea was that even though the 8600 GTS supports DX10:

(1) I don't run Vista (and I don't really want to)
(2) It's a weak enough card that it probably can't even run any DX10 games at a very acceptable framerate

So the 8600 GTS is an iffy buy in that respect. If I really wanted a DX10 card I guess it would be smart just to fork out the extra bucks for an 8800 series that can actually run something like Crysis properly.
 
While we're on the videocard subject...does anyone make a fanless card with an Nvidia chipet higher than 7600? I love the silent operation of my 7600 GS, and it never gets above 60 degrees, and I would someday like to upgrade to another fanless. My case is a BTX/PCI express slot with very good airflow.
 
[quote name='Vinny']Definitely a good move with the 7900GS. The 8600 and X1950 are both wastes of money IMO.[/QUOTE]
I agree, the 7900GS is what I am running with right now.
 
So I got my PNY 7900 GS yesterday. I hooked it up and everything seemed to be going swell until Episode 2 froze up upon exiting the game (not while playing). I ignored it and hoped it was just a random glitch. Later on I installed FEAR to test out the new card and it locked up my system nearly every single time just trying to get through the video test. I managed to record some temps and it looks like the card is idling around 55c-60c and hitting at least 70c during intensive game playing. I installed Oblivion and played for a few minutes and played Team Fortress 2 for a little while as well and they had no problems.

If these were the only problems I was having, I would assume it was just something software related with FEAR. However my computer has also several times now rebooted itself on its own while just on the desktop. This never happened before until yesterday after installing the new card (old card was a Radeon 9800 Pro AGP). This is making me concerned that perhaps it is not an overheating issue because I don't know why my computer would just restart itself while the card is running at its coolest. Is my power supply perhaps not able to handle the newly added power?

My specs:
ASRock 939Dual-SATA2
AMD Athlon X2 3800+
1 GB ram
430 Watt Antec TruePower PSU
Windows XP Media Center Edition
PNY Nvidia GeForce 7900 GS (PCIe, 163.71 drivers)

Anyone have any suggestions? I was considering ordering a new cooler for the card but I don't want to go and spend 40 bucks until I am pretty certain that is my problem.
 
Your temperatures look normal, so I doubt it's a heating issue. If you haven't tried it already, I'd remove the graphics card, reinstall it, and see if that corrects the issue. If that doesn't help, a failing power supply sounds like a reasonable hypothesis.
 
[quote name='boblentil']Your temperatures look normal, so I doubt it's a heating issue. If you haven't tried it already, I'd remove the graphics card, reinstall it, and see if that corrects the issue. If that doesn't help, a failing power supply sounds like a reasonable hypothesis.[/quote]

I attempted removing/reinserting the card the card, removing the drivers using Driver Cleaner and then reinstalling the latest drivers. I haven't seen a random reboot YET but it still freezes up at the same point in the FEAR demo every single time. At this point I'm starting to think its just a FEAR specific issue as none of the Source engine games I play have had any problems.
 
Nevermind... I have frozen once and had my machine reboot at least 3 times in the past hour while doing random 3D and 2D things. Time to go back to my Radeon 9800 Pro...
 
[quote name='SpecTrE3353']Nevermind... I have frozen once and had my machine reboot at least 3 times in the past hour while doing random 3D and 2D things. Time to go back to my Radeon 9800 Pro...[/quote]

Maybe try another brand of card?
 
[quote name='squirrel007']Maybe try another brand of card?[/quote]

I think that is probably a good idea. I bought the PNY version because it was way WAY cheaper than any other 7900 GS or X1950 Pro or 8600 GTS (it is also clocked lower and comes with a shittier cooler than any other 7900 GS) but perhaps it is worth the extra couple bucks to make sure what I get is more quality than this piece of crap.
 
[quote name='SpecTrE3353']I think that is probably a good idea. I bought the PNY version because it was way WAY cheaper than any other 7900 GS or X1950 Pro or 8600 GTS (it is also clocked lower and comes with a shittier cooler than any other 7900 GS) but perhaps it is worth the extra couple bucks to make sure what I get is more quality than this piece of crap.[/quote]

Yeah I bought a pny card and it wasnt fan cooled. It just had this SMALL sink on it so I returned it. Ended up with a EVGA 7900GS ;D

Can play bioshock at 30 fps!
 
[quote name='Vinny']I've heard bad things about PNY cards... hopefully you can return it for an EVGA, BFG, or an XFX.[/quote]

All of those are available too... they're just $50 more expensive :)
 
My last 4 video cards have been EVGA brand, and I've been pleased with them. One suffered failed fan bearings, but I bought it used from a friend who had put a lot of hours on it.
 
[quote name='SpecTrE3353']All of those are available too... they're just $50 more expensive :)[/quote]

7900 GS should last you unless you want to do all the next gen stuff... I plan on keeping my 7900 for a while.

My only complaint about my EVGA is that the fan is a bit loud but I have gotten used to it. I guess if you really wanted to you could use an alternate means of cooling for it by replacing the fan ;)
 
I've expierance problems with PNY cards myself, My old 6800gt had to be replaced twice due to a fan failure.(luckaly I had one of those product replacement warrenties).

I currently running on an 8600gts on Vista. The Early DX10 games run fine in my expierance. I run them in 1650x1080 resolution in medium to high settings. Bioshock run well, only expierence a drop in framerate when the battles got very intense.
 
So I just thought I'd fill you guys in on the final solution to the problem I was having.

I bought a new 550 Watt antec truepower 3 power supply and it did NOT fix the problem.

I reinstalled Windows XP instead of Windows XP Media Center Edition and it DID fix the problem.

So the issue was not with PNY or the card or a lack of power but with stupid Windows. Everything runs great now. Thanks for everyone who gave suggestions.
 
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