Trying to Get More Out of Oblivion

C

Craig Coope

Is a ATI Radeon X1950 PRO much better than my 9800XT?

I want to crank up the settings more and get HDR...

I already have A64 3400+ 1Gig RAM

I only have AGP which is why I can't go for much more...
 
F

First of One

Yes, 1 AGP and the 2 PCI below it. The cooler seems to be borrowed from a
Sparkle Caliber 8800GTX, as evidenced by the nVidia "eye" pattern on the
shroud. It has a Peltier element that adds bulk and power draw (about 160W,
up from 120W of a standard X1900XTX). Fortunately the card's performance
makes up for all the impracticalities. Of course the cooler can be replaced
with a more efficient Zalman or Arctic-Cooling unit.
 
C

Craig Coope

Yes, 1 AGP and the 2 PCI below it. The cooler seems to be borrowed from a
Sparkle Caliber 8800GTX, as evidenced by the nVidia "eye" pattern on the
shroud. It has a Peltier element that adds bulk and power draw (about 160W,
up from 120W of a standard X1900XTX). Fortunately the card's performance
makes up for all the impracticalities. Of course the cooler can be replaced
with a more efficient Zalman or Arctic-Cooling unit.

Looks like a very nice card and I have the slots available if I unplug
the gamerpad port from my soundcard...I am just worried about the heat
though as 1 of the reviews on that page says something about the stock
sink not being good enough....

Also looks like I'll need a better PSU!
 
F

First of One

Wow, you still use the sound card's game port...

Jokes aside, someone in the HardOCP forums didn't plug in the Peltier,
resulting in a significant temperature increase. This wasn't just
forgetfulness - Gecube's installation instructions aren't the greatest. The
comments you see on Newegg may reflect the same issue, because the reports
seem distinctly "bi-modal", with some users getting very high temps, while
others getting low temps.

A 400W brand-name (PCP&C, Enermax, Antec) PSU can handle the card without
problems. Of course, the other solution is to use a different cooler like
the Zalman VF900. You get both better cooling and ~25% lower power draw,
which may be enough of a margin to avoid needing a PSU upgrade
 
C

Craig Coope

Wow, you still use the sound card's game port...

Hehe...I did not too long ago so that I could play 2 player on WinUAE!
Jokes aside, someone in the HardOCP forums didn't plug in the Peltier,
resulting in a significant temperature increase. This wasn't just
forgetfulness - Gecube's installation instructions aren't the greatest. The
comments you see on Newegg may reflect the same issue, because the reports
seem distinctly "bi-modal", with some users getting very high temps, while
others getting low temps.

Well it will beat my 9800XT which is currently running at
82C!...Actually it normally idles at about 69 but I think I need to
clean the dust out...I have been assured a million times that it is
supposed to run hot anyway (from many different sources)...
A 400W brand-name (PCP&C, Enermax, Antec) PSU can handle the card without
problems. Of course, the other solution is to use a different cooler like
the Zalman VF900. You get both better cooling and ~25% lower power draw,
which may be enough of a margin to avoid needing a PSU upgrade

Think I'll go with the better PSU (I only have 360W) right now as I
don't fancy tempering with coolers....

One thing I could do with though is a fan hole on the side of my
casing.....Hmmmm
 

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