x800 Pro better than FX5900 ?

[Cole Turner]

I got a 17" TFT and hence run all stuff at 1280x1024 ...

also I prefer 4 x AA, 8 x AIF

the CPU is a P4 3,0, also I got 1 GB RAM

the PSU has 550 W, but it's one of those **** q-tec things which make
a lot of noise and I'm not sure if they even produce enough amps for
the necessary volt line ...

anyway, to get to the point:

-> will it make sense for me to get a x800 Pro? or will the framerate
gain be too small for my res or limited by the average cpu anyway?

thanks a lot in advance!

*** Cole ***

 

[Dodgy]

I got a 17" TFT and hence run all stuff at 1280x1024 ...

also I prefer 4 x AA, 8 x AIF

Why? Do you like in game text all blurry round the edges? That's about
the only difference I can tell during high speed game play. Sure in a
freeze frame you can point to the super smooth edges and impress your
mates, but I'm really still not convinced it's of any benefit in
games, certainly not worth the frame rate drop.

the CPU is a P4 3,0, also I got 1 GB RAM

the PSU has 550 W, but it's one of those **** q-tec things which make
a lot of noise and I'm not sure if they even produce enough amps for
the necessary volt line ...

There is a lot to be said for a good PSU. I recently did a last ditch
fix it attempt on my old plodder fileserver machine. Removed the
cheapy 430watt PSU and chucked in an Antec Truepower 430watt. Suddenly
my slightly iffy old machine became solid as a rock.

anyway, to get to the point:

-> will it make sense for me to get a x800 Pro? or will the framerate
gain be too small for my res or limited by the average cpu anyway?

3Ghz P4, that's average now is it! lol!

I think there's plenty of grunt left in your old cpu yet. Assuming
you've got the 800Mhz FSB 3Ghz (not the 533FSB 3.06Ghz), the 3.6Ghz is
only 20% faster.

Anyway, the x800 will beat the FX5900, but it really depends what
games you are playing as to if it's worth it or not.

I'm quite happy with my standard clocked 9800pro - well it's a
pipeline unlocked AIW9800se really
I play far cry with all the sliders up at 1280x1024, and I don't find
it a problem.

D0d6y.

 

[Cole Turner]

Why? Do you like in game text all blurry round the edges? That's about
the only difference I can tell during high speed game play. Sure in a
freeze frame you can point to the super smooth edges and impress your
mates, but I'm really still not convinced it's of any benefit in
games, certainly not worth the frame rate drop.

cause I prefer image quality to frame rate - also because a run FS9 a
lot, which absolutely needs 8xAIF for ground textures and 4xAA for
buildings or else it will look like **** - I couldn't care less about
in game text

There is a lot to be said for a good PSU. I recently did a last ditch
fix it attempt on my old plodder fileserver machine. Removed the
cheapy 430watt PSU and chucked in an Antec Truepower 430watt. Suddenly
my slightly iffy old machine became solid as a rock.

yep, Antec is my favourite as well ... !

3Ghz P4, that's average now is it! lol!

.... sad, isn' it?

I think there's plenty of grunt left in your old cpu yet. Assuming
you've got the 800Mhz FSB 3Ghz (not the 533FSB 3.06Ghz), the 3.6Ghz is
only 20% faster.

mmm arithmetically, yes, ... but don't Far Cry benchmarks state higher
numbers?

Anyway, the x800 will beat the FX5900, but it really depends what
games you are playing as to if it's worth it or not.

I'm quite happy with my standard clocked 9800pro - well it's a
pipeline unlocked AIW9800se really
I play far cry with all the sliders up at 1280x1024, and I don't find
it a problem.

D0d6y.

thanks Dodgy!

 

[Mike P]

Not to mention edge shimmer that is hugely reduced by AA, and sharper
textures from AF. And Dodgy's settings don't give e high frame rate with
his system with far cry, so his post makes absolutely no sense to me, if
he's into superfast gaming why crank settings up like shadows, etc that slow
things down while having blurry textures that will hurt game play (ex
picking out enemies)...?

Mike

 

[Dodgy]

Not to mention edge shimmer that is hugely reduced by AA, and sharper
textures from AF. And Dodgy's settings don't give e high frame rate with
his system with far cry, so his post makes absolutely no sense to me, if
he's into superfast gaming why crank settings up like shadows, etc that slow
things down while having blurry textures that will hurt game play (ex
picking out enemies)...?

Shadows are damn useful, especially in Far Cry. The more clues you
have about where the next little bugger's gonna jump out from, the
better. So the more visual information I can get on the screen and
preserve a good frame rate the better.

Personally I don't see enough of an improvement with AF to justify the
fps drop.

D0d6y.