7950GT worth the money?

[Reverend Sin]

So my 7800GTX is dead, I had promised to build my wife a gaming computer so she could play WoW and I found what appears to be a nicely priced 7950GT.

7950GT

I already have a

7800GTX

Going to put the 7800 in the computer I'm building for my wife, after it gets back from being RMA'd, and thinking about putting that in my own computer. My question is, is 285$ a good deal for it? Will I need to make any physical modifications to the card to handle the heat? Anything I should know? I know the 8800 is coming out but I won't be able to ford the price at release anyway.

 

[buzzsaw13]

Youre better off with this

Link

 

[tvdang7]

get my x1800xt 512 for 205 shipped . but yea the 7900 gto is good.

 

[Maximilian]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13
Youre better off with this

Link

Excellent, just about to say, "buy a GTO instead, much better"

 

[theprodigalrebel]

Another vote for EVGA Geforce 7900GTO.

Core at 650MHz (7900GTX speed)
Memory that, with a little luck, will probably go to GTX speeds (1320 MHz -> 1600MHz(
Cool running, Dual-Slot, Efficient, Almost Silent Cooler
It's CHEAPER than the 7950GT!

All the 7950GT has going for it is its single-slot design (useful in some cases), ability to be passively cooled (though I'm paranoid about these) and HDCP support (this doesn't mean much to most consumers).

 

[Captante]

The only 7950GT the exites me at all is the previously mentioned passive-cooled XFX model which from what I've read does just fine in an otherwise decently cooled case... the 7900GTO is a pretty good card too and although some people have had problems with it failing, since its an EVGA you know your covered.
The other good option for the price is the 256mb X1900XT which will actually outperform both of them (at default clockspeeds) in most benchmarks despite having half the video RAM, however its hotter, louder & draws more power too.

 

[Reverend Sin]

Thanks for the help guys, unless I can come up with any other compelling reason not to get it I'll pick up the GTO on Monday.

 

[akshayt]

It would be stupid to upgrade right now wait for R600.

 

[buzzsaw13]

Originally posted by: akshayt
It would be stupid to upgrade right now wait for R600.

I'm sure you know a lot about stupid.

He doesn't want to wait for something that'll cost him an arm and a leg, and apparently the GTO is in his price range.

 

[hardwareking]

the 7900 GTO or an x1900 xt 256/512 would be the best buys right now.Or wait till x1950 pro comes out towards the end of this month

 

[Captante]

Originally posted by: buzzsaw13

Originally posted by: akshayt
It would be stupid to upgrade right now wait for R600.

I'm sure you know a lot about stupid.

He doesn't want to wait for something that'll cost him an arm and a leg, and apparently the GTO is in his price range.

Dude he's the grand master of that particular subject!

 

[John]

My passive cooled XFX 7950GT (Model #: PVT71JYHF9) runs @ 51C idle / 65C load with clocks @ 600/1600 and comes with HDCP support plus a double-lifetime warranty. I have decent case cooling using quiet Panaflo L1a's: (2) for intake, (1) for a side case fan that blows air over the XFX, and (2) for exhaust.

 

[WobbleWobble]

Originally posted by: Reverend Sin
Thanks for the help guys, unless I can come up with any other compelling reason not to get it I'll pick up the GTO on Monday.

HDCP support is the only thing the 7950GT has going for it over the 7900GTO.

 

[Reverend Sin]

Well, I've had my 7800GTX for about a year, bought it with my DFI LanpartyUT UltraD and my Dual Core Opteron (1800+ I think, on the low end but meh it was an upgrade from my P3 600Mhz HP Pavillion from like 1995) and I hadn't had the chance to overclock it yet, even at stock speeds I noticed it was rediculously hot (like burn your hand hot after playing WoW for a few hours) so I was always paranoid about overclocking it.

The reason I'm buying the 7900GTO is because my 7800 just died, I need to send it in to Newegg to get it replaced as per my 1 year Replacement Plan but I need to be back online like NOW so I was looking for something decent, yet cheap. I'm going to build my wife a computer for Xmas so I figure the 7800 will do her fine when it gets back and I've got slightly better card than I had before.

I also just got a new condo (1200$ a month) a 2003 Mitsubishi Lancer (450$ a month w/insurance on my wife and I) and Lasik Eye Surgery (81$ a month) so my savings are mostly depleted and I'm not only not able to wait for the 8800 but financially it's more than I can handle until my next major upgrade anyway.

 

[R3MF]

GTO has better price performance.

i went with an XFX 7950 because i wanted a passive soundcard.

 

[Reverend Sin]

That's another thing, I have a SoundBlaster XFi Xtreme Music on the DFI board, that card won't cause any issue with taking up too much space will it?

 

[John]

Originally posted by: Reverend Sin
That's another thing, I have a SoundBlaster XFi Xtreme Music on the DFI board, that card won't cause any issue with taking up too much space will it?

If a 7800GTX fits so will the 7900GTO.

 

[Vinnybcfc]

Originally posted by: akshayt
It would be stupid to upgrade right now wait for R600.

He needs a card now not in 6 months.

Go for the 7900GTO better than the 7950GT

 

[ShadowOfMyself]

Originally posted by: akshayt
It would be stupid to follow my advice under any circumstance.

Fixed

 

[John]

Originally posted by: ShadowOfMyself

Originally posted by: akshayt
It would be stupid to follow my advice under any circumstance.

Fixed

He pimps ATI more than anyone on this forum. Viral marketing?

 

[j00k]

Originally posted by: hardwareking
the 7900 GTO or an x1900 xt 256/512 would be the best buys right now.Or wait till x1950 pro comes out towards the end of this month

the x1950 pro will compete w/the 7900gs which is way infererior in performance when compared to any cards 7900gt and above.

 

[liquid51]

well, here's another question on the topic. What memory does the 7950gt use? Is it the same "bad" samsung memory that the GTO's use? Or is it something along the lines of the 7900gt memory? Look at my 7900gt clocks in my sig. If it uses 7900gt mem, the extra cost for the 7950gt would be well worth it.

 

[Munky]

Originally posted by: j00k

Originally posted by: hardwareking
the 7900 GTO or an x1900 xt 256/512 would be the best buys right now.Or wait till x1950 pro comes out towards the end of this month

the x1950 pro will compete w/the 7900gs which is way infererior in performance when compared to any cards 7900gt and above.

The 7900gs is inferior to the 7900gt. The x1950pro is actually slightly faster than the 7900gt in most games, except the ones like Quake 4 that favor Nv cards, and would certainly spank the 7900gs in majority of DX9 games.

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_radeon_x1950_pro/default.asp