PowerColor Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB - bit-tech.net Forums

Tim S · 30th Oct 2006, 14:16

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...950_pro/1.html

atanum141 · 30th Oct 2006, 14:29

Great article again Tim!

rupbert · 30th Oct 2006, 15:39

Nice review.

Can anyone say where my X800 would fall in terms of performance? is the X19?? range literally twice as powerful?

thx,

DougEdey · 30th Oct 2006, 15:42

Apparantly the X1600 series beats my standard X800PRO. I wanna find one in AGP.

BioSniper · 30th Oct 2006, 15:53

I know the feeling Doug

What would be nice is if (although I know its not something bit normally does) you could perhaps do a mass card round up with similar systems to show those of us that are on older systems just how much of a performance boost newer low end cards have over our older high end cards

::edit:: Just browsing around for cards and overclockers are listing the x1950 as coming out in an AGP flavour! http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatal...ics_Cards.html

DougEdey · 30th Oct 2006, 16:02

£190? Compared to £70 for a 256MB X1600? I know what I want.

rupbert · 30th Oct 2006, 16:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by BioSniper

I know the feeling Doug

What would be nice is if (although I know its not something bit normally does) you could perhaps do a mass card round up with similar systems to show those of us that are on older systems just how much of a performance boost newer low end cards have over our older high end cards

Great idea.

It's alright saying the X1950 gives an average of 59fps at 1280 x 1024 with 8xAA, but as an owner of an X800 who plays the same game at 1024 x 768 with 4xAA how do I know the value/performance of the X1950 as an upgrade?

Tim S · 30th Oct 2006, 16:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by rupbert

Nice review.

Can anyone say where my X800 would fall in terms of performance? is the X19?? range literally twice as powerful?

thx,

I would say that Radeon X800 is about half the speed of Radeon X1900XT in graphics-limited titles. You're going to see bigger differences than that above 1600x1200, because I believe that Z-buffer was tuned for 1600x1200 in the X800 era, as 24" widescreen displays hadn't really taken off back then.

X1950 Pro will play just about every game out there at the moment at 1280x1024 with at least 2xAA, high details and incredibly smooth frame rates. The one exception is probably Oblivion, but that's a pretty hardcore title.

rupbert · 30th Oct 2006, 16:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim S

I would say that Radeon X800 is about half the speed of Radeon X1900XT in graphics-limited titles. You're going to see bigger differences than that above 1600x1200, because I believe that Z-buffer was tuned for 1600x1200 in the X800 era, as 24" widescreen displays hadn't really taken off back then.

Thanks for that Tim.

The question though, is it worth holding on for a DirectX10 card?

Quote:

X1950 Pro will play just about every game out there at the moment at 1280x1024 with at least 2xAA, high details and incredibly smooth frame rates. The one exception is probably Oblivion, but that's a pretty hardcore title.

That's pretty incredible considering the price.

Nature · 30th Oct 2006, 16:21

FEAR is not a graphical intense Title anymore? I always thought it was not biass on GPU's like doom3 & Halfife were/are....

Tim S · 30th Oct 2006, 17:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nature

FEAR is not a graphical intense Title anymore? I always thought it was not biass on GPU's like doom3 & Halfife were/are....

It's not that popular anymore to be honest. We'll be making some updates to our testing scenarios very soon.

IanW · 30th Oct 2006, 20:23

Powercolor also seem to be making an AGP version of this card.
Story from Inquirer here:- http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35350

The Inq claims the card will retail at around $249, which Google tells me is just over 130ukp at today's rate.

Tim S · 30th Oct 2006, 20:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanW

Powercolor also seem to be making an AGP version of this card.
Story from Inquirer here:- http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35350

The Inq claims the card will retail at around $249, which Google tells me is just over 130ukp at today's rate.

That'll be £130+VAT, so closer to £155.

specofdust · 30th Oct 2006, 20:42

Another review of what looks like a very promising card. Shame the 1950 Pro's seem to be hitting shelves around the same time as the next gen cards are getting shown off/released. I'm curious if this is ATI's card to sell people who can't or won't buy R600/G80, or whether it's them hoping to get a few bucks outta the old tech before shipping the new stuff out and seeing prices on old stuff freefall.

IanW · 31st Oct 2006, 06:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim S

That'll be £130+VAT, so closer to £155.

Which (If memory serves) is about what I paid for my current 9600XT all those years ago.

rupbert · 31st Oct 2006, 09:33

I know it's widening the scope, but it would be interesting to know roughly when DX10 cards are going to be available (even in limited numbers).

If they were to arrive around Q2 I think myself and a few others would consider buying a 'stop-gap' card, to bridge the holiday period. Anyone else in the same situation?

Tim S · 31st Oct 2006, 09:38

The first (high-end) DX10 hardware will launch in a few weeks. I don't have any inside info on mainstream DX10 hardware yet, but I don't think we will see it until March.

BioSniper · 31st Oct 2006, 10:08

Cheers for the info Tim

However unless you REALLY want a DX10 card would it not be wise to wait till the second gen of them where developers are starting to really use the full set of extensions?

rupbert · 31st Oct 2006, 10:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by BioSniper

However unless you REALLY want a DX10 card would it not be wise to wait till the second gen of them where developers are starting to really use the full set of extensions?

That's a good point actually.

Is Crysis the only known confirmed game that will take advantage of DX10?

I'm I right in thinking Alan Wake and Half-Life:Episode 2 might also be?

It would be silly to buy a first generation DX10 card if there is only a couple of games actually using it, oh...does this mean I don't belong on bit-tech anymore?

Cthippo · 31st Oct 2006, 10:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by rupbert

That's a good point actually.

Is Crysis the only known confirmed game that will take advantage of DX10?

I'm I right in thinking Alan Wake and Half-Life:Episode 2 might also be?

It would be silly to buy a first generation DX10 card if there is only a couple of games actually using it, oh...does this mean I don't belong on bit-tech anymore?

I can't speak for Alan Wake, but I'll bet HL2E2 will still be on the Source engine since re-writing it for DX10 would be a major pain in the arse. I don't think you'll see DX10 in HL until HL3 when they release a new engine.

30th Oct 2006, 14:16	#1
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	PowerColor Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/200...950_pro/1.html __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

30th Oct 2006, 14:29	#2
atanum141 I fapped to your post! Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: London Posts: 7,537	Great article again Tim! __________________ Welcome to Thunderdome, B*tch XBL: atanum141

30th Oct 2006, 15:42	#4
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	Apparantly the X1600 series beats my standard X800PRO. I wanna find one in AGP. __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

30th Oct 2006, 15:53	#5
BioSniper I Mod, Therefore I Own Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Somewhere in the south Posts: 3,454	I know the feeling Doug What would be nice is if (although I know its not something bit normally does) you could perhaps do a mass card round up with similar systems to show those of us that are on older systems just how much of a performance boost newer low end cards have over our older high end cards ::edit:: Just browsing around for cards and overclockers are listing the x1950 as coming out in an AGP flavour! http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatal...ics_Cards.html __________________ My Flickr :: Bit-tech Flickr Wii: 1792 1527 2926 7945 :: Xbox Live: BioSnipr :: PSN: Biosnipr Last edited by BioSniper; 30th Oct 2006 at 16:01.

30th Oct 2006, 16:02	#6
DougEdey I pwn all your storage Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Southampton Posts: 13,933	£190? Compared to £70 for a 256MB X1600? I know what I want. __________________ Burnout: Paradise Stats!XBL: DougEdey Bindi PSN ID: DougEdey Twitter

30th Oct 2006, 15:39	#3
rupbert Hypermodder Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 799	Nice review. Can anyone say where my X800 would fall in terms of performance? is the X19?? range literally twice as powerful? thx,

30th Oct 2006, 16:21	#10
Nature Supermodder Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Jinan, China Posts: 417	FEAR is not a graphical intense Title anymore? I always thought it was not biass on GPU's like doom3 & Halfife were/are.... __________________ Peace, Love, Empathy, Respect, Generosity, Smiles, and Hugs

30th Oct 2006, 20:23	#12
IanW I am a Dremel Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: N.Wales Posts: 1,607	Powercolor also seem to be making an AGP version of this card. Story from Inquirer here:- http://www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=35350 The Inq claims the card will retail at around $249, which Google tells me is just over 130ukp at today's rate. __________________ Q6600@3GHz / AC Freezer 7 Pro / Gigabyte EP35-DS3R / 8GB OCZ Platinum PC6400 / EVGA GTX260 SSC / LG DVDR / 9TB HDD / OCZ Modstream 780W / CoolerMaster 590 case / Dell E248WFP / Saitek Eclipse II / Logitech G9 / Ubuntu 9.10-64

30th Oct 2006, 20:42	#14
specofdust Banned Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Aberdeen, UK, EU Posts: 7,609	Another review of what looks like a very promising card. Shame the 1950 Pro's seem to be hitting shelves around the same time as the next gen cards are getting shown off/released. I'm curious if this is ATI's card to sell people who can't or won't buy R600/G80, or whether it's them hoping to get a few bucks outta the old tech before shipping the new stuff out and seeing prices on old stuff freefall. __________________ Like marmite, only no-one hates it Mmm bop!

31st Oct 2006, 09:33	#16
rupbert Hypermodder Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Northern Ireland Posts: 799	I know it's widening the scope, but it would be interesting to know roughly when DX10 cards are going to be available (even in limited numbers). If they were to arrive around Q2 I think myself and a few others would consider buying a 'stop-gap' card, to bridge the holiday period. Anyone else in the same situation?

31st Oct 2006, 09:38	#17
Tim S Pewlius Caesar bit-tech Staff Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Ascot, Berks Posts: 18,021	The first (high-end) DX10 hardware will launch in a few weeks. I don't have any inside info on mainstream DX10 hardware yet, but I don't think we will see it until March. __________________ Tim on Twitter \| Tim's Blog \| Tim's Flickr The bit-tech Blog \| bit-tech on Twitter \| Join the bit-tech & Custom PC folding team (#35947)

31st Oct 2006, 10:08	#18
BioSniper I Mod, Therefore I Own Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Somewhere in the south Posts: 3,454	Cheers for the info Tim However unless you REALLY want a DX10 card would it not be wise to wait till the second gen of them where developers are starting to really use the full set of extensions? __________________ My Flickr :: Bit-tech Flickr Wii: 1792 1527 2926 7945 :: Xbox Live: BioSnipr :: PSN: Biosnipr