ATI graphics cards??

[simonb1612]

Does anyone here use an ATI x1650 pro PCI-E graphics card (512mb)? If so what are your thoughts. They are on sale at the moment and I was wondering if it would be worth the price to upgrade from an X1550 card (256mb)

Many thanks

[Hawk_345]

well i have ATI X1600Pro 512mb, and i can run the game fine, and most other games on high beofre this one, like BF2, COD2, AO3, IL2, and anything before that, i find it great. so 1650pro is probably just as good and beter.

There are a few x1650pro users here so let them confirm that.

[mrbeast]

Hawk_345 do you get all the effects on your ATI card such as lense flare? Can't get it on my ATI.

[Zantham]

x1650 vs x1550
1) Adding +256MB RAM to the video card will allow higher resolution
2) Goiing from 4 pixel pipelines to 12 pixel pipelines makes the card more efficient
3) Adding 50MHz to the GPU clockspeed means it can process data faster
4) GDDR3 is faster than GDDR2 and generates less heat

[Hawk_345]

in options, i can only get the set of boxes on the far right of the options, the first row are all unchecked. im also running ROW, im not able to get all efects such as lens flare, alot of people cant with ATI,so it seems anyway, but i keep sailing anyway.

[simonb1612]

So I went to the store planning on buying the X1650 Pro but then see that there are 256MB cards with DDR3 that are a comparable / higher price that the 512mb card with DDR2. So I held of on the purchase and am now seeking the expert opinions and knowledge of my fellow skippers..... What is the difference and which way should I go?

Many thanks

[maerean_m]

In the video card, always go for DDR3 memory. The video cards with DDR2 memory are created for those who don't play games because they are so slow. And the marketing tries to "fool" the buyers by using 512 mb instead of 256 mb.

For a video card, playing a game is like a car race. It needs to be fast and provide high numbers of frames per second. The DDR2 video cards are like trucks, they can carry a lot but are very slow. You need a card that is fast while carrying enough goods (256 mb capacity).

Also, is very important to set the maximum value possible for "AGP Aperture Size" in BIOS so DirectX can successfully use system RAM to store textures.

[simonb1612]

Thank you for the advice everyone :up:

[swdw]

If you go to www.pricewatch.com you can get a x1950 pro 512MB for less than you can get the 1650 in the store. SH4 looks absolutely beautiful on my puter which uses this card.

Tip, use RivaTuner to overclock the card. Using Catalyst Control Center to OC causes the screen to flash continuously and ATi doesn't have a fix out yet.

[MONOLITH]

Definately go with the X1950 Pro.

It's an awesome card. The AGP version is the fastest card you can buy to keep an aging AGP slot board good for another year.

I bought mine from NewEgg pretty cheap a few months ago; best card I've ever had. I play SH4 with everything cranked to max at 1680x1050, runs great and I'm only 2.4 ghz with 1 G ram.


I've actually heard bad things about the 1600 series, and they're definately no comparison to the X1950.

[Fish40]

I'm useing a 1650pro, only AGP version. I upgraded from a 9800pro, and I'm pretty satisfied. As for the "lense flare" effect, or should I say the lack of, this is a problem of the older(pre DX10) ATI cards. As far as I know, all of us ATI users of older generation cards suffer from a lack of lense flare effect.

As for going with the 1950 card, just be sure your PSU is up to the task. I found out the hard way what an underpowered PSU could do to a highpowered GC.

[MONOLITH]

Fish is correct about the power requirements of the X1950. I actually have my rig opened up and connected to two seperate power supplies.

But it's a great card. I haven't found a game yet that I couldn't run well with it. I believe it is the last great card we'll see for AGP.