Not sure if most folks have heard...ATI/AMD R600 (see below) new video cards should launch at the end of the month. The specs look very impressive - on paper at least. Will be curious how it stacks up against NVIDIA's 8800 series cards.

Regardless of which camp you prefer the R600 launch would hopefully result in faster performance and the lowering of prices on the competitions side :rock:

Recomendation would be purchase a mid range DX9 video card if you were to buy one today and then eventualy upgrade to a midrage DX10 video card.

Unfortunately DX10 (as stated many times) is Vista only and MS has no plans to release a DX10 core for Windows XP. For gamers the future will have to be Vista if you plan to purchase and take full advantage of titles being shipped late 2007 and onwards - as painful as it sounds. For the Vista nay-sayers - I've been using it since November 06 and very pleased with the new OS. Of course there are some compatibility issues (hardware) with Vista mainly around sound cards due to the rewrite of major core components in the new OS.

-Meerkat.

AMD is touting the R600 will feature 700 million transistors (compared to the Radeon X1900 series' 384 million) and a full 512-bit memory interface with support for GDDR3 and GDDR4. On March 30, 2007, AMD will initially debut the R600 as the ATI Radeon X2900 XTX in two separate configurations: one for OEMs (12" layout) and another for retail (9.5" layout). ATI guidance claims the X2900 XTX retail card will come as a two-slot design with a vapor chamber cooler while the OEM version features a quiet fan cooler. 1GB of GDDR4 memory (supplied by Samsung) is the reference configuration for Radeon X2900 XTX.

Approximately one month later, the company will launch the GDDR3 version, dubbed the Radeon X2900 XT. This card features 512MB of GDDR3, lower clock frequencies than the X2900 XTX and is one of the first Radeons to feature heatpipes on the reference design. AMD anticipates the target driver for X2900 XT to be Catalyst 8.36, WHQL expected around March. Radeon X2900 will feature native CrossFire support via an internal bridge interface (no longer a need for the external cable). There is no Master card needed althought any Radeon X2900 can act as the Master card. All three versions of Radeon X2900 are expected to include native HDMI and one 6-pin and one 8-pin (2x4) VGA power connector (both connectors are also backwards compatible with 6-pin power supply cables).

Source: http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=38193

(Actually, it doesn't. See all the threads here on 'the resolution issue'. The 2d stuff - gauges, map, interface, etc does scale up to higher resolutions. However, the "3d world" - that which takes graphics horsepower to render - is locked at 1024x768. Can't be changed so far.)

Take it from a non-expert :lol: Red Hammer has given you the best advice.

Except I would go for the ATI card, because you already have one in the X1400 range anyway and the Radeon X1950XT Pro is a great card for DX9c ...

Go to Pricewatch.com and type in his two choices for video cards (one at a time) in the search engine ... go down the list they give you and pick the retail version of the card ... not the oem. Click on order and it will be there in three or four days.

I agree New Egg is the best on the west coast and you don't have to pay state tax, because you live in Washington (not California).

You don't sound to savy on how to install it ... so find a local in the yellow pages to install it for you ... while he is installing the video cars have your computer cleaned up (fans, cards, interior) get the latest drivers scan for spyware, defrag ... etc.

Come home a happy man ... :p

Don't forget to ask him how to stay up to date on drivers, etc. :know:

Stop talking about croaking ... I'll see you back here when SH5 comes out ... isn't this a blast watching everyone jump around like a bunch of indians on the war path ... Oh yeah I've been through three of these come out parties now and I can't wait for the next one.

Your alright chief I don't care what your wife said about you :lol:

O....K..... Been a busy morning, 'sleuthing' . There *are* a lot of power supplies. I'm thinking that if the instantaneous video load is 'light'... as in fairly constant scenery and few vessels...the demands on a power supply would be lighter in those periods? In other words, as in the flight game world, the F/R was great until more planes and explosions were there...then the Rate dropped pretty much, until the contents of each frame was more stable. If that is true, I should be able to get a High End Video Board that would perform with this Stock Supply...until 'action' made demands, right ? I don't know how I'll trim down the selection list for P/S as well as you Kind Gents have done for the Video, itself..... Brrr...

COB

Most video cards will have a minimum recommended amount of amperage required on a power supply's 12 volt rail. A lost say a minimum of 15A, though I recommend at least 20A or more depending on the exact model of vid card you're getting.

Most of the higher end video cards require a PCI-E power hookup, but they generally come with an adapter to go from a plain Jane 4 pin molex (like the ones that hook up to your optical drives) into a 5 pin PCIE power molex. No biggie, just make sure that adapter will come with your video card purchase if your power supply doesn't have one.

Also got me thinking, here in norway, the X1950 PRO costs only 200 american dollars, 1600 Norwegian Krones. and this is the card that`s almost as good as the 7800 GTX. I think it has to do with the R series release by next month. So I agree, get the ATI one. It`s really really really cheap. And hence u can save your Money for a Vista computer sometime later. 2 flies in one smack.

Edit: And also, with the low cost of the X1950 Pro, you can afford a good 500 W Power Supply Unit!

S!

RvH

Now I have a question, I have the BFG 7600GS OC and it is not on the supported list. But it should run the game fine, correct?

BTW, I dont have the game yet.:cry:

yes anyting above and including the 6600 should work

Well.. This thread has brought me more good info than I thought possible! And not one Wise-Crack.... THANK YOU !!

I'll make a decision soon, but I am pretty solid about going Video THEN Power Supply, if necessary...

Somebody suggested I have a 'local' do it. I know how..I built a few '98 machines, and I know The Locals !

So...again... many, many thanks to you all for the scoop. I hope you all have a lot of fun in the 14th District (Pacific). Watch out for the Brown Eyed, Bronze-skinned Beauties that Bathe upon the Balmy Beaches...

COB

Have a look on Ebay, you might be able to get a better deal. Extra ram on the card never hurts, You just have to realize that other parts of the machine may cause bottle necks to appear. An extra gig in RAM maybe a good idea.

I have heard rumors that Nvidia is going to release their 8xxx card in AGP. This will enable older machines to run DX10 and Vista. If this is true, it would take the mantle of most powerful AGP card out there.