Very nice review, nice to see some widescreen gaming thrown in the mix. I'm quite surprised at how well Oblivion runs at 1920x1200 with these cards, it seems like they're definately worth the money.
Also, I noticed you switched tracks in NFSMW to my favourite track. Mind you 4min is still slow :D It's also interesting that you should note that a higher fps makes faster cars more playable, it would seem that it would be better to sacrifice detail for speed in that case.
Originally Posted by Reaper_Unreal Very nice review, nice to see some widescreen gaming thrown in the mix. I'm quite surprised at how well Oblivion runs at 1920x1200 with these cards, it seems like they're definately worth the money.
I was pleasantly surprised with the Oblivion performance too - after playing for around 50 hours so far, I've learnt some decent tweaks that still gives a reasonable game experience.
Quote:
Also, I noticed you switched tracks in NFSMW to my favourite track. Mind you 4min is still slow :D
We're using quite a slow car for recording, but I did test a maxxed out Carrera GT as my high speed test. ;)
Quote:
It's also interesting that you should note that a higher fps makes faster cars more playable, it would seem that it would be better to sacrifice detail for speed in that case.
Absolutely and had the NFSMW tests been 'highest playable', the details would've been lowered.
Hmm... now I definately need that 7900GT. How you're able to play at much higher detail and resolution than I am with the next step up in WS resolution compared to my 6800gt is mind-boggling (I've got grass off, no HDR/bloom, no shadows and a lot of stuff towards the middle save draw distance, and it's still often choppy at 1680x1050).
The one I'm looking at is $320 for a 500MHz/1500MHz eVGA card... I was merely hoping to up the resolution and have it playable. Wow. I must ask, where the f*** is the AF setting in Oblivion? Do you just set it in the driver CP or is one of the options in there translating to that under a different name?
Much thanks for actually doing the high-res WS tests though. I personally think it's a bit funny that you can play Oblivion at 1920x1200 but apparently not 1600x1200 on the ol' tube (seeing that the resolution tends to make aliasing less noticible), but whatever. I was really looking for confirmation that I'd be able to play at 1920 with some level of detail, and this is just what I needed. Bit r teh
I suppose watercooling any brand card voids the warrantee, but what can I do...
Originally Posted by Firehed The one I'm looking at is $320 for a 500MHz/1500MHz eVGA card... I was merely hoping to up the resolution and have it playable. Wow. I must ask, where the f*** is the AF setting in Oblivion? Do you just set it in the driver CP or is one of the options in there translating to that under a different name?
You have to control Oblivion AF from the CP - there's a driver profile so you can just enable it on a per-app basis.
Quote:
Much thanks for actually doing the high-res WS tests though. I personally think it's a bit funny that you can play Oblivion at 1920x1200 but apparently not 1600x1200 on the ol' tube (seeing that the resolution tends to make aliasing less noticible), but whatever. I was really looking for confirmation that I'd be able to play at 1920 with some level of detail, and this is just what I needed. Bit r teh
You can play at 1600x1200, but you have to start turning off things that are nice to have on (tree canopy shadows being one of those things), and fade distances have to be turned down somewhat too. With generally high detail levels on XFX's XXX card, you can enjoy the game with loads of detail. I guess I should do some 1600x1200 vs 1280x1024 playable settings comparison screens.
Quote:
I suppose watercooling any brand card voids the warrantee, but what can I do...
You can change coolers with Club 3D without voiding the warranty, but (AFAIK) you can't buy them in the USA.
Nice review. I was looking at the XFX 7900gt and I am impressed. I think I may get the regular version though, we'll see. (I've seen some impressive overclocks on these cards too)
I've successfully RMA'd a watercooled eVGA card, but I dunno whether it was technically against their terms. Of course, I went through Newegg and not eVGA, and they've always treated me well.
This review was probably the deciding factor for me though... I just wish you guys had a newegg affiliate link or something that I could buy through. Not quite the exact model, but $299 for a 520/1500MHz XFX card seems quite nice. I'd just need to get some new screws or whatever since the mounting plate of the 7900gt's is a bit different than the 6800gt's. Ah well, I don't mind spending $3 to keep a $110 waterblock useful. M2.5x10mm sound about right?
Originally Posted by Firehed This review was probably the deciding factor for me though... I just wish you guys had a newegg affiliate link or something that I could buy through.
well newegg is a US only computer parts company, bit-tech is UK based
Comments 1 to 22 of 22
Also, I noticed you switched tracks in NFSMW to my favourite track. Mind you 4min is still slow :D It's also interesting that you should note that a higher fps makes faster cars more playable, it would seem that it would be better to sacrifice detail for speed in that case.
We're using quite a slow car for recording, but I did test a maxxed out Carrera GT as my high speed test. ;)
For the money, these cards are damn hard to beat :D
I'd imaging it'd nullify it. Best to email BFG to make sure
Ebuyer also have the BFG at £235 inc VAT, which is about £4 less than what i paid about a week and a half ago. Damn fine card for the money ;)
The one I'm looking at is $320 for a 500MHz/1500MHz eVGA card... I was merely hoping to up the resolution and have it playable. Wow. I must ask, where the f*** is the AF setting in Oblivion? Do you just set it in the driver CP or is one of the options in there translating to that under a different name?
Much thanks for actually doing the high-res WS tests though. I personally think it's a bit funny that you can play Oblivion at 1920x1200 but apparently not 1600x1200 on the ol' tube (seeing that the resolution tends to make aliasing less noticible), but whatever. I was really looking for confirmation that I'd be able to play at 1920 with some level of detail, and this is just what I needed. Bit r teh
I suppose watercooling any brand card voids the warrantee, but what can I do...
in my experience their service is better then overclockers and their cheaper too
alot of people agree (ive herd plenty of horror storys about overclockers)
BTW
Any chance bit tech can do a SLI roundup kinda thing, like SLI 7300 - 7900 (with single card comparisons)
There are alot of people around that say 2x 6800GT < 7800GT and so on, i would be interested to see if its true
(the general rumour seems to be 1x new card performs better then 2 of the previous ones)
Edit
I would ask for crossfire benchies, but as far as ive herd so far crossfire doesnt improve, or worsens framerates and such
Doesn't eVGA allow you to do this aswell? I heard a while ago that they did so.
This review was probably the deciding factor for me though... I just wish you guys had a newegg affiliate link or something that I could buy through. Not quite the exact model, but $299 for a 520/1500MHz XFX card seems quite nice. I'd just need to get some new screws or whatever since the mounting plate of the 7900gt's is a bit different than the 6800gt's. Ah well, I don't mind spending $3 to keep a $110 waterblock useful. M2.5x10mm sound about right?