ATI Radeon 9800XT better than X800GTO?

[Sharkfood]

We're just trying to prepare ya for the things adding a fire-breathing dragon for a 3d card can instigate.

They draw more power, and as a result, they produce more heat. Tight, cramped cases with a poor, low-end power supply and inadequate case cooling can have problems, instability or poor performance. It's important to go into the deal realizing you may have problems.

It can often times be like trying to bolt a Ferrai V12 into a VW Bug chassis. Obviously if your PC is more like a Jetta than a Bug, you'll have better results.

 

[Benan]

Lol i see what your saying but, i dont know how to install them and dont know where also im not made of money lool

 

[Sharkfood]

Well, MOST cases from the past 2-5 years have fan mounts or vents where fans can be added. Worse case is they also make slot-fans that take a free slot mount on the back where an expansion card would go. These things are under $20, but more often $2-$5 if there are holes to mount one on the chassis.

As Rage put it, you may not need one if your case has good space and fairly well made. A lot of times it's just good sense to look for fan mounts and toss in a cheap $2 fan if your case has a mount on the front/back. A unit such as:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835150053

Only $1.99 to add 20-30 cubic feet per minute of airflow which is more than adequate to exhaust hot, trapped air if your case has a mount for a 80mm fan somewhere... and has no case fans already.

 

[Benan]

Okay can you help me research? check these retailers:

www.centrecom.com.au, www.macotechnology.com.au, www.nintek.com.au

Tell me what fan to get and how would I tell if it fits

 

[Sharkfood]

Here's a good article with pictures on how most cases have an area above the CPU where you can bolt a fan on. Some have this in the front/bottom.. some have this in the back over the cpu:
http://www.quepublishing.com/articles/article.asp?p=339022&rl=1

I'd just look at the back of your case.. see if it has a vent area with any holes.. then measure the diameter for 80mm or 120mm size. Also check the front of your case/bottom as some cases have this in the front (for mounting a fan "sucking" air, or intake to create airflow). Back fans you usually mount as exhaust (blow air outwards out the back).

Either way, it'll add airflow to your case innards to remove trapped air. All components run cooler this way and can also increase the life of your PC components.

 

[Sharkfood]

From your links:
80mm Case Fan $4.00 AUS
http://www.centrecom.com.au/catalog/product_info.php?keywords=fan&products_id=523

Maco technology has a 120mm for $10 AUS, but no link.. Do a search for "Fan" and it's like the third on the list.

Nintek has a bunch:
80mm->
http://www.nintek.com.au/x/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=1027
120mm->
http://www.nintek.com.au/x/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=1029

You'll have to inspect your case to see if it has mounts for these. I'm betting it has at least one spot where you can put a fan (where there are vents). Sometimes it may be missing the holes, but nothing a couple minutes with a dremel tool cant fix.

 

[Benan]

Chip as chips

okay i'll get one now

thats the back of my case.. how do they stick to the case? how will i know its fits, and whats the difference between 120 MM and 80 MM?

 

[Mictlantecuhtli]

X1600PRO is only in PCI-E i want AGP

There are X1600 Pros available as AGP cards too.

 

[Benan]

Im getting a 6800GS thnx for ur help

 

[Sharkfood]

Wow, it's hard to tell from that picture where things are oriented but indeed looks like a mount for a 80 or 120mm fan. Most fan mounts do have an empty cover that screws in four corners with a grill in it's place.

If that's on the back of the case (which is hard to tell from that dark picture) and corresponds to that link I gave a while back, I think it's safe to say that's a fan mount. What's left is to measure the diameter diagnally across to see if it's 80 or 120mm size.. then slap a cheap fan there.

To give you some real world data.. I upgraded my GF's PC from a 9700 Pro to an X800 GTO (got lucky too and it was a 16 pipe job!). Her motherboard has a temp sensor right on the motherboard. The temps when under full load for about 45 minutes:
9700 Pro: Idle: 35C, under load: 39C
X800GTO: Idle: 38C, under load: 45C

There were no problems, but 45C is pretty hot for ambient temperatures.

I slapped in two case fans, Rosewill adjustable fans (they have a little knob where you can adjust the speed) one on the front for intake, one in the back for exhaust. With both knobs at 50% (half speed), temps are now:
X800GTO: Idle: 33C, under load: 35C

You can put your hand behind the case and feel very, very warm air exhausting and the front fan also keeps the hard drives right by it a cool 33-35C as well. This will extend the life of the components.

 

[Benan]

I measured the back where the vent is..

Its 95 MM from Screw hole to screw hole.. what do I do!?

 

[F1N3ST]

90 or 92mm, do other people agree, because the case is larger than the fan.

 

[Benan]

if their only cheap ($5 - $10) i might get one of each any certain brand or power it needs to bee?

and how much power does it take from PSU

 

[Sharkfood]

They are nothing as far as power draw.. like <2W or so.

The main thing is noise. The look at the dba ratings and ones that are >35-37dba are pretty noisy. It'll sound like a little vacuum down there hehe.

I bought the adjustable Rosewills since I can adjust with the knob in the back based on usage. At 50% speed, they are very quiet. At 100%, it sounds like a Cesna airplane taxing for take-off lol. WHIRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!

 

[Benan]

haha xD I'll have a good look. Thanks for the help..

Anything else i should buy? any brands u recommend?? *Fingers crossed everything fits*

 

[caravel]

I need a quick not to expensive upgrade to my current Radeon 9000 Pro 64MB AGP, mainly to improve the performance of 'Rome: Total War', that doesn't involve changing the motherboard, so I've been looking into a Radeon X1600 Pro 256MB AGP, and have seen one for about £70.00. Would this be a good buy?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

A more affordable one would be a Radeon 9600PRO/XT. It would be a large improvement over the card u have now. I think it should be available for around 35 pounds or so.

 

[wolfram]

I need a quick not to expensive upgrade to my current Radeon 9000 Pro 64MB AGP, mainly to improve the performance of 'Rome: Total War', that doesn't involve changing the motherboard, so I've been looking into a Radeon X1600 Pro 256MB AGP, and have seen one for about £70.00. Would this be a good buy?

Answering your question, that would be a good buy. A X1600PRO is better than a 9600XT, and way better than your current card.

Regards

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Yeah but just to improve the performance of one game, it's not worth spending 70 pounds on a new graphics card. Both cards are much, much better than his Radeon 9000PRO so I don't see any justification that way. Unless u want to play graphic-intensive games like GRAW or BF2, I wouldn't recommend the X1600PRO.

 

[wolfram]

Yeah but just to improve the performance of one game, it's not worth spending 70 pounds on a new graphics card. Both cards are much, much better than his Radeon 9000PRO so I don't see any justification that way. Unless u want to play graphic-intensive games like GRAW or BF2, I wouldn't recommend the X1600PRO.

Good point mate

I guess that depends on the games he wants to play.

Regards :wave:

 

[Benan]

I need this answered ASAP!!!!!!! 3 hours until i leave for the comp fair..

What if i cant find the 6800GS by Palit? do I find it by another brand? cause Palit over clock theirs what do I do!!!

 

[wolfram]

You can get another brand mate. You can always overclock your card, so you probably don't need a factory overclocked one... But at least, factory overclocked cards come with warranty. And if you overclock a normal card, say good bye to it....

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Yeah u can. Most brands that sell the card are reliable. I would recommend looking for ones from eVGA, BFG or XFX, since they are ones who provide factory OC'd cards and especially eVGA offers nice rebates and other stuff. My bro has a BFG 7800GS and he got 5 full games on a disk with the card and 3 codes to unlock any 3 games.

 

[caravel]

Yeah but just to improve the performance of one game, it's not worth spending 70 pounds on a new graphics card. Both cards are much, much better than his Radeon 9000PRO so I don't see any justification that way. Unless u want to play graphic-intensive games like GRAW or BF2, I wouldn't recommend the X1600PRO.

Well it is, because Shogun: Total War, Medieval: Total War, and Rome: Total War are the only games I actually play. I don't play any other games at all. The graphics are not so vital, but on the 9000 PRO RTW has a severe case of the judders (poor framerate) even on the lowest detail levels, with AA and AF turned off, so it would be worthwhile.

I'm liking the idea of a 9600XT "for around 35 pounds", if it's a "large improvement", and runs RTW at an acceptable framerate. I'll have to look into that some more.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[wolfram]

Yeah, a 9600XT is way more powerful than a 9000 card. Also, is pretty cheap, and doesn't require a powerful PSU.