Sapphire X1950 GT

[W1zzard]

Sapphire's new X1950 GT is based on ATI's RV570 GPU. It comes with 256 MB of GDDR3 memory and is cheaper than the Radeon X1900 GT. Of course you can not expect performance wonders from a $140 card, but it is a great way to survive the wait for ATI's next-gen products while being able to play all the latest games.

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[Zubasa]

Did I read wrong or there is a mistake...
X1900GT use RV570?
And the standard X1950Pro is 256MB DDR3...

 

[Eric_Cartman]

yeah, i could have sworn the x1900gt was based on the r580

The GPU used is the RV570 Revision A12. I wonder what the little X stands for on the GPU.

my guess would be they use that to mark the rv570 cores that didn't pass the tests at x1950pro specs

just a guess though

 

[W1zzard]

original x1900 gt uses r580 .. x1900 gt rev. 2 uses rv570

 

[Ketxxx]

As nice as the reviews are w1z, isnt it about time those game tests are updated? 3dmark is, afterall, just a synthetic test.

 

[zwawy]

very nice reviews..thanks

 

[Zalmann]

Great review, will help clear up some of the common misconceptions that some people here have about the differences between the three.

 

[W1zzard]

As nice as the reviews are w1z, isnt it about time those game tests are updated? 3dmark is, afterall, just a synthetic test.

which apps would you suggest we use? they need to have an integrated benchmark feature .. only thing i can think of right now is suprememe commander which is horribly inaccurate.

3dmark06 == 3dmark05 + cpu test .. so not really any difference compared to 3dmark05

 

[Ketxxx]

Something thats extremely demanding in the real world would be nice, say the likes of Oblivion, its in-game FPS counter or fraps could be used to obtain average framerates in places that really matter, like the heavily forested areas and the FPS killing active Oblivion gate areas dotted around. For shits and giggles FPS in places like the Imperial City and indoor areas like taverns could be taken too just for completeness.

 

[ZakB]

After talking to Sapphire about this they sent me a new BIOS. With this the card is a lot quieter and much more fun to use.

-Can someone tell me how to change BIOS on this card, is there any tutorial or beginners guide?
-Am I going to lose waranty if I do that?

Thanks for review, it's really great!

 

[Eric_Cartman]

As nice as the reviews are w1z, isnt it about time those game tests are updated? 3dmark is, afterall, just a synthetic test.

thats why there are game tests in the review too.

 

[W1zzard]

you cant automate oblivion :/

 

[GargoyleBG]

are you sure this is the correct bios
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Sapphire/X1950_GT/images/3E190ASA.bin

it's 96Kb, while saving old bios makes 62Kb file

 

[W1zzard]

yes it's the correct bios i got from sapphire .. i will dump my bios from the card once i'm back from travelling

 

[lordgestle]

Question. Noticed the VRM component layout is different compared to the X1950 Pro reference. Reason I ask is that I just received a Sapphire x1950 Pro 512MB and they layout matches exactly to the x1950GT. I'm a little dissapointed as I already order the VRM cooler for the Accelero and my guess is that this will no longer work so I just wasted an additional 7 bucks. I guess the bigger question is that is this new revision a better version compared to the previous revision (which required a cooler) for the 1950 pro line or is this just bringing the cost down for those models.
All I know is seeing those big caps on a video card does not give me a warm and fuzzy feeling.
*Edit*
Just noticed it missing the mounting holes for the accelero outside of the 4 around the gpu. This 1950 pro going back.

 

[Ketxxx]

You dont have to automate oblivion, using its built in FPS counter is good enough to test a card with oblivions more challenging areas like in dense forests. As pretty much all graphics cards struggle in this game, IMO its a good test to see if the card you have been eyeing up to upgrade to is really worth its salt.

 

[Eric_Cartman]

You dont have to automate oblivion, using its built in FPS counter is good enough to test a card with oblivions more challenging areas like in dense forests. As pretty much all graphics cards struggle in this game, IMO its a good test to see if the card you have been eyeing up to upgrade to is really worth its salt.

no not having an automated test means that the conditions can't be reproduced identically every single time, meaning the tests will be invalid

 

[NinkobEi]

Any word on the Sapphire 1950GT 512mb version review? I've searched the internet high and low but cannot find one..

 

[Ketxxx]

no not having an automated test means that the conditions can't be reproduced identically every single time, meaning the tests will be invalid

No, they wont. all you have to do is pick a dense area, then save the game there and load it up. The save file has all essential information to make it useful. Doesnt matter what system that save file is then used on, it will still load with the player in the EXACT place they were standing. From there a general 360 degree sweep is enough to see a minimum and maximum FPS and to work out an "average"

 

[Eric_Cartman]

No, they wont. all you have to do is pick a dense area, then save the game there and load it up. The save file has all essential information to make it useful. Doesnt matter what system that save file is then used on, it will still load with the player in the EXACT place they were standing. From there a general 360 degree sweep is enough to see a minimum and maximum FPS and to work out an "average"

no that isn't good enough because the frame rate will vary greatly based simply on how fast you do the 360 sweep

for any framerate test to be valid every single aspect has to be identical on every single run

 

[suraswami]

W1zzard - What are the temps on that 1950GT card and how does it compare with 1950Pro? Is the fan loud/too loud at full speed? Can you try posting the temps with default cooler and after market cooler like Artic cooler?

 

[NewbieBuilder]

Oh wow, thank you for the review, I was planning to get this gfx card but I still wasn't quite sure on how it would perform. This cleared up most of the stuff I was unsure about. I'll definitely be getting this then.