X1900 For A Very Light Gamer? [Archive]

thePhilster

Jun 27, 2007, 04:47 PM

Hi

I'm about to order a Mac Pro for my business (I'm self-employed) and am debating whether or not to go for the X1900 upgrade. I play the odd game of Call of Duty 2, but the Mac will be used 99% of the time for web/graphic design.

I'll be leasing the Mac over 3 years, so I want to make sure I get the configuration that a) I can afford and b) won't be out of date in a year.

Now, I know that a lot of people moan about the old gfx cards in Mac Pros, but as I'm not a gamer, I can't see that being a problem. Am I being naive? Surely a 256Mb gfx card will be able to handle my requirements for 3 years?

Any advice would be most appreciated!

Phil

product26

Jun 27, 2007, 05:00 PM

slughead

Jun 27, 2007, 05:27 PM

The 7300 is not really an option, even for 'light' 3D gaming.

Therefore, the X1900 is the only option.

BornAgainMac

Jun 27, 2007, 05:55 PM

I once saw a chart on a retail video card box that showed the 7300 only twice as fast as integrated graphics. I was shocked that it was that slow. A decent card ~$200 should give you about 30 times better performance.

Demon Hunter

Jun 27, 2007, 05:56 PM

The 7300 is not really an option, even for 'light' 3D gaming.

Therefore, the X1900 is the only option.

I disagree. The 7300 is perfectly capable for playing games like World of Warcraft and Call of Duty.

To the OP, I would hold off. Better cards will surely be released soon, and then the price of the X1900 will go down.

mwi

Jun 28, 2007, 03:34 AM

I think it depends on your resolution settings.
For playing on a 24" screen at native 1920x1200 resolution I would definitely recommend getting the ATI card. If you are playing at 1024x768 or lower resolutions the the 7300GS should be fine.

jamesi

Jun 28, 2007, 03:59 AM

id be partial to the X1900 but only b/c i play games alot and the 7300 is really just that bad. but i think it would get you by for the "odd game of COD2" b/c ive played it on my pb and been fine with the slowdowns. but then you realize the 7300 isnt that hot for graphic design/work either, but its manageable.

the mac pro line really needs a mid range card, which i feel would come eventually but knowing apple its hard to count on that sort of flexibility. going by what you said about wanting a card that wont be outdated in 3 years, i have to recommend the X1900. in 3 years it will prolly be a mid lower range card which makes you think where the 7300 will rank

Erasmus

Jun 28, 2007, 04:16 AM

I'm sure the 7300 will run the game with playable framerates, although with most settings turned to low (I don't know the game). The X1900 will no doubt enable you to play COD2 on the highest quality on a large monitor.

Ask yourself: In three years time, are you going to be still playing COD2, or are you going to be playing the equivalent of COD2 today? If it's the latter, the X1900 should still give you enough power to play these games. The 7300, however, will not.

By the way, I'm not sure I would classify someone who plays COD2 a "very light gamer". To me, that's reserved for chess and "bejewled" players.

Go for the X1900XT, but if you can wait, wait. Good chance some time (before the end of the year?) Apple will update the Mac Pro with "Stoakley Seaburg" (still don't know what it is, but apparently it will be good) and of course brand new DX10 graphics cards.

Topper

Jun 28, 2007, 10:28 AM

Good chance some time (before the end of the year?) Apple will update the Mac Pro with "Stoakley Seaburg" (still don't know what it is, but apparently it will be good)
LOL! :)
I've been reading and reading and reading about it and I probably don't know a heck of a lot more than you do.
The main thing is like you say we should get a nice new card out of it.

dartzorichalcos

Jun 28, 2007, 11:26 AM

Apple will update the Mac Pro with "Stoakley Seaburg" (still don't know what it is, but apparently it will be good)

Here (http://techreport.com/etc/2006q4/clovertown/index.x?pg=1) is some information about the Stoakley-Seaburg platform.

Kosh66

Jun 28, 2007, 03:49 PM

Get the X1900XT. Enough said.

What if you want to play a game that's more current in those 3 years?

suneohair

Jun 28, 2007, 04:00 PM

Get the X1900XT. Enough said.

What if you want to play a game that's more current in those 3 years?

You are screwed anyway. Especially if you want to run DX10 games in Windows.

slughead

Jun 29, 2007, 02:57 PM

You are screwed anyway. Especially if you want to run DX10 games in Windows.

I'm never upgrading to vista, so DX10 is worthless anyway.

Though Cider may someday support DX10...

Erasmus

Jun 29, 2007, 07:44 PM

I'm never upgrading to vista, so DX10 is worthless anyway.

Though Cider may someday support DX10...

But you're not the OP...

Wait for the Refresh and get an 8800 or 2900!

And, uh, yeah, SS brings higher FSB speeds, which should be useful, but other than that...

...Oh, and you can swap out the Woodies or Clovers for "Xenryns" when they are released.

Topper

Jun 29, 2007, 08:16 PM

But you're not the OP...

Wait for the Refresh and get an 8800 or 2900!

And, uh, yeah, SS brings higher FSB speeds, which should be useful, but other than that...

...Oh, and you can swap out the Woodies or Clovers for "Xenryns" when they are released.

You've lost me a little bit here.
You mention "SS."
I think Apple will wait for Stoakley/Seaburg which will probably be released in November.
By that time the "Xenryns" (as you call them) should already be out.
I doubt Apple will install Woodies or Clovers in a SS computer.

flappo

Jun 30, 2007, 03:24 AM

if you can wait , i'd advise wait

the s-s board and new chips plus upgraded cards and even the possibility of blu ray makes for a tempting proposition !!!

as long as sdave agrees , anyway :)

SDAVE

Jun 30, 2007, 05:09 AM

Once Apple has a custom BIOS for lets say a 8800GT, I'll be buying one from NewEgg, changing the BIOS, and putting it in my Mac Pro and replacing the X1900 ;)

Erasmus

Jun 30, 2007, 06:25 PM

You've lost me a little bit here.
You mention "SS."
I think Apple will wait for Stoakley/Seaburg which will probably be released in November.
By that time the "Xenryns" (as you call them) should already be out.
I doubt Apple will install Woodies or Clovers in a SS computer.

Firstly, by SS I meant Stoakley/Seaburg, which I thought had already been released.
I don't think the Xenryns (Penryn Xeons) will be released until next year.

Topper

Jun 30, 2007, 07:13 PM

Firstly, by SS I meant Stoakley/Seaburg, which I thought had already been released.
I don't think the Xenryns (Penryn Xeons) will be released until next year.

"The Seaburg board will come out in November, while the Bigsby board will be out a little earlier—some time in the third quarter, Tyan says" (http://techreport.com/news_archive_overview.x/2007/6/11)

Harpertown (Penryn server processor) is expected to be released Q4/2007. (http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20070521050821.html)

WizardHunt

Jul 3, 2007, 02:18 AM

X1900 is the way to go!!!

MacRumorUser

Jul 3, 2007, 03:08 AM

I put this one down to experience.

If you get the 7300 you may save yourself the $200 BTO option - but should you find it sucks major bumhole then prepare to pay $450 for the X1900 or another top card afterwards.

False economy. Get the X1900 as more applications - not necesserily games - begin to offload tasks to the GPU it's the wisest thing to do.

erickkoch

Jul 3, 2007, 03:35 AM

I am also a casual gamer. I also thought the 7300 would be just fine. I was wrong. I was very disapointed that even an old game like UT2004 had to have the settings toned down to get acceptable frame rates. The X1900 was a vast improvement. (Yes, I installed the UB patch, it didn't help much).

Erasmus

Jul 3, 2007, 03:43 AM

"The Seaburg board will come out in November, while the Bigsby board will be out a little earlier—some time in the third quarter, Tyan says" (http://techreport.com/news_archive_overview.x/2007/6/11)

Harpertown (Penryn server processor) is expected to be released Q4/2007. (http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/cpu/display/20070521050821.html)

Fine. MWSF2008 then. Dual 4-Core 4GHz Xenryns in SS, with Geforce 8900 GTX.

Still wait. If you can.

Wild-Bill

Jul 3, 2007, 05:21 AM

I put this one down to experience.

If you get the 7300 you may save yourself the $200 BTO option - but should you find it sucks major bumhole then prepare to pay $450 for the X1900 or another top card afterwards.

Apple charging $450.00 for the x1900 upgrade kit is nothing short of highway robbery.