Previously, I have a Sapphire X1950Pro but I face problem when I start to load to high end 3D game like Battlefield 2142 and NFS Carbon. The screen like blackout and the fans are all still running. I am not sure whether is a card problem or my power supply problem.

So, I went back to the shop and they replace me a Gigabyte 7900GS at the same price that I have paid for that X1950Pro. But if I am not satisfied with this 7900GS, I still can claim back my X1950Pro.

So, would need you guys' help whether is it worth to take 7900GS with X1950Pro price? I know there are different pricing for different brand.

And if X1950Pro is a better choice, what you guys suggest will my card problem is.

Thanks in advance for reply.

Strider_ozy

The X1950Pro beats the 7900GS in almost ALL benchtests, & some by a considerable margin. Choose any benchtest on the list & you'll see what I mean:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graph...

You already know that the X1950Pro is power hungry card, but then again, most of the newer high end gaming cards are. According to this article, it uses 98W at idle & 181W under load. The 7900GS is just slightly better at 96W/idle, 161W/load. It *could* be that the slight difference in power requirements is what allows the 7900GS run without the blackout issue.

http://anandtech.com/video/showdoc....

I would have exchanged the X1950Pro for another one rather than the 7900GS, then if the blackout problem continued to happen, you would have been fairly sure that the PSU was to blame. As things stand right now, you're stuck with the same question (card problem or PSU?) & have no definite answer.

Or hook a multimeter up to your PSU and be sure. If 20W or so is the difference between black screen or not, you should be buying a new PSU anyway.

"Enough, enough bowing down to disillusion!
Hats off & applause to rogues & evolution!
The ripple effect is too good not to mention.
If you’re not affected, you’re not paying attention!"

I suspect the blackout issue with your X1950Pro had to do with card itself, since you no longer seem to have it with the 7900GS.

At the same time, there is probable cause for an inappropriate PSU to exacerbate it. Unfortunately, it is impossible to accurately speculate on that with no details supplied for the PSU in question.

The possibility of the PSU being the culprit was discussed recently in the hardware forum. He has a CoolerMaster 600W PSU with dual +12v rails of 18A each. Check the article I linked to in response #7:

http://www.computing.net/hardware/w...

Ouch! - thanks for the link jam.

Looks like the OP does need a better PSU if he intends to run that Sapphire X1950Pro on his rig. And with that CoolerMaster 600W having a 70% efficiency, the 180W of heat generated at load only makes things ugly with the X1950Pro.

X1950Pro vs. 7900 GS: Noise & Power Consumption.

But if I keep on trying until to find out the real cause for my card failure.
It is painful as I need to bring fro and to my card and PSU to test on it as the shop itself won't do the debug for me.
And the shop is quite far from my house.....

So, my question will be more to if I stay with 7900GS, is it worth to keep that 7900GS?

Thanks.

Strider_ozy

You're not even sure you had a card failure. Had you gotten another identical card & had the same issue with it, you could be relatively sure that the problem is NOT caused by the card. And obviously if the replacemnet card worked OK, you'd know that the 1st card was defective. But by getting a completely different card with lower power requirements, you learned nothing other than the 7900GS works & the X1950Pro doesn't. It's still conceiveable that the PSU is the cause of the blackout problem. And as heropsycho2177 put it, "if 20W or so is the difference between black screen or not, you should be buying a new PSU anyway". You definitely shouldn't be teetering on the edge of the limits your PSU is capable of dishing out.

Was it your idea to try a completely different card or the shop's?

Of the two cards, the X1950Pro is the better performer & depending on brand, the 7900GS is *usually* $25 or so cheaper.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/vi...

But the problem is that I have a friend using the identical cooler master PSU but with ASUS X1950Pro. And he is having no problem.
And one more thing that make me feel not confident with this X1950Pro is when I enter the Sapphire forum, which I saw all the X1950Pro and X1600 card problem with Sapphire......
The shop wont let me change my card to ASUS as they don't have it. The only compatible card they are having is this 7900GS.

Strider_ozy

"I have a friend using the identical cooler master PSU but with ASUS X1950Pro. And he is having no problem"

It doesn't matter what your friend can or can't do with his system or card. We're talking about YOUR system

"The shop wont let me change my card to ASUS as they don't have it"

Then get a different Sapphire X1950Pro! You still haven't tried a different card of the same make/model. If the other card works, the 1st one was bad. If it doesn't work, you'll have to consider other possibilities.

I'm beginning to think you're dsarosh using a new screenname....lol

What is that mean of dsarosh?

Anyway, the main reason is I seem to be like start to like this 7900GS. It doesnt cause me any problem when I play NFSC, Battlefield 2142, Company of Heroes with all the maximum setting which this is not happen in my Sapphire card.

The card seems like don't want to work when I play those 3D game. I would take this Sapphire brand from my list once and for all. You might want to enter Sapphire support forum to see how terrible that card is. A lot of thread showing how they failed with the card.

Well, once again, you might say is the particular card's problem. But if I keep on to and fro the retail shop that I get that X1950Pro card. It will cost me more than I can save if I take X1950Pro instead of 7900GS.

Strider_ozy

"A lot of thread showing how they failed with the card."

Guess who is going to post in a support forum?

People who are having problems. Why would anyone having no issues with their card post?

But it sounds like you've made up your mind. Enjoy the 7900GS.

"Enough, enough bowing down to disillusion!
Hats off & applause to rogues & evolution!
The ripple effect is too good not to mention.
If you’re not affected, you’re not paying attention!"

It is a tough decision to make up my mind to keep this 7900GS.
I know is a bit lower performance compared to X1950Pro.
Well, at least it give me a very good first impression compared to X1950Pro......
Anyway, thanks for everyone's reply....

Strider_ozy

The fact is, you still don't know for sure if the X1950Pro was defective or if you had pushed the PSU to it's limit. You *may* end up learning the hard way...time will tell.

But the fact is I have already stress my card all to the maximum setting with all those so-called high end game like company of heroes and Battlefield 2142......
It doesnt show a sign of going to fail.....
But the X1950Pro failed once I get into the game.
Well, honestly, first impression is very important to an end user, i don't care how good is the thing, if the thing cant catch my first glance on it, I wouldnt want to buy it......
Well, thanks for ur reply.....
I know you have tried hard to let me understand that we should have far sight as the PSU that I am having might be a very low end product that wont support my future card.

Strider_ozy

Are you sure you aren't dsarosh? He would make the same kind of comments.

I'm not gonna try to change your mind. You have a 50-50 change of being right, just like I have a 50-50 chance of being wrong. All I'm saying is that you didn't troubleshoot properly & didn't determine whether the card was to blame or the PSU. If it was the card, you should be fine with the 7900GS, provided the performance is acceptable to you. But if it was the PSU, you *may* have problems in the future.