Considering the ATi X800

[Stavros]

I've been looking at video cards and I really don't have a clue as to which one to get. Would the ATi X800 256MB (PCI-E) be overkill for a moderate to frequent gamer?

[SlimDog53185]

No I don't think so. If you were buying it when it first came out then I would have to say yes. But now with the drops in price I say go get one. You will be satisfied.

[ryanmartini]

Save up some more and aim for a X800 XL or 6800 GT to get some time out of it.

[Stavros]

Actually now I'm considering the X850XT for my SFF box.

Either that or the eVGA Geforce 7800GTX.

Not sure.

[johan851]

Shouldn't be overkill. What's your budget?

[Stavros]

$1400. It might go up on my birthday. I want to save money for games.

[Scott9027]

$1400 for the video card?

[Stavros]

I wish. No, $1400 for the entire computer. I've got these specs so far:

-Shuttle ST20G5 (Barebone -$323.00
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice-$190.00
-250GB DiamondMax10 (16MB Cache) -$126.00
-NEC Dual Layer DVD Burner-$44.00
-2x 1GB Mushkin RAM sticks (value)-$90.00 (each)
-Geforce 7800GTX-$600.00

Total:1463.00

[IWasHungry]

lol, almost half of the price of your computer for a video card. Seems a little overkill to me. ;)

[mikeguava]

the X800PRO would be a great card for gaming - 7800GTX certainly is the best you could get at moment - but honestly your first choice would be more than good enough for the moment...unless you planning on gaming at higher than 1600/1200 ressis with everything at max...

[blitzkrieg1110]

the X800PRO would be a great card for gaming - 7800GTX certainly is the best you could get at moment - but honestly your first choice would be more than good enough for the moment...unless you planning on gaming at higher than 1600/1200 ressis with everything at max...
agreed

[Stavros]

What about these specs:

-Shuttle ST20G5 (Barebone -$323.00
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice-$190.00
-250GB DiamondMax10 (16MB Cache) -$126.00
-NEC Dual Layer DVD Burner-$44.00
-2x 1GB Mushkin RAM sticks-$90.00 (each)
-SAPPHIRE Radeon X850XT-$439.00

Total:$1302.00

[cooper15]

i would recommend 2x 512mb ram because one stick of 1gb is slower then 2 512mb sticks

[Stavros]

You do realize I have an SFF case right?

[johan851]

You do realize I have an SFF case right?
And only room for one hard drive, right? If you had the extra space I would suggest a Raptor, but if you only get one drive, that's not going to be enough space.

I think the X850XT is a much better choice for your needs.

[Stavros]

The only reason I don't want a Raptor is because they don't have good storage space.

[mikeguava]

You probably will not be able to get either the 7800GTX or the X850XT powered properly in your system. The PSUs most likey will not be strong enough that come with the Shuttle systems. There is a slight chance that the Athena Power 450 small form factor psu might fit- but I am not certain. Another issue might become heat - especially when you'll use it as a gaming rig.

Just something to thinka bout...

[johan851]

Those are a couple of good points. One (sort of) solution is to use an ATi card...the nVidias require a lot more juice.

Since you're not overclocking, you could evten lower the voltage of your CPU while running at stock speed. Most CPUs will go down quite a ways while still staying stable. My 1700+ can do 1.2GHz at ~.9v, I think. I'm sure you could take yours down at least a couple tenths of a volt, and that should lower heat output. Also, if you have a spare PCI slot, an Artic Silencer-type GPU cooler would help exhaust air from the card out of the case.

Google cooling mods for the SFF cases - there are some ways to increase performance.

[Stavros]

I went back to Newegg and looked up the PSU. It has a 240 Watt PSU, but someone told me that Shuttle tends to under-rate their PSUs. I'm also looking at another SFF case very similar to the ST20G5 Shuttle Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16856101470). I'm also looking at the SN25P Shuttle case. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16856101468). Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[johan851]

The SN25P looks like it has a 350w PSU, which should at least hold up a lot better than a 240w. It's a little more expensive, but I would recommend that. If you still needed to save money, you could downgrade your card to an X800XL or X800 Pro, even an X800XT. Each of those cards should be just fine for your needs.

[Stavros]

Which one is the better: X800XT, X800XL, or X800Pro?

[IrishAssassin]

X800XT is the better one because it can clock higher than the XL.

[MassiveOverkill]

http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/WishShareShow.asp?ID=1572130&WishListTitle=SFF+gaming+system

plus this

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=202&products_id=2569

and you'll have yourself one bad-ass gaming machine. You can upgrade the video card if you like, but the X800XL is the best bang for the buck.

Spend the extra money on this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824168005

[RangerXLT8]

Any X800Pro, XL, XT, XTPE are some of the best video cards out now. With my X800Pro PCI-E I play BF2, Doom 3 on 1152x864 high quality and like 4x AA and 2x AF and maintain atleast 70+FPS. These cards along with the 6800, 7800 cards are the best on the market.

[Stavros]

My only question is is the water cooling kit portable. The only reason I'm building a Small Formfactor box is (and I'm sorry I've had to state it so many times who have read other threads by me) for portability. Gotta be able to transport between 2 houses once a week and sometimes on 5 hour trips.

Edit: I'll probably just use a tv (if I can) as a monitor for the first month or so, because we have 2 tvs for our 2 Xboxes and we don't play system link as much as we used to. I'm trying to save some money for games (e.g. BF2, Area 51, HL2, ect.)

[MassiveOverkill]

Yes it is. I just got my Q-pak case today and there's plenty of room for this H20 kit. Some minor mods will have to be made to it to make it fit and be efficient. I plan on using a short length DVD-ROM (to fit the Fortron PS) and then put my DVD burner in an external enclosure.

[Stavros]

Speaking of the ASPIRE Q-Pack, I'm probably going to ditch the Shuttle and build my SFF computer on the Q-Pack case.

Edit: I'm having a tough time deciding between the X800XL and the X850XT. What are the pros and cons?

[MassiveOverkill]

I'm going to hold off on buying a mobo right now, but the Jetway board seems like it has the bets OCing potential.

http://www.hardforum.com/forumdisplay.php?f=102

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=910878