Might get an asus fx5900...advice?

Hey Guys,

My first time over here in the nvidia forums HELLO!

Anyway, I found a nice deal on the asus fx5900 card, and I was wondering if it would flash to the fx5950 bios? Does anyone know? Will they all do this?

-Collin-

first you would have to try the card and see if it can run the speeds of the ultra and at what temps then flash it if it can do it without artifacts but to tell you yes it can be done would be leading you astray because of so many manufacturers, and because 1 guy was able to on a certain make and model does not mean that all of that type will do the same

very true.....

I am asking this question because I just bought a 9800 pro, that refuses to run at xt speeds, so I was going to return it and try this. Maybe I just better keep it and be satisfied with my 6200 3d03 score.

-Collin-

just take the 98p back an get a replacement, u just got unlucky with that pro thats all, the ATI radeons run faster than nvidia cards (framerate wise) have way better AA and AF abilites not to mention they have better image quality, and every 98p ive come by lately has clocked well over XT speeds, some even have the r360 core (sapphire lite retail versions )

actually, i also bought a 9800 Pro to compare to my XT and took the Pro back as well. i didn't notice this miraculous "better image quality" that i was supposed to be seeing, nor did i see an increase in FPS worth noting.

and FYI it's not going to run at XT speeds in terms of core/mem - nor are you going to get anywhere near 6200 with a 9800 Pro.

with their low 3DMark03 scores, ATI people will explain that your high 3DMark03 scores are because of "non-WHQL drivers!" or "3DMark03 is optimized for Nvidia!" or some crap like they do over at the Hard Forums.

trust me.. you made the right choice with the XT.

i got my previous card (MSI 5900XT) up to 516/800 on stock cooling, with a 6100 3DMark03 score.

i was able to take the 9800Pro only 20MHz over stock core and mem before I would get artifacting.

There is a lot of hype concerning video cards. Here's the real story:

Chief characteristics:

FX5900
-big clock rate, and the resultant fill rate and memory bandwidth
-great 2D image quality
-very good drivers, application, and OS compatibility
-challanged by a few of the lastest DX9 games, but only in rare cases do serious consequences result
-faster by most other measures, including 3DMark03. My 5900 flashed to 5950 exceeds 7000; ATI's will not in my machine.
-a very nice solution if the occasional DX9 performance issue doesn't impact your application

ATI 9800
-moderate clock rate, but architectural advantages offset this
-very good 2D image quality
-decent drivers, spotty application and OS compatibilty beyon the most mainstream of considerations
-more adept at the DX9 games that give the 5900 problems
-a very nice solution if the occasional incompatibility does not impact your application

Certainly 9800s have relative strengths, but a 5900 (especially a cheap one) has virtue as well. After you've tried both you'll know which you really like better, as comparison with the forthcoming 6800 has shown they are really more alike than different after all.

Thank you guys. I guess I could just own both cards, then return the one I don't like.