Is there any difference in the hardware architecture between 5900XT and 5950ultra?

[Cho]

Is there any difference in the hardware architecture between 5900XT and 5950ultra?

Is speed the only difference between these two? After reading the their specs (5900XT and 5950ultra) from Leadtek, I couldn't find any difference except for the speed.

 

[Nandro]

I believe the XT has slower memory thus making it something of a crapshoot to make it into an XT however many have flashed the 5900XT over to it.

 

[MrBozack]

Many people claimed to have successfully flashed their 5900XT into a 5950 Ultra.

Myself, I encountered problems, but my XFX 5900XT is running fine at near 5950 speeds with the default BIOS and cooling.

I've used the Leadtek 5950U, and it's a solid card.
Whether or not it's worth the extra cash over a 5900XT is debatable.

Although, if buying an 5900XT, take a look at different manufacturers as they all seem to have different core and memory frequencies these days.

 

[LancerJay]

only difference is slower ram. i believe the 5950u has loose ram timings compared to the xt which allows you to clock higher and it takes in a little bit more voltage to the core. i for one has flashed my 5900xt using 5950u bios. the loose ram timings allow me to raise my memory clock a little higher with the 5950u bios compared to the 5900xt.

 

[Cho]

only difference is slower ram. i believe the 5950u has loose ram timings compared to the xt which allows you to clock higher and it takes in a little bit more voltage to the core. i for one has flashed my 5900xt using 5950u bios. the loose ram timings allow me to raise my memory clock a little higher with the 5950u bios compared to the 5900xt.

Can 5900XT perform the same or very closed to 5950U after the bios flash?
I'm consider between 5900XT and 6800nu at the moment. If 5900XT has a chance to perform closed to 5950u, I think I will save some money and get 5900XT.

 

[LancerJay]

yeah a 5900xt will perform close to a 5900u and maybe a 5950u when they are at stock speeds (5950u and 5900u). i believe all the xfx's come with 800mhz ram and can be overclocked well over 900 (at least mine that is). the 5900xt's and 5900u come close. I don't think the flash is really necessary. i'm scoring 200 points less in 3dmark03 after flashing, but i'm having a little bit of trouble with it. my card is only running in agp 4x and it won't allow me to bring it back up to 8.

yeah i can overclock my ram higher, but only because of the loose ram timings on the 5950u bios. so that hurts performance a little, the higher clock sorta makes up for it. so it's basically around the same. i'm trying to flash it back to my original 5900xt but again i'm having trouble with it. i'm also kinda lazy to do it .

the 5900xt is the best buy right now (for the mainstream part) and has always been since they were out. but if you plan to play all the new upcoming games (doom3 hl2) then you probably should be looking at the 5950u at least or 6800nu. or maybe even the 6800gt.

i'm very satisfied with my card right now, i just wish i had better cooling to push it even further. heat is holding me back (at least for the ram part). i can oc up to a gig at least but i begin to get artifacts after a few minutes. the decision is yours. go with the 5900xt if you want to play current games and don't plan to play all the new and big upcoming games.

 

[MrBozack]

There's 21 days untill doom III is here!!!

I WILL be playing it on my 5900XT.

I really can't see the point of paying $100 more for a 5950U. 5900XT can do all of that.

Doom III is optimised for nvidia GPU's using OpenGL API. The "leaked" demo ran outrageously smooth on my GF4Ti 4200... and looked great.

The games coming out have been in development for ages. There will be good support for GF FX59xx series. Not the highest Pixel Shader 3.0 admittedly, but quality Pixel Shader 2.0 under GL.

Cool if you don't want everything at "maximum", just "high" or "higher" settings instead.

I don't think everyone will have a 6800 series in 21 days...

 

[hrhrhrFOOT]

100 bux for a 5900xt converted me from an ati fanboy to a nvidia fanboy

 

[EvilCow123]

Or cant you just be a smart buyer, instead of a fanboy?

 

[Dragonprince]

I got a 5900 Ultra for 200 bucks, have not tried flashing it. Does Flashing do anything besides set the core and memory speeds higher ? As gar as how the card runs...its ok, no Radeon 9800 Pro, not that it matters because my 6800 GT will be here monday

 

[Nandro]

Where did you find a 5900U for $200? I need a new card.

 

[Dragonprince]

EBay if you can believe it, it was a brand new retail PNY card. Gotta look hard but they are there once in a while...

 

[Nandro]

Sweet deal. I would love to find one at that price. If you happen to come across another deal, point me in the right direction. I did get a 9700 pro about 4 or 5 months ago for $99 shipped which was sweet.

 

[Dragonprince]

Heh yeah. Speaking of sweet deals I was following a video card auction earlier that ended at 6pm eastern, some guy just paid 390 US for a X800 Pro....not bad.