Sapphire 2900 XT

[Payner10]

The Sapphire 2900 XT is an amazing video card. I recently purchased it with my new system. It performs very well, allowing me to run all of my games on max setting. Like most ATI cards it sucks a lot of power. In order to run in crossfire you will probably need a 1000watt power supply, if you are planning on over clocking. The card also runs very hot, so I would recommend getting an after market cooler. In the near future I plan on purchasing the Thermalright HR-03 R600 cooler. This card will keep it very cool and quiet. The stock cooler is VERY loud, even when it is not on 100% power. If you are a hardcore gamer this should not be a factor on whether or not you purchase it, though. The Thermalright cooler will allow me to over clock it 100%, which will make it even more amazing.

Overall I would recommend this card to anyone. It performs very well, and looks good too.

Also, if anyone has any past experiences with the HR-03 R600 cooler, will you let me know? I might have some questions about it at a later time.

[J-Roc]

That card is pretty sweet. I wanted to buy one but at the time it wasnt in my budget. Saphire is a good brand aswell. I have an x700 by them in my second computer and it was good for its time. A bit slow by todays standards. What are your benchmark scores?

[Payner10]

I scored very high with the default clocks on 3dmark06, but I can't remember the scores because it was before I reformatted. On Counter-Strike:Source I usually get an average fps of 180 on the highest settings. As soon as I get the HR-03 R600 heat sink I will be able to boost all of my scores :). I will post the 3dmark scores when I fully overclock it at a later time. I will most likely be getting the heat sink for xmas. If you plan on getting the 2900 you should get it because of the loud fan, and the ability to fully overclock the card. Definitely worth the extra money for insane performance, and also full DX10 support. Nvidia's cards aren't even going to fully support the new DX10 patches.

[Indybird]

I skipped the HD2000 series since they didn't really bring absolutely amazing performance to the table. I'm not saying they were bad, its just their performance to price ratio wasn't that good at all for a $400 card. Neeways, I will be getting a HD3800 series when those come out in a week.

-Indybird

[Payner10]

Are you sure that they are coming out in a week or so? I haven't been able to find any information about the series.

[Indybird]

Are you sure that they are coming out in a week or so? I haven't been able to find any information about the series.

ATI is going to keep very quiet right up until the launch. They said they'd be doing that a while ago.

-Indybird

EDIT: I'm sorry, heres (http://www.techpowerup.com/?43201) a brand new article that says otherwise. I guess it'll be the 19th.

[Payner10]

I found some information about the new cards, it turns out that I was just searching the wrong number.