Halo 1 & 2 for PC
This topic has moved here: Poll [23 votes]: Should I get a GeForce 7950 GX2?
  • Poll [23 votes]: Should I get a GeForce 7950 GX2?
Subject: NVidia Geforce 7950 GX2
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Poll: Should I get a GeForce 7950 GX2?  [closed]
Yes.:  39%
(9 Votes)
No.:  4%
(1 Votes)
Stick with your crappy GeForce FX5200.:  0%
(0 Votes)
Go for something cheaper.:  17%
(4 Votes)
Yes, and get one for me, too!:  9%
(2 Votes)
Go for an ATI instead.:  9%
(2 Votes)
Wait for the next(better) card to come out.:  13%
(3 Votes)
Grunts are people too!:  9%
(2 Votes)
Total Votes: 23

This card, in short, kicks ass. I currently don't have the money for it, but I am saving.

The card has two GPU's on one board, running at a total of a GB for RAM. It blows all other current cards out of the water, except in price: anywhere from $600-$700.

I wouldn't truly call it a single card, as it takes up two slots, one for the cooling system and one for the board. I do have the single slot I would need, but I will have to get a new power supply, because this thing nearly takes up all of my 250 watts by itself.

Speaking of power supply, what about the direct link to the graphics card? I have heard that high-end cards actually have their own cable running from the power supply. My power supply and my 5200 don't have ports or cables to support this feature. Is this just a rumor?

http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q2/geforce-7950-gx2/index.x ?pg=1
^ This is the best page for information I have found.

More bits and pieces of my computer: Intel Celeron 2.7ghz, 768 mb RAM
I did some research and found that I can have two gigs of memory on my current motherboard, as well as a 3.2 ghz Celeron that only costs $80. I am not willing to spend a lot on a new CPU, so I like this deal. Do you think I should go with it? I am definitely going to upgrade to two gigabytes of RAM.

The computer I play Halo on is an HP Pavilion from 2002-2004, the year I'm not sure about.

  • 06.14.2006 9:15 PM PDT
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before you upgrade your videocard get a new processor and more ram. A 7950 would bottleneck your cpu terribly. Celerons, no matter the clock speed, are not meant to be used for gaming. They have very low amounts of cache which is one of the main problems that adds to the poor preformance.


edit - do you know why that celeron only costs $80? you can pretty much tell just by the price.

[Edited on 6/14/2006]

  • 06.14.2006 9:39 PM PDT
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Posted by: TMH1988
before you upgrade your videocard get a new processor and more ram. A 7950 would bottleneck your cpu terribly. Celerons, no matter the clock speed, are not meant to be used for gaming. They have very low amounts of cache which is one of the main problems that adds to the poor preformance.


edit - do you know why that celeron only costs $80? you can pretty much tell just by the price.

  • 06.14.2006 9:52 PM PDT
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Maybe you should wait a month for the new conroe processors if your into intel processors, that or get a good AMD processor that's reasonably priced.

Also you may want to hold up with the video card if its reasonably good, remember dx10 is just arond the corner, you could save the money and just buy whole new parts ready to use dx10 and play dx10 games next year and just build a whole new computer next year.

  • 06.14.2006 10:29 PM PDT
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It would be smarter to get a new cpu (conroes are looking alot better than the am2's), than the 7950

  • 06.14.2006 10:43 PM PDT
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I'd make sure that you have PCIe and that your PSU is powerful enough. Also, the rest of your system really isn't that great, I'd upgrade that before the video card. The bottleneck effect on the 7950 would be so great that the 7950 would barely perform better then a 7600. Also I'd highly consider waiting for DX10 video cards to come out, because chances are, that even though they aren't required, that there will be some use for them in Halo 2 Vista.

  • 06.14.2006 11:57 PM PDT
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If you have the money, get it!

But don't forget to upgrade your CPU first.

  • 06.15.2006 4:12 AM PDT
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Okay, I think that by the time I get the money for the card, DX10 will be out anyway. I'll take your advice and wait.

Now, what processor and how much RAM do you guys recommend?

Processors are incredibly expensive right now. Athlon 64 X2 4800 is at least $600. Is there a cheaper alternative to this processor that won't bottleneck the performance?

If sexylegsdavis is here, I'd like to hear from him. He seems to be The Maw's expert on hardware.

  • 06.17.2006 11:04 AM PDT
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If you want to not bottle neck the "best" card out there, you will need the best hardware to support it. You won't get that for cheap. Wait till the conroe processors come out, the current amd chips will drop in price really fast.

You would probably be best buying a whole new computer.

  • 06.17.2006 2:23 PM PDT
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Posted by: ImSpartacus
Posted by: Master Kim
If you have the money, get it!


no dont get it, the conroe processor is coming out in a month or 2, and the dx10 cards will come out in a few months along with vista. basically everybody's preparing their pc's for vista, and while the 7950 will support vista, it is still only a dx9 card, and will not support new games. and if your getting some thing that expensive, get a decent cpu too (conroe anyone?)

i think it was kim actually that said the dx10 cards would pwn (not sure about that ill check) the current dx9 cards. and if u r saving up that much money u could get a kickass dx10 card when they come out, pls dont waste all that on some thing that will only last u a few months

and is your current card that bad? i have an integrated card and i can run quake 4 with it, i do have a decent cpu but still it sux and i survive, cant u?



yes it will support the new games. Stop trying to give advice that you dont know about. All dx10 games will be backwards compatable if you wanna call it that. If it ran only dx10 you would be forced to upgrade your videocard. Go for it if you want to, but I would highly suggest upgrading your CPU first.

  • 06.17.2006 2:34 PM PDT

you may know me as X[IGN]

Posted by: Iggwilv

*hands Kim a crowbar*
Here you will need this to help you get your foot out of the back of your throat, looks llike its in there pretty deep. And what is that on your face? Egg?! *hands Kim a washcloth*

Posted by: OmniosSpartan
lol Conroe.


conroe is quite a bit faster than any athlon X2.

  • 06.17.2006 2:59 PM PDT
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The Marty Army

Ah, look at the lonely people...

Yeah, dump the Celeron ASAP... that thing is a piece of junk.

  • 06.17.2006 3:19 PM PDT

you may know me as X[IGN]

Posted by: Iggwilv

*hands Kim a crowbar*
Here you will need this to help you get your foot out of the back of your throat, looks llike its in there pretty deep. And what is that on your face? Egg?! *hands Kim a washcloth*

Posted by: OmniosSpartan
Posted by: staticx576
Posted by: OmniosSpartan
lol Conroe.


conroe is quite a bit faster than any athlon X2.


according to Intel, srsly the same people that said when they brought out the P4 that it would have reached clock speeds of 12GHz by this time, the same people that said that the P4 outperformed an AMD processor at the same clock speed, srsly all of Intel's benchmarks are always biased towards thier processors.


Have you looked at ANY of the benchmarks at all? there are PLENTY from 3rd party sites and infact I have shown you one. Get it through your dense skull that the core architecture of the conroe is superior to that of the athlon 64. which in itself isnt that bad considering how old most of the architecture is on the athlon 64.

  • 06.17.2006 3:59 PM PDT

Make sure you count your money before attempting to upgrade. But yes try to upgrade, when i had the 5200 i could not turn on specular and the settings had to be on low for single and maps like icefields

[Edited on 6/17/2006]

  • 06.17.2006 6:58 PM PDT

you may know me as X[IGN]

Posted by: Iggwilv

*hands Kim a crowbar*
Here you will need this to help you get your foot out of the back of your throat, looks llike its in there pretty deep. And what is that on your face? Egg?! *hands Kim a washcloth*

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2771& p=5
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/06/05/first_benchmarks_conro e_vs_fx-62/page5.html
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1976401,00.asp
http://www.hothardware.com/viewarticle.aspx?page=2&articl eid=832&cid=1
http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/cpu/intel-conroe-2-13-ghz .html

want more?

  • 06.17.2006 8:06 PM PDT
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is a geforce4 good enuf to get shiny graphics?plzz pm me wit ur reply

[Edited on 6/17/2006]

  • 06.17.2006 9:07 PM PDT

Posted by: JesusCtheSpartan
This card, in short, kicks ass. I currently don't have the money for it, but I am saving.

The card has two GPU's on one board, running at a total of a GB for RAM. It blows all other current cards out of the water, except in price: anywhere from $600-$700.

I wouldn't truly call it a single card, as it takes up two slots, one for the cooling system and one for the board. I do have the single slot I would need, but I will have to get a new power supply, because this thing nearly takes up all of my 250 watts by itself.

Speaking of power supply, what about the direct link to the graphics card? I have heard that high-end cards actually have their own cable running from the power supply. My power supply and my 5200 don't have ports or cables to support this feature. Is this just a rumor?

http://techreport.com/reviews/2006q2/geforce-7950-gx2/in dex.x?pg=1
^ This is the best page for information I have found.

More bits and pieces of my computer: Intel Celeron 2.7ghz, 768 mb RAM
I did some research and found that I can have two gigs of memory on my current motherboard, as well as a 3.2 ghz Celeron that only costs $80. I am not willing to spend a lot on a new CPU, so I like this deal. Do you think I should go with it? I am definitely going to upgrade to two gigabytes of RAM.

The computer I play Halo on is an HP Pavilion from 2002-2004, the year I'm not sure about.


If you're only going to play Halo PC, which caps you at 60 FPS mostly, then getting the GeForce 7950 GX2 simply isn't needed. Getting a GeForce 6 series card suffices more than enough. ATI matches around the ATI X1000 series.

If you're preparing for a future investment into next-gen games, then the smartest thing would be to get a new PC.(Check out Guru3d on their reviews of the GFX Cards, they know their stuff)

I have an HP Pavilion a1250n, so I'm knowledgable about the dimensions, and from experience, getting a new PC (Recommend Custom Built) is the way to go. Don't buy from Corporate brands such as HP/Dell/Gateway/ect. because the dimensions can cause heating issues and a loud ambiant noise.

PSU wise, go for 420W's at least if I were you. When searching for a PSU, find ones that have 12V rails or simply look for SLI Certified PSU's as they're almost guaranteerd to have what is needed. I'd also invest in a good cooling system. Watercooling maybe?

CPU wise, if you're for Intel, just get an Intel Pentium D around 3.0 ghz is good enough. AMD; I'd recommend the FX series, but if you're budgeted - I'd go for the X2 models.

RAM....uhh you should match your frequencies with the type of processor you're getting because technically, your PC will run more efficiently if your RAM and CPU can "get alonG" better.

If AMD = recommend Corsair
If Intel = recommend Kingston

really, 1 Gig is all you need - 2 gigs is overdoing it.



All in all, go check out Guru3d.com if you wanna learn more.

[Edited on 6/18/2006]

  • 06.18.2006 12:56 AM PDT
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Well lets look 10 years into the future ladies and gentlemen .... did u know that a processor works by running binary which means its basically in state 0 or state 1 0/1 its instruction is either off or on.... the end . Did u know that motorola has a processor that they have had for 15 years that can do 0/16,423 thats over 16,423 X 16,423 instructions per transistor wow...the problem they are having now is that the process in which they make the processor is limited ... basically the end of the road is near for processors in which we know today . The end of the road is in about 7 years if you look at it from a broad perspective. They can only fit so many transistors in one space and the only was u can make it go faster is make more transistors then you have heat to worry about. So basically what im saying is that in about 10 years from now processors will no longer have a bottleneck. But there is still one tiny problem with that is programming new software for the new instructions on that particular transistor mortorola has. Just something for you geeks so absorb and think about.

  • 06.20.2006 9:11 PM PDT
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What do u mean it caps you at 60 fps?
I have mine set to 75hz. Thats 75 fps.
Im sure other gfx cards anf monitors can go higher.

  • 06.21.2006 2:10 AM PDT