VISIONTEK X1950PRO 256MB AGP User Review

[technoid]

Since there seems to be a lot of interest in the X1950PRO I thought I'd pass on some benchmarks I did on one. It's the VisionTek X1950PRO 256MB AGP running at stock speeds. I had an EVGA 6800GT in the system and wanted to see if I could strech out the life of the computer by upgrading just the graphics card.

The first thing I worried about was having to replace the power supply since I only had a 400 watt supply, but in the end it worked fine through all the benchmarks and continues to work fine now. I know this is really stressful on the power supply because the 12 volt rail voltage is a little lower than it was with the 6800GT but the system is working fine with no lockups, graphics corruption, or slow downs, so it seems to be fine.

I'll put my system specs first and then the benchmark results below. I'm not putting all the graphics settings because this is just a comparasion test between the 6800GT and X1950PRO using the exact same settings for both benchmark runs.

At this point I don't think I'll keep the X1950PRO because it really doesn't give me the performance I'm looking for. In NFS Carbon it's a dream and the difference in game play is night and day, but in NFS Most Wanted I didn't see nearly that much of a gain compared to what I seen in Carbon. But I didn't run any benchmarks in Most Wanted so I can't put any numbers up for it.

I think the X1950PRO is a good upgrade but it doesn't give me as much performance as I wanted so it will have to go back. The fan seems to run at 100% all the time because I've never heard it slow down when the computer boots like the 6800GT did and I've never heard it speed up either. I think my system is a little louder with it than the 6800GT but it's a very smooth noise and isn't too bad to listen to.

Windows XP PRO SP2
Pentium 4 Northwood 3.4 GIG
ASUS P4C800-E
Kingston Value Ram 2GB - 4 512MB
Audigy OEM
Zalman ZM400A (+12 Rail 15A)

All benchmarks were run exactly the same on both graphics boards.

Everything is at stock clock speeds.

----------------------------------------------------------------

3DMARK06 - 1280x1024

6800GT - 2319
X1950PRO - 3739

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NEED FOR SPEED CARBON - 1280x1024 HIGH SETTINGS - FRAPS

6800GT

2006-12-28 19:07:18 - NFSC Quick Race 1
Frames: 2327 - Time: 111499ms - Avg: 20.870 - Min: 16 - Max: 27

2006-12-28 19:13:17 - NFSC Quick Race 4
Frames: 2712 - Time: 140040ms - Avg: 19.366 - Min: 13 - Max: 27

2006-12-28 19:16:17 - NFSC Quick Race 9
Frames: 2913 - Time: 146736ms - Avg: 19.852 - Min: 14 - Max: 27

X1950PRO

2006-12-29 12:26:36 - NFSC Quick Race 1
Frames: 5596 - Time: 105781ms - Avg: 52.902 - Min: 39 - Max: 73

2006-12-29 12:31:52 - NFSC Quick Race 4
Frames: 6485 - Time: 141280ms - Avg: 45.902 - Min: 23 - Max: 70

2006-12-29 12:38:36 - NFSC Quick Race 9
Frames: 7321 - Time: 148029ms - Avg: 49.457 - Min: 31 - Max: 76

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CALL OF DUTY 2 - 1024x768 - Timedemo I Recorded

6800GT - 39.6 FPS
X1950PRO - 58.6 FPS

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PREY DEMO 1280x1024 HIGH QUALITY - Downloaded Timedemo

6800GT - 47.5 FPS
X1950PRO - 76.8 FPS

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QUAKE 4 - 1280x1024 HIGH QUALITY - Downloaded Timedemo

6800GT - 40.2 FPS
X1950PRO - 50.3 FPS

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DOOM 3 - 1280x1024 HIGH QUALITY - Built in Timedemo

6800GT - 72.3 FPS
X1950PRO - 78.2 FPS

--

FARCRY - 1280x1024 HIGH SETTINGS - Downloaded Timedemo

6800GT
Play Time: 49.01s, Average FPS: 76.03
Min FPS: 61.83 at frame 873, Max FPS: 108.74 at frame 1874

X1950PRO
Play Time: 50.83s, Average FPS: 73.30
Min FPS: 57.61 at frame 828, Max FPS: 105.12 at frame 1971

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SPLINTER CELL 1280x1024 - Built in Timedemo

6800GT
AVERAGE FPS MIN FPS MAX FPS LEVEL
74.951821 51.840267 112.517812 1_1_1Tbilisi
71.178274 42.340477 121.680254 1_1_2Tbilisi
70.239411 36.479155 107.805256 2_2_1_Kalinatek

X1950PRO
AVERAGE FPS MIN FPS MAX FPS LEVEL
75.711093 51.090001 109.909349 1_1_1Tbilisi
68.268739 37.424233 117.118839 1_1_2Tbilisi
66.429178 34.328523 92.648326 2_2_1_Kalinatek

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SPLINTER CELL CHAOS THEORY 1024x768 - Built in Timedemo

6800GT
AVERAGE FPS MIN FPS MAX FPS TimeStamp
49.654070 36.854986 74.785282 12/28/06 17:59:02

X1950PRO
AVERAGE FPS MIN FPS MAX FPS TimeStamp
87.104772 41.480294 126.537442 12/29/06 14:07:15

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FEAR EXTRACTION POINT 1280x960 MAXIMUM SETTINGS - Built in Timedemo

6800GT
MIN 23 AVG 47 MAX 102
<25 1% 25-40 51% >40 48%

X1950PRO
MIN 29 AVG 62 MAX 151
<25 0% 25-40 28% >40 72%

[hemmy]

Your PSU only has 15A on the 12v rail and you are running a X1950Pro on it...why

I have a overclocked E6300 and a X1950 Pro that is probably the rest of your system holding the card back

[technoid]

Your PSU only has 15A on the 12v rail and you are running a X1950Pro on it...why

I have a overclocked E6300 and a X1950 Pro that is probably the rest of your system holding the card back
I didn't want to buy a new power supply just to checkout the X1950PRO. If I end up keeping it I'll get the Sea Sonic 550 I've been looking at, but the power supply is doing fine and running the X1950PRO without issue. I mentioned the 15 Amp rail because I wanted to let people know that a good power supply can sometimes run something you wouldn't expect it to.

My CPU is definitely holding back my system but it's a P4 Northwood 3.4 and that's the fastest one they made and I'm not going to upgrade my CPU because that would be too much money to put into this old system.

I think the X1950PRO is a good upgrade and it helps a lot in the new more demanding games. So people wanting to hold on to their AGP systems would do well picking one up. I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll keep my AGP system or take the X1950PRO back and do a full upgrade to PCI Express.

[slaWter]

Yes that's a really good upgrade for that system. Now it's time to update your sig ;)

[technoid]

Yes that's a really good upgrade for that system. Now it's time to update your sig ;)
I'm still not sure I'm going to keep it and have till this weekend to make up my mind. But I'll definitely update my sig if I keep it :)

[Joe Public]

Give Oblivion a whirl while you're at it, in that game the X1950 Pro totally hammers the 6800GT. I was able to run in 1280x1024 with HDR and most details to max, on the 6800GT it wasn't even playable with those settings.

I'll be keeping my X1950 Pro, as I'm not really set to upgrade yet, since we're in a sort of transitional stage going from single/dual to quad core CPUs, DX9 to DX10 and from XP to Vista. I'll wait until those technologies are fairly established and tested, and hold out with this rig until at least around summer.

[technoid]

Give Oblivion a whirl while you're at it, in that game the X1950 Pro totally hammers the 6800GT. I was able to run in 1280x1024 with HDR and most details to max, on the 6800GT it wasn't even playable with those settings.

I'll be keeping my X1950 Pro, as I'm not really set to upgrade yet, since we're in a sort of transitional stage going from single/dual to quad core CPUs, DX9 to DX10 and from XP to Vista. I'll wait until those technologies are fairly established and tested, and hold out with this rig until at least around summer.
I looked for a demo of Oblivion but didn't see one. That's not a game I would buy but it would have been nice to see how it played on the X1950PRO.

[technoid]

I guess I'll post my final thoughts on the VisionTek X1950PRO AGP since I returned it today. I think it was a really nice card but in the end it didn't help in some games so I may just do a full upgrade to a PCI Express system. That's what I was planning to do but I was trying to extend the life of my AGP system for a while.

It made several games play WAY better than the 6800GT. Two games it helped a lot was NFS Carbon and Call of Duty 2. It made both of those games play a lot better on my system, A LOT BETTER. But the problem is I've been wanting to make all of my games run better and I'll need to upgrade the CPU to do that so at the moment I have to think about it a little more to see what the best way to go for me is.

There were a few things I didn't like about the VisionTek X1950PRO. The fan ran at 100% all the time and I couldn't find a way to adjust it. It also didn't appear to have a temperature sensor either and that I didn't like at all. One other thing I noticed in NFS Most Wanted is these tiny micro pauses. NFS Most Wanted always had small pauses now and then when it was loading textures I assumed but these were extremely short and that's why I called them micro pauses. It still had the normal short pauses like the 6800GT had but I also noticed these other micro pauses. They might be a driver issue that gets sorted out but I thought I should mention them.

But if I end up keeping the AGP system I'll most likely buy one of the other X1950PRO's, one that's quieter and has a temperature sensor. But I will say the VisionTek was built very well and I liked it except for those short comings.

[Joe Public]

I looked for a demo of Oblivion but didn't see one. That's not a game I would buy but it would have been nice to see how it played on the X1950PRO.

Ah, ok. There was never a demo, as far as I know, sorry.

[zampe]

I have recently bought the GECUBE 1950pro agp card (very alike Visionteks card), and noticed one pain thing… there is no way to monitoring core temperature (trying also with atitool, everest).... and cant did make direct access to "overdrive“ option
btw.
great card but I cant believe that card doesn't have a built in temp sensor :(

[technoid]

I have recently bought the GECUBE 1950pro agp card (very alike Visionteks card), and noticed one pain thing… there is no way to monitoring core temperature (trying also with atitool, everest).... and cant did make direct access to "overdrive“ option
btw.
great card but I cant believe that card doesn't have a built in temp sensor :(
I ended up taking mine back and ordering the parts to build a PCI Express system but I noticed the same thing. I couldn't find anyway to monitor the temperature and the fan was stuck at 100% and I could never find a way to control it. A very nice card but it should have both of those.

[zampe]

we have similiar 3dmak06 score, I get 3789 3DMarks :)
are u perceive that? totaly identical cards, both cards have same cooling unit

[technoid]

we have similiar 3dmak06 score, I get 3789 3DMarks :)
are u perceive that? totaly identical cards, both cards have same cooling unit
I think the X1950PRO is a great card and if I hadn't decided to spend the money on a PCI Express Upgrade I would have kept it. Have fun with your card :)

Hopefully I'll put my new system together this weekend and update my sig.

[technoid]

we have similiar 3dmak06 score, I get 3789 3DMarks :)
are u perceive that? totaly identical cards, both cards have same cooling unit

Edit: OPPs I hit the save button twice :D If a mod sees this delete my double post if you want.

I think the X1950PRO is a great card and if I hadn't decided to spend the money on a PCI Express Upgrade I would have kept it. Have fun with your card :)

Hopefully I'll put my new system together this weekend and update my sig.

[zampe]

Edit: OPPs I hit the save button twice :D If a mod sees this delete my double post if you want.

I think the X1950PRO is a great card and if I hadn't decided to spend the money on a PCI Express Upgrade I would have kept it. Have fun with your card :)

Hopefully I'll put my new system together this weekend and update my sig.

Where u can may observe fan speed, who ran at 100% pal?

[Quick420]

I think the X1950PRO is a good upgrade and it helps a lot in the new more demanding games. So people wanting to hold on to their AGP systems would do well picking one up. I'm not sure yet whether or not I'll keep my AGP system or take the X1950PRO back and do a full upgrade to PCI Express.[/QUOTE]

So you opened the card,used it,then are returning it? People like you make me sick,that returned card costs the manufacturer profits(it will be returned to the manufacturer at cost).To come on a reputable forum and talk about defrauding a company boggles the mind,pay to play like everyone else(wack)

[technoid]

So you opened the card,used it,then are returning it? People like you make me sick,that returned card costs the manufacturer profits(it will be returned to the manufacturer at cost).To come on a reputable forum and talk about defrauding a company boggles the mind,pay to play like everyone else(wack)
I look at it somewhat differently. I purchased a product that failed to perform up to my expectations and returned it because of that. I purchased it hoping it would allow me to keep my AGP system but it failed to do that so I returned it. I only used the guarantee given to me by the retailer I purchased it from.

Failure 1: The fan ran at 100% constantly and could not be adjusted.

Failure 2: There was no temperature sensor so I could not tell how hot it was running.

Failure 3: It was actually a little slower in some games than my old graphics card.

Items 1 and 2 are common features that should have been in this $300 dollar graphics card, others have returned it for the same reasons. I voted with my money like we all should do to get better products.

[RDFmx3]

So you opened the card,used it,then are returning it? People like you make me sick,that returned card costs the manufacturer profits(it will be returned to the manufacturer at cost).To come on a reputable forum and talk about defrauding a company boggles the mind,pay to play like everyone else(wack)

Sorry but I can't understand your reasoning.
Have you ever bought a pair of paint's or shirt and took it back because it did fit right?

Same thing here. He said he bought it in hope's of keeping his AGP system and possibly saving a lot of money, but it didn't fit, so he took it back. His reply back to you was very respectful, which I'm not sure mine would be. He bought it with every intention of keeping it but it wasn't enough to make him keep it, what's wrong with that??????

Your thinking is very messed up!

[saturnotaku]

So you opened the card,used it,then are returning it? People like you make me sick,that returned card costs the manufacturer profits(it will be returned to the manufacturer at cost).To come on a reputable forum and talk about defrauding a company boggles the mind,pay to play like everyone else(wack)

You ought to check around your glass house before you start hurling stones at others. Defrauding a company would be taking the 1950 out of the box, and returning it with a TNT2 stuffed inside.

This is one of the dumbest posts I've seen in a long time (outside of the political and console forums).

[spaceigg]

agree, being able to return a product if you are not 100% satisfied, its the customers right to do.

[samraj]

The news and informations are very interesting.