[comanighttrain]

my X850XT doesnt support HDR lighting. I need a new card. However im a bit skint, Whats the cheapest card i could get that supports HDR with comparible performance to the X850XT?

I just read a review on theinquirer.net which shows the X1600 gets a better score than the X850XT simply because it supports HDR

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The x850 supports HDR it just doesnt support it on a couple of games with poor HDR support, it works on all source titles and far cry and should on new games x1600s arent as good as x850s.

[warriorscot]

The x850 supports HDR it just doesnt support it on a couple of games with poor HDR support, it works on all source titles and far cry and should on new games x1600s arent as good as x850s.

[comanighttrain]

it doesnt seem to work on oblivion:S thats my woe

X850XT no HDR

Edited by comanighttrain, 30 April 2006 - 07:21 AM.

[warriorscot]

Yeah it doesnt oblivion was poorly coded on its HDR it only supports HDR3.0 not the HDR2.0 or even 1.0 of the older cards most games with HDR do support it but the maker of oblivion seemed to have spent most of there time designing what they wanted the game to look like and didnt spend enough time on the technology. HDR is supprted on most other games oblivion is unique in the fact that it only supprts HDR driven by the shader model 3 engine really its just lazyness on the developer side shader model 2 is identical in terms of features to 3 but is slightly less efficient its not a big job to fix it, mind you they may release a patch for it if enough people ask youll just have to pay for it probably, the developers were just quite bad they even left it to ATI to fox the game for them to let the x1000s run HDR and AA which was a glaring error from beth, the games not bad but it has a few noticable flaws.

That article isnt about the speed of the x850 it quite clearly states that the x850 is better its an article on the inadequacy of 3dmark06 and its poor support for shader model 2 which can do anything 3 can do.

[comanighttrain]

man...im getting sick of badly coded software...first BF2 and now oblivion...pfff

[comanighttrain]

How does the X1800GTO markup against the X850XT?

[warriorscot]

The x1800GTO is faster but its nothing massively faster, the main advatages are the core changes in the x1000s, but really its not fast enough to run HDR on oblivion anyway only the x1900 and 7900s are really capable of doing it justice with hdr enabled, really i wouldnt buy it just for that games its not even that good of a game to be honest ive finished it surprisingly and dissapointingly quickly(i mean totally finished ive done EVERYTHING and it hasnt taken that long) and BF2 was pretty crap and all. both dissapointing titles from what was anitcipated BF2 ran out of gameplay so quick it wasnt funny.

Really they arent worth getting a new card for especially with dx10 round the corner you would only be replacing it with something slightly better and spent alot of money on it. Stick to the good games and your fine source engine HDR still works fantastic on an x850 and with good fps so i wouldnt replace it, and new installment of hl2 is preloading next week as well.

[BlackPandemic]

I have the X800GTO (under the X850) and Oblivion said "You don't have HDR you loser!" Whilest Half Life 2: The Lost Coast, and Counter Strike: Source say "Use your HDR to the fullest possible (yes full capabilities).

So thumbs down for Oblivion, but I am upgrading soon

[comanighttrain]

wow...bf2 and obliv. such big hype and such a big let down, i seem to recall HL2 just appeared on the shelves one day. I dont watch games that closely but id expect to hear about hl2.

Yeah ill hold off until DX10, overclock if necessary i guess.

[warriorscot]

There was alot of hype in magazines and online about hl2 before it came out but that was a couple of years ago now games werent really advertised on television thats a recent development for some games.

Its ridiculously cheap to buy these days, the new installment for it is pre loading next week so it will be the first games that really has HDR properly implemented on release, and valves hdr on the lost cost is still the best ive ever seen alot better than any other game with it.

[comanighttrain]

ooo...where can i read about it?

[warriorscot]

http://uk.pc.ign.com...2/602749p1.html thats an article but if you search on google there is plenty of stuff.

[p-zero]

Wow those 3dmark numbers are well...no so great. On 3dmark05 i get numbers around the 4000 range with 1 card. 7500 or so (depending on ambient temp) in SLi. Theres a guy on the futuremark site that was gettin numbers in 9900 range with 6800's oced,sli.
Guess I was expecting better performance out of the 850, guess its just best to hold out for the DX10 cards.
-P.

[warriorscot]

Did you actually read the article, the article is about inaccuracies in the 3dmark benchmark.

If you turn off the inaccurate HDR test then it scores in the 5000-6000 range.