Best AGP video card for my system?

[omega366]

My current setup is AMD 3000+, 1GB Value select ram. I might upgrade later on to AMD dual core 4000+ or better depending on price and add 1more GB of ram. I want to play Half Life EP2, TF2, World In Conflict, Unreal 3 in my LCD native Resolution which is 1280*1024 in max settings or close to it. What would be a good agp vid card for my situation?
Thanks for your help.

 

[Arkaign]

If your PSU is viable, an X1950 series would do very nicely for you. Nvidia 7900/7950 would also do.

 

[cKGunslinger]

What are you using now? I get decent results with practically the same system and an ATI x800gto (UT3 beta is a bit slow, but playable.) The x1950 would probably be a good bet.

 

[slugg]

7800GS is pretty damn fast for AGP... Doesn't require an insane amount of power like an X1950.

The best bang for your buck though is the 7600GT

I didnt think there were 7900 and 7950's for AGP?

 

[daveybrat]

I'd look for a 7600GT. They consume very little power and are still very powerful cards for AGP. Although like the others have said, what is the current card you are using?

 

[Rottie]

you can find a cheap ATI X850 Pro and you can hack it run like world champ X850XT PE with modded software.

 

[omega366]

I am currently running a Radeon 9700 because my Geforce 6800 broke. I am looking for the best bang for my buck card. Should I wait a little bit since I heard from this forum that new cards are coming out soon which may lower prices of current mid range cards?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Well, between 2 of my roomates they play HL2 TF2 and WiC. They both also have identical systems more or less. Both have X1800XT PE's, one has an AM2 5600x2 @ 3ghz with 4gb DDR2 800 and the other has a 5200x2 @ 3.3ghz with 2gb DDR2 800 @ 920mhz. The latter pllays World in Conflict @ 1600x1200 on mid - mostly high detail and gets playeable fps across the board with minute slowdows in big battles. The guy with the 3ghz x2 and 4gb of ram well exceeds 60fps at all times in HL2 but see's as low as 20fps at 1600x1200 on TF2. He uses 4x AA 8x AF though I believe and thats with all settings maxxed out. Dropping the res but considering that in turn the X1950GT and Pro are a bit slower than a stock X1800XT, you're prob gonna be a lil worse off as the rest of your specs are greatly lower than both of thiers.

If you want a GPU that can keep things looking pretty and pick up some of the slack your CPU and mem are going to leave it, look at a 7950GT or the GeCube X1950XT, they are both in the $200 - $250 range though so you may be better off looking at a new system with a Pci-E x16 slot for expansion.

Oh, the 7800GS is a horrible performer that still ends up losing to the 6800Ultra in a few cases Stay away from the 7800GS.

 

[Denithor]

Originally posted by: omega366
I am currently running a Radeon 9700 because my Geforce 6800 broke. I am looking for the best bang for my buck card. Should I wait a little bit since I heard from this forum that new cards are coming out soon which may lower prices of current mid range cards?

You are partially correct. The next generation of mid-range cards is due out within the next month, however these are pci-e cards and therefore will probably not have much effect on the AGP market.

If you have to stick with your current rig, you can get a 7600GT for $115 (after $20MIR), a 7800GS for about $100 (after $30MIR) or a 7900GS for $155 (after $30MIR). The x1950pro for $156 (after $25MIR) is probably about the most powerful AGP card available now but it also has higher power requirements than the nVidia cards.

At $100 the 7800GS probably offers the best bang for the buck of these cards. If you review several of the charts here you will find it matching (or beating, in some cases) all three of the other cards.

The only factor I can't address is how well your cpu will scale with these newer video cards. You really want to keep things balanced and at some point you will become cpu bound.

 

[evolucion8]

The 7800GS is often outperformed by the 7600GT! And nVidia is no longer optimizing the drivers for the GeForce 7 series at all, and If it do, is just for fixing issues, the abysmall performance of the old The Need for Speed Carbon and Most Wanted proves that!!! ATi cards tends to age better, just get a X1950GT and overclock it to PRO levels and you will get the best bang for the buck.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Originally posted by: omega366
I am currently running a Radeon 9700 because my Geforce 6800 broke. I am looking for the best bang for my buck card. Should I wait a little bit since I heard from this forum that new cards are coming out soon which may lower prices of current mid range cards?

As some of the others have said the X1950 Series would be a great fit for your rig. The Pro is excellent, and the GT is basically an underclocked Pro and is priced around $130-$140 USD. The GT is very hard to find at the moment however. You'll also need a power supply than can handle the X1950's, otherwise you may be upgrading your power supply as well. What do you have right now?

If your power supply can't support the X1950's and you do not want to replace it, you should look into picking up a XFX 7900GS or 7950GT. These cost more than the X1950 Pro or GT, but their power needs are much less, only 400w and 20a on the +12v rail or combined rails.

 

[omega366]

My current PSU is 400 watts and has 17 Amps on the v12 rail. I am looking at getting the Earthwatts 430W psu or is there something better for the buck out there?

 

[darkfalz]

7600 GT AGP

 

[bryanW1995]

Originally posted by: omega366
My current PSU is 400 watts and has 17 Amps on the v12 rail. I am looking at getting the Earthwatts 430W psu or is there something better for the buck out there?

that's a good psu. check out the psu forum to see where the best deal is on it.

 

[ManWithNoName]

Originally posted by: omega366
My current PSU is 400 watts and has 17 Amps on the v12 rail. I am looking at getting the Earthwatts 430W psu or is there something better for the buck out there?

That's a dual rail with 30a on the combined rails. Definitely a good deal. This Corsair's build quality is outstanding for the price point as well with 33a on the +12v rail and just a hair more expensive. Check out the review at JonnyGuru.com.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...E16817139003&Tpk=450vx

 

[Hlafordlaes]

I have a Palit/XpertVision 7600GT AGP that overclocks like mad (from 560/700 to 700/825). Cost me just over $100. Since I am on a 4CoreDual-VSTA with an E6300 only at 300MHz FSB, I do not get spectacular 3DMark06 scores (low 4000's), but I can play Oblivion at 1280x1024 with all the eye candy. The 7600GS IMO is not worth the huge drop in performance given the price differencial, and anything more expensive seems like a lot to invest in AGP.

 

[j0j081]

Originally posted by: evolucion8
The 7800GS is often outperformed by the 7600GT! And nVidia is no longer optimizing the drivers for the GeForce 7 series at all, and If it do, is just for fixing issues, the abysmall performance of the old The Need for Speed Carbon and Most Wanted proves that!!! ATi cards tends to age better, just get a X1950GT and overclock it to PRO levels and you will get the best bang for the buck.

I don't think that is in all cases and keep in mind the 7800gs overclocks a ton to.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

The 7800GS is based on the 130nm process compared to the 90nm process of the 7600GT. No way in hell the 7800GS can OC enough to play catch up with an OC'd 7600GT 7800GS OC will not pass 500mhz unless you get really lucky. The 7600GT will easily blow past 650mhz on the core. Not to mention all the insane ammounts of heat the 7800GS will put out and the power it will consume makes it a horrible choise today, period. There is absolutely no reason at all to ever buy a 7800GS unless you get it at half the price of a 7600GT.

The 7800GS is a severly neutered 7800GT that finds itself struggling to beat the 6800Ultra it was supposed to replace. And it loses horribly to the X800XT and X850XT. The only 7800GS's worth buying are the BFG 7800GS that has the 7800GT core ( 20 pipelines ) and the Gainward GOlden Sample 7800GS's ( One has the 7800GTX core and the 7800GS + has the 7900GT core : )

 

[evolucion8]

Better of getting a 7950GT then (If can be found). Will outperform the 7900GT at stock. 7800GS is just a waste of money if someone comes from a X800XT or GeForce 6800GT/Ultra. Just get a 7600GT in such cases. But in my opinion, is better getting a X1950GT or PRO.

 

[imported_stickboy]

if you want to run higher resolutions with more eye candy, the 7800gs is the better card. The x1950pro blows them both away (the 7600gt) and is the best deal for the money.