New AGP Video Card

[2411]

I have a P4 3.2 on a Asus P4C800-D Deluxe Board and I Gig of Ocz Pc 3700 Rev 3 Memory. I"m running a ATI Radeon 9800XT card. I' looking for the best card I can find. This is the only upgrade I will be doing to this system. I play alot of games and also work on pictures. Looking for suggestions. Thanks in advance !!!

 

[Lord Banshee]

6800GT or X850XT

 

[Subwayeatbig]

you could also go for the 6800gs agp... which is quite a good overclocker and you can unlcock the pipes and pass the speeds of the gt.

 

[duragezic]

I'd look for a used 6800GT or X850ish, or if Microcenter is still offering $250-50 rebate for the X850XT. The X850XT is probably your best and fastest bet, though if you can't work the $$ then a used 6800GT should be around $175.

The 6800GS would be comparable with a 6800GT if you get one that isn't slowed way down (I thinK XFX will be releasing a faster clocked one). But if they are pushing upwards of $250, the X850XT is quite a bit better deal IMO.

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: 2411
I have a P4 3.2 on a Asus P4C800-D Deluxe Board and I Gig of Ocz Pc 3700 Rev 3 Memory. I"m running a ATI Radeon 9800XT card. I' looking for the best card I can find. This is the only upgrade I will be doing to this system. I play alot of games and also work on pictures. Looking for suggestions. Thanks in advance !!!

We have very similar rigs.

Your best bet is the $200 after $50 MIR for the Microcenter's Radeon x850xt . . . unfortunately they are backordered online and i think you need to physically go to a B&M store to actually buy one . . . my 9800xt died a few day ago and i got my new card yesterday - it clocks to X850xtPE+ speeds [6537 3DMark05].
:thumbsup:

If it is unavailable - or you can't get to a MicroCenter - you might look for a 6800GT and O/C it to Ultra speeds or perhaps buy the 6800GS which appears to be the equivalent of the 6800GT if UNlocked and O/C'd for ~$225.

You could also wait a couple of weeks to see if the MIDrange AGP next gen cards will be higher performance . . . perhaps the x1700xt?

In the meantime, check Hot Deals - at least a couple of times a day.

 

[2411]

Thanks for all your replies. I will probably go with the X850PE . I have been a ATI guy for quite a while.

 

[tuteja1986]

: ) good choice sir :Q fastest agp card

 

[Wentelteefje]

Yep, undoubtedly the fastest one around... Have fun gaming!

 

[Wolfshanze]

you can unlcock the pipes and pass the speeds of the gt.

I'm STILL trying to figure-out why people think it's impossible to overclock a 6800GT. :roll:

 

[Greg04]

Originally posted by: duragezic
I'd look for a used 6800GT or X850ish, or if Microcenter is still offering $250-50 rebate for the X850XT. The X850XT is probably your best and fastest bet, though if you can't work the $$ then a used 6800GT should be around $175.

The 6800GS would be comparable with a 6800GT if you get one that isn't slowed way down (I thinK XFX will be releasing a faster clocked one). But if they are pushing upwards of $250, the X850XT is quite a bit better deal IMO.

I have a Dell 4600 - would I need any PS upgrade to get an X850XT?

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: Wolfshanze

you can unlcock the pipes and pass the speeds of the gt.

I'm STILL trying to figure-out why people think it's impossible to overclock a 6800GT. :roll:

well, i don't think that was my point . . . i suggested getting a GT and o/c'ing to ultra levels OR getting a GS and o/c'ing and unlocking it to GT "stock speeds Plus."

i'd would have gone for the extra "work" with the GS to save money over the GT

but then i got an x850xt without any mods to PE levels.

 

[duragezic]

Originally posted by: Greg04

Originally posted by: duragezic
I'd look for a used 6800GT or X850ish, or if Microcenter is still offering $250-50 rebate for the X850XT. The X850XT is probably your best and fastest bet, though if you can't work the $$ then a used 6800GT should be around $175.

The 6800GS would be comparable with a 6800GT if you get one that isn't slowed way down (I thinK XFX will be releasing a faster clocked one). But if they are pushing upwards of $250, the X850XT is quite a bit better deal IMO.

I have a Dell 4600 - would I need any PS upgrade to get an X850XT?

Kinda hard to tell. Depends on your wattage and quality of your PSU, its amperage ratings, as well as how many components you got in there.

I have a decent quality 350W (fortron budget Q series) with a Barton XP @ 3200+, 1.5GB ram, two hard drives, two optical, sound card, and I plugged in a 6800GT and it worked fine.

P4s probably take more power and Dell normally doesn't give much headroom on PSUs. I'd say more likely than not you'd need a new one, but if you already have a 350W or so in there its worth a shot, but be ready to spend an additional $50-60 on a quality PSU if you find out you'll need it for the card.

 

[cockeyed]

Originally posted by: 2411
Thanks for all your replies. I will probably go with the X850PE . I have been a ATI guy for quite a while.

I think you will be happy with your choice. If you could still get the $200 MicroCenter deal on the X850 XT, it would worth looking into. I got that deal and moved up from a 9800 and couldn't be happier. Installed it on an Asus P4P800 mobo with a P4 3.0 CPU.

 

[hans030390]

Originally posted by: 2411
Thanks for all your replies. I will probably go with the X850PE . I have been a ATI guy for quite a while.

Ok, i'm not sure how long you plan on keeping this card, but if its going to be for a while, I'd settle with a 6800gt or 6800ultra since they have Sm3...(a while as in a few years)

BUT if you plan on upgrading within a year or two, either card will be great for you now, the X850 probabably being your best choice.

 

[Subwayeatbig]

Dell acutally underrates there powersupply and the psus are pretty good.

 

[lbhskier37]

Originally posted by: Wolfshanze

you can unlcock the pipes and pass the speeds of the gt.

I'm STILL trying to figure-out why people think it's impossible to overclock a 6800GT. :roll:

I'm STILL trying to figure out where all these AGP 6800GTs people say we should buy instead of the GS are sold? I would be happy to buy a 6800GT if I could find one in stock somewhere for a reasonable price.

 

[CP5670]

They have been out of production for a while and are getting hard to find these days. I will be putting mine up on ebay in the next few days, if anyone is interested.

 

[Wolfshanze]

I'm STILL trying to figure out where all these AGP 6800GTs people say we should buy instead of the GS are sold?

I'm still trying to figure out what made you think I told you to go buy a 6800GT when I did not... I mearly pointed out people keep acting like the AGP 6800GS is faster then the 6800GT... it's not... it's clearly slower... if you have to overclock the GS to bypass a GT, it's just as easy for a GT owner to overclock his too. I never told you to go buy a GT.

 

[lbhskier37]

I just see in every thread about AGP cards people keep bringing the GT up, its irrelevant if we can't buy it. That's great that you and many others have one, but for those who are looking to upgrade the overclocking performance of GTs is meaningless and this GS is particularly exciting because we can buy it and overclock it to GT levels and higher.

 

[imported_GP40X]

The 6800GS is clocked at the same speeds as the 6800GT with one pipe quad and a vertex shader disabled. If you use RivaTuner to unlock the quad and shader you have a 6800GT. After unlocking the pipes and shader, most have been able to overclock the core to 420+mhz and the memory to 1100+mhz. That's Gainward "Golden Sample" Ultra territory. Right now the 6800GS is anywhere from $215.00 to $240.00 USD. "If" you can find a GT new they are in the $275.00 range. Used is a crap shoot. You may get a card that was lovingly used or horribly abused. With the 6800GS from XFX or EVGA you get a new card with a warranty. I ordered an XFX 6800GS from ZZF because the reports so far show them to be phenominal overclockers. I guess I'll find out next Tuesday when it gets here.

GP40X(AWG)

 

[apoppin]

Originally posted by: GP40X
The 6800GS is clocked at the same speeds as the 6800GT with one pipe quad and a vertex shader disabled. If you use RivaTuner to unlock the quad and shader you have a 6800GT. After unlocking the pipes and shader, most have been able to overclock the core to 420+mhz and the memory to 1100+mhz. That's Gainward "Golden Sample" Ultra territory. Right now the 6800GS is anywhere from $215.00 to $240.00 USD. "If" you can find a GT new they are in the $275.00 range. Used is a crap shoot. You may get a card that was lovingly used or horribly abused. With the 6800GS from XFX or EVGA you get a new card with a warranty. I ordered an XFX 6800GS from ZZF because the reports so far show them to be phenominal overclockers. I guess I'll find out next Tuesday when it gets here.

GP40X(AWG)

i just wouldn't use 'warranty' as a selling point if you are going to unlock it . . . the point is - the GT is expensive, hard to find and really hard to justify the extra cost

 

[imported_GP40X]

Originally posted by: apoppin
i just wouldn't use 'warranty' as a selling point if you are going to unlock it . . . the point is - the GT is expensive, hard to find and really hard to justify the extra cost

I agree with you brother, but I was just pointing out that a used card will have no warranty and if it is DOA or dies soon after you install it, you have a pretty paperweight. At least with the GS if you get it new and it dies within the warranty period you can send it in for a new card (unless you hardflash the bios instead of a software unlock with RivaTuner or melt something/physically damage the card).

Dang FedEx is fast. I ordered an XFX 6800GS AGP on Friday morning @ 2:00 AM and ZZF/FedEx already has it in Fort Worth. I wonder if I will get it Monday instead of Tuesday. Woot

GP40X(AWG)