Dinosaur AGP System - The last hoorah

[Chudnab]

Hello All -

I'm budgeting for a new rig; however, I'd like to upgrade my GPU one last time before my current PC fossilizes.

Specs:

Cooler Master (RP-500-PCAR) Extreme 500 Watt (500W, 500Watt) Power Supply
ASUS A7N8X Deluxe 462(A) NVIDIA nForce2 Ultra 400 ATX AMD MOBO
AMD Athlon 3000+ Barton w/Swiftech M462-A
3GB Kingston HyperX 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)
XFX GeForce 6200 256MB AGP w/DVI/TV-OUT
HD 120GB|SEAGATE ST3120023A
Creative SB Audigy2 ZS Platinum 7.1 Channels 24-bit 192KHz PCI Sound Card
Viewsonic G810 CRT

The only games I play regularly are:

BF2
BF Special Forces
BF2142
Half Life2 (and all mods)
C and C Generals/Zero Hour

I'm not looking to play newer games right now (mainly because my PC can't run them). I simply want better graphics and performance within the games I currently play.

I've been looking at the Sapphire Radeon HD3850, any thoughts?

FYI - I'm looking to spend $100 - $150.

My last question... If the GPU is DirectX 10 compatible, does that mean that I will still be able to play DirectX 9 games?

Thanks for your interest...

Chud

 

[captaincranky]

Hello All -....[ ]...... My last question... If the GPU is DirectX 10 compatible, does that mean that I will still be able to play DirectX 9 games?

Thanks for your interest...

Chud

Yes, certainly. Direct X 10 is sort of mostly mythological at the moment anyway.

You do realize that for $150.00 you could buy an Intel E8400 C2D and be on your way to a new system. Money is money and situations are situations, so pay me no mind, I'm just saying......

 

[Chudnab]

You do realize that for $150.00 you could buy an Intel E8400 C2D and be on your way to a new system.

Thank you for clearing up the DirectX issue. All I have heard about it is Vista this and Vista that. So I didnt want to purchase a GPU that wouldn't function properly on previous OS.

As for purchasing the Intel E8400 C2D, sure I would be moving in the direction of a newer system; however, I would have to purchase a new MOBO, GPU, etc... which would be spending money that I dont have at this time. (My current MOBO is a 462 pin.)

It is great to know that, in the future, transitioning from my Dinosaur to a substantially faster/better machine will be easier on the wallet.

Thank you again for your time. I really appreciate it.

Chud

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Go for a 7300GT. It will provide better performance than your 6200 and will not break the bank while doing so.

 

[captaincranky]

As for purchasing the Intel E8400 C2D, sure I would be moving in the direction of a newer system; however, I would have to purchase a new MOBO, GPU, etc... which would be spending money that I dont have at this time. (My current MOBO is a 462 pin.)

Say no more, it happens to all of us, me as well, more often than I care to admit, even to myself.

 

[Chudnab]

I admire your notably humble nature :approve:

Would you be willing/able to offer some guidance regarding suitable AGP GPU's?

I could really use a little direction so that I don't wind up making the same mistake all over again. (I purchased my current GPU without sufficient research. It is definately not a gaming unit.)

Chud

 

[Chudnab]

Go for a 7300GT...

How does the 7300 GT fare against the ATI HD 3850?

 

[Chudnab]

How does the 7300 GT fare against the ATI HD 3850?

NVM - http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/.../compare,538.html?prod[1615]=on&prod[1564]=on

comparison chart.

Thanks again!

 

[captaincranky]

When viewing comparison charts, you have to take into consideration that a GT73000 can be had for $30.00 or so, versus the $100.00 to $150.00 you've suggested is the price for the ATI3850. This is the reason that Rage has suggested it.

Just from a financial and philosophical standpoint, toughing it our for a time with the cheaper card might get you more invested in saving towards that new computer.

I want, what I want, when I want it myself, but this isn't always the soundest or most sensible approach.

 

[Chudnab]

Haha, so very true. Ahh, I feel like a typical American... "I gotta have it, I want it, I know I need it!!"

You bring up a very viable point. I will definately be able to save more if I choose to go with the 7300. In the long run, that is the most practical selection. Thanks again, to both of you, for your guidance and assistance.

Chud

 

[SNGX1275]

You might want to look into a 7600GT, I have no idea what they cost, but they are pretty good units, better than the 7300 and shouldn't be too expensive. I know how you feel with AGP, I at one time purchased a very expensive (at the time) 7800GS, then later bought a crossover motherboard so I could run an AGP card and a C2D at the same time. It sort of worked out for me, but I definately don't recommend doing such things if you can avoid it. It might be best for you to just get an inexpensive Gigabyte board, low end C2D, and a midrange PCIe card. Then just keeping your current system for a secondary one (or try and sell it.. but you won't get much).

 

[captaincranky]

It seems you will be punished severely with respect to price should you elect to upgrade your AGP system. Here are 2 GT7300 cards, 1 PCIE X16 the other AGP.http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121256
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143102
At the moment Newegg doesn't even have a GT7600 in stock, only some 7600GS cards.
At this point, referencing back to what they had a couple of months ago, it's starting to look like the last hoorah for 7XXX series cards altogether

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Just as a pointer on the two cards, the 7600GS is basically a heavily-underclocked (both core and memory) 7600GT, with slower GDDR2 memory on it (usually) compared to the GDDR3 on the 7600GT. Performance between the two at stock frequencies gives the 7600GT a roughly 35-40% lead. An overclocked 7600GS will close the performance gap to around 5-10% or so though.