Good AGP for new (old stuff) build

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iMoose

iMoose

Posts: 53   +0
Hey guys!

Figured I'd look for some opinions about which AGP card to use with my build using some older components. I can't throw anything away. I'm just too cheap! lol

I have an Asus P4S8000D-X mobo (4x/8x) with a P4. 2GB of DDR2700 RAM. And I'm planning on getting a new SATA drive as well. Already have an Asus DVD burner (IDE).

So because the mobo has no on-board video, I need to get one before I can really even get started.

I'm not a "gamer", but I do watch alot of videos. And MIGHT buy some games for when I get REALLY bored. I quit drinking, so that seems to happen ALOT now. lol

So whadda ya guys think? 256? 512? Would 128 be fine considering my low demands?

Price is a concern, so ebay is likely for a source. Craig's sometimes has them listed, but I'm not sure about the lingo, and not sure exactly what to look for.

Thanks for any help/advice offered.
 
You can get GeForce 7600GT with 256mb for under 200 dollars new now. Or you can buy a second hand 6600GT 128MB.
 
Uh ok.........

Maybe I wasn't exactly clear about exactly how CHEAP I am?

lol

Seriously folks, I'm not worried one bit about if it's the latest greatest.

$80, much less $200 seems CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I appreciate the responses, but I just can't afford that. And I see alot of cards for around $20 that LOOK cool. With lil' fans and in various colors and whatnot, but I was hoping to get a pointer on what to look/NOT look for.

I fully realize the potential for how stooopid I may be sounding, but that assumption of my intelligence is CORRECT! lol

I'm so new to this stuff, that all the terminology used to describe video cards kind of blends together after a few hours. And when I peruse ebay, I usually don't know what the major differences are between these dang things. They all seem to use similar chipsets, and have hot anime Asian chicks on the boxes, and numbers with letters that don't seem to follow much of a pattern as to performance or quality. The higher the number the better, right? lol

So after the shock of how somebody who can figure out how to post on these boards, yet seemingly hasn't a clue about something so simple as AGP cards wears off.......


Well, I'm still listening. And hopefully somebody can explain some of it in a way that my cro-magnon brain cell works.

Like, what was a good reliable-ish card THREE YEARS AGO or so? That's the kind of card I can probably afford. And people aren't trying to get top-dollar for these days.

Ok well, thanks at the very least for your time spent reading this.

How about this lil'guy? It's both new AND pretty darn cheap! I wonder what they go for lightly used? lol
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...c=OTC-Froogle-_-Video+Cards-_-EVGA-_-14130210
 
The FX5200 will be okay. Not a gaming card, but it will be a good low-power choice for videos and the like. It will not be able to handle HD videos though, so you may want to look at this card instead. You could also probably find it cheaper used.
 
Just my opinion --but I have an Asus P4s8x mobo and a GeForce 6600gt-nothing but problems--in fact it is currently back in the box and I am using a GeForce fx5500 -it is more stable!
 
Harry_Beast said:
Just my opinion --but I have an Asus P4s8x mobo and a GeForce 6600gt-nothing but problems--in fact it is currently back in the box and I am using a GeForce fx5500 -it is more stable!
Click to expand...


Write Combining would be causing the instabilities. Disable write combining via the display properties dialog. Disabling it will slow it down a very little bit (by about 700 marks in 3dmark 01) but itll still be alot faster then your fx5500. Also, use drivers version 67.03 (i think thats them). They are meant to fix the problems the 6600GT has with most sis chipsets. I have a 6600GT in my ECS-661FX-M motherboard (SiS 661FX chipset) with write combining enabled and drivers other then the 67.03. No probs.
 
OK......

So after some searching, I found a dude that's willing to trade me for a watch I have.

He's got an Asus N6600 128 AGP

These are good, right? I understand the GT has issues. Is this a GT? And what's the difference?

It looks cool! lol That's not much of a reason, but I'm I'm also not much of a gamer.
I'll go a googlin' for specs, but would appreciate any advice or opinions on this card from you guys.

Here's a pic of it too! :
 
Here's a bigger picture. And the dude confirmed it's a "TD" not a GT.

How does she compare to a Radeon 9700? That was the alternative card.
 
Rage_3K_Moiz said:
The 6600 is a better buy compared to the Radeon card.
Click to expand...

But why exactly? It's a lower number. Is it just because I think it's newer, and the numbers are just a marketing ploy?

I pick it up this afternoon. I guess we'll see.

But I still have nothing to compare it to, really.

And thanks for the response!:monkey:
 
They are not very far from each other performance-wise i.e. the difference is not night and day or anything. The only advantage is that the GeForce card runs much cooler.
 
I got it!!!

And it's a cool lookin' lil' guy. Fan and everything already.

Ok, guess this thread's dead now.

Unless somebody would link me to the best drivers! lol

There's 92 on the Asus website. And because my Asus P4S800D-X mobo isn't exactly a spring chiken, shouldn't I actually be using older drivers?

Especially since I'm using XP Pro SP 2?

Or maybe I'm an *****? lol
 
Rage_3K_Moiz said:
They are not very far from each other performance-wise i.e. the difference is not night and day or anything.
Click to expand...

Are you kidding me? The 6600GT is WAAAAY better then the Radeon 9700. First of all, it owns it in every benchmark around

Second of all the Radeon is a Shader Model 2 DirectX 9.0 Card, The 6600GT is a Shader Model 3 DirectX 9.0c card. The difference between Shader Model 2 and 3 is quite big. If you ask me, Though not HUGE, The difference between a 6600GT and Radeon 9700 in both performance and Image quality is rather big. Even just the 6600 is faster then the Radeon, Plus it too is also Shader Model 3.
 
So my Asus N6600TD is good, right?

Because I did think the Radeon 9700 looked cooler. It had a big 'ol Zalman heat pipe/sinks thing on it! lol

I wasn't sure if it'd fit, so went with the 6600. I'm pretty sure the guy took pity on me, they seem to go for around $80 elsewhere.

So now what kind of joystick thingy should I be looking for?

I saw a couple Microsoft dealys at the flea market for like $5. But the guy said something about them being for CAD design, not games. HUH?!?!

Seriously? WTF?
 
nissanman said:
Are you kidding me? The 6600GT is WAAAAY better then the Radeon 9700. First of all, it owns it in every benchmark around
Click to expand...
Not really. The 6600 beats the 9700 by a large margin only in SM3.0-supporting games, and gaming is a non-issue for the OP. They are close in performance (in SM2.0 apps, if you will) mainly due to the 256-bit memory interface on the Radeon card. Both cards share the same number of pipelines too, which are among the main factors affecting performance in those cards.

Note that this is the 6600, not the 6600GT that he has bought. The 6600GT has GDDR3 memory, giving it a huge bandwidth advantage over the 9700.
 
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