One AGP question?

[E-man]

I just want to know what is the best ati agp card out? It is for my sons computer and im not looking to upgrade it to pci-e. I have looked at the x1950 pro, but i don't know if that is the best agp card. Thanks

 

[Tmagic650]

AGP cards are a bit obsolete, but find one thats in your budget and go with it

 

[E-man]

I know they are a bit obsolete, but my question is: Is the x1950 pro the top agp card for ati radeons or is there a higher one?

 

[mailpup]

I believe the Radeon HD 3850 is the top AGP card from ATI. However, if you have a single core processor, you will likely not notice much, if any, difference from an X1950.

These are fairly long cards so make sure the PC has enough room inside to accommodate the length. Also, make sure your power supply is sufficient for the upgrade.

 

[E-man]

I have a 520 watt ps. And i am running a p4 intel. So you think i should go with the x1950?

 

[E-man]

I can get a new radeon hd3650 for about 100.00 shipped. or i found a x1950 pro for about the same. So i really don't know which one to get. Except the 3650 has the support for directx 10

 

[mailpup]

It's probably more cost effective but it's up to you.

 

[E-man]

I found a his x1950 pro iceq3 turbo. I am leaning towards this one. As the cooling on this 1950 seems to be the best. and i read some articles talking about how the x1950 was a hot card

 

[Tmagic650]

Or this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161071

 

[E-man]

Does or has anyone here had a x1950 they could share there experiences with me?

 

[mailpup]

I have an Asus Radeon X1900XTX which is close, I suppose. It performs well and I haven't had any problems with it. I've had it for about three years, I think. Mine is PCI-E though, not AGP.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The X1950PRO is a better card compared to the HD 3650. That said, the HD 3850 is the best for AGP, as mailpup mentioned, and can be had for $120 or so. It also offers a 30-40% performance advantage over the X1950PRO.

 

[E-man]

ok thanks. i am going to look at the 3850 then the 1950. Which ever one i can get the best deal on.

I have a 520 watt power supply, i think it is a aspire. U all think that is a big enough psu?

 

[MetalX]

Should be fine. I don't know much about Aspire PSUs... certainly not a brand I'd recommend, but they might not be that bad.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The Aspire should be okay for now, especially since the HD 3850 draws only 95W.

 

[E-man]

Do you know how much the 1950 draws?

 

[tengeta]

I use the Radeon HD3650 just fine in my AGP slot, and its working on a 500w power supply with 6 HDD's and a wealth of other unnecessary crap connected.

I'd recommend it, I can't use the thing to its full ability because the AGP and my P4 bottleneck it, so I'd assume going higher just wastes more money.

This is the exact one I got (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102814), I've heard a lot of driver issues exist with the higher end ATI AGP cards, and this one didn't give me any trouble when I used the disk that came with it. (I downloaded the more recent drivers and they wouldn't recognize the card and it ended up causing a lot more problems).

Hope this helps.

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The X1950PRO draws even lesser power than the HD 3850, somewhere in the range of 65-68W.

 

[E-man]

To many choices. i don't know which one to get now. I would like to have a 3850, but i haven't heard anyone talk about driver issues with them till now. Anyone have any ideas on what they would choose if they were looking for a new agp card?

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

HD 3850 if you aren't going to upgrade your motherboard anytime soon. Otherwise, go with a cheaper card like the HD 3650.

 

[LinkedKube]

To many choices. i don't know which one to get now. I would like to have a 3850, but i haven't heard anyone talk about driver issues with them till now. Anyone have any ideas on what they would choose if they were looking for a new agp card?

There isnt much of a performance difference of those cards. Just dont expect a 3850 agp to perform like a pci e version of the card.

 

[E-man]

So which one do you all prefer, A sapphire or powercolor? I am leaning towards the powercolor, but need some different opinions besides the online stores salesmanship. Thanks

 

[kisrum]

long cards

These are fairly long cards so make sure the PC has enough room inside to accommodate the length. Also, make sure your power supply is sufficient for the upgrade.

Yeah buddy. My 3850 just barely fit into an ATX case. Works fine though with 500 w PSU

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

Sapphire over PowerColor IMO. There is an HIS HD 3850 ICEQ3 AGP card, but it's for $200 or so on TigerDirect. The extra cooling could allow you to OC the card and squeeze some more performance out of it. The Sapphire reference card is almost $100 cheaper here though, so you just have to decide whether or not you want to spend an extra $100 on the card, or save it for a system upgrade.

 

[E-man]

I'm probably not going to be overclocking it. So i am just looking at which one cools better and runs better?