Want to replace my AGP 9800 Pro, any ideas?

[foycur]

My specs are below. I don't want to upgrade my mobo just yet. I"m looking for a card in the sub $200 range. Some of my newer games like Flight Sim X and F.E.A.R. just aren't looking as pretty as I know they could. I want to avoid doing an entire upgrade because I don't have the cash to do it just now. I don't care if it's an ATI or NVIDIA card; I'm just looking for good performance at a decent price and want to make the upgrade worthwhile (i.e. if it doesn't beat the pants off my 9800 pro, forget it....the 9800 pro is 128 MB, BTW). I live in the US, as well.

 

[wolfram]

THIS is a great card.

It should kill the 9800pro.

Regards :wave:

 

[foycur]

you never specified which card, amigo. which one did you mean?

 

[wolfram]

Click on the word "THIS" lol, on my previous post A 7600GT.

 

[Sharkfood]

I have to respectfully disagree with my collegue on this one- a 7600GT in no way "beats the pants off" a 9800 Pro.

9800 Pro is quite a beast and still remains so today with it's 8-pipelines and 256 bit memory interface. Comparatively, the 7600GT has only a 128-bit memory interface but raises to 12-pipelines. Overall, it's a wash in spots that really tax the card (i.e. bandwidth or fillrate bottlenecks) in the kinds of games you have listed. Oblivion or games that are heavily shader pipeline bound, it'll have a comfortable lead.. but it still lacks the fillrate/bandwidth for more demanding games so it's basically going to have similar shortcomings.

If you truly want something that will "beat the pants" off your 9800 pro, I'd say go for nothing short of the 7800GS or X1950 Pro, which are both available in AGP form. You'll need a beefy power supply for both (make sure you have at least a 400W and at least 20-22A on the 12v rail(s) ) and good case cooling. Unfortunately, they are both right around the $200 mark, so you may want to Ebay your 9800 Pro or scrap a few extra bucks to go this route.

 

[MetalX]

Yea I agree with Shark. The memory bandwidth on a 7600GT is only ~1GB/s faster than a 9800PRO despite the much higher memory clock because of the 128-bit. 7600GT has more pixelpipes, and a higher core clock, but it is not A LOT better than a 9800. X1950PRO will PWNAGE a 9800PRO, so that's the card I suggest.

 

[tweakboy]

Get a top notch AGP 7th generation card from either nvidia or ATI,

the AGP 7800GS will make you very happy and play todays current games,

Also remember your PSU must be strong enough, also don't forget to connect the molex power to video card,, gl,

 

[foycur]

Thanks for all the input, people. I really appreciate it.

I went online and did a bunch of reading and found that so much has changed I'm almost scared to buy any new component....so much has changed since I built this system!!

I think instead of dropping the 200 bucks for a card I think I just may wait another six months, raise some cash, and then build a new system. Can anyone recommend a decent 'tutorial' site or page that will get me up to speed on the newest stuff, like SLI/crossfire, dual core processors, etc? I'm still thinking in terms of AGP here....LOL