Best Videocard Upgrade

[samm1]

Hey guys,

I'm going to buy a new video card for my computer but I'm having trouble finding the right one. I'm not sure if my mobo uses agp or pci cards because most of the cards that i can buy are pci cards. I have my system specs up so if you can recommend any good cards i would appreciate it.

I'm looking for a pretty cheap card (Under $200) from here:

http://www.qcgo.com.au/woolloongabba/catalog.php?z=1&c=Video Card

 

[Tmagic650]

You have an AGP 8 port available, so why not use it?
The HIGHTECH ATI 2600PRO AGP 512MB 128Bit DDR2 D-DVI HDMI HDCP would probably work

 

[EXCellR8]

If you could find a 7900GS or 7950GT that would also be good. I had a AGP 7950GT w/ 512MB GDDR3 vram and that card rocked! I don't remember how much I paid for it brand new but I doubt it was more than $200.

 

[samm1]

Thanks for the reply's.

I was looking at the ati 2600 before and i might go and buy it tomorrow. I just got two questions about it.

1) Would it be a noticeable upgrade from my Ati 9550 256mb that i am using atm.

2) Will the card fit my motherboard?

3) Would it be better to upgrade my cpu instead because its really old? (Celeron 2.6ghz)

I'm mostly playing WoW at the moment and I've heard that the game is powered mainly by the video card rather than games like counterstrike where the cpu is more important.

I hope that kind of made sence? =/

 

[Rage_3K_Moiz]

The vast majority of games are GPU-dependent, so a better video card will show you more improvement in performance than a new CPU. And yes, the HD 2600 Pro will be a major improvement over the 9550. Just make sure your PSU has enough current on the +12V rail to support it.

If you have a beefy enough PSU though, I'd recommend this card as the best deal.

 

[samm1]

Okay. I'm not sure about the Power supply but I just want to know if theres a difference between AGP and PCI cards. It seems all the new cards are pci and i have both agp and pci slots. Also, the ati 2600 is mostly pci in other shops but on the one i had it was agp.

 

[k.jacko]

All new cards are PCI-E, not PCI. There's a definite difference. On new boards the PCI-E slot has replaced the AGP slot in almost the same position on the board.
PCI-E has more bandwidth than AGP.
If your gpu card upgrade is going to be costly, it may be worth saving to upgrade your mobo/cpu/ram/gpu altogether, otherwise you're throwing money into a rig that won't survive too much longer in todays power hungry pc market.

 

[samm1]

Mhm. good point. But if I guess it would be better to buy a whole new computer rather than upgrading each part.

I've only been playing WoW lately so i guess I don't need my computer to be amazingly powerful.

 

[k.jacko]

i know how you feel samm but upgrading the core parts of your pc, means that you future proof it. You can always upgrade the rest at a later date. ie. hdd, dvd drive, case, psu etc.
You put money into buying a new agp gpu now, you certainly won't be able to use it again once you do upgrade.
Buying a whole new pc isn't necessary.