7600GT (AGP) in stock at newegg... go for it?

[LTE]

Leadtek's 7600GT, $180

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122009

I've not seen in stock regularly, it looks shorter than most cards in that speed range (I have a shuttle, so that's important to me), and I know it's in a good price point.

Is that a good price? Is Leadtek's a good model?

 

[Captante]

Good to see they have it back in stock, but if you want one you had better order it quickly before they sell out again!

There was another site that had it in stock for $170, but I'd pay a bit more to get it from Newegg because of their great customer service.. also check out this BFG 7800GS which is $205 after a $30mir & overclocked will outperform the GT.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143046

 

[LTE]

I went ahead with the 7600gt. It's shorter and less power-hungry, as I understand it, and for my system, those are important considerations.

Now my next condundrum is whether to wait for the 20.1"W monitor that hits the $200 mark at newegg (see the hot deals section) to get back in stock, or go for a 22"W for around 350.

So many ways to part with my money, but it's all so shiney. And that's not even thinking about the Wii and DS tempting me.

 

[Captante]

Not a bad purchase at all & you are correct about the power draw being less for the GT, also it runs a bit cooler & performance at default speeds is pretty close to the GS in most games.

I've been debating finally moving to LCD myself (currently still have a 21 inch crt) & I have to say that based on many reviews & looking at screens myself, I wouldn't go for anything smaller then 22 inchs in WS format because of the screen height ... for some reason 20.1's just feel too small to me.

 

[LTE]

I'm leaning toward the 22" too. I'm replacing a 19 12x10 lcd (not really replacing, that one is heading to my office at work to replace a crappy 17"crt) but it's something of a stop-gap; by this time next year, I'm going to invest in a 24"iMac for my primary computer. It's that latter issue that's making me think about a smaller monitor.

BTW, the 7600gt is replacing an older ati card, so I know nothing about nvidia drivers these days. Is there a generally accepted build that most go with?

 

[Nightmare225]

I would hold off if you can. The X1950Pro is supposed to come out during this month @ $200, should kill a 7600.

 

[LTE]

Originally posted by: Nightmare225
I would hold off if you can. The X1950Pro is supposed to come out during this month @ $200, should kill a 7600.

I'm not exactly sure that card will fit in my system, and I have a hard time believing it'll come out for anything less than $250.

You're right, performance-wise it'll beat out the 7600gt in no time flat, but there were enough other considerations that I decided against the x1950Pro.

 

[Canterwood]

Well if you're happy, we're happy.

 

[Vortex22]

Originally posted by: LTE

Originally posted by: Nightmare225
I would hold off if you can. The X1950Pro is supposed to come out during this month @ $200, should kill a 7600.

I'm not exactly sure that card will fit in my system, and I have a hard time believing it'll come out for anything less than $250.

You're right, performance-wise it'll beat out the 7600gt in no time flat, but there were enough other considerations that I decided against the x1950Pro.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102061

I ordered one a week ago and it's sitting in my system right now .
Very satisfied with it... It's run everything I've thrown at it smoothly @ 1680x1050.

It is sort of long, and if space was a concern I could see it maybe being a problem. It fits well in my mid tower with plenty of room to spare though, and the single slot cooler is nice.

 

[Captante]

BTW, the 7600gt is replacing an older ati card, so I know nothing about nvidia drivers these days. Is there a generally accepted build that most go with?

I've been using an X1900XTX for the last 6 months myself so I'm not up on which of the newer Nvidia drivers is the best bet for you.. I'd suggest going with the newest official WHQL release, however I'm sure others can offer more useful advice.

 

[LTE]

Originally posted by: Vortex22

Originally posted by: LTE

Originally posted by: Nightmare225
I would hold off if you can. The X1950Pro is supposed to come out during this month @ $200, should kill a 7600.

I'm not exactly sure that card will fit in my system, and I have a hard time believing it'll come out for anything less than $250.

You're right, performance-wise it'll beat out the 7600gt in no time flat, but there were enough other considerations that I decided against the x1950Pro.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102061

I ordered one a week ago and it's sitting in my system right now .
Very satisfied with it... It's run everything I've thrown at it smoothly @ 1680x1050.

It is sort of long, and if space was a concern I could see it maybe being a problem. It fits well in my mid tower with plenty of room to spare though, and the single slot cooler is nice.

Space is a big concern, unfortunately, and your link is to the pci-express version, whereas my need is for agp.

When it comes down to it, the difference I'll see compared to my old card (a 9600xt) will be pretty huge (I hope), so that's what counts.

 

[Captante]

It looks like the majority opinion on AT is that Forceware v91.47 is the most stable WHQL Nvidia driver at the moment although a lot of people prefer v92.91 mentioning better image quality & performance, also I notice that its been downloaded by far the most of all Nvidia drivers on Guru3d.com which is a pretty good indicater of quality. (be sure to use Drivercleaner to remove the old ATI's before installing it though or you may have some problems)

Forceware drivers: http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?id=10

Driver Cleaner: http://www.drivercleaner.net/ (Pro version is free)

 

[CaiNaM]

if you go the 7600GT, i certainly wouldn't go to a large WS LCD... they run native @ 1650 or higher, and the GT certainly will not game well at that res.. you'll have to use a lower res, and while lcd's can certainly interpolate to a lower res, it looks like ass....