AGP card to play games

[wfz]

My son PC is P4 2.8ghz with a old video card (2007 time). Recently he bought Call of Duty World War (?) which requires minimum of graphic card that is Shader 3.0 or better 256 MB NVIDIA Geforce 6600GT/ATI Radeon 1600XT or better (onboard chipsets not supported).

If I buy a newer card (PCI-E), I have to upgrade the whole system. I wonder what AGP or PCI based cards that can meet the minimum requirements of the game and may be able to last another 1 to 2 years? I'm also thinking is it worth the money to buy an old card. Intead maybe it's better to upgrad the whole system. What are the options to meet basic gaming requirements at a budget of $300?

Thanks for your help,

 

[dac7nco]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161337

This is the best you'll get new... you might look for a used 3850/512MB; that's what I bought for a friend last year. You'll pay out the ass for AGP cards these days.

Daimon

 

[Lonyo]

Best option would be a complete overhaul for $300. The CPU just won't keep cutting. Already most games want a dual core processor, and spending ~100 or so on an AGP card would be a waste of money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138179
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814134123
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817139017
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820144262
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103903

Athlon II X2 3.0GHz, GTS450, Socket AM3 motherboard, 4GB RAM and a new 430w PSU.
(I'm assuming you would need a new PSU).
Hopefully it should go inside your existing case, and you can make use of the existing harddrive/monitor/keyboard etc.
$303.95 before shipping, and before $10 MIR

 

[wfz]

Wow, that's more expensive than PCI-E deals I've seen at Hot Deals. Is there a chart available somewhere showing the speed of different cards? Then I can compare and know if a card is OK for games. Seems anything relating to games are expensive!

 

[wfz]

Thanks for the system suggestions. I'll take a look! BTW, this motherboard does not take the old IDE drives, right? I'd need to buy a SATA drive too. That's a nice price and something I'm looking for. What is the next step up with more power and longer life span?

sorry it does take ATA, the old HD. Can it boot form ATA?

 

[Zorander]

Ditto the HD3850 AGP recommendation. I used one with my old A64 system and it easily managed the games I played back then (Dragon Age, SupCom, Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia 2008) at 1920x1200 resolution & medium settings. I believe this is the most powerful AGP card you can expect to get.

If you are prepared to shell out $300 though, a complete system overhaul is more effective. That old P4 chip is not going to cut it in modern games or even for playing HD movies.

Regards.

 

[MentalIlness]

Is there a chart available somewhere showing the speed of different cards?

http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php

Go here for specs comparisons OP.

And here are very comprehensive charts...

 

[toyota]

his cpu doesn't even meet the minimum requirements to play Call of Duty World at War. and you can forget about most other modern games playing smoothly too on a 2.8 P4 even if he does meet them.

 

[digitaldurandal]

my advice?

go into for sale for trade forum and buy a combo from someone. Recently got a great deal to upgrade my wifes computer: q6600, bad axe ii motherboard, 4gb of ram - for like 150$

 

[cusideabelincoln]

Either go modest on the video card or build a new system. The processor will hold back an AGP 3850 or 4670 too much. You should look for cards that are a bit above the minimum requirements. Your son should be able to play the games, but details will have to be dropped. If you're going to get a card don't spend more than, say, $75. Look for: Geforce 6800, 7600, 7800, Radeon X1600, X1650, X1950 HD2600, HD 3650. Anything faster would be a big waste, IMO.

If your budget really is $300 then you might as well get a new system. You can get a decent enough gaming system for that much.

 

[toyota]

it doesn't matter what video card he goes with since his cpu is below the minimum requirements for most games including the one he asked about.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

I would bet money his processor is fast enough to play the game and be playable. Blistering speeds? No. But playable. So don't write it off so easily like you always want to do. You can get by with a lot (or little) on low detailed gaming.

If I had a SM3.0 AGP card I would test this myself with W@W. But I've tested Call of Duty 4, which uses the same engine, and it ran perfectly fine on an Athlon XP processor.

 

[toyota]

I would bet money his processor is fast enough to play the game and be playable. Blistering speeds? No. But playable. So don't write it off so easily like you always want to do. You can get by with a lot on low detailed gaming.

If I had a SM3.0 AGP card I would test this myself with W@W. But I've tested Call of Duty 4, which uses the same engine, and it ran perfectly fine on an Athlon XP processor.

I am just going by the minimum requirements listed which are usually not even sufficient. World at War upped the min cpu from 2.4 on CoD 4 to 3.0 P4.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

If he has a $300 budget he might as well get a new system, but I still think the game would be playable. A cheap dual/triple core with a GT 240, GTS 430, HD 4670, HD 5570, or HD 5670 would make a good gaming machine. Faster video cards would make it even better.

 

[0roo0roo]

to be frank there is no agp card that can play more than half life 2 now really. a p4 2.4ghz is like an atom netbook processor. there is no hope for it. do not sink good money into that thing....it is gone. that is a 2002 processor. look to play games within 1-2 years of that date. nothing more.
even cod wow is 2008
minimum requirements are a joke on most games.

 

[dac7nco]

Yes, a lot of games are playable - my buddy plays Grid & Far Cry 2 on my old P4(HT) with an AGP 3850/512 @ 720p with decent detail.

Daimon

 

[wfz]

Thank you all for the great advice. After reading all, I'm more leaning toward replacing the whole system. I've already got some components that originally purchased for my own upgrade. I will use them on my son's PC first. I just saw one deal on Core 2 Quad Processor Q9300. $100 at MicroCenter. I might go with this so the PC can last longer. Is this a good processor that has good overclock potential? By benchmark numbers at http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/106?vs=75, it should be 20% faster than the one suggested. Does that reflect real life performance? What is the best CPU/motherboard combo at ~$200 to $250 right now?

Thanks a lot for your help to make this a Happier Christmas for my son.