Anyone running a AGP 6600GT w/BF2???

[deadken]

My buddy has a Dell w/a P4 1.8Ghz (come to think of it, it might only be a 1.7ghz). We upgraded the stock video card to a 9700Pro back when we were playing BF:42+ BF:Vietnam. We upgraded his Memory to 2x512 Corsair Value Ram when we started playing BF:2.

He is stuck at 800x600 with all settings on 'Low' and I think %80 or %85 viewing distance. This is killing him. He doesn't have a ton of cash to spend on us building him a new PC right now. I picked up a 6600GT to replace my sons dead 9800Pro (damn Arctic Cooler Rev.3 fan died and the card overheated). I didn't think the 6600GT would be a good replacement at first, since it only has a 128bit memory interface. The more reviews/comparisons I read, the more I saw that for most (especially newer) games it performed as well or better then the 256bit 9800Pro.

This 6600GT runs at 500/900 core/memory stock. I have already changed out the factory HS for a Copper Zalman VGA HS (I have to cut down the memory heat sinks to use them on this 6600). The memory is rated a 2.0ns and I have overclocked it with riva tuner up to 600/1200. I have dropped it back down to stock for now (again, I want to cut down and install the memory HS's). Even at stock speeds it outperformed the 9800Pro in my sons machine with 3DMark05.

Well, since I have been reading that the 6600GT uses less power then a 9800Pro I figured maybe this would be a good card for my buddy. He doesn't live very close, and I would have to have him bring his PC over in order to do the upgrade. I am a bit concerned about the factory PSU in his Dell, but if this 6600GT uses less power, then it certainly won't be a problem (for now at least). Any ideas how it will handle BF2 in his rig? Nowhere I can find tests a 6600GT in a older machine.


Sorry for being so long-winded, but I really wanted to paint an accurate picture...

Summary:
My Buddy has P4 1.7 or 1.8Ghz PC w/1GB of Ram and 9700Pro
Would a 6600GT @ 500 core, 900 Memory beat out his card? (in the same system)
Does a 6600GT draw less power then a 9700Pro?

 

[A554SS1N]

The biggest problem is that CPU is quite slow, so could be holding things back alot - a 6600GT will help performance a little, but won't be able to stretch it's legs much. It might consume a fair bit of power too, as AGP 6600GT's used a bridge chip that took a bit of power - might work out similar to the 9700pro power consumption overall though.

 

[mozirry]

i had a 6600GT AGP for a while, it performs similarly to the 6600GT PCI-E, except a little hotter I think (I later returned it for a PCI-E version of the 6600GT after I switched motherboards.)

The card itself handles BF2 very well at 1024-768 w/ med-high textures. You can do higher resolutions like 1280x1024 w/ medium textures as well. Keep in mind though this is with an Athlon 64 3500+

I'm a little worried about your buddies P4 1.8ghx though, thats not very fast at all.

My previous rig was a p4 2.53 w/ a 6600GT AGP and although that was before BF2 came out, I'm sure it would have run it at a reasonable resolution, with reasonable detail settings, at a reasonable framerate.

the 1.8ghz may be way too much of a CPU bottleneck to get all the potential out of the 6600GT, but at the same time, it may make the game playable.

 

[secretanchitman]

i have had mine for a while. i have a p4 2.4C @ 2.95Ghz, 2GB of ram (necessary im telling you), and a leadtek 6600GT @ 580/1.06. it ran everything medium-high with 2xAA and 4xAF.

honestly, i think the 1.8Ghz p4 is going to limit performance more than the video card.

6600GT > 9800 pro IMO. i would say the 6600GT draws a bit more power than the 9700, as it needs an additional molex connected to it (9700 just uses the AGP slot i believe).

 

[deadken]

I agree that the CPU is a problem. To make matters worse, it is a socket 423 and they only went up to 2ghz. I have tried to find him a 1.9 or 2 ghz for dirt cheap, but they are holding their value (as the highest rated CPU for the S423 platform). So, replacing the CPU isn't worth the price, and replacing the CPU/Mobo is out of his price range (since it is a Dell, a new Case, PSU and O/S might very well be needed at the same time).

A 1.7 Ghz CPU is the minimum spec. for BF2. I certainly don't like running anything at minimum spec, but I am sure you can see why we are holding there.

The bottom line is: If he is willing to drive over to my house with his PC, I will swap the card and install the drivers for him and he can see if it makes enough of a difference to be worth the cost for him. I just wanted to see if it is worth it for him to bring his tower over here.

Please realize that the card is in my Sons rig right now. I had considered installing my copy of BF2 on it and seeing how it does. But, my 11year old son is using a S754 A64 @ 2.4ghz. So, I don't think it would be a fair comparison. I did consider underclocking his rig and seeing how it would do, but I decided that either my friend makes the effort to bring his PC here and let's try this, or he doesn't and he has crummy framerate.

Thanks for the input. Please keep it coming if it is relevant.

BTW: The 9700Pro does in fact need an external power source. It used a floppy connector though, not a molex like the 9800Pro.