ATI 9800 Pro *RIP* Need help finding AGP Card

[mrblahman]

Well she has lasted 6 long years and through many many games. Here lies my artifact ridden card. The fan is still working well on it, but artifacts like crazy.

I am building another computer separately with PCI-express, but I still need this setup to run properly and be able to do some gaming. This rigs specs:

AMD 2700+ (2.2 ghz)
1 gig Ram (333mhz)
Abit AN7

Looking for something hopefully better than my dead ATI 9800 Pro 128mb (AGP)

 

[RussianSensation]

You can get something like X1650Pro, 7600GS/GT, etc. It really depends on how much you want to spend. However, consider that:

XP 2700+ is way too slow for today
1 gig of ram limits performance
Why dump $ again into an AGP card that you cant reuse?
Prices of AGP cards are very high given the performance.

You can pick up 2Gigs of DDR2 ram for about $30 nowdays and a mobo for $65-70. X2 3800+ sells for about $56. Alternatively Intel Allendale dual core can be had for $75. IMO it's worth it to spend $150 to get a new cpu, 2 gigs of DDR2 ram and a new PCIe motherboard because:

1) This will let you buy a lot more performance for the same $ in terms of the videocard
2) You have an upgrade path to quad core processors which makes this investment worthwhile
3) Performance will be a lot faster overall given the specs

Of course if you intend to play games like Warcraft 3 or Starcraft, not so intensive games, then getting an AGP card < $100 would be a better option I suppose.

 

[mrblahman]

If I did a 1650 Pro AGP , what would i need to check on my PSU to make it run properly?

 

[mrblahman]

Does this look okay? If i could locally pick it up?

http://www.compusa.com/product...C1&product_code=342815

 

[s44]

If your power supply is beefy enough, sure.

But really I'd get the Sapphire 2600XT (~$120 shipped at the Egg). You can use it for HTPC stuff after you build a better system...

 

[mrblahman]

How can I tell if my PSU is beefy enough? I think it's a 400w

 

[John]

Originally posted by: mrblahman
How can I tell if my PSU is beefy enough? I think it's a 400w

Not all psu's are created equal, nor can you judge on brand name alone. Post the brand/model and we'll go from there.

 

[bryanW1995]

first of all, an A64 at 2.2 ghz is 3700+, not 2700+.

second of all, you are probably better off getting a low-power gpu to go with that 6 year old psu. get a cheap-o used 7600gs or gt on fs/ft to tide you over until your other rig is built. or you could go really cheap, I just sold my old 9800 pro 128 for $30 so there are deals out there.

 

[mrblahman]

This PC will be used by my future wife when we move in together. I'm building a seperate beast gaming machine. She will be using it for probably Directx 9 games.

 

[mrblahman]

Dammit. I just checked my PSU and remember I modded my PSU about 5 years ago to remove the case and put on a custom case...

Now I have no frickin clue what kind of Wattage it has.....

Anyway to tell from counting connectors?

 

[kmmatney]

Originally posted by: bryanW1995
first of all, an A64 at 2.2 ghz is 3700+, not 2700+.

second of all, you are probably better off getting a low-power gpu to go with that 6 year old psu. get a cheap-o used 7600gs or gt on fs/ft to tide you over until your other rig is built. or you could go really cheap, I just sold my old 9800 pro 128 for $30 so there are deals out there.

It's not an Athlon 64, It's an Athlon "XP" 2700+, which clocked in at 2.17 Ghz, on the thoroughbred core.

 

[kmmatney]

Originally posted by: mrblahman
Dammit. I just checked my PSU and remember I modded my PSU about 5 years ago to remove the case and put on a custom case...

Now I have no frickin clue what kind of Wattage it has.....

Anyway to tell from counting connectors?

No way to tell using connectors. The 7600GS uses less power than the X1950Pro, but you'd probably be OK with the X1950Pro.

 

[bryanW1995]

which one is it? was the 2.7 a typo, or did you round from 2.1666 to 2.2?

 

[CapYoda]

I'm assuming he has an athlon xp 2700 clocked at 2.2 ghz

I'm also surprised that there's a x1950 available at that price.. seeing as how they're supposedly less in stock lately. you should definitely grab it (if you psu can handle it) before its out of stock..

deal is probably from compusa's pending closure?

 

[mrblahman]

Yeah i ordered that x1950 Pro from Comp USA. Every other online deal has that card in the +200 range for AGP. I'm crossing my fingers it will work on this PSU (I think it's 420W)

 

[darkxknight]

isn't the ati 3750 supposed to come out as agp?

 

[PolaroidPaul]

I have a similar problem to MrBlahMan,

I was about to order the X1950 card from CompUsa and then I heard about the store closings etc.

This is like lightening striking twice! Earlier this year, I won a CompUsa gift card as a door prize for a trip. That afternoon, they announced the closing of nearly all Massachusetts stores. Luckily, I spent the card last month in New Hampshire.

The new ATI Chip/Card (think it is a 3850) looks good but is not yet available in AGP that I could find.

I may chance the CompUsa card purchase.

And no, I do not have the time right now to change MB, CPU, etc to take advantage of PCIe graphics card. My PCs need to do multiple duty so there is plenty of room for compromise and the beasts need to run until they croak. Then the dead beast goes away, a new mid-top end box gets built, and each other machine drops down a notch.

Hey, best wishes to all for a great holiday season!

Paul

 

[Cattlegod]

Originally posted by: darkxknight
isn't the ati 3750 supposed to come out as agp?

yes, most powerful agp card to date.

 

[xxTurbonium]

Originally posted by: darkxknight
isn't the ati 3750 supposed to come out as agp?

Link? Does that card even exist yet in PCI-E form?

I can't find any info on it on the Net at all.

 

[xxTurbonium]

bump (above post)

 

[JCGhz]

Sorry for your loss.. mine is still chuggin away on an Intel system with a Prescott.

 

[Inspector Jihad]

does the 2600xt outperform the 1950pro in games like TF2, Bioshock and CoD4?

 

[xxTurbonium]

Reason I need a new card is similar... my 6800GT artifacts randomly, and sometimes perma-artifacts on the Desktop, requiring a hard-reboot. I recently changed the PSU to a new one too, so that's not the problem (Seasonic 430W).