Best Video Card Upgrade for a 2.8 Northwood?

[garritynet]

I am going to be giving a friend at work a computer of mine. Its has a Intel 2.8gig Northwood, 1gig of ram and Windows Xp. The MB is ECS crap. The current video card is an ATI 9600xt.

What is a good video card upgrade that won't be overly limited by his processor?

 

[SolMiester]

I guess that is an AGP slot?!...maybe 1 of the 3xxx series AGP cards

 

[garritynet]

Sorry, yes its an AGP 8x slot.

 

[Piano Man]

ATI HD3850 might be a bit much for it, but its only $120-$130 bucks.

 

[AzN]

1950pro

 

[themisfit610]

Another vote for the 3850. It's close to an 8800gt in performance, and will be an absolutely gargantuan improvement over your 9600xt

Bring on the WoWbox

~MiSfit

 

[Denithor]

2600XT $90AR
3850 $125AR

Both will handle moderate gaming well, obviously the 3850 packs more muscle but also costs about 1/3 more. You're also probably going to want to bump up to 2GB of RAM on that system if he wants to use it for gaming.

But don't expect wonders because that single-core P4 isn't up to the task of many modern games.

 

[Auric]

3850 is overkill and may require a replacement power supply. So, 3650 is better suited and can outperform 2600XT. The 512MB video RAM makes it less likely that increasing system RAM beyond 1GB will be of any benefit for the games playable on such a system. It depends more upon how much stuff is running in the background and even if a lot, if the user cannot be arsed to close some of it first.

 

[happy medium]

My system is cpu bound with a 7800gs.

Another vote for a 3650. 79.00$ (Newegg)

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: happy medium
My system is cpu bound with a 7800gs.

Another vote for a 3650. 79.00$ (Newegg)

Actually: 7800GS < 7600GT < 3650

The performance difference is noticeable with P4 single-core models around 3GHz. And they all overclock quite well too. I recently installed an AH3650 and it easily manages both core and memory clocks running 20% faster. A li'l more may be possible, especially with the addition of a fan (certainly ATI Overdrive thought so but I am cautious).

If the OP (or anyone) does opt for a 3650 take note of the outputs, audio, cooler and accessories. For instance: Sapphire has only a single DVI and no audio. Powercolor has no audio. So, HIS and Asus are better. The former has a single slot heat sink and fan and the latter a dual slot heat sink. Asus also includes the mini-DIN to component cable and yet a rebate makes it cost no more than the others and thus my choice.

 

[cusideabelincoln]

How is an HD3650 faster than an HD2600XT? Also the 7600GT and 7800GS are virtually tied. In some cases the 7600GT can best the 7800GS, and vice versa. But none of this matters since his processor is going to bottleneck all of these cards, so just grab the cheapest thing you can find man. Just look for these cards, which are going to be a massive improvement over a 9600XT.

7600GS/X1650Pro->HD2600Pro->6800GS/GT>HD3650->X1650XT/HD2600XT->7600GT/7800GS->X1950Pro->HD3850

Any card in the middle should offer the best performance per dollar, considering the bottleneck of your processor.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: cusideabelincoln
How is an HD3650 faster than an HD2600XT? Also the 7600GT and 7800GS are virtually tied. In some cases the 7600GT can best the 7800GS, and vice versa. But none of this matters since his processor is going to bottleneck all of these cards, so just grab the cheapest thing you can find man. Just look for these cards, which are going to be a massive improvement over a 9600XT.

7600GS/X1650Pro->HD2600Pro->6800GS/GT>HD3650->X1650XT/HD2600XT->7600GT/7800GS->X1950Pro->HD3850

Any card in the middle should offer the best performance per dollar, considering the bottleneck of your processor.

Even if the 7800GS tied the 7600GT it is less efficient. In any case, they and such old cards are outclassed by the 2600XT and 3650 so not worth considering. My understanding is the 2600XT has a borked AA unit whose duties are thus off-loaded to shaders as a workaround and thus the 3650 especially beats it when enabled (and who prefers no AA?). Likewise, there no reason to consider the X1950 Pro nor XT when outlclassed on every front by the 3850. Plus, modern cards benefit from continued driver development, the best IQ, features, and motion video performance. So saving a few dollars on an old card even if it matched basic 3D performance (if not quality) is simply not worth it.

 

[garritynet]

Thanks guys!

X3650 it is.

 

[clarkey01]

That 2.8 Northwood C will go to 3.2Ghz btw

 

[myocardia]

Originally posted by: clarkey01
That 2.8 Northwood C will go to 3.2Ghz btw

He didn't say it was a Northwood C. They made a Northwwood A @ 2.8 Ghz, as well as a Northwood B @ 2.8 Ghz.

 

[minmaster]

DON'T BUY IT! you will barely see any improvements due to your CPU bottleneck.

i had a 3.2 northwood, had x800 and upgraded to x1950. due to the cpu limitations, i barely saw any improvements in fps. the only benefit was that i could play dx9 w/ shader model 2.0 games.

btw if you want a 3.2 northwood for cheap PM me.

 

[Auric]

Originally posted by: minmaster
DON'T BUY IT! you will barely see any improvements due to your CPU bottleneck.

i had a 3.2 northwood, had x800 and upgraded to x1950. due to the cpu limitations, i barely saw any improvements in fps. the only benefit was that i could play dx9 w/ shader model 2.0 games.

btw if you want a 3.2 northwood for cheap PM me.

The difference in 3D peformance betwixt 9600XT and X800 is roughly equivalent to that betwixt X800 and X1950. So, the benefits are clear to a point but then quickly diminish (putting aside other features) if being limited by the CPU. That is why the 3850 is not recommended but the 3650 is (they are on either side of the X1950 for 3D). Indeed, the 3650 is faster than X800 series but not overkill. Still, if OP can cheaply and easily upgrade the CPU as well then all the better but ultimately the potential benefit depends upon the intended useage.