Fastest AGP videocard for my system

[wootwoot]

I am trying to figure out which videocard to get for my aging system. I have an nforce2 motherboard and a barton based athlon xp 2500 overclocked to about 3200 speed. I have a gig of ram and an old ati raedon 8500 card. I am looking for the best agp videocard solution I can get for the money for this board. I am willing to drop some money but don't want to waste money on a card that my system may not be powerful enough to drive. Do you guys have any good ideas on what sort of videocard would fit the bill here? thx

 

[secretanchitman]

hi and welcome to the forums!

athlon xp 2500 OCed to 3200, so i would get...

ATi Radeon X800GTO
ATi Radeon X850XT from micro center
Nvidia Geforce 6800GS
Nvidia Geforce 6800GT

you also might need a new power supply, as todays cards require more power.

if you have any other questions, whether "dumb or smart", dont hesistate to ask!

edit: and what kind of price range are you looking at? and what games (if any) do you play?

 

[Dman877]

What monitor/res do you play games on?

 

[RussianSensation]

If you can find microcenter X850Xt deal go for that.

Otherwise I'd get this:

AIW X800XT - $272
- $30 MIR
Total Price: $242

You could also consider XFX 6800GS since those tend to have 4 unlockable pipelines.

 

[wootwoot]

So you guys are saying that my computer is fast enough for the latest and greatest? I am going to be buying a new 19" LCD soon so will probly be playing at 1280x1024. I have taken a break from gaming for a few years and am trying to get back in. I will probly be picking up the Samsung 940b as per the LCD thread. Oh yea, I also run linux on this system so i should probly lean towards an nvidia based card.

 

[Nextman916]

linux=gaming :thumbsdown: Get xp pro which i saw for $80 in the hot deals section, good choice on the lcd i have the 940b myself. Everything in secretanchitman's list are in the ballpark of what you want. Since you are just getting back into gaming i suggest you dont do any modding, meaning no 6800gs. The 6800gt in agp flavor has been long gone in production meaning the prices are insane. The x800gto is a great 12-pipe card and can easily be overclocked to x850xt pe speeds, because it is based off the same core as its pci-e counterpart, not the r480 one so it cant be unlocked. The x850xt is of course a better card but the flaw to that is you have to deal with rebates, but thats all up to you. My top suggestions to you would be either the x850xt or x800gto.

 

[wootwoot]

Sorry meant to say I run linux as well as windows on the system. Yea linux != gaming at all. I will have to look around, thx for the suggestions everyone Glad to hear you like the 940b, it is always good to hear people that are happy about their purchases.

 

[rancherlee]

A Barton rig @ 3200+ should drive a X800 / 6800GT just fine, I love my AIW X800XT on my barton XP-M @ 2.4 gig. Plays any game at the 1280x1024 of my 19" LCD.