I could use some help with choosing an AGP Video Card.

[MarkLuvsCS]

I know PCI-e is great, and $300-400 video cards run games at 32aa/96af, but i am stuck with a low end budget. This means the only thing to change is the card itself. I'm looking for the best bang for my buck, and i'll probably end up buying one through the FS/T forum.

The three i was looking at for DX9 gaming would be:

9800 pro - cheapest, but will likely run most dx9 games with reasonable fps on 1024x768. I think this is $80-100

or

6800, x800 - these two i'm not super sure which would be a clear winner. I believe these are in the similiar price range of 150 give or take. I know they will likely run DX9 games at a good 20-30% improvement. This is slightly more futureproof than the 9800 i'm sure.

This card is for my brother who wants to play DX9 games, but has a eVGA Ti-4400. I own a 9800 pro myself and love it. Its been a great card for me, and it still runs all the games i've been playing recently. I'm quite glad i got it vs. the 5900 series. I'm not a fanboy in anyway and open to suggestions, but i'm just trying to look for the best bang for the buck (just like the 9800 pros were).

If you have any suggestions please post below.

*Edit* Picked up a 9800pro. Though it's half the cost of the others, I think it'll do just fine. Cost was a major issue.

 

[MarkLuvsCS]

Does anyone have any input? I'd greatly appreciate it. If you send me your FS/T that you're selling one of these cards, I will bump it up.

 

[kmmatney]

Well, I was also on a budget, but ended up switching over the PCIE, and very glad I did. I was able to get a new cpu and video card for about $180 after selling off my old parts. The increase in performance was far greater than if I just upgraded by old AGP video card (I had a Ti4200). The X800GTO should beat the 6800, though. Here are a few options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125135

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102609

The second one easily unlocks to 16 pipes, and overclocks quite easily, so its the one to get. For NVidia your best off with a 6600GT for ~$135 or a 6800. The ATI cards a better deal, though, and quite a bit faster than the 9800Pro.

If you can a used 9800Pro for $90, then that would be a great bang-for-buck option.

 

[supaidaaman]

Question: I want to upgrade my old rig with a ti4600 to something new. The mobo supports 2x/4x does that mean I can buy 4x/8x cards? or not?

 

[MarkLuvsCS]

I think the card just has to be able to use AGP 4x/8x. Because unless it says AGP PRO ONLY (1.5v i believe), then it should work in regular 2x/4x slots.

 

[beggerking]

X800 is faster, but it doesn't do SM3.0
6800 isn't as fast, but it does SM3.0 and purevideo H.263

best route would be a mb upgrade though..

 

[Soulkeeper]

I just purchased An XFX 6800 XT from newegg for bout 160 after tax/shipping for my P4 setup.
should be getting it on tuesday
i figure that was the best price/performance option for an agp owner in my situation
i suggest looking into that card as it performs about as good as a vanilla 6800

 

[Captante]

The cheapest decent replacement card option for you is either a 9800 Pro/XT or slightly better, a 6600GT off the FS/FT forum here on AT... you should be able to snag one or the other for less then $100 shipped , then performance goes roughly: 6800nu<X800 Pro<6800GT<*X800XT=6800 Ultra<X850XT. *(depends on game)
If you want a new card, the best option by far at the momont is the Sapphire X800GTO on Newegg which is $139 after rebate, especially if you are able to unlock it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102609

 

[evolucion8]

Originally post by: MarkLuvsCS

I know PCI-e is great, and $300-400 video cards run games at 32aa/96af, but i am stuck with a low end budget. This means the only thing to change is the card itself. I'm looking for the best bang for my buck, and i'll probably end up buying one through the FS/T forum.

The three i was looking at for DX9 gaming would be:

9800 pro - cheapest, but will likely run most dx9 games with reasonable fps on 1024x768. I think this is $80-100

or

6800, x800 - these two i'm not super sure which would be a clear winner. I believe these are in the similiar price range of 150 give or take. I know they will likely run DX9 games at a good 20-30% improvement. This is slightly more futureproof than the 9800 i'm sure.

This card is for my brother who wants to play DX9 games, but has a eVGA Ti-4400. I own a 9800 pro myself and love it. Its been a great card for me, and it still runs all the games i've been playing recently. I'm quite glad i got it vs. the 5900 series. I'm not a fanboy in anyway and open to suggestions, but i'm just trying to look for the best bang for the buck (just like the 9800 pros were).

If you have any suggestions please post below.

*Edit* Picked up a 9800pro. Though it's half the cost of the others, I think it'll do just fine. Cost was a major issue.

Wrong, for example a X800 PRO is up to 2 times faster than a 9800 PRO. But the X800 or the 6800 are up to between 40% and 60% faster because of the optimization of their design, particularly with Anti Aliasing and Aniso on, otherwise the difference is not so great.