MB supports 4X AGP - what video card should I get?

[ACWingit]

My system contains:

Shuttle AK31 Rev3 KT266A MB (which supposedly supports 4x AGP)
512 MB RAM
Athlon 1.1ghz processor
Geforce2 MX video card

My son plays Asheron's Call 2 and must set the graphics settings to the very lowest setting in order to play.
I would like to upgrade the video card (because I'm not ready to upgrade the entire computer yet).
I have read the posts on this forum with people's recommendations however they are mostly for the 8x AGP cards.
Since my MB can only support 4X it doesn't make sense to buy an 8x card (or does it??)

I have been happy with the GeForce cards that I have (in all 3 of my computers) however I've heard great things about
the Radeon cards as well.

Many thanks in advance for your suggestions.

 

[selfbuilt]

Don't worry about the 8X AGP, that's mainly just a marketing gimmick for newer cards (4X AGP bandwidth isn't saturated with present systems, so the extra available bandwidth is irrelevant). All 8X cards will work fine on your system.

Most people are likely to recommend the Radeon 9500 Pro, as it's a great card for the price. And a on a system like yours that's limited by the CPU speed, you wouldn't really get any benefit from anything faster. I would recommend this as a top pick.

Others will tell you to get a GeForce4 Ti 4200, which is a good deal if you can get it cheap enough (around here they still cost the same as they did 6 months ago, and are definitely overpriced considering the Radeon 9500 Pro is just a few dollars more). A good second choice, depending on price, but the Radeon is definitely more future-proof and somewhat faster.

I would consider upgrading your processor as well, since many of these new games are very CPU-intensive. Realistically, any graphics card upgrade will be hamstringed by the older processor. Just verify first that your mobo can handle the newer Athlons (you may need a BIOS update, for example).

 

[ACWingit]

Thanks for the quick response. But now I have a few more questions.

Is the PRO version of the 9500 really that much better than the non-pro?
There seems to be about a significant price difference. I don't know enough about video cards to understand why the PRO would be worth more.

And speaking of price, so far the best prices I have found are $147 for the GeForce4 Ti4200 and $177 for the Radeon 9500 PRO (both 128 mb cards). Is the Radeon worth the extra $30?

And one more thing. The cards are sold as OEM or Retail. As a consumer (who will be installing the card myself), does it matter if I purchase the OEM one? I know I don't get the pretty box. But what else do I not get?

Many thanks once again!

 

[selfbuilt]

Originally posted by: ACWingit
Thanks for the quick response. But now I have a few more questions.

Is the PRO version of the 9500 really that much better than the non-pro?

Yes. Check out some of the other threads around here for technical details and reviews of both.

And speaking of price, so far the best prices I have found are $147 for the GeForce4 Ti4200 and $177 for the Radeon 9500 PRO (both 128 mb cards). Is the Radeon worth the extra $30?

I would say Yes again to that price difference (I paid the same difference when I bought mine when it first came out

And one more thing. The cards are sold as OEM or Retail. As a consumer (who will be installing the card myself), does it matter if I purchase the OEM one? I know I don't get the pretty box. But what else do I not get?

Not much in this case, since the OEM cards are no different for the 9500 Pro. Usually with OEM you may lack some of the extras (like the DVI - VGA converter, extra goodies on the installation CD, etc). Also, manufacturers usually expect you deal with the store you bought it from in case of any problems. Up to you, but if the price difference is small, stick with retail if at all worried.

 

[nRollo]

I just bought my son a new VGA. The cheapest I could find a 9500Pro was ~$180, I walked into my local Best Buy and got him a 64MB Ti4200 for $90 after rebate. As far as "future proof" goes, he's 3, by the time he cares he'll be a couple VGAs down the road from this one.

 

[selfbuilt]

The Ti4200 64MB is a screaming buy at $90, since that's what Best Buy normally charges for the MX cards. If you can still find one, go for it.
However, the Best Buy regularly priced Ti4200s are certainly not such a good deal ($170 for the 64MB version and $200 for 128MB). They sell the 128MB Radeon 9500 Pro for just $20 more, which I consider worth the difference.

If you want to swap good deals, FutureShop here in Canada (now owned by Best Buy) has been selling 64MB Radeon 8500LEs for about $65 US after rebates. Not as good as the Ti4200 deal, but a pretty good price for a retail 8500, if somebody wants one.