Need help on AGP upgrade

[zyobee]

So I'm looking to upgrade my AGP card.
I'm going to be using this strictly for gaming.
Mostly for MMORPG's and FPS.
My computer specs are,

Motherboard - K8N Neo platinum
CPU - AMD Athlon 64 3400+
Ram - 2GB DDR400 PC3200
Power supply - Antec SL350S 350W (+12V---21A)
(1 hard drive, 1 DVD+R drive, 2 120mm fans)

My budget is below $200 and I do not want
to upgrade my power supply

I was thinking of a ATI 3850 but not sure if it
would work with my current PS, and not sure
if it would be a waste of money since my CPU isn't
that fast.

 

[Skunkwourk]

What are you using right now? Your CPU isn't that far behind mine, so I think you'd benefit from an x1950 but youd be pushing it with that power supply if you got either an x1950 or 3850. For $200 you could get a new PSU and a used x1950. If you're not going to change the PSU, youd be pretty much limited to the x1650 or 7600GT. But with those cards, don't expect to play newer games without sacrificing quality though, if at all. You could look for the xfx 7900 agp but from what i've read, those have reliability issues.

 

[bdubyah]

if people have been saying they use an 8800gt with a 350W PSU, i would think that a 3850 should be fine.

 

[Denithor]

Look at either 2600XT or 3850. Both cards use less power than the x1950 pro and will be a significant upgrade from your 7600GT. Note though that for many MMORPGs your cpu/ram are actually at least as important as your video card. Upgrading to an X2 cpu could make a large difference in game performance (although these cpus are getting very hard to find--look around the for sale forum here).

 

[happy medium]

3850agp for 159.00 - 20$ rebate here.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102730

 

[imported_Kiwi]

Originally posted by: bdubyah
if people have been saying they use an 8800gt with a 350W PSU, i would think that a 3850 should be fine.

Officially, the documentation with the 8800 GTs says 450 watts, I believe. But for the last several years (since the Geforce 6*** generation), Geforces draw lower amounts of current, typically, than the Radeon equivalents, with the HD 2900 XT setting the highest standard for current draw among single core cards. I wouldn't attempt to make any estimates on any HD 3850 model needing the same current as any particular 8800 GT.

 

[Skunkwourk]

I was under the impression that the 3850 only drew slightly less power than the x1950. The x1950 "required" a PSU with at least 30 amps on the 12 rail and here on Sapphire's site under requirements it says the same thing

System Requirement:

* AGP based PC is required with one 4X/8X AGP slot available on the motherboard.
* 1GB or greater system memory for better performance.
* 450Watt or greater power supply with 30Amps on 12 volt with 2x4 power connector recommanded.
* Certified power supplies are recommended. Refer to http://ati.amd.com/certifiedPSU for a list of Certified products
* Installation software requires CD-ROM drive.
* DVD playback requires DVD driver
* Blu-ray/HD DVD playback requires Blu-ray/HD-DVD drive and playback software.

Text

 

[evolucion8]

Originally posted by: Kiwi

Originally posted by: bdubyah
if people have been saying they use an 8800gt with a 350W PSU, i would think that a 3850 should be fine.

Officially, the documentation with the 8800 GTs says 450 watts, I believe. But for the last several years (since the Geforce 6*** generation), Geforces draw lower amounts of current, typically, than the Radeon equivalents, with the HD 2900 XT setting the highest standard for current draw among single core cards. I wouldn't attempt to make any estimates on any HD 3850 model needing the same current as any particular 8800 GT.

The GeForce 6 draws more power than any Radeon X8xx series, the 78xx series draws pretty much the same as the Radeon X18xx card since the 7800 series used the 110nm process, the nVidia advantage over the ATi cards in power consumption was from the 7900 series until ATi launched the HD 3800 series.

 

[happy medium]

http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/forums.asp?s=2&c=7&t=9354

video card power draw