Need recommendations on a video card

[ones3k]

Right now my system is as follows:

athlon 64 3400+ socket 754 clawhammer
asus K8N-E Deluxe (AGP)
1gig corsair XMS memory 2-3-3-6 timings
ATI radeon 9800pro
audigy 2


I'm thinking about possibly upgrading the video. But when i read reviews of all the latest graphics cards, they never compare them to my card. I'm interested in what i could get for $250 and $500, what the best value graphics card is, and how fast these things will be in comparison to my 9800pro. Thankyou, any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

6800gt. big improvement.

 

[ones3k]

what kind of improvement?

 

[ReliableData]

i would go for either the 6800gt, the 6800ultra, or the x850xt. The most cost-efficient is the gt, but you'll probably get the best performance out of the x850xt. Its too bad nvidia is going with the PCIe approach 100% because otherwise i would definitely have recommended the 7800gt.

 

[ones3k]

how does the x850XT compare in performance to the 6800gt? And will ATI continue to make AGP cards?

 

[ones3k]

bump

 

[The Boston Dangler]

I noticed a big improvement switching from an AIW 9800 pro to a BFG 6600 GTOC. Although the hardware should be similar, I think nvidia's software has a lot to do with it.

If your budget is 5 beans, why not wait a little while for an AGP version of the 7800?

 

[Powermoloch]

Before, I used a 6600 agp 256 mb on this rig. While having a new card atm (x850xt) performance almost doubled or 2 1/2 more than it was before

 

[JBDan]

I say 6800gt or x800xl=best bang for buck. I lean to the Nvidia side. You will notice quite a large improvement over your current card.

 

[mettleh3d]

my 9800pro isnt even taxxed by games today. Bf2 on 1024x768 is still playable and I am still humble.

 

[Sentinel]

The X850XT performs slightly better than the 6800GT in most applications.

 

[w00t]

I'd say X800XL if this was for a pci-express mobo but since its AGP 6800GT.