replacement for dying 9800 pro?

[novice]

The radeon 9800 pro card on my son's computer had the fan die on it and now it won't run 3D games, even after replacing the fan. Don't know if it damaged the card, or what, but now it only works in 2D. Being cheap, but still wanting him to be able to play the games he likes, and since it is an older system, I was considering this to replace it. Any other suggestions for an AGP 4x/8x in the $80 to $125 range?
He is running an old XP1700 cpu at 1.84Ghz on a MSI KT3 Ulra board with 2x512 mb PC2700 ram. I know that eventually we will need to upgrade to a new board with PCI-E and CPU and ram, but for now I would like it to last a bit longer.

 

[secretanchitman]

6600GT.

 

[AllWhacked]

Don't buy the 7300GT, it's a worse performer than your old 9800 Pro. To give you a comparison, the 9800 Pro performed either equal to or slightly lower than a 6600GT. So my recommendations are to either buy:

a) Another 9800 Pro for around $80-$83

b) A 6600GT for around $113

c) A 7600GS for around $120-$130 (Look for one w/ a Rebate)

d) A x800GTO for around $135

or

e) A 6800XT 512MB for $125AR

In speed ranking the cards are as follows:

6800XT > 7600GS/X800GTO > 6600GT > 9800 Pro

The 7600GS is better in some games that favor Nvidia and the x800GTO is better in things that favor ATI, like Oblivion.

In any case, I would go for the 6800XT as it costs about the same as the 7600GS and X800GTO and performs much better. But if you just want to slide by, then get another 9800 Pro.

Oh and another thing, there is another 6800XT on NewEgg that runs at 128-bit. Don't get this one.

 

[novice]

Thanks for the quick responses. I wasn't sure how well the 7300GT would perform. I did like the price at around $92 after rebate. I assumed it would be a step up from the 9800 Pro, but I guess the 256 bit memory and higher speed of the old 9800 Pro makes it the better choice. That 6800XT sounds like a deal, but isn't 512 mb of ram kind of overkill? I have an Enlight 420W power supply that is rated 18 amps on the 12 volt rail. I hope that would be enough power to run it. Would the 256 MB Biostar 6800XT be worth considering, even though it is only 128 bit? I appreciate any replies, need to order soon in order for it to be here for Christmas.

 

[AllWhacked]

I didn't notice this until I read some of the reviews, but it looks like the biostar at 256-bit runs its memory at much slower clock speeds.

So I'm not sure which one is faster. Sorry.

 

[AllWhacked]

Dell Home sells an XFX 6800XT 256MB 256-bit Video Card for $136.95 w/ $20MIR + free shipping

Link

 

[Pugnate]

What is wrong with the 128 bit 6800XT 266?

 

[AllWhacked]

Originally posted by: Pugnate
What is wrong with the 128 bit 6800XT 266?

Nothing is wrong, but the reference 6800XT is supposed to come with 256-bit memory however the XFX models are overclocked so the extra memory/core speed may even out the difference.

The XFX w/ the 256-bit on the other hand should perform much better. Maybe around 6800GT speeds.


Oh, to the OP, I did some more homework and I feel that I should revise the rating of the cards.

I think that the 7600GS maybe be equal to or better than the 6800XT. From the reviews I've seen the 6800XT runs like a vanilla 6800. However, the XFX 6800 is overclocked so it might perform better than a 7600GS at stock.

 

[novice]

How about this one? I personally prefer Nvidia, but I have read a few good reviews. Sounds decent, 12 pixel pipelines, 400 Mhz core clock, 256 bit memory bus, under $140 delivered. I guess it comes down to that or the Biostar 6800XT with 512 mb of ram, only 8 pixel pipelines, but 256 bit memory bus for $125 after rebate. Kind of leaning toward the Biostar 6800XT, due to my Nvidia preference and cheapness.

 

[AllWhacked]

I think the X800GTO is a good card and I would get it as I'm an ATI man myself. However, in terms of performance the X800GTO performs like a 7600GS which performs about the same (maybe faster) than a 6800 vanilla. And the 6800XT (the XT is what threw me) is apparently not as fast as I thought and will perform about the same as a vanilla 6800. If you're not adverse to buying open box, NewEgg must have gotten a new shipment of them recently because they have a bunch of X800GTO AGPs.

Here's my Thread under Hot Deals

I suggest you make up your mind soon as open box deals go out quick.

 

[novice]

Thanks for the reply, AllWhacked, and the link to newegg's open box X800GTO's. They sound like a great deal, but I would be a little worried about getting a DOA card, and also receiving one that was missing essential accessories from the retail box. I think I will try to get a new card, as I believe it to be less of a gamble. And RMA's are a hassle. Newegg sent me my first MSI TI-4200 card with the fan having one of its' pins sheared off. I probably could have secured it with a plastic tie, but went the RMA route instead and it took time and was inconvenient. Since that one was a factory retail card, I can only imagine the potential hassle of trying to RMA an open box version. (Within 15 days of invoice date, no less) I could easily waste 15 days just trying to get a functional card to work! (Especially an ATI card <g>)

 

[novice]

Just thought I would let you know that I decided on an XFX Geforce 6800XT from newegg. I thought it seemed like the best deal for the money. Only 8 pipelines, but 256 MB of 256 bit GDDR3 memory clocked at 1000 MHz. I think it should provide a decent performance upgrade over the old Radeon 9800, and for just $115 after rebate including shipping, it seemed like the best deal for a bargain hunter.
Thanks for the input.
Link

 

[Eirgorn]

I am thinking about getting the XFX 6800XT to upgrade my Radeon 9500pro/9700 - I was just wondering if you have got your new card yet and how you like it.

Also, Im a bit confused on the debate b/n it and the 7600GS.... I guess the 256bit > 128bit and the XFX OC makes up for the lack of 12 pipes?

I just started researching GPUs, so all the jargon and what not kind of has me lost.

Thanks,
nate

 

[Munky]

Actually, the gpu power has a bigger impact on performance than the memory system, as long as one aspect is not severely out of balance with the other. The 6800xt is 8 pipes, and the 7600gs is 12 pipes. That means at the same gpu clocks the 7600gs will be faster, even if it's on a 128-bit memory bus. The 6800xt, despite using a 256-bit bus, will actually perform slower than a 8-pipe 128-bit 6600gt unless you overclock it close to 500mhz. Also, the g71 core and its derivatives overclock very well, so the 7600gs will have more OC headroom. Between the 6800xt and a 7600gs I'd take the 7600gs any day.

 

[s44]

I'm not sure the 6800xt will actually beat the original 9800. What a ripoff.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

PM me if you're interested in a 6800NU 128mb, i'll give you a good pdeal

 

[novice]

Originally posted by: Eirgorn
I am thinking about getting the XFX 6800XT to upgrade my Radeon 9500pro/9700 - I was just wondering if you have got your new card yet and how you like it.

Also, Im a bit confused on the debate b/n it and the 7600GS.... I guess the 256bit > 128bit and the XFX OC makes up for the lack of 12 pipes?

I just started researching GPUs, so all the jargon and what not kind of has me lost.

Thanks,
nate

My card should be arriving tomorrow. Will let you know how it runs. As for the 7800GS vs. the 6800XT, you certainly can't touch the price of the 6800XT, especially the XFX model which comes with GDDR3 ram clocked at 1000 Mhz and boast 22.4 GB per second bandwidth. Most of the $150 range 7800GS models that newegg has only come with 128 bit ram clocked at 533 Mhz. I would be surprised if they would be that much faster, even with the 12 pipelines. To get one with 800 Mhz memory, you are looking at about a 50% jump in price vs. the 6800XT. And remember, either one will probably be bottlenecked by the older motherboard and slow processor ( AMD XP1700 T-Bred running at 1.84 Ghz)

 

[Conky]

I should sell you my old ATI 9800Pro AGP. It's a retail card.

It sits in my "backup" machine and I could throw one of my other old videocards into the backup machine as it's mostly just used as a fileserver. Anyway, if you're interested PM me and maybe we can work something out.

 

[IEC]

You can find 6600GTs on FS/FT for <$80 (AGP), if I'm not mistaken. Probably be your best bet for now. Or find another 9800 Pro