Suggest a new AGP card for me

[l Thomas l]

my other components in my PC will probably bottleneck the card, and Battlefield 2 and America's Army are the most advanced games I play, so I don't want to get the best card. my only considerations are:
- Still works with my power supply (250W Dell)
- Good quality, won't have to worry about any problems like overheating and the card stopping working
- my motherboard only supports 4X



I'm using ATI Tray Tools right now, with some old ATI drivers (last updated them a while ago I'm sure they have new ones now). When I get my replacement card, do I install the latest drivers from ATI, or from the brand I bought the card from?

Also off top do you know the right order to do things? I remember it's been a pain in the ass to use Tray Tools and ATI drivers because I had to uninstall Tray Tools, then install the latest ATI drivers or something like that. It took me forever to figure out, and I can't remember the right order to do it.

^ that's not to say I wanna go with ATI again, I'm willing to go with NVIDIA.

 

[error8]

I guess your best choice would be an ATI 2600 XT, but pray for that PSU to hold on.

 

[happy medium]

I see your systems a 2.4 ghz.pent 4. A 2600xt will not be any faster then a 7600gt with your system and uses 20% less power. I also had a dell 4500 and my 7800gs would not work to well with the 250watt power supply. The 2600xt (49 watts) uses only 3 watts less then my 7800gs (52 watts) card. The 7600gt (36watts) uses 16 watts less then my 7800gs. I'd go for a 7600gt.

 

[l Thomas l]

^ Thanks. I can't seem to find it in AGP 4X though. I found this though.. http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130099

 

[Denithor]

IIRC AGP 8X is backwards compatible with AGP 4X slots but the card will only run at 4X speeds. Because of that, and the P4-2.4GHz you have, I think the 7600GT is probably the maximum card you should consider for your rig. Anything faster will be bottlenecked by both the AGP 4X bandwidth and also the clockspeed of your CPU.

Another option for consideration:
abit IP35-E $67 after MIR
e2160 (1.8GHz, 1MB cache) $67 (after $5 promo code on page)
Corsair XMS2 2x1GB DDR2-800 $28 after MIR
XFX 8800GS 384MB OC $130 after MIR

Easily overclock to ~3GHz for a <$300 system that will blow past your current rig in all uses (general use, video work, games, etc). Should work with your existing case/PS/hdd/dvd/etc. Sell your old parts to offset part of the cost of the new gear.

 

[l Thomas l]

^ Oh okay thanks.

About the other option.. It was my understanding that Dell PSU and mobos were only compatible with each other. (here I dug up the old thread: http://forums.anandtech.com/me...33504&highlight_key=y)

 

[l Thomas l]

Bump..Im most likely going to go with the 7600gt.. Can anyone confirm that 8x cards are backwards compatible with 4x?

 

[LOUISSSSS]

yes i'm pretty sure they are..

 

[l Thomas l]

Under the reviews they talk about similar heat issues. (poor heatsink/fan)

I'm thinking of just going for it anyway, but would getting a lower model make any difference? http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814130100

It's weird there are no reviews that mention heat for the lower model, but everything looks exactly the same.

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

X1650Pro >>> 7300GT.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102073

Also better price/performance than 7600's for AGP (As far as i'm aware of)

 

[l Thomas l]

^ Reading the reviews I find this..

most notably doesn't outperform the 9800pro that it replaced.

No-Go for Dell Dimension

....

Cons: This card has a ""known"" issue with certain dell computers, which requires you to send it to ATI to be re-programmed. But this little piece of information was nowhere to be found, except buried deep at ATI's support site. Would've been nice to know that ahead of time. Also, the specs say nothing about it needing at least a 350 watt power supply.

I'm just wondering if the model will make a difference in the heatsink/fan.. Maybe they used a better one.

 

[IL2SturmovikPilot]

Originally posted by: l Thomas l
^ Reading the reviews I find this..

most notably doesn't outperform the 9800pro that it replaced.

No-Go for Dell Dimension

....

Cons: This card has a ""known"" issue with certain dell computers, which requires you to send it to ATI to be re-programmed. But this little piece of information was nowhere to be found, except buried deep at ATI's support site. Would've been nice to know that ahead of time. Also, the specs say nothing about it needing at least a 350 watt power supply.

I'm just wondering if the model will make a difference in the heatsink/fan.. Maybe they used a better one.

Can't agrue with the 9800Pro point,can't comment on it working with Dell PC's but a 350W PSU is NOT needed,wattage isn't everything,if it was,then your 9800Pro likely would have blown up your 250W PSU long ago.