Thinking of upgrading. So where do I go from here?

[TwiceOver]

My Radeon 9700 Pro has served me well for the last few years. However I am moving up to a Dell 2005FPW with a resolution of 1680x1050 (or whatever). Anyway. As it is now some games are getting kinda funky even at 1024x768 on my current CRT Monitor. So where do I go from here?

I really don't want to spend more than $200. I know I could look around used or in Hot Deals and find something that is an excellent deal, but with this post I am really looking toward "where to go from here". The reason I am looking at the $200 range is that I need to stick with AGP for a little while longer (at least a year). I can't afford to go for a whole upgrade so I kinda just want to get by for now.

So far I see x700s, low end x800s, 6600s, and low end 6800s in my price range. I don't want to turn this into an nVidia vs. ATI thread but am mostly looking toward the temporary upgrade that I have mentioned before.

Any suggestions on where to go with this new monitor?

 

[speedstream5621]

I would hold out until you can afford an X800 XT. I'd say the same for a 6800 GT, but I had so many problems with Nvidia's drivers, IQ, and video playback that I'm afraid I cannot.

 

[BigfootKevin]

You'll definately wanna get an x800 or 6800 with that monitor. Try pricewatch.com

 

[Sforsyth]

The X800XL is almost as good as the 6800GT and alot less !

 

[TwiceOver]

Originally posted by: Sforsyth
The X800XL is almost as good as the 6800GT and alot less !

Alot less is still more than my $200 price point. Everyone needs to understand that I will be going all new in about a year so spending more than that on a video card just for now isn't really cost effective.

 

[cheapherk]

Nvidia.

 

[Matt2]

The only logical choice

You can thank me by buying me one. I also accept PayPal.

 

[TwiceOver]

Originally posted by: Matt2
The only logical choice

You can thank me by buying me one. I also accept PayPal.

Hrm. More than $50 over my price limit. I think I'll have to pass.

 

[Matt2]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver

Originally posted by: Matt2
The only logical choice

You can thank me by buying me one. I also accept PayPal.

Hrm. More than $50 over my price limit. I think I'll have to pass.

Dude. If you can't shell out $50 extra bucks to power that awesome LCD, then it won't be worth your $200 to upgrade to a crap video card.

$200 will get you an X800, 6800 Vanilla... that's about it. For $50 more you can have a card that will wipe the floor with those other cards and will even beat a 6800GT.

I guess you could go with THIS for $145, but you're gonna hate yourself after you do it, as you will if you spend $200 on a X800 or 6800, when for $50 more you could have 50% more performance.

Trust me. I went through this same thing when building my system. I only wanted to spend $163 on a 6600GT, but I splurged and went with an X800XL for $250 and I have never looked back, the performance is great and I can't imagine how dissapointed I would have been had I got the 6600GT. This is on a 17" 1280x1024 LCD btw.

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: Sforsyth
The X800XL is almost as good as the 6800GT and alot less !

not true for AGP!!

 

[speedstream5621]

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: Sforsyth
The X800XL is almost as good as the 6800GT and alot less !

not true for AGP!!

How do you figure? Rialto loses 0-2 FPS converting signal for the AGP variant of the XL....

Bottom line, I really don't think it is worth upgrading the 9700 to anything less than that XT Matt2 linked to.

 

[kmmatney]

This one's AGP:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121519R

its a refurb, though.

I'd go for the ATI deal, though:

http://shop.ati.com/searchresults.asp?dept_id=39

 

[Marsumane]

Basically you are left with 3 choices:
1) buy something like a 6600gt which isnt all that much better then your 9700p and imo not worth the price diff ($0 vs 150ish for 1/3ish faster)
2) Get that xt above cuz its probably like 1.5x faster then your card your using now and would be worth spending money on in the first place unlike choice 1 imo.
3) Just wait it out a year, dl the 5.7 drivers and get the most performance out of that 9700 that u can and then get a card thats $200 more expensive because u made a good choice and didnt waste it on a card that is only 1/3 faster.

-I understand where ur at. I have an oced 9800p that isnt that much faster then what ur using. If i were to upgrade, id go for that xt. But after looking for a card in your budget, id also reccomend http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122212 due to it being cheaper (130) and faster then those 6600's.

 

[imported_g33k]

Originally posted by: speedstream5621

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: Sforsyth
The X800XL is almost as good as the 6800GT and alot less !

not true for AGP!!

How do you figure?

The 6800gt is cheaper than an x800XL in AGP.



OP, the 6600GT is not that much better than a 9700pro. The x800xt would be over 2x the performance of a 9700pro. You would see an improvment with a 6600gt, but certainly nothing dramatic. If you want to run games in the native resolution of the 2005FPW, you will need more than a 6600GT.

 

[xTYBALTx]

9800XT.

Seriously though, get that X800XT. It's hot.

 

[Creig]

Originally posted by: TwiceOver

Originally posted by: Sforsyth
The X800XL is almost as good as the 6800GT and alot less !

Alot less is still more than my $200 price point. Everyone needs to understand that I will be going all new in about a year so spending more than that on a video card just for now isn't really cost effective.

Okay then, how about a retail Sapphire Radeon X800 XT with free 2nd day shipping for $219?

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: g33k

Originally posted by: speedstream5621

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: Sforsyth
The X800XL is almost as good as the 6800GT and alot less !

not true for AGP!!

How do you figure?

The 6800gt is cheaper than an x800XL in AGP.



OP, the 6600GT is not that much better than a 9700pro. The x800xt would be over 2x the performance of a 9700pro. You would see an improvment with a 6600gt, but certainly nothing dramatic. If you want to run games in the native resolution of the 2005FPW, you will need more than a 6600GT.

 

[Ackmed]

$20 over your limit, but here is a X800XT in stock, and free two day shipping, for $219.

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductDetail.jsp?ProductCode=320815

 

[Dman877]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^