Upgrade path

[Thoth093]

Just got a new PC that came with a 128 mb 9800 pro. In the next four to six months, I'll be looking to upgrade my card.

Obviously the machine has an AGP slot, so I'm looking to stay with AGP for another year or so.

Here's what I have under the hood, purchased from a local shop:

Ati 9800 pro 128 mb
AMD 64 3200+
ECS 755-A2 motherboard
1 gb PC 3200 ram (not sure of the brand; probably ValueRam)
On-board sound (may get a SB Audigy 2 zs in about a month)
Western Digital 80gb SATA hdd
Western Digital 80gb EIDE hdd
Onboard LAN, etc.
WinXP pro

I really shouldn't complain, because so far it runs everything I've thrown at it beautifully with more-than-acceptable framerates. Really great framerates, in fact. But I would like to upgrade the card eventually and add in another megabyte of ram. I tend to get a base to build from then upgrade over the life of each new machine.

Brian

 

[Thoth093]

Hit the post button a bit too quickly.

What I'm wondering:

I know that the ati 700 series and the Nvidia 6600 series will be out in AGP configurations by November. Do they represent enough of a power jump over the 9800 pro to one pick up when they're available (I'm leaning toward tothe 6600gt) or should I just go whole-hog and save up for a 6800gt?

Brian

 

[cjsketchy]

The X700XT/6600GT are not a whole lot faster than a 9800 pro, I would save for the 6800GT if I were you... check this review: http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_radeon_x700_xt/
and also just a few nitpicks about your post: You didn't put down what CPU you have, and you probably meant 1 gigabyte of memory, right?

 

[nitromullet]

Yep, 6800GT is the worthy successor for a 9800Pro. Either that, or see if you can score an X800 XT (non-PE) for a decent deal.

 

[Thoth093]

Sorry for the typos. I hit post before I meant to and didn't get a chance to proofread.

Yes, it is 1 gigabyte of memory.

And I have an AMD 64 3200+ processor.

I'm thinking the 6800gt is the card I'm looking for. Any chance we'll see any sort of price drop in four to six months?