Video Card

[castleromeo]

Hi, I currently am running an Nvidia XF5200 and am looking at getting a new video card. I am looking for an AGP card and obviously know I am somewhat limited in selection. I am looking to spend around $220, give or take. I would like to spend as little as possible to get the best card. Does anybody know what the best card to get is for around $220 or so.

 

[DaveSimmons]

What is the rest of your system?

A used 6600GT AGP from the FS/FT forum here would cost about $70-80 and be 4-5 times as fast as your 5200.

From newegg.com you can get
$130 - 7600GS (many brands)
$190 - 7600GT (40% faster)
$235 - 7800GS (BFG, $205 after rebate)

The 7800 and even 7600GT may be a waste if your CPU isn't fast enough.

 

[castleromeo]

right now i have a p4 3gb processor, and 1gb of ram.

 

[Smartazz]

Originally posted by: castleromeo
right now i have a p4 3gb processor, and 1gb of ram.

Wow, a processor with 3GB of L2 cache? lol, I'm just joking. I got a 7800GT for the same system and it ran fine.
edit: Oh, so you have AGP, forget that then.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Look at the Video tab up above and at TomsHardware to see which card offers enough power for how you want to game.

VGA charts

toms recommendations

It's up to you whether to go cheap and put the rest of the money towards a new system, or spend $190-205 on the high end cards.

The 7600GT is newer generation than the 7800GS, and is more likely to work with a lower-watt power supply.

 

[castleromeo]

has anybody personally seen the performance difference between the 7600gt and the 7800gs?

 

[happy medium]

Originally posted by: castleromeo
has anybody personally seen the performance difference between the 7600gt and the 7800gs?

It depends at what resolution you game at. Anything higher than 1024x768 with all eye candy the 7800gs will beat the 7600gt. The higher the res and image quality the more it will pull away. I have a 7800gs and have done alot of reasearch.

 

[castleromeo]

what kind of system are you running? are you happy with the 7800?

 

[happy medium]

its below yes the 7800gs is a nice card