Vido card basics? What makes one faster than another?

[lotust]

Hey guys can someone explane to me what to get while looking for a video card.

1) Is it better to just buy the fastest Gpu ?

2) Should I care about pipelines?

3) Is the BFG 6800GS AGP my best bet? will it last me at least 2 more gamming years?

4) Should i stick with Nvidia ?

I currently have a :

AMD Athlon XP 2700+ Thoroughbred 333MHz FSB Socket A Processor
1.5gb of ram PC2700
Its 166fsb AKA 333mhz
(MSI KT3 Ultra2) motherboard
Nvidia 4600 TI @ 290/490

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

1. i'm not sure what you mean by better. Do you mean better deal? Greater performance?
2. yes, pipelines pretty much equal speed
3. it'd be a good value, yes, but it is not the fastest AGP card avalible
4. That's your choice. the fastest availible AGP is a x850xt or whatever which is ATI

 

[professor1942]

Hmm, that system is pretty weak by today's standards, so it's hard to recommend buying any AGP card for it as opposed to building an entirely new PCI-e system. If you can't afford that, then yes the 6800GS will still give you a nice boost.

 

[RussianSensation]

I'd say if you get 6800GS by XFX and unlock the other 4 pipes and overclock, you will notice a substantial performance boost. Otherwise look into a used X800XT, X850XT or X850XT PE or X800XT Pe or 6800GT or 6800Ultra series.

 

[NoStateofMind]

1) Is it better to just buy the fastest Gpu ? As in core clock? It's more about the combination of, core clock, pipelines, memory bandwidth, type of memory.

2) Should I care about pipelines? See above.

3) Is the BFG 6800GS AGP my best bet? will it last me at least 2 more gamming years? No, your best bet as for a GS card (as of right now) is XFX 6800GS is what I would recommend. It may not last that long, I don't know with Direct X10 on the way.

4) Should i stick with Nvidia ? They both have excellent cards, just find the best in your price range and get that.

What is your price range?