What video card for these needs?

[thecoolnessrune]

Hi everyone. I have a 19" Dell CRT monitor. It can run 1600x1200. I want a card that can make use of that. All I've had is a GeForce 4 MX 420. I want 1600x1200 capable with all the AA and AF turned to max. I want to be able to turn all the settings on high. Games like HL2 and Call of Duty and UTK 4. Oh and Joint Operations (Its bad coding seems to suck away life from a graphics card). I also need this in AGP. I just want a card that can do this at good framerates.

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

Well, you can't get high FPS on 1600x1200 with AA and AF turned on. Its either run the games with 4x or 8x AA/AF or run them at full res with none. a 7800gtx would be hte best bet, but it isn't coming out for agp. a 7800gt is in a few weeks, maybe you should wait.

 

[gac009]

x800xt is the most economic solution, it will get you running at 16*12, with the games you listed at least, but not with the AA and AF maxed out.

 

[imported_Kensai]

7800GTX SLI is the only way that's possible with AA and AF cranked up.
Few setups can handle 8X AA and 16X AF. Even with a 7800GTX, your FPS might plunge.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

oops I missstated that. I only wanted to be *able* to turn on AA and AF. Like 2 or 4x. That would be cool. I've never even seen AA or AF before. I just thought it would be cool to turn it on a little. But by the 16th time its going over the image, I would think that there isn't much more you could do to revise the image lol.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
oops I missstated that. I only wanted to be *able* to turn on AA and AF. Like 2 or 4x. That would be cool. I've never even seen AA or AF before. I just thought it would be cool to turn it on a little. But by the 16th time its going over the image, I would think that there isn't much more you could do to revise the image lol.

Oh. Even an x800 Pro could handle that. 😛

 

[n7]

Grab one of those X800XTs for $220 wherever it is they are selling them for that price.

 

[jevans64]

Originally posted by: n7
Grab one of those X800XTs for $220 wherever it is they are selling them for that price.

I believe that deal ATI was offering on "pre-ordered" refurbs is gone. They now only have the x800 pro listed now for $199. I ordered one of those x800xt pe cards and expect to get it in 3 or 4 weeks. I am currently running a bios-modded x800pro ViVo and just wanted a spare AGP card.

I have a 6800GT and Half-Life 2 is a little sluggish at 1920x1200 4xAA 8xAF but 1650x1080 plays fine.

I would say get an X800XL since that is the best deal now or wait a little longer for prices on the 6800GT/Ultra or X800/850 series to adjust to the 7800 series card pricing.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: jevans64

Originally posted by: n7
Grab one of those X800XTs for $220 wherever it is they are selling them for that price.

I believe that deal ATI was offering on "pre-ordered" refurbs is gone. They now only have the x800 pro listed now for $199.

d00d, an X800 Pro @ $200 is an awesome deal still. Have you forgotten that it performs just below the 6800GT?

Also, the deal i was referring to is this one. Dunno if it's still on though, & i don't care to check, since i'm not in teh USA.

 

[jevans64]

The ZZF deal. I thought you might be referring to that one, but I had already clicked "reply." I was shopping ZZF and saw those the other day. They are both out-of-stock. 🙁

Yes. The x800 pro for $199 is still a good deal, so here is the link.

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

These are refurbished BUT they come with a 3-year warranty, which is good. You can also use coupon code 1485 at checkout to get an additional 5% off. The shipping cost for me was $15.36.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

So everyone agrees that a X800XL or 6800GT would work for my wants?

 

[aatf510]

Originally posted by: thecoolnessrune
So everyone agrees that a X800XL or 6800GT would work for my wants?

With some AA and AF + 1600x1200, an x800xl would probably do fine with UT2004.
However, if you are looking to play newer games, I would get a x850xt pe.

 

[thecoolnessrune]

:s sounds good, If I can afford it lol. Maybe I'll give it a month and see if the new R520 and 7800GT drive down prices. Secondly, Can anyone verify that these card would work full performance on a AGP 4x system? Or would I have to get a new MOBO? (For which I would get a PCI-E board)

 

[jevans64]

The cards mentioned in this thread ( x800 series, 6600/6800 series ) will all work with an AGP 4x mobo but I'd verify it against your mobo first. I am not sure what kind of performance hit you will take though. Probably not much until you get into the high resolutions / AA AF settings. I remember a review a couple of years ago when 8x AGP cards first came out that showed a minimal performance loss BUT that was ages ago ( relative to VC lifespans ) with games not as advanced as today's. Google is your friend on this one. 🙂

 

[munchow2]

The video card shouldn't be the only consideration when you want to play games @ 1600x1200 with everything maxed. Is you mobo reliable and able to use the higher end AGP cards? Do you have a good PSU? Is your CPU severely outdated? Do you have enough RAM? Just some things to keep in mind seeing as though an AGP 4x mobo would be somewhat dated.

All things considered, the best card to suit your needs would be a x800xt/xt pe. Good deals pop up from time to time for this card. I wouldn't wait for the r520 since that will offer much better performance but at WAAAAYYYYYYY higher prices.

 

[Jeff7181]

Originally posted by: jevans64

Originally posted by: n7
Grab one of those X800XTs for $220 wherever it is they are selling them for that price.

I believe that deal ATI was offering on "pre-ordered" refurbs is gone. They now only have the x800 pro listed now for $199. I ordered one of those x800xt pe cards and expect to get it in 3 or 4 weeks. I am currently running a bios-modded x800pro ViVo and just wanted a spare AGP card.

I have a 6800GT and Half-Life 2 is a little sluggish at 1920x1200 4xAA 8xAF but 1650x1080 plays fine.

I would say get an X800XL since that is the best deal now or wait a little longer for prices on the 6800GT/Ultra or X800/850 series to adjust to the 7800 series card pricing.

For some reason I don't believe that... maybe it's cause my overclocked 6800GT isn't even adequate at 1280x960 with 4XAA and 8XAF in my opinion.

 

[Ackbar]

Originally posted by: Jeff7181
For some reason I don't believe that... maybe it's cause my overclocked 6800GT isn't even adequate at 1280x960 with 4XAA and 8XAF in my opinion.

Yah... I don't know about that. But some people consider playable anything over 20 fps. I'd like to stay in the 40-60 fps range if at all possible, and higher if it lends itself to that.