Nvidia price drop/buying new vid. card

[ashrym]

I was wondering if there was a set date or a general time when the Nvidia cards were going to drop in price due to the 7900 series being released. I'm asking because I've been waiting it out to get a new video card forever and a day now. I have a P4 2.66 ghz with an Asus P4C800 Deluxe Mobo, and (drum roll please) an FX 5200 64 mb. Now, you should be feeling my pain right about now.

I want to squeeze more life out of my computer, considering I only go the CPU and mobo about 2 1/2 years ago or so. I was considering an AGP 6600 GT, 6800 GS, 7800 GS (if price drops). Also, if you think there are better equivalants for Ati, let me know. I'm not a Nvidia fanboy, but all more of my knowledge lies in Nvidia, due to the fact that I've always had Nvidia cards.

The main thing I need to know is if I should go ahead and upgrade (if so, what card) or wait for a decent price drop (if there is one anytime soon). I was also wanting to know which range of cards my CPU would start to bottleneck with. I was considering possibly getting a cheap PCI mobo that'd be compatible with my P4 and getting a 7900 GT.

Let me know what you think. I'd greatly appreciate any and all the information I can get. Thanks.

 

[rochin]

Your choices of video cards do not match your AGP slot. If you keep your current MB your very limited on a video card upgrade. I suggest for your current system a x800gto. It gives you the 256bit interface and great clock speeds. I looked on newegg and there are not many agp cards for any good prices. Here is the 1 and only x800gto agp card I found.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102608

 

[ashrym]

The 6800 GS and X800GTO are infact, compatible with my mobo. The 7900 GT and X1800XT options are if I decide to upgrade to a cheap PCI Express mobo that'll accomodate my current CPU. Sorry about the confusion. I highly doubt my CPU would bog down a 6800 GS or X800 GTO. The 7800 GS i'm not sure of, though. I hear cpu bottlenecking is blown out of proportion, so it might be fine. Oh yeah, the X800 GTO can be unlocked to 16 pipelines, correct? If I remember correctly it had something to do with flashing the bios?

 

[Pain]

Unlocking pipes and overclocking are never a sure thing. Sometimes they might work, sometimes the might not. If you are going to buy something under the assumption that it will work 100%, don't. If you are going to buy it hoping it will work but accepting if it doesn't, then cool.

 

[chief5286]

It really depends on how much you want to spend and what games you want to play. I just looked at the rec'd specs for Oblivion and they're up there a little. If you're willing to spend $360 or so, I think the 7900gt may end up being the best value in the long run. The 6800GS and X800gto are tempting at the price they are now though. I'd probably go with one of those if they work with your mobo.

 

[ashrym]

Unlocking pipes and overclocking are never a sure thing. Sometimes they might work, sometimes the might not. If you are going to buy something under the assumption that it will work 100%, don't. If you are going to buy it hoping it will work but accepting if it doesn't, then cool.

I never thought there'd be a 100 percent chance of unlocking and overlocking, I was simply inquiring about it. If it doesn't, that's fine with me. Anyway. How do the X800 GTO/GTO2 compare to the 6800 GS and other cards? Also, what are some good sites for AGP based ATI cards (I can't seem to find any good places for X800 GTO/GTO2's and X850XT's). Newegg doesn't seem to have a good collection.

For my last question: at which GPU range do you guys think my CPU will start to bottleneck at? Keep in mind, I have a P4 2.66ghz/P4C800 Deluxe Mobo. I was considering a 7800 GS (if it goes down in price decently, anytime soon) or an AGP X850XT/PE. I just want to be able to maximize the life of my current mobo and CPU. Oh yeah, I also have 2gb of OCZ EL 2-3-2-5.


Also, what're the main differences between the X800 GT0 and the GTO2. I've heard some talk about the R420 and R480 being able to be unlocked and OC'ed much better than the R430. Can someone please elaborate and tell me what to watch out for.

Thanks for all of the help!