What is the best card for around $170

[eagles20015]

I want to get the best performance out of Oblivion when it comes out and I will be upgrading from a 9800np so staying with ATI makes life a bit easier for me. It needs to be AGP.

 

[ShortyNumber45]

an X800 GTO/2.

 

[eagles20015]

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=AT-A8GTO2&c=fr&pid=a7c4e52b19b10d38145d6baf68ad65b5a23f24819ced82e987a795a3aeb4f4f2

Think this is the best I could do for $170?

Any benchmarks that compare these 2 cards?

 

[parlee]

where talkin agp, gto2 isnt made for agp... the gto is fine though, although u cant unlock pipelines it still overclocks liek crazy, keep in mind it doesnt support sm3.0 so oblivion wont look like the SS's uve seen of it... maybe conisder a 6800gs for sm3.0

 

[eagles20015]

Well I really dont want to reformat because thats probably what I'll have to do to switch over to Nvidia.

Would a x1600xt be a good choice? How does it overclock?

 

[doomturkey]

Nah, dont get the X1600. It won't perform like one of the X800s. Go with the GTO2 or an X850XT. They're both really good cards for $170.

EDIT:
Sorry, I didn't notice that you said you didn't want to switch to PCI-e.
In that case an X800GTO would be good, haven't seen many GTO2 on AGP.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102609

 

[eagles20015]

But what about SM3.0? Those cards dont support that so would Oblivion look alot worse without it?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121216

Would that be better than the GTO?

 

[rmthompson]

Well I really dont want to reformat because thats probably what I'll have to do to switch over to Nvidia.

Would a x1600xt be a good choice? How does it overclock?

Why would you have to REFORMAT your computer to switch from one brand to another?

Get rid of the old drivers and put the new ones in... simple as can be.

 

[parlee]

first off, stay away from that 6800, its not even a 6800, thats more of a 6600gt, it has 128bit, which is crap... 512 mb memory will be worthless with that small interface... the x800gto will be fine, or a 6800GS if u can afford it, those are closer to 230 tho on agp... cards that dont support sm3.0 wont look bad, but they wont look as good as with sm3.0, provided the card can handle the load on higher settings, a 6800gs wont be able to. in the interest of saving money ill recommend an x800gto, if u feel spending another 30-40 bux isnt a big deal then the 6800gs will be a bit faster and i hear those overclock like no other (then again the 800gto overclocks pretty good too)

-x800gto or
-6800gs

things to look for when considering a card

256 bit interface
256 gddr3 memory (ddr2 uses more power and wont let you overclock as high
sm3.0 (in this case u may not be interested in it, but all 6XXX series nvidias support it

 

[Anoobis]

Cleeve's List says it all.

You don't need to worry about going to nVidia from ATI. Just make sure to uninstall your ATI drivers. The easiest way is to use the Catalyst Uninstaller Tool from ATI.

Apparently nVidia is supposed to come out with new card in a day or so. At least that's what their website hints at. Anybody know the buzz on it. Maybe a 7600GT AGP, ehh??

 

[parlee]

thatd be cool, id get that instead of my new mp3 player

 

[Anoobis]

Yes, its just a pipe dream but it would be nice.

In a way it does make a little sense because the AGP market is still strong in the 7600GTs price range. There's money to be made there. They did it with the 6600GT.

 

[handym3000]

try looking for a x800 pro card from sapphire.

 

[parlee]

yea, itd be cool... but id rather not pay the 250 price tag theyll undoubtably charge, i hate how there forcing an upgrade when they can simply bridge the card to support agp for what, an extra 25 cents? pathic.

 

[parlee]

ati x850pro was 179 at compusa a lil while agp, may still be that price. but that cards basically the same speed as an x800gto, and the gto will likely overclock higher. u should check out compusa, they have crazy good deals... (they got an 80gb harddrive for 10 bux.)