video upgrade

[orionman]

Hi,
I was about to buy a AIW X800XL for 179 CND$
But it's now sold out DAMN

So I'm looking for an AGP card around 200 CND$ to replace my old Geforce4 4600 (with a P4C 3ghz)

I don't want a 1600pro and that's all I can find on websites for this price range.
I don't really know the nVidia's series. What can I get for that amount of money ? a 6600GT seems to be slower than a x800xl....

BTW The store must ship to Canada.

any advice?
thx!

 

[Oracle]

You saw that incredible deal at Future Shop haven't you!
I know because I got one. It replaced my BFG 6600GTOC (which I'm selling if you're interested; PM me).

 

[Oracle]

You can also try with NCIX. Great Canadian store. I bought from them a few times. Fully satisfied.

 

[orionman]

LOL for the deal
Yeah it's really sad that I have not been quick enough to order it.

And for your 6600GTOC
whats the OC?

I know that store but which card would be a nice upgrade?
Mostly to play bf2 and oblivion (medium settings for oblivion)

 

[Oracle]

Yeah, I stumbled across that deal out of pure luck while browsing.
If it weren't for that deal, I would have stuck to my 6600GT. Great card. Plays everything, not just at max settings (which I couldn't care less)!
The "OC" means overclocked.
Actually, it is overclocked by the manufacturer (BFG) and it is part of the branding. Have a look here for more info. The card looks as you see it on BFG's site.
I never overclocked the GPU myself (I'm not much of an overclocking fan, I never even overclocked any of my CPUs), though I'm looking to overclock my new AIW X800XL since it has a X800XT core with performance Samsumg GDDR3 memory with plenty of room for overclocking.

 

[Oracle]

With the 6600GT and the X800XL (or XT), we are almost hitting the ceiling of the AGP offerings. There's also the 7800GS coming to AGP, but at a price I'm not willing pay.

 

[orionman]

With the 6600GT and the X800XL (or XT), we are almost hitting the ceiling of the AGP offerings.

I know that a X850XT has the same performance on AGP and PCIe
but I don't know how good is a 7800GS...

 

[orionman]

Normally I would not buy used computer parts just because I've read horror stories about guys who got screwed with a fried/nearly fried used card. But if you tell me you have not tortured your card I may reconsider
I'll keep looking for something new ( In fact it's not for my computer but my brother's one), but I may message you to talk about a deal

 

[Oracle]

Well, X850XT AGP are rather scarce. I can't find any in Canada (at least at my usual sources for parts). I doubt you'll ever find one around CAD$200.
The X850XT and the 7800GS are quite on par (performance-wise). Depending on the game you play, one may offer better performance than the other. Check THG's Interactive VGA Chart for comparison.

 

[orionman]

ok good
anyway I'll stick with my 200$ price range

 

[Oracle]

I never go beyond the specs of a part. If a part is stated to run at 500Mhz and it is sold running at 400Mhz, then I'll try to reach that 500Mhz. Otherwise, I don't go overboard.
Of course, you don't know me and there's no reason why you should believe me, but I can tell you that I take care of my stuff.
You know how to reach me, should you be interested.
Good luck!

 

[Oracle]

I noticed you're in the Montreal area. Check this out (in French though, sorry). It's just a hair slower than BFG's.
This is a good store in Montreal. I buy from there when not online, or great deals from Future Shop !

 

[orionman]

Merci pour le lien du magasin, j'avais déjà entendu le nom mais jamais eu de bon feedbacks.

Thx for the advices but I'm wondering why my thread is that unpopular

 

[SciFiMan]

What don't you like about the X1600? It has SM3.0 for low cost. I paid US$135 for my 512MB card and it plays everthing very well, just not every game on max. (Even my old 9600Pro 128 was playable on BF2 multiplayer.) I can also recommend the 6800GS which is in my son's system, and faster than mine for only $40 more.

 

[orionman]

Except for the SM3.0 a x1600 is far from the x800 no?

I'll check for a 6800GS

 

[orionman]

235$ for the 6800GS is bit too expensive

how good will a x1600 be in oblivion
Could be nice to have a decent frame rate with medium settings
For bf2 I was running it with a 9800pro and everything was nearly maxed out. So I beleive a x1600 would not have any problem at all with that game... It's oblivion that scares me.

 

[Oracle]

X800XL has way better memory than any X1600 and eats X1600s for breakfast.
6800GS has similar performance to 6600GT, while 6600GT being cheaper.
For AGP, unless you are willing to fork out the cash for a 7800GS, there's no point in spending more than CAD$200 and go for either a 6600GT or X800XL.
You also have to be consistent with the rest of system. Don't spend big bucks on a state-of-the-art GPU if you just have an Athlon XP of the early days with 512Mb RAM or less.

 

[orionman]

have you tried oblivion on that 6600GTOC??

 

[Oracle]

Have not.
Though the game supports the FX series of cards, so you can imagine that a 6600GT will work just fine at med settings. Maybe not at 100fps, but at a decent rate. IMO, a game is fully enjoyable at 30 fps.
Every other games I played on it looked wonderful, including NFSU2 (which has very fast motions), Guild Wars, CoD and Hitman.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Have not.
Though the game supports the FX series of cards,

Not really unless you call the FX5900-5950 a series.FXs are terrible with oblivion and the GF6600GT is not a card to buy for oblivion.

so you can imagine that a 6600GT will work just fine at med settings. Maybe not at 100fps, but at a decent rate. IMO, a game is fully enjoyable at 30 fps.

Don't try to 'imagine' what it will play like, it will play at lower settings and both the X1600 and X800 will beat the GF6600GT in Oblivion. The GF6600GT is great in other games, but not Oblivion. The X800 series is far better and that GT is no deal by any stretch of the imagination. The X1600Pro also sells for $40 less than that GT so there's no comparison price wise.

Far better to find a GF6800 for under $20 more even.

 

[Oracle]

Have you tried Oblivion with a 6600GT?

 

[Oracle]

I'm not trying to push my 6600GT here (I'll be able to sell it elsewhere), but I'm quite sure it can run Oblivion decently. If you're interested, here's what I can do.
A 6600GT OC from BFG goes for about $200 in the Montreal market. Try it for a week with Oblivion. If you're not satisfied, bring it back to me and I'll give you your money back.
How's that for confidence in your product!

 

[orionman]

Nice deal indeed
I'm still trying to put my hands on a AIW because yesterday I've heard that they had few cards available despite the 'out of stock' of the previous day.
And the product is STILL listed on their website today.

If the product is completly removed from the website,
I'll message you for the 6600GT.