Need graphics card upgrade - any suggestions?

[SilentKiller5]

I'm in need to upgrade my graphics card, which is on its last leg now. I've already done quite a bit of searching, and have come across things such as the X800 GTO, 6800 GS, X800 XL, etc. I'm stuck with the AGP interface though, so my options are limited. I would prefer not to spend over $200 ($100-200 is a good price range for me) but I still want something that can give me a huge boost over my AIW 9600 (and something that can play Oblivion and BF2 smoothly, too). Any suggestions? I appreciate any help.

My system specs:

Intel P4 2.6 Ghz
ATI AIW 9600
1 GB of RAM
Audigy 2 ZS

 

[prozac26]

Oblivion runs better on ATI cards, so a X800GTO seems to be a good choice. X800XL could be found at a good price. X800GTO seems like a good buy, unless you can find X800XL at similar price.

 

[raven_87]

My first shot would be the X800XL. Then would come the 6800GS (really its a tie between both) but the X800GTO would rank 3rd for me unfortunately.

 

[SilentKiller5]

I found an X850 Pro on Newegg for $185... would this card be worth spending an extra $60 more than an X800 GTO? Would it give a huge performance difference or not? And I also like to OC my cards, so when OCed, would it make much of a difference for these cards? I know that if the X800 GTO is an R480 then it can overclock quite high, but I dn't know about the X850 Pro. Thanks for any help.

 

[prozac26]

X850 Pro performs about same as X800XL. There is always a chance unlocking pipelines on the X800GTO to make it a X800XL. X850Pro is basically a X800GTO with X850XT clock speeds. I don't think it's worth spending more.

 

[unsmart]

x1600 agp,wouldn't get the fps as a x800 but the eyecandy is better. The price is lowwer on a x1600pro too. ATI realy needs to get the x1800gto on a agp.

 

[raven_87]

The X800pro is hands down the superior card, and the only way the X1600 series would outpreform is if you compared a 3Dmark06 score.

Only becuase the X800 would have the SM 3.0 penalty, and the X1600 wouldnt. The X13 and X1600 are almost complete rubbish, and I cant recommend one unless its maybe for a HTPC. You wouldnt be able to run
any more "eyecandy" with it when compared to the X800pro.

So the X1600 series should be out of the equation at this point.

 

[SilentKiller5]

The X800pro is hands down the superior card, and the only way the X1600 series would outpreform is if you compared a 3Dmark06 score.

Only becuase the X800 would have the SM 3.0 penalty, and the X1600 wouldnt. The X13 and X1600 are almost complete rubbish, and I cant recommend one unless its maybe for a HTPC. You wouldnt be able to run
any more "eyecandy" with it when compared to the X800pro.

So the X1600 series should be out of the equation at this point.

Yeah, and besides, I don't care if it's got SM 3 (although that would be conveniant) because I have mods that create Fake HDR (not like my old 9600 can run it with smooth frame rates though).

X850 Pro performs about same as X800XL. There is always a chance unlocking pipelines on the X800GTO to make it a X800XL. X850Pro is basically a X800GTO with X850XT clock speeds. I don't think it's worth spending more.

Ok, I guess getting an X800 GTO would be the best bet then. Hopefully I'll be able to get one with an R480 core, then I can OC it and unlock the extra quad (hoperfully).

So the X800 GTO I found was priced at $121 (open-box, though). The cheapest unopened X800 GTO is $155, so is it a good idea to go open-box or is it probably just gonna have an R430 core or some other problem?

 

[prozac26]

I don't know what core it'll have. I wouldn't worry about getting Open Box items from newegg, they're usually good with those things.

 

[chuckshissle]

Go for the X800GTO for it is a very good card and well worth the price. I have used with my previous pc and it performed exceptionally.

 

[mickeddie]

I bought a Nvidia 6600GT 128mb AGP card for Oblivion and it played great on my system:
p4 3.2ghz (northbridge, not pentium d), 2 gb RAM.

I did follow the on-line system tweaks to improve performance and for about 99.8 % of the game ran flawlessly at maximum settings.

Hope this helps!

Eddie

 

[prozac26]

I bought a Nvidia 6600GT 128mb AGP card for Oblivion and it played great on my system:
p4 3.2ghz (northbridge, not pentium d), 2 gb RAM.

I did follow the on-line system tweaks to improve performance and for about 99.8 % of the game ran flawlessly at maximum settings.

You ran Oblivion maxed out with a 6600GT? Nice try.

 

[raven_87]

I bought a Nvidia 6600GT 128mb AGP card for Oblivion and it played great on my system:
p4 3.2ghz (northbridge, not pentium d), 2 gb RAM.

I did follow the on-line system tweaks to improve performance and for about 99.8 % of the game ran flawlessly at maximum settings.

You ran Oblivion maxed out with a 6600GT? Nice try.

Actually Prozac your half wrong, I'm sure he could run Oblivion with max settings......@ 640x480 :lol:

 

[mickeddie]

I bought a Nvidia 6600GT 128mb AGP card for Oblivion and it played great on my system:
p4 3.2ghz (northbridge, not pentium d), 2 gb RAM.

I did follow the on-line system tweaks to improve performance and for about 99.8 % of the game ran flawlessly at maximum settings.

You ran Oblivion maxed out with a 6600GT? Nice try.

I really did! Like I said I did the performance tweaks and it worked great. I had to lower the settings for the Battle of Bruma and the final fight when going with Martin around Imperial City with all of the deadra coming out of all of the gates. I wish I could prove it to you.

 

[mickeddie]

I bought a Nvidia 6600GT 128mb AGP card for Oblivion and it played great on my system:
p4 3.2ghz (northbridge, not pentium d), 2 gb RAM.

I did follow the on-line system tweaks to improve performance and for about 99.8 % of the game ran flawlessly at maximum settings.

You ran Oblivion maxed out with a 6600GT? Nice try.

Actually Prozac your half wrong, I'm sure he could run Oblivion with max settings......@ 640x480 :lol:

No...I had the resolution at 1024x768 iirc. I'm at work right now and do not remember what it is. Ok...so that is one thing I did NOT have maxed.

 

[SilentKiller5]

I bought a Nvidia 6600GT 128mb AGP card for Oblivion and it played great on my system:
p4 3.2ghz (northbridge, not pentium d), 2 gb RAM.

I did follow the on-line system tweaks to improve performance and for about 99.8 % of the game ran flawlessly at maximum settings.

You ran Oblivion maxed out with a 6600GT? Nice try.

Actually Prozac your half wrong, I'm sure he could run Oblivion with max settings......@ 640x480 :lol:

No...I had the resolution at 1024x768 iirc. I'm at work right now and do not remember what it is. Ok...so that is one thing I did NOT have maxed.

You could take a screenshot with the FPS counter on if you want proof... but that would be awesome with such a mainstream card. Show me some proof and I'll consider it.

 

[mickeddie]

I bought a Nvidia 6600GT 128mb AGP card for Oblivion and it played great on my system:
p4 3.2ghz (northbridge, not pentium d), 2 gb RAM.

I did follow the on-line system tweaks to improve performance and for about 99.8 % of the game ran flawlessly at maximum settings.

You ran Oblivion maxed out with a 6600GT? Nice try.

Actually Prozac your half wrong, I'm sure he could run Oblivion with max settings......@ 640x480 :lol:

No...I had the resolution at 1024x768 iirc. I'm at work right now and do not remember what it is. Ok...so that is one thing I did NOT have maxed.

You could take a screenshot with the FPS counter on if you want proof... but that would be awesome with such a mainstream card. Show me some proof and I'll consider it.

Ok...2 questions...how do I do a screenshot with the FPS? How do I do a screenshot with Windows XP so I can show you the Hardware Profile showing my GPU?

 

[Anoobis]

Oh wow. I think this conversation is pretty much over.