upgrade from 9800

[sevenblue]

current set up is P4 3ghz Dell 4600 with 9800pro 128mb (agp?) 1.5gb ram had it 2 years, looking to upgrade card & spend around £135 = $250. im confused by numerous diff types of cards available but have settled on an ati as the 9800 has worked great for past 2 years.
i really want to notice a difference in performance and ability to play newest games, or even ones released in last 6 months ( FEAR, COD2) and will not think of upgrade again for maybe another 18months, so allowing for availability of actual product in UK whats best option ?

 

[prozac26]

X800GTO and 6800GS comes to mind with your price range. Both can handle current games fine. X800XL could be found at a good price also.

7800GS and X850XT are both best for AGP, and if they fit your price range, consider them.

 

[angry_ducky]

The best AGP card that you can buy is the Geforce 7800GS. At $280, it's a little more than what you wanted to spend, but it's the best AGP card available. If that's too expensive, look at the Radeon X800GTO for $140. The 7800GS is faster, but it's double the price. Another interesting option is this refurb X800XL for $120 being sold by ATI. It provides about 90% of the performance of the 7800GS. Then there's the X850Pro, which is almost as good as the XT and 7800GS. It's quite expensive, though.