So I'm looking to do one final upgrade to the current machine I'm running with before eventually building a new system. The computer runs fine, but the games are starting to drag (i.e. Q4, CS:S, WoW, etc.). This computer will be a hand-me-down once I build a new machine, so I'd like it to basically be as good as it can get.
Here's the current setup:
Motherboard: Intel D845GBV
Processor: Intel P4 2.5GHz
RAM: 1GB DDR PC2100
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB
I'm only looking to upgrade the video card, so here's what I've found so far.
So those are my options so far. I'm not sure if the 7800GS would really be worth it because I've heard that my CPU/Mobo will probably be the bottleneck so I wouldn't be able to get everything out of that card anyway. Might make more sense just to buy the 6800XT.
And the two X1600 cards, well, I've only read about the Diamond one here on Tom's Hardware. I happened to come across the Crucial one today, so I thought I'd throw it up there in case anyone knows anything good or bad about that card.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. And if you know of any other cards that might be better, I'd be happy to hear about them. Thanks everyone!
Since you said you want it to be as good as it can get and since you're interested in the rigs gaming performance the choice is simple: 7800GS hands down.
Avoid the 6800XT, definitely not worth it
The X1600PRO will be passable for gaming but I wouldn't expect it to be better than the 9800Pro. Only go for it if you're interested in video encoding/decoding in which case it will be better than even the 7800GS (because of the AVIVO engine)
Another option would be the X800GTO: a decent card for gaming (better than the X1600PRO) and quite affordable
$120 for a card that will own the 6800XT and X1600 Pro, and occasionally get as much as 90% of the performance of the 7800 GS. Now that's a good card for that price! I reccomend you buy it.
I have an old dell with a P4 @2.4ghz and an intel 845pe motherboard and decided to upgrade to an x800 gTO. VERRRRYYY GGOOOD CARRD!! It will give you the extra boost you want in games and come at a cheaper price than the 7800gs..
If you have the money and want to spend the $$ on a 7800gs, then go for it. But keep in mind that after that, you will have to get a pci-e setup because new agp cards are not going to be brought out. And if you save money on the card, you could put that towards a new system!!
Thanks for all the advice everyone! The X800 GTO is looking a bit more promissing now, but I was always under the impression that the original X line of ATI cards weren't all that great compared to the nVidia GF 6 series. Was the GTO a later card?
I do realize that AGP is on it's way out, and yes, my next computer will be PCI-e with SLI and all that jazz. Like I said, I just want to do one final hoorah on this box so that the next user will enjoy it that much more than their current computer (which is about a year older).
I had a feeling a lot of people would suggest the 7800GS, but I'm still a bit skeptical as to if my computer can push it as hard as a new box might be able to? I mean, am I basically only going to get a 6800's worth of performance out of the 7800? Does that make sense?
Thanks for all the advice everyone! The X800 GTO is looking a bit more promissing now, but I was always under the impression that the original X line of ATI cards weren't all that great compared to the nVidia GF 6 series. Was the GTO a later card?
I do realize that AGP is on it's way out, and yes, my next computer will be PCI-e with SLI and all that jazz. Like I said, I just want to do one final hoorah on this box so that the next user will enjoy it that much more than their current computer (which is about a year older).
I had a feeling a lot of people would suggest the 7800GS, but I'm still a bit skeptical as to if my computer can push it as hard as a new box might be able to? I mean, am I basically only going to get a 6800's worth of performance out of the 7800? Does that make sense?
Thanks again!
The X800 and X850 series cards were quite competative with the 6800 series cards. I will also vouch for the X800GTO for AGP. I have a Sapphire AGP GTO which I also got as an upgrade from a 9800Pro. My 3DMark05 score went up about 60% at stock clock speeds. After I unlocked the card to X800XL specs and overclocked it my score increased to about 85% of the stock speed score.
As far as the 7800GS goes, you will see higher peak frame rates but your minimum frame rate will be limited by your CPU/Motherboard/Memory combo. Personally I wouldn't spend the money that a 7800GS costs on a system as old as yours. I'm not even sure that I would spend it on my system if I had that much to spend. I have a Pentium 4 2.8c overclocked to 3.5GHz with Intel 865PE chipset and dual channel DDR400.
I think that the X800GTO is a good way to prolong the life of an older AGP system. The Sapphire cards seem to have a high success rate at unlocking too. Though it doesn't give a huge increase to performance it does add a little.
So I'm looking to do one final upgrade to the current machine I'm running with before eventually building a new system. The computer runs fine, but the games are starting to drag (i.e. Q4, CS:S, WoW, etc.). This computer will be a hand-me-down once I build a new machine, so I'd like it to basically be as good as it can get.
Here's the current setup:
Motherboard: Intel D845GBV
Processor: Intel P4 2.5GHz
RAM: 1GB DDR PC2100
Video: ATI Radeon 9800 PRO 128MB
I'm only looking to upgrade the video card, so here's what I've found so far.
So those are my options so far. I'm not sure if the 7800GS would really be worth it because I've heard that my CPU/Mobo will probably be the bottleneck so I wouldn't be able to get everything out of that card anyway. Might make more sense just to buy the 6800XT.
And the two X1600 cards, well, I've only read about the Diamond one here on Tom's Hardware. I happened to come across the Crucial one today, so I thought I'd throw it up there in case anyone knows anything good or bad about that card.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. And if you know of any other cards that might be better, I'd be happy to hear about them. Thanks everyone!
Yes, an x800GTO, or 6800GS would be a nice upgrade without draining your wallet. Both perform similarly, and have potential to be unlocked if you get a "lucky" one. 6800 XT is no good, and 7800GS is too much money. GL
Check around for better prices. I paid $135 at newegg for my 1600Pro 512 almost 2 months ago. A better choice would be a 6800GS for $180 if TigerDirect still has them. I wouldn't spend more than that though.
The best financial bet when upgrading AGP, IMHO, is still the used market.
A used X800 XL or 6800 GT should be able to provide roughly 90% of the performance of the 7800 GS* for maybe $150 on ebay.
The 7800 GS only makes sense if you're really into overclocking and are chained to the AGP standard. Otherwise it's kind of overpriced, since a PCIe system upgrade doesn't cost all that much, and a cheapo $175 7600 GT on PCIexpress will perform similarly to the 7800 GS*.
The best financial bet when upgrading AGP, IMHO, is still the used market.
A used X800 XL or 6800 GT should be able to provide roughly 90% of the performance of the 7800 GS* for maybe $150 on ebay.
The 7800 GS only makes sense if you're really into overclocking and are chained to the AGP standard. Otherwise it's kind of overpriced, since a PCIe system upgrade doesn't cost all that much, and a cheapo $175 7600 GT on PCIexpress will perform similarly to the 7800 GS*.
That $120 GTO is a great deal too, though.
* (At stock clockspeeds, of course )
As I already posted, X800 XL for $120, same price as that used GTO... I think that'd be a better deal.
And if the OP is gonna get a new PCI-E system w/ SLI and so on, then going for the 7800 GS would be a bad idea... more than twice as much as some of the options here, and isn't a huge leap over them either.
Last year I upgraded my 9800 Pro to an X850 Pro and was very happy with the performance leap. The card cost me $200 at BestBuy at the time. I had no problems overclocking the X850 Pro to X850 XT PE speeds, however I'm still only at 12 pipelines.
I was using 4 year old A8N7X board with an XP 3200 chip. This month I decided to venture into the world of Athlon 64. I was still so much satisfied with the X850 that I bought an AGP motherboard since buying a new video card didn't seem worth it (unless I was willing to spend $500 for 7900something). Unfortunately with how fast CPU sockets are changing, I figure I'll probably be needing a new motherboard the next time I upgrade again anyway.
I'm going to run with Cleeve with this one, however, I'm going to recommed the OP stick with NV on this one.
kindageek said this system was still going to be used after he builds a new machine. With that in mind I would search eBay for a used 6800GT. You get a very capable card that supports SM 3.0, which the X800XL does not. Since the system could be in use for awhile, I think it's worth getting this feature on a card that can handle it. As much as I like the X800GTO and X800XL, I think kindageek should be trying to get the best card here with as many features as possible without spending a lot of money.
Here's an AGP BFG 6800GT that's looking really nice right about now.
If he must go new, then this would be one of the few instances where I would recommend nothing less than a 7800GS in this case because I think the card has more longevity in it than the other cards mentioned.
I understand that the ATI Shop X800XL is a great deal, but it's also a Pre-Order and has been like that ever since I've seen the link posted on it. There's no telling when the card will be available, if ever.
"Nvidia has revised its product roadmap, due to continued strong demand for AGP-based systems and Intel's ongoing shipments of 865 chipsets, sources at Taiwan motherboard makers indicated. The graphics chip vendor plans to launch the AGP version of its GeForce 7600GS/ GT graphics processing units (GPUs) in the third quarter of 2006, according to the sources."
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"Intel's decision was made as a result of massive demand in emerging markets, such as China, the sources noted. In addition, the adoption of AGP-capable graphics cards in the upgrade market has decelerated the complete migration of mainstream graphics cards to PCI Express, the sources indicated."
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