need help choosing an agp vid card

[ZaPNiTe]

hi, was wondering which card is a better buy for my system.
x850pro 256mb 256bit - $139USD
x1600pro 256mb 128bit -$109USD
x1600pro 512mb 128bit -$136USD
6600gt 128mb 128bit - $129USD
6800xt 256mb 256bit - $129USD

my specs are
win xp pro
athlon xp 2000+
768mb pc2100 (512mb pc2700 + 256mb pc2100)
fx5200 128mb (current card)
MaxPower 400w PSU - running 80gb hd + dvd-rom + dvd burner + cathode lights + 2x fan + ps2 keyboard/usb mouse + all of the above.

thanks

edit: the games i play are World of Warcraft, Warcraft III TFT, and CS Source .... don't really care much about current games,

 

[Scougs]

I'm not too familiar with the Warcraft series but I think that the X850Pro would be a good choice for CS:S.

In general, I think that the X850Pro is the best card on your list.
Where did you find it for $139?

You could also consider an X800GTO.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102002
These appear to be shipping with 16 pixel pipes enabled making them like an X800XL. The X800XL has very similar performance to an X850Pro.

I have a 16 pipe X800GTO and have been really happy with it.

 

[Gary_Busey]

The X850Pro would be your best choice. The X800GTO is a good one too. Hell, a 6600GT would probably be enough, but for only $10 more the X850Pro is a much better card. Plus, if you buy the ones from ATI.com, you can flash them to an X850XT PE.

 

[ZaPNiTe]

cool, thanks... ill buy the x850 pro, was just worried if my power supply wasn't good enough for any of those cards or if my comp will just bottleneck the high end cards to match the performance of cheaper/lower end cards.

...by the way i found the price for the x850pro on ATI's website ----> click on Clearence Center

 

[zornundo]

My brother just bought the x850 pro to replace his pos fx5900xt junk. He was considering the 7800 GS but I think I convinced him that the 7800 was just too overpriced. GL!

 

[Fursecul]

A x850 will do you hust right

 

[Flopmouth_Fish]

A x850 will do you hust right

That sounds funny for some reason.

 

[nick_000000]

The X850 series are a very good series of cards if you can find a X850XT they are good. The X850pro is good as well but X850 series don't have shader model 3 though but I dont know much about the x1600pro, probably will have more features.

 

[Scougs]

The X1600Pro does support SM3 but is way slower than an X850Pro.

 

[GeneticWeapon]

athlon xp 2000+
768mb pc2100

That system would bottleneck a 9800Pro.


....Seriously man, take the hundred bucks you're going to spend on a video card and buy a processor/motherboard combo from some online vendor.

I think a 9600Pro would even be too much for it, and I'm not joking.

 

[cleeve]

Hmmm. I had a secondary machine last year with an Athlon 1.4 Ghz processor (Not even an XP!), and I noticed a HUGE difference between a 9700 PRO and an 8500 I had lying around.

Depends on the games you play. The newest games will be bottlenecked by the processor, but you can get alot of milage out of an older processor and a decent videocard.

On my Athlon 1.4 and the 9700 PRO, I could play Star Wars Battlefront 2 at 1024x768 at really good framerates. Didn't benchmark it but it was totally playable, and for a first person shooter that's pretty good. Half Life 2 also ran well on it, and even Doom3 was decent.

Wouldn't want to try FEAR or Oblivion on it though, but it probably would have worked 640x480 if it had to (yuck).

But GW's right in that a couple extra hundred bucks for a new system would serve you much better, especially in the long run.

 

[Fursecul]

Yeah my mistake )

 

[Anoobis]

I take it you sold your 7800GS???

 

[zeroyb]

Zapnite, since ATI shop is now selling x850 pro for $119, you might as well get that one if you're not planning a complete overhaul. Your system may bottleneck it, but it's a great price so who cares.

 

[kaotao]

The X800XL is $119 (refurbished), and the X850PRO is $139.

 

[Gary_Busey]

The X800XL is $119 (refurbished), and the X850PRO is $139.

Actually, the X850 Pro is $119 now. They dropped the price again.

 

[bliq]

athlon xp 2000+
768mb pc2100

That system would bottleneck a 9800Pro.


....Seriously man, take the hundred bucks you're going to spend on a video card and buy a processor/motherboard combo from some online vendor.

I think a 9600Pro would even be too much for it, and I'm not joking.

Err, I think you're overexaggerating here a bit. I wouldn't say the CPU would be bottlenecking the 9800pro. I got similar benchmarks with a 9700pro between a P3-733 and a P4-2.4. So I'd think that even the 9800pro's 10% power advantage over the 9700pro, an athlon 2000+ would be more than powerful enough to handle it.

 

[kaotao]

If only they'd do the same with X850XTPE. At least then you would'nt have to worry about after market cooling, and unlocking the extra pipes.

 

[Gary_Busey]

If only they'd do the same with X850XTPE. At least then you would'nt have to worry about after market cooling, and unlocking the extra pipes.

Yeah, I wish. Looks like the ones they're selling might not be unlockable. One guy bought one and it couldn't unlock, but I heard of another guy who bought one from them and it did unlock. Luck of the draw I guess. You can still get a hell of an overclock out of em though.