Need advice on Sapphire ATI Radeon X1600 Pro 256MB or other

Hey all,

My aging computer's old video card just melted on me - my power supply blew the other day and when I replaced it my computer wouldn't boot. POST beeped eight times and doing some reading online revealed that this means the problem is with the video card. I used an ancient GeForce 2MX temporarily and everything worked fine, so it seems that I need to replace my video card.

My computer is pretty rusty (and it's AGP) so I'm not looking for anything fancy.

I've got:
AMD Athlon 2500 XP+
1.0 gig RAM

My old video card was an MSI GeForce 4200 Ti - I've had it for three years now and it's a shame that it blew. It's not all that great, but I had no problem running most new games at decent settings (Dreamfall, HL2, etc.,).

I'm looking to get the most bang for my buck, but I don't want to spend any more than $130-$150 - I'd originally set my limit at eight bucks, but then I figured that even though I shouldn't be spending the money, if I'm going to spend eighty I may as well bump in an extra sixty to get a good card (isn't that always the way with video card upgrades?). I live in Canada, Toronto, so using american online sites seems too prohibitive.

Thus far I've been leaning towards a Sapphire ATI Radeon X1600 Pro 256MB for $145.99 CDN:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/ind [...] id=999.821

Which I can buy in a store and install right away - the warranty is also attractive. The problem is that after doing a little research I learned that this might not be such a good idea.

I became excited when I saw the great deals at ATI's Canadian site. I was really interested in Radeon® X800 XL AGP 256MB for $139.99 CDN, but it seems that they're all out and who knows if/when they'll ever get more:
http://shopati.ca/product.asp?sku=2984012

I was even tempted to go for the All-in-Wonder® X800 XT 256MB AGP for $199.99 CDN (exceeding my budget), knowing that it would probably be the best power-for-price, but that too is sold out and no word on if/when it'll come back:
http://shopati.ca/product.asp?sku=2588471

I would get one of those if only I could.

So now my problem is determining what I should go with. At the moment I'm leaning towards the X1600, even if it isn't the best deal. The problem is that I don't have any other options. I can't find any stores that sell better cards for as much or cheaper, and it doesn't seem like I have any other options online as HSIX.com doesn't seem to have better deals.

And so I'm drawn to these message boards. I was hoping someone out there could provide some advice. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated - not having access to my computer for the few days it will take me to get this resolved will be a killer (that's another reason I don't want to get anything from an online US site, the shipping will take probably two weeks at least and I need my computer back ASAP).

Thanks in advance for your help!

Thanks a lot for the help. I hadn't previously considered the 7600.

However, I'm looking for something that I can get in Canada.

You think one of these from NCIX.com would be a good alternative?

http://www.ncix.com/search/?quicks [...] Max.+Price

(The images make it look like they don't have the best cooling. Given my recent problem, cooling has become a concern).

Anyone have any other suggestions? Again, price/performance and Canadian availability are priorities. Thanks!

(Edit: Do you think the XFX GeForce 6800XT(350Mhz) 256MB(1GHz) 8-Pixels Dual DVI AGP would be worth considering?
http://www.canadacomputers.com/ind [...] id=999.821

I'm not sure that the Toronto store has the card in stock, sadly).

You know eBay might be a decent place to look for a 6800GT or perhaps an X800XT or similiar. Just look for people who ship to Canada.

Why spend the money on a semi-crappy card (for gaming), when he could spend the same, if not a little bit more to get a much better card?

It's almost easier to pick a high end card than it is to pick a low end card.

7600GT supposed to be available for AGP sometime this month isn't it?

Potentially, but it's not yet. First place I'd expect to see one for him would be NCIX though as they are a launch partner.

For now there is a rare Visiontek X1600XT on AGP, but I wouldn't recommend it cause it's pricey from the only dealer I've seen carry it here and now they're out of stock.

While some people on eBay may be out to screw you, most are just trying to sell their stuff. Most listers will indicate how they handle refunds and what not. Just scrutinize the ad carefully to look for anything that sounds dodgy.

When dealing with eBay, if it sounds to good to be true, it is.

I guess it depends on what you're looking for.

6800GT AGP

X800XT

One of those would compliment your system quite nicely and will be loads of improvement over your old GeForce 4200 Ti and better than an X1600Pro IMHO.

Depending on how much longer you plan to keep this system, you could also look into a used 6600GT AGP. They're on par with an X1600Pro.

I think you had your sites set on the right two cards. Stinks they are out of stock, still in stock in the USA. Maybe that's a sign there are more to come?
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2984012
http://shop.ati.com/product.asp?sku=2588471

If possible, I'd wait a few days for those to come back in stock or for ATI to stick something else up there. Even the X800XL far outperforms the X1600 pro and the 7600GS as well. Obviously the higher clocked XT is even better.

Yeah - but Canadian dollars (we're used to it :^)
So the Sapphire X1600 is okay, right? It's sweet in my old XP3200+ rig, it plays Far Cry, Quake4, all the Steam stuff ie. Half-Lifes (Half-Lives?) etc.
Lemme see here, $169 CDN is ~$149 US or 85 Pounds Sterling...
But it's a good vidcard for the money, seems nice & fast.
L8R

^ Yeah, that's where I usually go but I always go to Canada Computers; I haven't checked out any of the other places.

My concern is that if I find the card it will probably be a good 30% (at least) more than it is online.

I'll hopefully check some stores today and at the same time I'm hoping that shopati.ca updates it's site. It's just really annoying not knowing what to do.

Actually it's quite competant in Oblivion, and one of the few games where it truely shines for thaking advantage of it's unbalanced design.

In Oblivion X1600P > GF7600GS.