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Most powerful graphics card I can get?

Last response: in Graphics & Displays
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After a few years my 9800pro has died. I'm needing a new graphics card.

My PSU is a Macron MPT-300, +12V rail is rated at 10A.

It ran the 9800pro fine.

The rest of my system is-

Athlon XP 2200+
1.25GB RAM PC2700
DVD drive
2 Hard drives
Network card
Floppy drive

If I need more power then I could disconnect one of my hard-drives no problem.

So what AGP card is the most powerful I could get for this system?

Don't bother mentioning getting a new PSU as I'm going to get a new system later in the year and this card is only needed so I can start gaming again.

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When my x800xl card died last week after 1,5 years I got it replaced under guarantee with an x1950pro card..
it works great in my xp2500+ barton system overclocked to xp3200+
nohickups, or anything so far..

I am happy as this holds me over to this fall when we know if I should go K10 agena or core2duo..

possibly another 9800 pro :?

im guessing any of the newer cards will have trouble getting the power requirements from a 10A 12v rail

dunno if the X800 will work, you'll have to google its power requirements.
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WOW. 200+ on a 6600GT!? Ha, no thanks. Just replace your powersupply and get a X1950pro. Replacing the powersupply is not a hassle whatsoever. Just the matter of unplugging and replugging in pins.

I have a 420 W powersupply.. and with my setup including 2 dvd drives and 2 hd's i run 200 W peak at my electricity meter..

the box however states it requires a 450W powersupply with 30 amps on the 12 V rail

Well, if you're not in the States, then newegg won't work. But you should look at getting something like a 7600GS since they don't consume too much power, and it'd be a bit of an upgrade as well.

You're below the recomened requirements, but someone please correct my if I'm wrong, if your 9800pro ran OK with your current PSU, it should be able to handle a 7600GS.

Quote:
I have a 420 W powersupply.. and with my setup including 2 dvd drives and 2 hd's i run 200 W peak at my electricity meter..

the box however states it requires a 450W powersupply with 30 amps on the 12 V rail


the wattage of the powersupplies dont give a damn if the brand is not recognized, many companies mislead regarding this :|


I've seen a lot of 550 watts powersupplies who dont even pull more than 20 amps in the 12V , most of the amperage is tossed in the 5V or other rails, wich are.. kinda useless for todays systems...

so I agree with the first, GET a good power supply FIRST ...

I'd recommend the 7600GS as it only requires 27W vs 47W for the 9800 Pro. Technically a 7600GT would also work as it only requires 36W although it would probably be a bit of overkill (and costs more than the GS).

With the 7600GS you shouldn't have to change the PS and will also benefit from having SM 3.0 support.

Check the details here: Video Card Power Requirements.

Edit: If you get a 7600GS, try to get one with core=400MHz and memory=800MHz (effective) for max performance and not XFX or BFG as they only have 533MHz memory clocks. Another thing to check is the length of the warranty.

Quote:
You're below the recomened requirements, but someone please correct my if I'm wrong, if your 9800pro ran OK with your current PSU, it should be able to handle a 7600GS.


true true. perhaps as you should look for the passively cooled version, so that it doesnt have an extra fan to power up as well.

Quote:
You're below the recomened requirements, but someone please correct my if I'm wrong, if your 9800pro ran OK with your current PSU, it should be able to handle a 7600GS.


true true. perhaps as you should look for the passively cooled version, so that it doesnt have an extra fan to power up as well.
I was thinking that but I wouldn't say my case has that great airflow/cooling.


I've seen people's reviews on various sites (dabs, etc) complaining of overheating with them. I plan on playing games as well which are pretty graphics intensive and that will make it even hotter.

As I understand you, you just need a card for a few month (or weeks) and you say you only want to be able to play. You don't say anything about fancy graphics or anything so here goes:

How about a GF6600 (not the GT) it should work in your system as it use less power than your old card.

Right ok I'll probably go with an XFX7600GS, I mean the worst that could happen is it won't power up correctly, in which case I could return to dabs, they're customer service is reputed to be excellent as well.

Thanks for all the advice.

if your case isnt that well ventilated....just take off one side panel :roll: that should solve your cooling problems :p  :lol: 

make sure you clean the insides every other week though :lol:  :lol: 

Quote:
if your case isnt that well ventilated....just take off one side panel :roll: that should solve your cooling problems :p  :lol: 

make sure you clean the insides every other week though :lol:  :lol: 

I have done that although I've heard it actually disrupts the airflow and makes things worse.

Honestly not sure though.

well you can check their reviews.

You can get over heating issues even with cards with fans, so as long as the card you get has a warrenty....there is not much to be worried about.
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