Cheapo Graphics.

[Brutuz]

I have a Athlon XP 2600+ system, and I'm stuck with AGP until I upgrade CPU, Mobo and Ram, so I wanna know what would be a good replacement for a 6800GS AGP, because its fan died, and I'm using a custom fan setup with Rubber bands, a 80mm case fan and cardboard, It does the job alright, but it starts to let the card overheat ifI play for a while (eg. 4 hours)

Here is where I'll buy it, I get a Bottleneck with my current Athlon, so a 7800 or x1950 is out of the question (Not to mention my PSU barely runs my 6800GS) so waht about a 7600GT?

I play games like GTA San Andreas, Sims 2, Oblivion, GTA Vice City and Need for Speed Carbon, I'll probably try and get BF2142, NfSS and GTA IV, so I want to be able to play them

Budget is $150 and I would prefer a single slot cooler.

 

[skittle]

the 7600gt is a wonderful card. make sure you get the GT and not the GS.

 

[mactronix]

As you will see from the link i will post at the bottom if you can run a 6800GS then you will have no probs running a 7600GT.
I have another system that runs a x1650xt (agp)which performs v/similar to the 7600GT,it can play oblivion to a decent standard so i would think the 7600gt would as well.
It is definatly the best option unless you want to go down the HD2000 route which would let you run it as a HTPC as well but wouldnt have the musscle to run dx10 games properly.
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/000662.html

 

[ailgatrat]

Would getting an aftermarket heatsink/fan for that 6800 be a viable option?
I haven't priced any in a while, but there should be something out there that is available at a really good price if you want to save some money for your upgrades at a later point. This way you're not committing yourself to an agp card now when you decide to upgrade your cpu, mobo and ram later.
What I'm getting at here is, replace the card's cooling solution with an inexpensive aftermarket one for now, and save your the bulk or your money to upgrade your whole system later to C2D, pci-e graphics, etc.

 

[girik7]

The 7600GT will run fine on the PSU that you have. The 7600GT actually consumes less power than the 6800GS, so it should work without any problems.