HD 2600XT AGP Questions

[spaztic7]

Ok, you know how christma...... giftmas is coming up soon? Well I want to get my little brother a new video card. The issue is that he has AGP still and upgrade is not an option. So I did what all good people do and went to newegg and looked at their selection of video cards. I ran across the HD2600XT. Wow, its DX10 and all! Now, will this be better then the Nvidia 7800GS that he currently has?

Also, why didn't TH put his card in or look at it when they did their best video cards of the "enter the month here"?

This is the link ti the card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814129090

 

[Maziar]

7800GS is better than 2600XT, how much can u pay ?
the best AGP cards are 7950GT and X1950

 

[spaztic7]

Price is not the problem.... well, within reason. I kind of wanted to get him up to DX10. But if it is really not as good then I will get him the best as possible. Also, what about NVIDIA with their promises of a DX10 AGP card?

 

[Maziar]

Dont know , but maybe there will be a DX10 AGP card from nvidia, who knows?

here is a comparison :

X1950XT>7950GT>7900GS>7800GS>2600XT

 

[caamsa]

What type of system does he have? Can you just upgrade the mother board to one that has a pci-e slot? That would be the cheaper solution in the long run.

 

[spaztic7]

Ok, I realy do not want to do an full upgrade. First, he is in a shuttle case.

Mobo - ASRock 775i65G LGA 775 Intel 865G Micro ATX
Processor - Intel E4300 1.8Ghz OCed to ~2.8Ghz (it might be higher, I do not rememeber what I OCed it at.... it might be 3.2 Ghz)
Memory - 2 gig of DDR 400
Video - 7800 GS

 

[mactronix]

Ok so its just the card we are interested in and the X1950xt from gecube is simply the fastest card that has been made for the AGP bus. it is however DX9.
You say you would like DX10. Are you aware that you have to be running Vista to get DX10?
Aside from th eDX10 thing th e2600 couldnt really be concidered an upgrade from the 7800gs anyway.
As far as Nvidea AGP cards go all i can say is that if they were going to do it i dont know why they havent already they have a conversion chip but seem unwilling to use it.
Mactronix

 

[spaztic7]

He is running Vista. Yeah, I am going to stick it out and wait for a little closer to mid december to see if there are any more suprise releases from either company.

 

[pauldh]

Dont know , but maybe there will be a DX10 AGP card from nvidia, who knows?

here is a comparison :

X1950XT>7950GT>7900GS>7800GS>2600XT

Where did you get this pecking order from? A HD2600XT would be FAR BETTER than a 7800GS. It very often in new games crushes the 7900GS and without fsaa matches the X1950 pro. The 7800GS is basically at stock speeds like a 7600GT.

Check out the HD2600XT vs 7950GT and 7600GT in UT3:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3128&p=4

Or how it offers twice the performance of the 7900GS in that game:
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=693&p=5

Compare it to the 7900GT and 7900GS in Crysis:
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=698&p=2

HD2600XT is a good feature and performance upgrade from a 7800GS IMO, especially if as he says money doesn't matter.


Edit, it's no slouch in the valve orange box either (team fortress 2 or episode 2):
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=691&p=2
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3122&p=3

 

[pauldh]

To the OP, that card you linked to on Newegg would smoke the 7800GS by a long shot in most new games. It's generally not as quick as the X1950 pro but doing quite well even against that in newer games. But If you(or he) likes FSAA though, the X1950 pro is a better option.

 

[Maziar]

Where did you get this pecking order from? A HD2600XT would be FAR BETTER than a 7800GS. It very often in new games crushes the 7900GS and without fsaa matches the X1950 pro. The 7800GS is basically at stock speeds like a 7600GT.

Check out the HD2600XT vs 7950GT and 7600GT in UT3:
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3128&p=4

Or how it offers twice the performance of the 7900GS in that game:
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=693&p=5

Compare it to the 7900GT and 7900GS in Crysis:
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=698&p=2

HD2600XT is a good feature and performance upgrade from a 7800GS IMO, especially if as he says money doesn't matter.


Edit, it's no slouch in the valve orange box either (team fortress 2 or episode 2):
http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=691&p=2
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3122&p=3

Yes mate, u are right, thanx for clearing this up and posting some links about
Appreciate it

 

[pauldh]

No problem. I later figured maybe you were thinking about the X1600XT not the HD2600XT. That would be a different story for sure.

The HD2600XT is a nice addition to the AGP line, but just too expensive to recommend for most people when they could buy a pci-e version and put the other $75 into a motherboard.

 

[Maziar]

yeah that was X1600XT not 2600XT

 

[zhaf]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102711

less memory but a lot cheaper...

 

[pauldh]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102711

less memory but a lot cheaper...

Very nice. I'd double check clock speeds, but that looks to be an incredible AGP card for the money! Best I've ever seen for a bit over $100.

 

[spaztic7]

I am worried about the amount of ram on it. I would rather get him one that has 512 then 256.... It just sounds better. Plus, the car that has more RAM on it should do better in the games. The added memory should give a significant speed increase.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

I wouldn't worry too much about the size of the RAM unless it's at no cost (either dollars or speed) for one main reason, the HD2600XT is not going to do well with huge textures that would require a 512MB card anyways. Better to go with fast 256MB than slow 512MB.

PS, not surprisingly I agree with pretty much everything Paul posted. The HD2600XT is a solid card and a good option, better than the hamstrung AGP-GS but if AA does play a major role in his gaming the X1950 is probably a better fit.

 

[spaztic7]

Yeah, I think he would want a card that he can try to max all the video settings up on then have a card that is DX10 compatible. I only wish that they would put hte 8800 line on AGP.

 

[Maziar]

There are some rumors about it

 

[spaztic7]

rumors ay? Hmmmmm....... Have these rumors said anything about release dates?

 

[Maziar]

no, i just have heard there maybe a 8800 card in AGP, but no news about release date
but dont count on it much

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

I wouldn't bother waiting for a GF8800 on AGP, those rumours are by the same folks still hoping there's unlockable SPUs in their GTX cards.

 

[spaztic7]

I did read that the ATI 3800 will have an AGP brother, the 3850. I am not sure when this line is going to be released but this may be worth waiting for.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Yeah it's funny, that that article in the InQ mentions the AGP DX10.1 HDxxxx solution, and then in the same article talks about those problems with the nV HSI / BR02 bridge chip not being compatible ith the GF8;
http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/11/06/amd-set-capture-100-agp-market

 

[spaztic7]

Yeah, that is where I read about the AGP 3850. I am not really sure if I should believe them or not. I was hoping for a nice Christmas gift for him, but I see that fading away.