Help] Buying a new Graphic

[Sokar408]

Alright, so my graphics card burned out on me today, 1 year after I bought it. Now I'm looking for a new one, first off heres my specs:

CPU: Intel Pentium 4 Hyperthreading 3GHz
Motherboard: D865GLC/D865PESO
Power Supply Unit: 400W 15 AMP on the 12V cable (http://www.northq.com/products/powersupply/nq4001ext-usb.html)
Hard Drive: Maxtor 6B300S0
RAM: 4x 512 MB DIM DDR (400 MHz)

(remember this only uses AGP 8x not PCI Express)

I'm thinking about buying this:

HIS Radeon HD 2600 XT 256MB GDDR3, IceQ, AGP8X, 2xDVI/HDCP/HDMI, "Turbo"

Core Speed: 820 MHz
Memory Speed: 1.42 GHz
VRAM: 256 GDDR3
Memory Bus Width: 128-bit

Now my system is old, I know that, but atm buying a new graphics card instead of a completely new machine is my only option. I got a few concerns which I need answers to, which are the following:

The VRAM is GDDR3, now can my motherboard handle this? (I mean the regelar RAM is DDR or DDR2 so it got me thinking)
Is my Power Supply, powerful enough to power the system? (with that GFX card in)

Thanks in advice.

 

[dos1986]

Your cpu will hold back all current cards big time....

The Hd2600xt is what $120?

I wouldnt spend no way near that, as you could put a 8800gtx into your pc and it wouldnt beat a Hd2600xt in a Core 2 Duo 2.4ghz pc...

With your cpu, I would spend max $60 and keep the rest towards a new mobo/cpu/ram etc...

Something like a 7600gs/x1650 pro

 

[Darkness Flame]

I would have to agree with him. At the most, a higher clocked 7600 GT (80 nm) would be top. There is no point in spending more right now on graphics, because it will be bottlenecked by the CPU. While some others might perform better, like dos1986 said, it'd be better to just save that money for a new board and all.

 

[Sokar408]

Well I already ordered a card, which is almost the same, except its somewhat cheaper, and the Core and Memory speeds is reduced a bit. Your saying the card won't even work, or just that it isn't worth the money cause the CPU prevents it from doing its full potential?

 

[bmadd]

it'll work if it is agp 8x just the fact your cpu isn't doing the video card justice thus buying a less powerful card as to save money and still get bout the same performance.

 

[pauldh]

The GDDR3 has nothing to do with the system ram. You'll be fine. CPU limited in some cases, but other games you will see a benefit over a 7600GT or X1650XT.


(Not that this matters now)
Depending what you paid for it, it may have been a wise move. Priced under $125 it's great as the step down cards are rare and still over $100 AR. Why pay that much for a slower/older card. Priced around $150 and up, you would have been better off IMO with something else. I like the HIS IceQ's alot and have owned quite a few of them. But they aren't worth it sometimes if priced way higher. The Sapphire 512MB or His non iceQ AGP HD2600XT are a better deal for $110 than I have seen the IceQ go for.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102718
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161208


edit: my big beef right now with the AGP 2600XT, is the price has stayed the same, while the PCI-e versions have dropped. You can get a Sapphire PCI-e for $50 AR now. Or a GDDR4 MSI with the Witcher for $62AR.