Upgrading video card, need advice please

SLI or Crossfire is not possible on AGP cards, or on motherboards with only 1 slot. So that's out. I think your best bet would be a Radeon X1950 Pro AGP version.

SLI and Crossfire are NOT possible on an AGP board.

You have only 1 AGP slot and thus will be limited to a single AGP video card (SLI and Crossfire are ONLY PCI-Express).

Yes, your CPU will bottleneck your system more than anything else.

In my opinion the only viable upgrade path for that computer is to add another 1GB of memory for a total of 2GB and something like an AGP HD3850.

Newegg list of 1GB DDR 333 pc2700 modules

Newegg list of Radeon HD3000 series cards on AGP

Keep in mind, however, that you are upgrading old generation technology with... old generation technology.

To be honest, I think you would be better served by saving your money and doing a complete rebuild of the system with modern components.

Hello there Ryvax.

Yes, you will most likely need to purchase a new power supply to use the 3850 on your current setup.

I would strongly suggest, however, that you buy a new computer. By spending just a few hundred more you will have a computer that will not only run warhammer at an acceptable level but will also provide you with a more enjoyable experience with newer apps, internet surfing etc. The setup you are currently using will struggle greatly with new software / games / applications...not to mention warhammer, even with a 3850.

I second garpizzle's motion.

The cheapest AGP 3850 is 40$ more expensive than the cheapest PCIe 3850. 1 gig of DDR333 is only 5$ cheaper than 2 gig of DDR2-667. You'd save 35$ if you buy current technology (PCIe/DDR2). If you sell your P4 and that 1 gig of DDR333 on ebay, with a little luck you get 15$ out if it. Combine that with the 35$ you saved and you've got 50$, which buys you a micro-atx Socket AM2 board.

The all you need is to spend another 40 bucks (special offer at Newegg) and get an Athlon 64 BE-2400, that is 2.3 Ghz Dual Core. This system will easily outperform any P4.

Or spend 70$ on a 2.7 Ghz Dual Core (Athlon64 X2 5200+).

The Intel route would be a little more expensive, with the board costing about the same, but Core2 Duos starting at 130$.

I personally own a dimension 4550 with lower specs and I know that my 7600gs is bottlenecked by the cpu (2.4ghz northwood). It's an old pc thatisn't worth upgrading.
you're gonna have to get a new pc going.

I think i will just get a new pc, i see that even the cheap pc's will blow this one away

Thanks again everyone

Definitely build a new system. After shipping the cheapest agp HD3850 is $138 and 1 gig of PC2700 is $29 for a total of $167. You can build a new system that's more than twice as fast as your current one with a video card that's just as good as the 3850 for almost the exact same amount money.
First, that 550w PSU should be fine. You also already have a case and drives so those can be recycled. Basically all you need is a mother board/cpu, some RAM and a video card.

MB/CPU: As someone mentioned you can get an AthlonX2 BE-2400 for $40 at newegg.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6819103215
It has some combo deals with motherboards for as low as $67.

RAM: 4 gigs of Corsair ddr2 800 are $54 after rebate at the moment.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820145184
You can save some money by going with only 2 gigs of ram but 4 gigs is well worth the extra cost.

Video Card: EVGA 9600 GSO $50 after rebate. Best deal around by a good margin.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814130356

That's everything you need.

i'de listen to these guys, if you can afford it, it'll be much much better for you, if you are only doing very moderate gaming with older basic games. just buy a cheap agp card, but even then it would feel somewhat of a waste..

if you want to play any game that's came out in the last couple years you might want to build a new rig. your processor hurts, so does the ram and psu, and also AGP hurts also..