Picking AGP Graphics Card for Warhammer

[miro493]

Hello, my name is Mike. I am currently in the process of trying to find the proper graphic card to run Warhammer on my older Compaq S6500NX Tower. Original specs: http://www.shopping.com/xPF-Compaq-COMPAQ-S6500NX-Presario-Desktop-Computer ...My tower has a Athlon 3000+ 2.167Ghz Processor; equivalent to ~3Ghz Pentium 4. And it has 333Mhz Bus Speed...I have been recommended by Can You Run It's website to get any of these cards: (Nvidia - FX 5900, 6600-6800, 7600+ / ATI Radeon - 9500-9800, X300-X850, X1300+ / Intel - X4500) ...I am wondering if anyone has any experience with any of these cards and has any preference? I am also wondering, depending on the card, what (Size, Brand, Wattage) Power Supply I will need to replace my current 250W, and will I need any Cooling Fans, etc... I have also upgraded my original 512mb memory to 2Gb, and I had to change out my original top DVD E-Drive to a HP One: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8346827&st=dvd+drive&lp=5&type=product&cp=1&id=1176506511356 ...Please let me know if you need any other information. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[drums101]

Dood if need a graphics card for an agp system then the best would be this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814131090
fastest agp card out there

 

[Nik_I]

all the cards you listed are either extremely old or are integrated solutions. as drums said, look into a 3850. best agp card out there. or for a bit less money, take a look at the 2600XT.

 

[dgre005]

The 3850 might be overkill for that system, the HD2600XT will be more suited to it...check out this article:

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ati-agp-3850-agp,1939.html

 

[miro493]

I appreciate your replies, but with those choices could you tell me what type of power supply would be best? And HIS is the only maker of the 2600XT's on newegg for agp, and it's gotten bad reviews... So is there a better make to go with? Or is that the one? ...I want to be able to run a card that won't kill my tower in terms of power and heat. And I only have VGA right now, so I don't really need the absolute best that only has DVI or HDMI, if those are my only choices with those cards... Unless absolutely necessary. I also don't want to spend much more than $100 if possible. Any other thoughts?

 

[dgre005]

A good quality i.e. not cheap 450W-500W PSU would be enough for either one of those cards...I don't know about makes though...

 

[Nik_I]

A good quality i.e. not cheap 450W-500W PSU would be enough for either one of those cards...I don't know about makes though...

for a 2600XT, you could probably get away with a cheap psu. i managed to run a 7600GT with a 500W no-name power supply that my friend got with a case he bought. as long as you don't run it to near its rated power, you wont have any problems.

 

[harrycat88]

If you want to get a good cheap power supply that is reliable, get a hec 580Watt for less then $60 with shipping and handling included.
Mine powers 4 case fans, 2 slot fans, 1 zerotherm 815 GPU cooler, 2 Hard drives, 2 DVD's, an Opteron 2.4GHz 103Watt CPU and a Sapphire 3850 AGP.
The HD2600XT is a piece of junk and a power hog.
If I was you, I would wait until they release the HD4670 AGP which is coming very soon. The HD4670 is equal to a X1950PRO but with turbo charged AA performance. In some benchmarks, it's equal to a 3870 but not as expensive as a 3870 or a 3850.

 

[eklipz330]

i dunno, if you end up having to upgrade your psu to handle a new card, i would just hold onto the money... because if your gonna upgrade, you might as well get a new tower...$600 can get you a c2d, hd4670, 4gigs of ram, 640gb hdd, and a 500watt psu, with a decent case.. its nothing to flashy, but it will get the job done.
of course i omitted the OS/dvd drive/motherboard/fans/etc

 

[megamanx00]

I have the 1950GT AGP in my Athlon 3000+ system. That thing uses a crap load of power for an AGP card. If you go with the 3850 you're going to need to upgrade your power supply. Sorry but 250W isn't gonna cut it. If you don't want to upgrade your PSU then you should go with a Radeon 3650. It's pretty comparable to the 2600XT, well it's basically the same thing made on a smaller process and with slightly lower clocks, the same clocks I belive as the 2600 Pro.