Proper graphics card for agp system

[joanquro]

Hi, I have an old AGP system, Asus A7N8X Deluxe rev. 1.04, 1.5 Gb Corsair XMS3200 CAS2 memory, Athlon XP 3000+ @2345 (13x180) processor (I can't go further with memory because multiplier is unfortunately locked). My graphics card is a Radeon 9700 pro. The power supply is a 580W Tagan. I can play COD4 (800x600), HL2(1024x768) and older games at decent framerates. Well, in COD4 I can't turn on a lot of features. In order to squeeze a little more power from my system before I buy a new PC, I have ordered in eBay a new processor, an Athlon XP-M 3200+ which is highly overclockable. For instance, let's assume I can do 2600 MHz (real), with this processor, upping the voltage and that I can also raise the FSB to 200 MHz because my memory allows this. This is equivalent to a hypothetical Athlon XP 3800+. Considering all of these, the question is: What AGP card can I get that this processor can cope with?. I mean, I don't want to buy a card that I'm not going to max out. I know that the ATI Radeon 3850 AGP 512 Mb is the fastest AGP card available, but I think the processor is not powerful enough to feed this card so I don't know what's the best card I can buy that gives me 1-2 more years of decent gaming.

If you need any more data, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks in advance.

 

[chechnyan]

as you say the hd3850 what ever you processor is you will notice a difference
if you get it, but not that much
games in general need GPU power more than processor (NVIDIA Claims)
yes the cpu is important but technically the gpu do 3d image rendering and cpu do physics and queuing

 

[joanquro]

But all starts in the cpu side, doesn't it?. If the CPU is not powerful enough, it won't be able to feed the GPU at the proper rate, so If I buy the fastest GPU I will be wasting my money in a GPU which I'll have to drop down later when I build my new system because it will be a PCI-E (or whatever) system. I want to spend the less money that can give me the largest improvement so I can squeeze all the power of that GPU with this new processor.

 

[evongugg]

With that CPU, the 2600 XT is the best you'd want to get. Anything more will be very bottlenecked by the platform.

 

[joanquro]

You mean, with that CPU overclocked at 3800+?.
You mean, the Radeon HD 2600 XT?. Does it have 512 mb of VRAM?

Thanks.

 

[runswindows95]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=40000048+1069609639&Configurator=&Subcategory=48&description=2600XT&Ntk=&SpeTabStoreType=&srchInDesc=

 

[jitpublisher]

If you are going to buy a new processor and GPU both, you are throwing money into a hole. Rethink what you are doing.....save just a little more and buy a new motherboard and memory.
Any cheap PCIe motherboard/CPU/memory combo deal you can come up with will put you light years ahead of the platform you have right now.

 

[joanquro]

I'm sorry, but I've already ordered and paid the processor. I now have to stick at my original decision and purchase a graphics card with a good bang for the buck.

 

[KyleSTL]

+1 windows95

 

[sprucebr1]

OK, go with the HD 2600XT, but what good is 512MB VRAM on a 128-bit interface? prices are dropping on the Intel processors right now, save some money, and look at getting a core 2 duo and a HD 3800/4800 card. Your running a XP 3800+ at 2GHz? yeah, so I would wait, buying a 2600XT right now, just to play COD4 is a waste. Cause when Intel i7 comes out the 45nm will drop as well.

 

[4745454b]

This is equivalent to a hypothetical Athlon XP 3800+

So what is that compared to modern CPUs? You'd have a single core, non IMC CPU that was popular 4ish years ago? I don't care if you had it running at 5GHz, you are still bound by its old arch. It wasn't bad, but its outdated for COD4, etc. BTW, if a 2.2GHz was a 3200+, 2.4 would be 3400+, and 2.6GHz would be 3600+, not 3800+.

I'd hit up Craig's list and see if you can find someone getting rid of something better for cheap. People dump old 6600GT's, 6800GT's, and x8xx's all the time in my area and I don't live in a huge city. Just get something cheap but better so you feel better about this, and start saving up for a good rig. Spending money on the CPU and GPU was a bad idea.

 

[KyleSTL]

That's not a bad idea, try finding an X8x0, X16x0, X19x0, 6800, 7600, 7800 or 7900 on eBay for cheap, don't spend more than you have to, since the resale value will be pretty much neglegible.

 

[joanquro]

OK, I already had in mind to buy a cheap card on eBay. I just wanted to know the card that best fits my system. The X19x0 seems a good solution, but what about the 2600 XT posted by evongugg?

Thanks.

 

[KyleSTL]

I would say whatever is cheaper, they're relatively comparable in performance, but have very different features.