Reasonable upgrade from 1800xt

[kamikazimunkey]

As the topic says, I have an ATI 1800xt right now in my computer. I'm looking at buying one next year sometime but would like to improve some until I can get a completely new system. I'm trying to spend around 130 but can go higher if performance leap is good. I also don't want to bottleneck my system so I thought I would ask the Computer Hardware know-it-alls for advice.

My system

650 Watt power supply OCZ I believe
DFI Lan Party mobo
7200 RPM 250 gb WD HD
X-FI Xtreme Gamer Soundcard.
2 GB of OCZ ram ddr2 and a 4200 AMD x2 mobo.

I think that is all of the big stuff but if any other information is needed let me know. Thanks in advance for any help.

Btw right now I was looking at the ATI 4670.

 

[mactronix]

As a tempory upgrade until a years time a 4670 makes perfect sense, the only issue you would get is if you want it to run on a big screen where its 128bit bus would hold its performance back. Up to 1280x1024 as long as you dont want lots of AA will be ok. Also it has a ready made market should you sell it on, which is people with shop bought PC's with weak PSU's. Because this card draws no extra power from the PSU its tailor made for these units.

Mactronix

 

[Just_An_Engineer]

right now I was looking at the ATI 4670.

I just bought a 4670 a couple of weeks ago as an upgrade from my x1950pro. I can definitely recommend it as a good upgrade. It's a lot quieter than my old x1950 was and performs noticeably better. Anything faster than the 4670 is going to be bottlenecked by your X2 4200 so I'd say it's your best bet.

 

[skywalker9952]

I would recommend a 3850. It is last gen, but still faster then the 4670 and only $15 more. As mactronix said the 4670 will hold you back in some cases with its meager 128 bit bus. Of course the 4670 draws less power, is cooler and smaller than the 3850.
I would say go no higher then a 3870 or an 9600GT to get the most out of your system.

 

[rolli59]

Why not go HD4850 (overclock the cpu) and carry the GPU over into the new system next year.
4850 is going to be a bigger boost than the 4670 even if bottlenecked by the cpu

 

[mactronix]

I would recommend a 3850. It is last gen, but still faster then the 4670 and only $15 more. As mactronix said the 4670 will hold you back in some cases with its meager 128 bit bus. Of course the 4670 draws less power, is cooler and smaller than the 3850.
I would say go no higher then a 3870 or an 9600GT to get the most out of your system.

Sorry but thats just not true, it depends on the game of course but the 4670 is in most cases faster than the 3850 and as its a newer arch has better features than the 3850.

Mactronix

 

[kamikazimunkey]

Guys, thanks for all your input. After looking at the benchmarks for the cards around the 4670 and especially the 3850 and 4670, it looks like I'm going to go with the 4670. Hopefully, I can hold down my urges until around holiday time next year. We will see though.