Best AGP Card for Cheap

[tehflyingknee]

I'm looking for the best bang for the buck AGP card in the $40-70 range.

It's a little harder to find info on something like this online currently because AGP is so old now, so I thought I would turn to the most reliable community I know. I'm going to be upgrading to a new system within like 3 months but I want to upgrade my current AGP build on a budget.

My current setup:

Processor: Intel Celeron 2.6GHz single-core
RAM: Kingston 768MB DDR SDRAM
GPU: Nvidia GeForce FX5200
PSU: 430 watt Antec TruPower
Mobo: ASUS P4PE-X Series
Monitor Resolution: 1024x768

I can currently run half-life 2 and CS:S at medium specs at get 20-40 FPS (25-35 mainly)
I want to run both of these games at max or close to max settings with reasonable FPS
I also want to run newer games like Fallout-3 and Oblivion at decent setting (Low with reasonable FPS is fine - I know the limitations of such a build :/)

I'm going to be upgrading to 2GBs of RAM soon.

A friend was going to sell me a 6800 256MB for $45 (cheaper if I trade him one of my old cards)

To reach my goals what will be the best bang for the buck AGP card within my price range???

 

[tehflyingknee]

Oh, I forgot, I'm upgrading to a 2.8GHz Celeron in a second that I found in my house.

 

[uncfan_2563]

well i personally think you should just wait it out and add that 75 bucks to ur new build but i'll just keep my mouth shut

In my opinion, i think you should go with an ATI Radeon HD 3650. This one is $59 after rebate and it'll get you pretty decent performance at 1024x768.

Here is the card:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102814

also here is the benchmark for it on HL2 (same game engine) : http://hothardware.com/Articles/ATI-Radeon-HD-Refresh-3650-and-3450-Arrive/?page=4


now, if you wanted to spend a little more you could get a 3850 (~$85) which is also on that benchmark. it'll fly through cs:s

 

[mrbunny]

I agree with uncfan about saving money
I have a HD 3850 agp card, I get decent performance- COD4 max WIC max MTW2 max all at 1280x1024 res
This is the site I use to decide on what card to get when upgrading- http://www.gpureview.com/show_cards.php
I dont know if you know about it or not but it helped me decide between the hd 3650 and the 3850
oh and I have a 2.4 ghz quad core and 1 gb of ram

 

[uncfan_2563]

thats what i thought but i gave him the option of the 3850 because he said he wants to play newer games and i didnt want to recommend something that might disappoint him in that category

 

[edeawillrule]

I would take the 6800 with the trade in discount if I were you :]