What is the best AGP 8x interface card for my pc???

[chillphillyphil]

Hello everyone!

First off, I know people are going to say; "Your PC will bottleneck the performance of the card!", and I'm letting you know right now that it's obvious and irrelevant. I just want to know what the best AGP8x card is for my setup until I build a new PC.

I currently have a geforce4 ti4200 which has been AWESOME for me until DX9 games came out, and I was out of the loop. So I'm very aware how fast technology advances, but I want to be able to play current games like fallout 3, oblivion, modern warfare 2. I not only want to be able to run the games, but I want to be able to play them at a competitive and comfortable frame rate.

I really hope that it's possible with the old AGP interface, and I'm NOT looking to upgrade any other components in the computer at this time.

Simple Specs
-------------------------------
Pentium 4 2.4ghz
2gb PC3200 DDR Ram
2tb HD space
Windows 7 Home Edition

Thanks in advance for your help. Oh and when a video card can't render simple effects in an operating system - it's time to upgrade lol.

 

[hunter315]

a 3850 is the fastest AGP card available but because they are specialty cards they are more expensive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102730

 

[nforce4max]

The ram is very good for a rig that old. Drive is good however the cpu is on the weak side for a rig that old. Is this a Dell or a custom build? The best you can get on the agp interface is

ATI Nvidia
4670 7800gs
3850/3870 6800ultra
1950pro 7600GS
1650pro 6800g
7300gs

 

[chillphillyphil]

This is a custom build I did about five or six years ago - I have never had a problem with it and the processor while weak has continued to be VERY reliable and overclock-able (which I may do just to get a bit more mhz out of it.) . I definitely agree with you on the weak side (but this will have to do).

Any Idea where I can find a 7800gs in the AGP8x interface?

 

[chillphillyphil]

Another question - do most of these cards now require 8pin power connectors? If so, what other components typically use that type of connector so I may scavange power source for the vid card?

 

[hunter315]

What power supply do you have? If you dont have any PCI-E connectors you may not have sufficient wattage to safely run it, in which case you should consider the 4670 or 4650 as they are lower power, the overall performance will be similar due to the CPU. You can use an adapter to convert a few molex connectors into a PCI-E connector but make sure your PSU can handle it before you do so.

 

[nforce4max]

Another question - do most of these cards now require 8pin power connectors? If so, what other components typically use that type of connector so I may scavange power source for the vid card?

They are some what rare but the only place ware one can get one at a decent price is eBay as for power a simple molex (4pin) and is very power efficient. This card isn't like the 6800ultra it only needs one connector and is a single slot card. All most all of them are only 256mb but a few 7900s did get released on agp but are fairly rare.

 

[nforce4max]

What power supply do you have? If you dont have any PCI-E connectors you may not have sufficient wattage to safely run it, in which case you should consider the 4670 or 4650 as they are lower power, the overall performance will be similar due to the CPU. You can use an adapter to convert a few molex connectors into a PCI-E connector but make sure your PSU can handle it before you do so.

The 7800gs doesn't need a 6pin but uses a single molex connector.

 

[rafikii]

If you are lucky you can BSEL Mod that cpu from 2.4ghz 400mhz FSB to 3.2ghz 533mhz fsb.

FSB PIN mod is a bit tricky and if your bios and board are good you don't need too.

I've got my eyes on the HIS 4670 1gb card for a celeron 420 (conroe-L) single core 1.6ghz bsel mod 2.12ghz in a p5pe-vm board that takes core 2 duos.

I have had a geforce 6800 128mb, ATI 9700pro 128mb, and a Geforce4 4600ti 128mb. the 9700pro is a substantial upgrade from what you have and it does DX9, the 6800 was about 20% more than the 9700pro with pixelshader 3.0. The 9700pro was about 200-300% better than the 4600ti. The 4600ti should be comprabale to your 4200ti. If you can unlock the pipes a 6800 is probably more than you would need for your system.

The new ATI cards HDxxxx have built in decoders for HD must have for a system that old if you want any chance of playing HD videos.

Saw an ATI HD2600pro (256mb?) some where for less than 50 shipped in the US can't recall where it was best bang for your buck if you can find it I think.

remember if you OC it keep it cool.

gl