which AGP card is preferred?

[Zyte]

After replacing my motherboard it now appears my 9800XT has bitten the bullet too. Now im gonna have to admit ignorance to all graphics cards since the purchase of my machine. So I'm hoping you guys can help me pick a new card out.

My budget is £150 with a little bit of give.

PSU = 360w

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=136443
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=589470

?????

[DratUK]

Can you provide the make/brand of PSU and the 12 volt rail.
Might be a bit weak to run those cards.

a bit of research indicates a quality 350 watt psu would power a 6800GT, depending on the rest of your components.

[listy]

would not be getting 6800 these days 1950 should hammer it i would be more inclined to go for 7600 or 7800

[Zyte]

Made an error in my original post, the PSU is 360w. As for brand i dont know. It's the brand supplied with Mesh machines.

Just spotted this on overclockers looks like the same card which is 30Mhz faster, but £10 cheaper. You think my PSU has enough to power it?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...odid=GX-071-HT

[Flewis]

There is a 1950pro AGP on ebuyer for £105 once google checkout is used. Gecube one i think. My mate is getting one in a couple of weeks.

[jamena]

I'd go for either the 1950 or get a 7600GT (or 7800GT/7900GT if you can find an affordable one). The 7600 card will probably be lighter on the PSU if you do run into problems running the ATI card from your psu, but I'd have thought the 1950 will push out better framerates.

[-=}sas{=-]

heres a 7600GT which is only 65 pounds or 55 with google checkout

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/127243

and heres a 7600GS which i believe demends less power and also commands a lower price of only 56 pound or 46 with google checkout

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/119716

im still deciding whether to get one of these to upgrade from my horrid old radeon or if i should wait a while and pick up a 7800gs/7900 when they drop in price as it looks like the 7800/7900 are likely gonna be some of the last really good cards produced for an AGP slot as the pci-e technology has pushed it off the radar

if you do choose one of these graphics cards you would have plenty of spare cash to upgrade your psu to a higher rated model which would help to ensure better system stability

the seasonic s12 psu's are high quality and very quiet

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/115238 this is a 380w version £38

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/104478 and a 430w version for £45

or if you feel like overkill then the corsair hx 520w psu which is based upon the seasonic s12 series but reengineered for higher level of performance is one of the most stable psu's in existance

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114945 for £67

i myself have the corsair 620w psu and have to say im very happy with it it is quieter that my last psu and performs massivly better as far as stability is concerned. but i think the corsair psu's are overkill for your needs.

hope you found my comments to be helpfull, best wishes -=}sas{=-

[MSIC]

The 6800 series were good cards in their day, but that day was 2 years ago... given everything, i'd advise you buy a 7600GT AGP card and do not buy a new PSU.

Once you start buying extra stuff, you might as well move from AGP to PCI-Express (in other words buy a new motherboard!).

That said, my brother still uses my old 6800 (not even GT) and continues to play new games, just a lower resolutions.

[Flewis]

There is not much difference between AGP and PCIe for most cards, it is only the current 8 series that would be significantly slower on AGP. The x1950pro loses about 5% max going to AGP. Getting a strong AGP card would extend the life of a gaming system by a year or two.

[MSIC]

The benefit of moving to PCI-E isn't about the data rate improvement etc, it's about choice and cost - AGP cards cost loads more relative to their PCI-E brothers, and usually the choice is very limited.

[Flewis]

But if you already have a gaming pc with an agp card and dont want the expense of a whole new system then getting a fast agp card will keep that system going with a lot less outlay.

[MSIC]

Agreed, hence my advice to buy a 7600GT AGP.

[KowShak]

Find yourself a 7600 GT, it'll be faster, cheaper and use less power than a 6800 GT. You're not going to benefit from a card faster than that unless your CPU is a 3200 or more, a slower CPU won't be able to keep a faster card busy.

My brother was in the same situation, with a 2.66Ghz P4, so he picked up an AGP 7600 GT for around £75 and it really makes the system fly. It'll be a big step up from a 9800 XT!

[listy]

ebuyer has one for 65quid ex p&p you can get google check out on them too

[PieEater]

I bit the bullet and bought a 2nd User s939 PCI-E board and X1900XT-X for less than the cost of a new X1950 Pro. I've got a faster card and the option to upgrade to a DX10 card when the time is right (dont know if DX10 will go to AGP?).

Admittedly I had to upgrade my PSU but I would of had to do that to power an AGP X1950 anyhow. But selling my old graphics card & mobo paid for that upgrade.

Anyhow that was the right thing for me to do at the time and I've not looked back.