Graphics Card Choices

Hi all.

To get right to the point... my Ati 9800 Pro 256MB card has messed up on me. I had a lot of display problems the cause of which I think is something to do with bad vram (so the card needs replacing) according to research I did on the problem on the net.

I'm looking to make sure when I get a graphics card slightly better if possible so I can use it for the newer games coming out (the 9800 Pro lasted for something like 4 or 5 years). Currently I have the following to pick from but I am very uncertain as to which I should pick.

The cards are as follows:

* Inno3D GEFORCE 7300GT 512MB DDR2 AGP8X/4X NVidia Graphics Card (priced at about £50)

* Inno512MB Inno 3D GeForce 7600GS AGP Graphics Card (priced at £75)

* SAPPHIRE Radeon X1650Pro 512MB DDR2 TV/HDTV OUT AGP4X/8X VIDEO CARD (priced at approx £70)

I'm uncertain which to pick to be honest. My initial choice however was the Sapphire which was also the card a friend had recommended. But I thought I would seek more help in deciding and what the pros and cons for these cards are. :)

Also, if anyone could, what's the difference between AGP and PCI graphics cards? Is one better than the other? If so can any main board that has PCI and AGP slots support both types of cards?

well them three cards are virtually junk lol, are there no 7600GT agp anymore? its a good card to have if you still want to stay on the AGP.

Do you have a budget? As mentioned above those cards you've listed are pants (maybe not so with the 1650pro) and you'll defnitely not be able to play games decently.
What are you current system specs?

As for AGP and PCI.
PCI is very old tech, unless you mean PCIe. If so, it is superior to AGP. AGP is now 10 years old and graphis cards are becoming less available on this format. If you can find them they are either expensive or older generation.
PCIe is the way to go and yes there are some mobos that support both, such as my Asrock in sig.
There are others (Mainly Asrock I think) but you really won't need AGP unless you have an AGP card and want to migrate to another system to eventually get PCIe.

Currently I'm running a P4 3.07MHz system with 1GB of RAM. All I'm looking for really is a card I can use to replace the Ati 9800 Pro. It seems my pc itself is probably pretty outdated now anyway (as far as I'm aware it has no PCIe slot) so PCIe cards are out of the question for me - I'd have to stick with AGP for now - until I raise more funds and invest in another new PC, lol.

I'm not really that strict on what I spend on a card as long as it's a reasonable amount (obviously I don't want to fork out £200 on something that a £100 card could do just as well, if not better). Are there any specific cards you guys would recommend around the region of £100-150 (but I could go higher and up to £200 if need be).

Thanks :)

AGP cards such as 6600gt, 6800 series or x800 series will be a good match to the cpu. You might be able to pick one up for around £25-£30 on ebay or even post a wanted ad in these forums.

Nvidia cards
Well you can find 7950gt in agp format, which is probably one of the best agp cards around £140 for 256mb or £170 for 512mb

a 7600gs 256mb is ok and will cost around £50
A good compromise would be a 7600GT or 7800gs
Scan have got a 7600gt for £75 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=462642
Ebuyer have got a 7800gs for £100 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/114346

ATi cards
a x1950xt is going to be one of the best around £120 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/125754
a x1950Pro is going to be around £100 http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/126851
a x1650Pro is going to be around £60 http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=589464

Beaware that these cards are going to be far more power hungery than your 9800pro so you may well need to get a new PSU to go with it. (around £40)

EDIT: And yes jackvdbuk it's getting hard to find a 7600gt in agp or pci-e
And I'd agree with our robot gandalf ( :P ) that ebay would be a good first stop, although I'd look of a 7600gt as they are as powerfull as the 6800gt but with lower power draw and run cooler.

Thanx for that Pob.

If I can get a 512MB card I don't mind paying that little bit more since it was a 512MB card I was looking for anyway, lol. £170 is not a problem so I can do that. I'll take a look at the sites you've posted there as well as the cards there.

Thanx also Mithrandir for your suggestions. saved me from buying some junk cards, lol.

If you're going to go for a x1950Pro or XT then be aware they are the most power hungery of the ones I posted, esp on +12v rail.
The following cost around £45 and and have strong +12v rail/s that'll cope with ease :) in order of price on ebuyer
Antec EarthWatt 420w £40
Corsair VX450w £45
Antec TrurPowerTrio 420w £45
Enermax Liberty 400W Modular £47
Saesonic S12 II 430w £49

(the seasonic 12sII is a little pricy, the 380w version is only 27a max on the +12v, should be ok but the rest at 30A or more)

No selling outside of the for sale forum, please. --Steve

I was going to suggest paying a bit more and going with the ATI X1950 Pro as It's prolonged my AGP system for the next 12 months and my games now play far better than they did on my old Nvidia 6800GT video card. But then due to the cards power requirements I had to buy a Corsair 520W PSU to power it so you then start to query if it's worth throwing good money at what is arguably referred to as an 'old' AGP based system, even though it still does everything I want it too. A good PSU is always going to be a requirement and I ultimately decided I was better off spending £100 on a good AGP video card rather than spend several hundred pounds updating every component to reach the platform of PCI-E and dual core etc.

170 seems a tad steep for the 512MB 7950.

Given the old card was a 9800pro, I expect in terms of cleaning drivers off etc it would be easier to stick to an ATI. A 512MB x1950pro for 110 quid and spend 45 quid on a spanking new power supply to make sure it all goes smoothly?

Total 145 quid

Of course it depends on which games you play as well. The 7950GT is up to 40% faster in some games compared to the 1950pro, but then in shader heavy ones like Oblivion there is nothing in it.