9800Pro or 6600GT? (AGP)

I know the 6600GT is quicker, but by how much? Mainly going to playing strategy games and racing games on it, but still want to be able to bash out HL2.

I was looking and ebuyer have the 9800Pro for £81.04 (inc VAT) - link

whereas the cheapest 6600GT costs 50% more - link

Any advice would be good? A bit more then simply which one is quicker would help... eg, heat? fsaa performance? image quality? power issues?

I've got a shuttle case, and a XP2800 running at stock - will the std 250W psu be able to handel these cards? Currently using a 9600XT but can quite easily find another home for that ;)

Thx!

If you have a hefty 24/7 overclock on the 2800+ you may want to pop for the extra and get a 6600GT. For most things though there is little difference between those cards. The 9800 Pro is usually much more stable due to better drivers and a more mature design, but the 6600GT is faster in higher resolutions. On your rig you are not likely to notice much difference tbh. Unless you are a huge nVidia fan I'd go with the 9800. The bang for the buck is slightly better in most cases.

Ah, cheers bud. Will the 9800 pro be alright in my little shuttle case and 250psu?

9800pro will be fine in there, I had one before I got a x800pro and there are no problems with current setup either :)

well a 9800 pro will do everything you want it to but...i'd still get the 6600 gt, more future proof.
i have no idea about the case but, what else is in your computer?

i would stick to the 9800pro tbh, as has been mentioned, there is very little difference between these cards, however in the next gen games i am guessing the 6600's architecture will shine above the 9800pro. the 9800pro is a decent card, and at that price it is quite a steal!

as the £40 or so you save now can be put towards the upgrade in a year or so, if you want to upgrade to pci-e etc!

ian

Thanks for the advice guys. Went for the 9800 Pro in the end. For £81.04 it's just a steal.

Was leaning towards the ati when I made my first post, but it was good to hear I wasn't making a complete mistake. I'm sure when games really start to need the additional power/features of the 6600GT my barton 2800+ would be the bottleneck anyway. That £40 quid saving can go towards my A64-2 4800+ budget i think ;)

For 81quid thats such an awesome deal!!!! :)