Replacing a vanilla 6800

As mentioned in a previous post my 6800 has just died a death. At this point in time I'm stuck running with a old TNT2 M64 :embarrassed:

I'm stuck deciding what to replace it with mainly because funds are tight at the moment.

I'm running an XP3200 on a Asus A7N8X Deluxe, with a 1gb of Corsair 3200XMS so the system is far from cutting edge but not slow.

I'd like shader model 3.0 to be on the card and I'd obviously prefer a 256-bit memory bus. I've no real objections to going back to an ATI card either.

Can anyone recommend a relatively high performance card for a decent price ? I had thought about a 6800GS, but would I really lose out in performance by going for a 6600GT or even a X1600 ? Ideally £100 or just over would be budget (sadly bills and car insurance are bleeding me dry :mad: )

I've got an XFX 256MB 6600GT and it does me fine uintil I upgrade to PCIe later this year. You can probably pick up a similar model for around £130 if not lower.

TBH, I'd keep your eyes peeled for a decent second-hand card. The FS/FT forum here has a fairly constant supply, for instance the x800Pro modded to XT that I bought for £110 recently.

You should be able pick up a 6800GT (equivalent performance to 6800GS) for not much more than £100 with a bit of haggling.

For shader model 3 in that budget range you can forget ATi cards, there aren't any. http://www.guru3d.com/article/Videocards/322/8/ has a good side by side benchmarks of most of the nVidia AGP cards, including the 6600gt. I get the feeling that the 6600gt might even be a step back from your vanilla 6800, but if £100 is all that you can afford there's nothing much else you can do unless you are lucky on the second hand market.

X1600Pro supports SM3.0 and its AGP :P...

But then again, the Sm3.0 support on such a crippled card is rubbish at best...

Looks to me like a 6800GS might be my best option right now - Overclockers have the BFG GeForce 6800 GS OC going for £114 (exc. VAT) right now.