Decent AGP 8X card from kids pc

[shrek101]

I am thinking of upgrading one of my daughters pc, Celeron 2 3ghz, 1gb ram, Asus P4P800SE system, Gforce 4 (Gainward golden sample) with more ram and grx card. Any suggestions on a reasonable priced grx card that is agp compatible around £40ish mark. I think it only has a 300w psu too

Its just to see it through another year so I can update it to a new system, she mainly plays sims 2, and net, But she wants sims 3 when it comes and I think it will take more out of the system

Thanks

[shaithis]

GeForce 6600GT is just about the best in AGP.

There were some 7600GTs in AGP IIRC but I think they state minimum PSU requirements of 350W

[shrek101]

Thanks shaithis, the more I think about it the more I like her to have a new system, but I already planning on getting a new system for me and she is tbh happy with what she got abet its a little slow

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

You can get an X1650pro 512mb AGP card for £33 from Play:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/-/667/874...archtype=genre

It is faster than a 6600GT and is around the same speed as a 7600GS card. However like the 6600GT it needs additional power from the PSU using a molex connector.

However there is an HD2600PRO AGP model which only needs additional power from a floppy connector like some of the older cards.

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/hd_2600pro/

http://www.fudzilla.com/index.php?It...tent&task=view

It costs £50 from Play and it seems a good choice due to its low power comsumption:

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/351431...d/Product.html

[dodgybob]

GeForce 6600GT is just about the best in AGP.

There were some 7600GTs in AGP IIRC but I think they state minimum PSU requirements of 350W

You can actually get the 3850 in agp for £80ish, but for this i suspect it is over budget and just plain overkill.

[Noxvayl]

ATI HD2600/3650 would be your best bet. Great for video as well with Avivo

Ebuyer:
Sapphire HD2600Pro AGP - £50
Sapphire HD3650 AGP - £55

300W should easily handle either of these cards.

[Mithrandir]

For that system spec and being AGP I'd have a peek on ebay/Hexus classified for 2nd hand offers.

Novatech has the FX5200 (128mb) for £18.80 (+ del starting from £1.99)

[Mithrandir]

Forget the Novatech one. Play.com has one for £17.99 delivered.

HERE

[Noxvayl]

For that system spec and being AGP I'd have a peek on ebay/Hexus classified for 2nd hand offers.

Novatech has the FX5200 (128mb) for £18.80 (+ del starting from £1.99)

Forget the Novatech one. Play.com has one for £17.99 delivered.

HERE

FX5200... seriously? That's worse than what his daughter currently has. The gainward Geforce4 golden sample was top of the range, FX5200 is bottom of the range generation after the Geforce 4. When has the bottom of the range next generation ever beaten the top of the range previous?

5900>6200, 6800>7200, 7900>8600, 8800>9600 and the GTX260 is the middle of the range haven't seen bottom of the range yet but I bet the bottom won't be better than the 8800. And the same goes for ATI(not going to put all the model numbers up again you get the picture).

Just incase> http://www.digital-daily.com/video/n...v34/index3.htm

I wouldn't pay 50p for those FX5200...

If he wants a performance boost he requires 2 or 3 generations above his current, not 1. So either X series or above ATI Radeon or 6000 series nVidia minimum.

[shrek101]

Hi thanks for help the fx5200 I have to agree with ExHail. It isnt any better than previous card as I got one when I upgraded years ago and kids got the Gforce 4 I was badly disappointed as it wasnt much better at all.

[s3ds]

well the fx5200 is directX 9 the Gforce4 is only 8 ( i could be wrong )

personaly i would get a gf6200 512mb @ £30.81

http://www.scan.co.uk/Product.aspx?WebProductId=747608

[Lucio]

Having owned an FX5200 I can tell you they're pretty dire cards!

[Mithrandir]

Thanks for correcting my error guys.

Have a look for 6600gt/6800 or x700/x800 series on ebay. You might find one for around £10-£15.

[Noxvayl]

Thanks for correcting my error guys.

Have a look for 6600gt/6800 or x700/x800 series on ebay. You might find one for around £10-£15.

No problem

I sold my old X800XL for £25 last year on ebay so you should find one for less now I expect. They are able to run BF2/2142 at medium settings with 1280X1024 resolution with 40+ FPS average along side a P4 CPU. So your daughters system with a similar card will run SIMS like breeze

[Mithrandir]

yep the x800 series was fantastic. I had an x800gto, played Oblivion really well. They are around £15-£20 on ebay.