Whats a decent AGP-video card?
by Steven Peterson · in General Discussion · 03/13/2006 (10:42 pm) · 9 replies
Hey guys,
I just got my income-tax refund and think I can finally replace that ageing(*cough* ) Radeon-7000 (32mb).
I mostly use the computer for working with Torque, and some Blender-modeling type stuff. I need somthing that supports shader-technology though; I want to be able to use TSE and play some now-current-gen games like Half-Life 2, and FEAR.
My original thought was a Radeon-9800 (w/ 256mb) but thats based on outdated research. I thought maybe someone on here would have a better idea of whats out there now.
Some machine Specs:
- Pentium-IV (HT)
- Windows-XP Pro
- (May use Debian linux in the future)
- video bus: PCI-AGP only! (no PCI-EXPRESS)
What I'm looking for:
- price-range : $100 - $300
- NVidia or ATI
- approx. 256mb. video ram
- shader-ready
I'm deffinitly doing my own re-research; but any tips are greatly valued!
Thanks Guys,
Steven
I just got my income-tax refund and think I can finally replace that ageing(*cough* ) Radeon-7000 (32mb).
I mostly use the computer for working with Torque, and some Blender-modeling type stuff. I need somthing that supports shader-technology though; I want to be able to use TSE and play some now-current-gen games like Half-Life 2, and FEAR.
My original thought was a Radeon-9800 (w/ 256mb) but thats based on outdated research. I thought maybe someone on here would have a better idea of whats out there now.
Some machine Specs:
- Pentium-IV (HT)
- Windows-XP Pro
- (May use Debian linux in the future)
- video bus: PCI-AGP only! (no PCI-EXPRESS)
What I'm looking for:
- price-range : $100 - $300
- NVidia or ATI
- approx. 256mb. video ram
- shader-ready
I'm deffinitly doing my own re-research; but any tips are greatly valued!
Thanks Guys,
Steven
#2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130275
and it has nothing but good reviews thusfar.
Also, check out Tom's Hardware for some benchmark comparisons. Here's a link to the page on benching F.E.A.R. as it's probably the most graphic intensive game out right now.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/02/13/nvidias_geforce_7800gs_becomes_a_better_buy/page21.html
03/13/2006 (11:23 pm)
I would definetly have to say the 7800GS is the most powerful AGP card left, and it definetly pumps out some great performance. The eVGA version (and some others) can be bought in at $299 off Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130275
and it has nothing but good reviews thusfar.
Also, check out Tom's Hardware for some benchmark comparisons. Here's a link to the page on benching F.E.A.R. as it's probably the most graphic intensive game out right now.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/02/13/nvidias_geforce_7800gs_becomes_a_better_buy/page21.html
#3
I bought one of the 6600GT's when I replaced my Geforce 3 quite recently. Have yet to find a game that I couldn't play at 1280x1024 at a reasonable framerate.
FEAR and HL2 were no problem whatsoever. Currently the newer cards are only useful for games you want to play at over 1280x1024. When I compared my card to Jeremy's 7800GT the difference at these resolutions were 13 - 20% but at 1600x1200 and higher the 7800GT was often 2x as fast.
So at the end of the day for current gen games, it really depends on your monitor and what resolution you want to play at. Most games are fine at 1280x1024 with highest graphics settings and High texture resolutions. (rather than VERY high)
BTW with modern games that are shader intensive, my 6600GT is anything from 5x to 11x faster than my old 64mb Geforce 3 resolutions od 1024x768 and above.
03/13/2006 (11:40 pm)
For low budget I'd go with a 6600GT AGP, you can get them for about $130 for the 128mb one. Make sure it's a GT though, since the GT can be almost 2x as fast as the vanilla 6600.I bought one of the 6600GT's when I replaced my Geforce 3 quite recently. Have yet to find a game that I couldn't play at 1280x1024 at a reasonable framerate.
FEAR and HL2 were no problem whatsoever. Currently the newer cards are only useful for games you want to play at over 1280x1024. When I compared my card to Jeremy's 7800GT the difference at these resolutions were 13 - 20% but at 1600x1200 and higher the 7800GT was often 2x as fast.
So at the end of the day for current gen games, it really depends on your monitor and what resolution you want to play at. Most games are fine at 1280x1024 with highest graphics settings and High texture resolutions. (rather than VERY high)
BTW with modern games that are shader intensive, my 6600GT is anything from 5x to 11x faster than my old 64mb Geforce 3 resolutions od 1024x768 and above.
#4
I havent found much it wont do yet.. I got the ati tool to see about OCing it, but then decided not to coz its doing ok.. it was about $275. prolly less by now..
03/14/2006 (12:17 am)
Running an ati X1600 pro w/512MB DDR2, Shader 3.0 support, 500mhz core/400 memoryI havent found much it wont do yet.. I got the ati tool to see about OCing it, but then decided not to coz its doing ok.. it was about $275. prolly less by now..
#5
I'd completly missed the release of Nvidia's 7800-AGP; gave up waitin' a while back. I am slightly on a budget, but I'm thinking springing for the 7800 might be worth it since this is my life.. On the other hand anything will be better than what I have. If i try running the "TSE Dojo Demo" it says "Error: this demo requires a video-card with at least pixel-shader 1.4 capability".. ouch.
I'm starting a comparison list, going to check out all the product specs this morning.:
ATI:
- X16000 pro
- 850XT
NVIDIA:
- GeForce 7800GS (by "eVGA")
- GeForce 6800GT
- GeForce 6600G
I like the fact that the high-ender's have shader-3.0 if thats what it's called. Mean's I'd be in style until at least Friday when someone writes a 4.0 spec. ;-)
I did have my eye on the ATI's Radeon 9800 for a while, it came out between nvidia's 6800 and 7800 series'. It seems to have pretty much disappered off the map though. Guess it's safe to cross it off the list.
03/14/2006 (2:19 pm)
Thanks for the comments guys! I'd completly missed the release of Nvidia's 7800-AGP; gave up waitin' a while back. I am slightly on a budget, but I'm thinking springing for the 7800 might be worth it since this is my life.. On the other hand anything will be better than what I have. If i try running the "TSE Dojo Demo" it says "Error: this demo requires a video-card with at least pixel-shader 1.4 capability".. ouch.
I'm starting a comparison list, going to check out all the product specs this morning.:
ATI:
- X16000 pro
- 850XT
NVIDIA:
- GeForce 7800GS (by "eVGA")
- GeForce 6800GT
- GeForce 6600G
I like the fact that the high-ender's have shader-3.0 if thats what it's called. Mean's I'd be in style until at least Friday when someone writes a 4.0 spec. ;-)
I did have my eye on the ATI's Radeon 9800 for a while, it came out between nvidia's 6800 and 7800 series'. It seems to have pretty much disappered off the map though. Guess it's safe to cross it off the list.
#8
Personaly I'd get a lower budget card with shader 3 now, and wait until you upgrade to Vista, and see what DX10 games are like. Todays high end cards will be out of date by the autumn and be replaced by next gen cards. Unless you work at REALLY high res I'd get the best bang for the $ now and get something truly next gen once we start seeing what Vista and new cards can do. And whether we really need to upgrade.
03/14/2006 (5:14 pm)
BTW the 6600 does shader 3 too :) Far cry, splinter cell 3 look stunning with HDR. I'm not sure I'd get a regular 6800, My friend bought the basic 6800 several months before I got my 6600GT and so far he is lucky to get more than about 5-10 FPS more than me.Personaly I'd get a lower budget card with shader 3 now, and wait until you upgrade to Vista, and see what DX10 games are like. Todays high end cards will be out of date by the autumn and be replaced by next gen cards. Unless you work at REALLY high res I'd get the best bang for the $ now and get something truly next gen once we start seeing what Vista and new cards can do. And whether we really need to upgrade.
#9
After MUCH deliberation, I finally ordered the Nvidia 7800GS from eVga, since it's now available in my price range and for AGP. I know I'm going to have this computer for a while longer and after this round of upgrades, i'm not going to be putting any more money into it; So I decided to just max it out. I was leaning towards the 6800GT for a while though.
And hopefully this thread will help someone else too!
Thanks all,
Steven
03/15/2006 (9:40 pm)
Thanks all for your input!After MUCH deliberation, I finally ordered the Nvidia 7800GS from eVga, since it's now available in my price range and for AGP. I know I'm going to have this computer for a while longer and after this round of upgrades, i'm not going to be putting any more money into it; So I decided to just max it out. I was leaning towards the 6800GT for a while though.
And hopefully this thread will help someone else too!
Thanks all,
Steven
Torque Owner Paul /*Wedge*/ DElia