Best card to keep my system alive a litte longer?

E

evophile

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Mar 21, 2006
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Hey guys, new here even though I'v lurked for awhile.

Anyways, I'm looking to buy a new video card to update my system a bit, as I'm really not ready personally or finacially to get a new comp yet. I haven't kept up on video cards as much lately so I'm not sure what would be the best for me. Here's my current config:

Dell Dimension 8200
P4 2.26 ghz
1 GB Rdram
80 GB HD
250 GB HD SATA
DVD-ROM drive
DVD-R/RW drive
GeForce Ti4200 64mb

I'm looking into nvidia but into anything in the 7000s as I don't think it'd be worth it for my system, plus I'm stuck on AGP. Dell's stupid case is proprietary so I can't even get a new mobo without a new case, then I'd need new ram and psu too.

I've just heard different things as to whether or not 6600gt or 6800 is better than the other. 6800gs looks nice, but is more pricey. I'd like to not spend more than $200. I'm also not sure if the difference between 128mb and 256mb will make much of a difference for my setup. What do you guys think?

Oh yeah, I'm not a hardcore gamer but I enjoy some graphic intensive games, Doom 3, HL2 etc, so I'd like to be able to play them decently. Thanks!
 
Get an AGP 6800 and see if you can unlock the pipes. It might not work, but the 6800 is still a good card.
 
Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions. I forgot to mention..I probably won't be overclocking..I dont think my system can take the heat.

Unfortunately it's been impossible to find that card at compusa anywhere. I'm under impressions that AGP cards probably aren't going to go down in price anytime soon?

Newegg has the evga 6600gt for $120 after rebate. Can't seem to find a better deal than that right now.
 
that's pci e buddy. you need an agp card and an agp 6600gt ismore like 150.
 
Anything in the 6000 range will do you fine. Just out of curiousity, when are you planning an upgrade? If it is sooner than later I wouldnt go higher than a 6600, but if you are going to wait a while (2007?) I would go for the 6800gs.
 
I've got a computer like yours evophile. The best card for your money is the Geforce 6600 GT. It's a lot like the Ti 4200 was in it's prime. I upgraded from a Ti 4200 ---->Geforce 5900 ----> 6600 GT.

F.E.A.R. has this benchmark utility included with the game and these were the types of results I got between Geforce 5900 and Geforce 6600 GT

Geforce 5900 --------------------------------Geforce 6600 GT
FPS minimum: 12 ------------------------ 22
FPS average: 24 ----------------------------- 41
Max 35 ----------------------------------------------- 77

FPS Distribution
53% below 25 FPS ------------------------------ 1
47% between 25 and 40 FPS ------------------ 57
0% above 40 FPS --------------------------------- 42

F.E.A.R. looks like a completely different game to me. It runs ultra smooth and this graphic card actually allows me to see how the kickass effects look.
 
Funny you bring up FEAR, because that was the very game that made me realize my Ti4200 is finally dead. No matter what I did it looked nasty. the 4200 has been great til then. Well, Civ 4 didn't run to well..but that game has other issues. Those specs look great.

Well, speaking of the subject of when I was going to buy it...i was thinking of soon, but its not totally necessary. I guess a question I forgot to ask is how much longer will the 6600gt or 6800(GS) be relevant? If I didn't get one until say early 2007, will it be able to run things well at least a year later?

I know my system will really hold me back regardless by then but I'm curious otherwise, heh.

Once again...thanks for all the help guys.
 
I'm actually in the exact same boat as you, evophile!

I'm currently running:

Abit IS7
P4 2.4C
1GB Corsair Platinum TwinX PC3200LLPT (4 x 256MB Dual Channel)
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9500

I have been trying to find a 6800GS or 6800GT to replace my current video card.

Perhaps I should also just find a good AGP 6600GT and sit tight until the end of the year? How come it's been mentioned that the CPU's in the 2.2GHz range will limit the performance of cards faster than 6600GT's? :confused:
 
Lasu said:
I'm actually in the exact same boat as you, evophile!

I'm currently running:

Abit IS7
P4 2.4C
1GB Corsair Platinum TwinX PC3200LLPT (4 x 256MB Dual Channel)
Sapphire ATI Radeon 9500

I have been trying to find a 6800GS or 6800GT to replace my current video card.

Perhaps I should also just find a good AGP 6600GT and sit tight until the end of the year? How come it's been mentioned that the CPU's in the 2.2GHz range will limit the performance of cards faster than 6600GT's? :confused:
Click to expand...

I have almost the exact same setup as you, the only difference being a 2.8 Ghz P4C.
:)

I'm looking to buy a new AGP card for Oblivion, and don't want to spend too much since I plan on upgrading to a completely new system in another year. I've looked around and it seems like the 6600GT is buy far the best buy for AGP.

Any thoughts on this card? It has a 1000 Mhz memory clock instead of the standard 900 Mhz clock.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814150089
 
I just got an eVGA 6600GT AGP and it does wonders for what I do. Best of all, I got it for 35$ :cool: brand new. Check your PM box for how I did it.
 
andres9606t said:
I have almost the exact same setup as you, the only difference being a 2.8 Ghz P4C.
:)

I'm looking to buy a new AGP card for Oblivion, and don't want to spend too much since I plan on upgrading to a completely new system in another year. I've looked around and it seems like the 6600GT is buy far the best buy for AGP.

Any thoughts on this card? It has a 1000 Mhz memory clock instead of the standard 900 Mhz clock.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16814150089
Click to expand...
Honestly, it all depends on your budget. In my opinion, any AGP video card upgrades to hold a person out until next year (as i'm planning) should be a 6800GS, 6800GT, better, or the ATI equivalent.
 
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