I need some help.

P

Puyo

n00b
Joined
Aug 11, 2006
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I was told the members here are geniuses, so I don't doubt that ya'll can help me.

I am wanting a new video card. Before I get into it more, lemme post my current specs (note that I am no computer genius, but I will try to post all the necessary things):

- GeForce 6200 (AGP slot)
- AthlonXP 3200+
- 1GB RAM
- 420 watt power supply

My current card just isn't working how I would like. I want to play current game titles with a decent FPS and nice graphics, but it just isn't possible. Call of Duty 2 gives me an average of about 40 FPS on the lowest settings. I haven't tried Half-Life 2, simply because I know that I will probably get a pretty poor FPS and that just isn't fun to play online or offline with. Other titles I am interested in are the upcoming Battlefield 2142, and Oblivion.

With some games I currently play, the FPS changes so drastically that moving from one room to another could mean a difference of 50+ FPS. I would highly prefer a card that will remain stable no matter what is on the screen.

I was looking at the 7800GS, but after researching I have found that my processor, being an AthlonXP, won't allow the 7800GS to work at its fullest potential, and, quote, "you'll improve your average and max framerate, but the lows will still be enjoyment-destroyingly low if you crank up the settings." Is this true?

I don't plan on upgrading my processor any time soon, so I need your guys' help in deciding a good card that I will get the most out of, and that will be the most compatible with my system. Also, I would like to remain an nVidia user, and I have no knowledge of overclocking so that's out of the question too.

Thanks for any help! ;)
 
If you can afford the 7800gs, get it.
I heartily recommend getting cheap AM2 system and an X1800XT, it will give you quite a bit more performance.
Theres nothing wrong with socket 939 parts either but AM2 will last you longer and is likely to support AMDs next CPU.

You could get a cheap Conroe too with an X1800XT.
 
Well, as I said above, I am not looking to upgrade my system other than my video card right now.

So I need to know what card would work best with my current system until I decide to totally upgrade down the line.

But thanks for your reply. You say get the 7800GS, despite what I posted above? Is what I posted not true?
 
your main problem is the type of card you need for your current setup.The AGP port your seeking to fill with another graphics card is basicly discontinued. So no matter what you currently buy in the future if you build another computer its going to be worthless since amd and intel have both moved on to pci-e. Honstly your best bet for agp is the 7800GS but that will only last you a few more years then your right back where you started.
 
yes it is true that it wont work at its full potential, but you have the best proccesor you can get with socket A. i think leadtek has created a 7600gt for agp but im not sure when that will come out. also even though you said you wouldnt want to upgrade i still think you should anyways. because 7800gs is around 300 still i believe and with the drop in amd prices you could get a new cpu,motherboard, and video card with it that would outperform what you have now.
 
there should be a requirement to list what monitor and/or resolution you are playing at when asking about a video card. :eek:




if you happen to be at 1280x1024 or below than a 7600GS would be a good card. at 1280x1024 with max settings the 7600GS would struggle in the newest games but its fine with med settings or at 1024x768. i get 41 fps in FEAR with my 7600GS. thats at 1024x768 with medium settings and all i have is a Athlon XP 2400. the 7800GS would be a better choice if you want more eye candy at 1280x1024 or above.
 
Ok, I wouldn't upgrade that PC at all. Here's why...I just recently built my PC in my sig just a few months ago. What I was running before was a AthlonXP 3800+. Well, Ok, not really a XP 3800+, but if they would have released one, my Mobile Barton would have been at the same speed at 2.6Ghz.

Anyways, that is hella faster than your XP 3200+ and with the same video card I have in this machine, my trusty X800XT with a nice overclock, it was so CPU limited, no matter what setttings I used in BF2, which is going to be about the same as BF2142 performance wise (same engine), I couldn't get over 40fps. Now, fast forward to my current setup, same settings, same video card, and I hit the 100fps cap.

My point is, save your money, and do not waste it trying to upgrade a very outdated system like you have..outdated compared to what you need to run modern and upcoming games. Any AGP card you buy will be way overpriced compared to what you can buy in PCI-E.
 
Met-AL said:
My point is, save your money, and do not waste it trying to upgrade a very outdated system like you have..outdated compared to what you need to run modern and upcoming games. Any AGP card you buy will be way overpriced compared to what you can buy in PCI-E.
Click to expand...
well $140 for a 7600gs isnt too bad. some people just arent ready for a whole new set up.
 
I suppose it depends on the performance he wants.
If spending enough to get a 7800GS, a few decent options open up.
 
For those who asked, I would like to be able to run games at 1024x768 (even though I can support higher res., I am fine with 1024x768) with high settings, if possible, and still be able to get a decent, steady FPS.

Thanks for all your replies so far.

I realize I don't exactly have the greatest system for gaming, but I don't have the money nor interest in buying a totally new computer. I would like to just max out my current setup and stick with that for a while.
 
Personally..your system isnt all that bad...

I would say get a ATI X800XL 256MB from ATI for 120 bucks..damn good card..

get it here http://shop.ati.com/searchresults.asp?dept_id=39

then if at all Possible stick another gig of ram in the computer of yours...because if you wanna play BF2 and BF2142 and Oblivion...both those games will thank you for the extra Ram..
 
Puyo said:
For those who asked, I would like to be able to run games at 1024x768 (even though I can support higher res., I am fine with 1024x768) with high settings, if possible, and still be able to get a decent, steady FPS.

Thanks for all your replies so far.

I realize I don't exactly have the greatest system for gaming, but I don't have the money nor interest in buying a totally new computer. I would like to just max out my current setup and stick with that for a while.
Click to expand...
if you want an Nvidia card for 1024x768 than the 7600gs is the best choice. i have the EVGA one and it is the quietest card i have ever used even though the fan is tiny. if you have a Circuit City near you the card is $149 after $30 rebate.
 
It may come down to what games you play and how good they should look.

I was running an Athlon 64 at 2.6GHz with a 6800GT res and it was barely good enough for Oblivion at 1024 res. I upgraded to a PCI-E motherboard and X1800XT to play it properly :)
The 7600GS is slower than the 6800GT in an Athlon 64 board, it might not be the preferred option for an Athlon XP.

If you dont mind turning many graphics settings down, you can get away with a 7600GS.
It depends what you like.
 
Wow, thanks for all the info.

A few of you recommended ATI cards over nVidia. Are they really that much better? I run nVidia now (and have my whole computer gaming life) and there hasn't been any problems, so I am sort of dedicated to nVidia. But if ATI really is that much better, I may consider switching.

Are ATI cards better with AthlonXP's than nVidia cards?
 
I cant say for AGP as I'm not sure if there are any high end AGP cards from ATI.

There are advantages to both manufacturers but ATI seems to have it a little better on image quality.

ie If you want to clock get the 7900GT, test to make sure it isnt a dud for a few weeks, fit another heatsink, volt mod it and be amazed at how fast it goes.
The downsides are it cannot do HDR+AA at the same time, there are bad 7900GTs still for sale that need to be RMA'd, image quality isnt quite as good as comparable ATI cards.
Yuo can tweak the image quality to 'match' but you lose performance doing so.

The X1800XT is comparable to the unclocked 7900GT in performance and is so cheap!!
You get all the goodness of image quality, HDR+AA and these cards are really stable.
They clock quite well but arent as easy to clock as NVidias cards and wont hit the same performance if you mod the 7900GT. Not that it matters much, its a very fast card.
You can adjust the GPU VCore in software on the ATI cards.

The X1900XT is really fast but costs more than the 7900GT. You get what you pay for though.

Before buying my X1800XT, I wouldnt have thought of buying an ATI card. The price/performance persuaded me to try.
Now I have, I can heartily recommend them as well as NVidias cards.
It depends what you want and if there are cards available that you can use on AGP.

edit: X1800 and X1900 ATI cards have loud heatsink fans. You can get round this by setting them to 70% max speed which doesnt have much impact or replace the heatsink/fan. I run mine at max 70% speed and can still clock my XT to PE speeds :)
 
Puyo said:
Call of Duty 2 gives me an average of about 40 FPS on the lowest settings. I haven't tried Half-Life 2, simply because I know that I will probably get a pretty poor FPS and that just isn't fun to play online or offline with.
Click to expand...

Just wanted to note that if you can play CoD2 with low settings, you'll be able to get decent frame rates with better settings in HL2.

CoD2 is much more system hungry than HL2 is. I first played it on a crappy Geforce FX5200 and still got decent FPS on decent settings.


:)
 
Puyo said:
Wow, thanks for all the info.

A few of you recommended ATI cards over nVidia. Are they really that much better? I run nVidia now (and have my whole computer gaming life) and there hasn't been any problems, so I am sort of dedicated to nVidia. But if ATI really is that much better, I may consider switching.

Are ATI cards better with AthlonXP's than nVidia cards?
Click to expand...

No, ATi cards are not that much better than nVidia or anything like that. It's just that you need a AGP card, which pretty much leaves you looking at the last generation of cards which ended up with ATi on top by a small margin of performance. Also, nVidia promptly stopped making cards like the 6800Ultra when the 7xxxx series came out. So in the end, about the only good AGP cards from last generation left are ATI X800XT/XTPE and X850Pro/XT/XTPE cards along with a few nVidia 7800GS models from this generation.
 
Well thanks for all the help guys! You've certainly made my quest easier.

Thanks again. :D
 
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