Squeaking out performance from an aging AGP system

[EngineChauffer]

Hi all,

I have a homebuilt computer that is about 4-5 yrs old now. I am looking to upgrade my video card. My specs are as follows:

P4 3.0c 800fsb
Gigabyte MB (GA8IK-1100 I think it has the 875 chipset)
2 Gigs of Crucial Dual Channel Ram PC3200 I believe (been a while)
2x 10k 74Gig Raptors in Raid 0
X800XT-PE Vid Card
Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS Sound card



I am looking to do two things. Upgrade my Vid card and also buy an aftermarket cooler for the CPU so I can overclock.

I am looking at this Vid card:

http://www.sapphiretech.com/us/products/products_overview.php?gpid=211&grp=2

I was comparing it to this one, but it doesn't seem as good from a quick glance over the specs.

http://www.evga.com/products/pdf/512-A8-N559-TR.pdf


ALSO, I know this is the Vid card part of the forum, but what would be a good aftermarket cooler for my P4 3.0c so I can overclock it?

Thanks in advance.

--Ed

 

[colinstu]

Never compare specs of video cards. The 3850 might look a thousand times better then the 9600GT, but the 9600GT wins in most tests.

But if you want the best AGP card, the 3850 AGP is the way to go.

Other then that, there was the x1950GT, pro, and xt, tons of x800/x850 models, xfx made a 7950GT, there was the 7900gs/7800gs, and 6800 cards.

 

[setscrew]

ALSO, I know this is the Vid card part of the forum, but what would be a good aftermarket cooler for my P4 3.0c so I can overclock it?

Thanks in advance.

--Ed

I went through this same issue with an older machine (almost exact specs. to yours) last year when I upgraded the 6800 AGP to a 1950 XT. While at the time it seemed like a good purchase, the system is now showing its age with newer games.

For the price, I would go with the 3850 AGP. It should carry you for a year further.

One of the better coolers for the P4 line.

 

[EngineChauffer]

Thanks guys. I thought the 3850 was the way to go.

Also, as far as processor heatsinks are concerned, I thought the Alpha PAL series were the best. But that pretty much was the truth when I built the rig back then.

I have never even heard of Scythe. The one that was recommended was a silent one with heatpipes. I am not sure about the heatpipe thing, and the cooler does not need to be silent since I am not building an HTPC or anything.

Any other recommendations?

 

[colinstu]

Thanks guys. I thought the 3850 was the way to go.

Also, as far as processor heatsinks are concerned, I thought the Alpha PAL series were the best. But that pretty much was the truth when I built the rig back then.

I have never even heard of Scythe. The one that was recommended was a silent one with heatpipes. I am not sure about the heatpipe thing, and the cooler does not need to be silent since I am not building an HTPC or anything.

Any other recommendations?

Scythe has been a pretty big heatsink brand recently...

It's been a long time for me looking at socket 478 hsf's XD.

This doesn't look too bad,
Little overkill for a P4
I think I've heard good things of this one too, looks a little big.
lol

In the end, keep it at 3.2GHz. Save up for a socket 775 system.

 

[AndonSage]

Just fyi, my system is very similar to yours. I just got the new Sapphire ATI Radeon HD 3850 AGP 512RAM to replace an X850 XT PE 256RAM. My scores in 3dMark06 went from 2157 with the old card to 4737 with the new card. Anyway, there are a couple threads in the ATI Flavor sub-forum here that you can read, regarding the Sapphire card.