upgrade from 9600xt

[malingjc]

Hey all,

I have a 9600xt in my main gaming machine, it is gaining on 2 years old now, so I'm looking to upgrade. I was looking at some of the used 6600s or 6600GTs (AGP) in the FS/T forums.

Worth upgrading to that or should I just wait a little while longer since I'm not sure how big a performance upgrade it would be.

 

[lt.murda]

Get a 6800Nu at least.Its pretty much the standard now if you want to go a good while without having to upgrade.

 

[nst6563]

I agree....go at least with a 12 pipe card. going from a 9600xt to an 8-pipe card won't satisfy you for long.

I made the jump from a 9600xt to an x800xl...talk about a night and day difference!

 

[malingjc]

Well also keep in mind that it is in an Antec Aria, which is a microATX cube with a proprietary 300W power supply. The 6800 series may be too much for it.

 

[NickN]

Well also keep in mind that it is in an Antec Aria, which is a microATX cube with a proprietary 300W power supply. The 6800 series may be too much for it.

QFT. I'd get a 6600 or GT just to be safe, and put the extra money you would have spent on a better card towards other stuff.

 

[nst6563]

if the heat is a concern, get a Artic Silencer 5 as it expels the video card heat outside the case. They can be found for $30 and less if you catch a deal or find one on ebay.

n/m... the psu would be a concern. even an x800xl would be pushing it probably even though it (PCI-E version anyway) doesn't need an external power plug.

 

[forumposter32]

Chaintech VNF4 socket 939 motherboard $76
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813152053

Athlon 64 3000+ socket 939 $146
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537

Corsair 1 GB RAM $88.50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145505

Enermax 460 watt power supply $53
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103440

Raidmax case $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811156019

MSI Geforce 6800 PCI-E $204 (with rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127179

Western Digital 80 GB HD $56 (hard drive)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144122

NEC ND 3520 DVD burner $38
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152039

Altec Lansing speakers $12
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16836113159

Logitech mouse $6 (actually, I just noticed that with that mouse, you can get a combo special, a Logitech keyboard is only $2 instead of $7)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16826104181

Total cost of this system? $711.50

extra case fans? $2 each
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811998104

Instructions? Go to...
http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/

Don’t ask me why I took the time to figure this out. But, I didn’t verify if the number of pins on the main connector of that board would be the same as the power supply. Also, although I doubt the RAM would be incompatible, I didn’t check it yet.