So I've had my 9800 Pro for just about forever, and I was wondering if there are any other AGP cards out there worth upgrading to. I'm happy with my current rig (in sig) but just on some of the newer games I think I'm looking for a little bit more grunt in the video department to run at native resolution on my 19inch Samsung LCD (1280x1024). Its no issue in CS or anything, but games like Condemned: Criminal Origins, FEAR, etc, it gets a little slow. I don't see the need to totally upgrade my computer because I don't do a ton of gaming or anything, but I would like a bump for some of the newer games that are out.
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Upgrading from a 9800 Pro...
- Thread starter Lime
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Stereophile
Supreme [H]ardness
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X1950 PRO, GT or XT all come in AGP varieties and should make a nice improvement in current and future games. They will double or triple your 9800 PRO's fps at that resolution.
Arcygenical
Fully [H]
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Yep... Although, for a dead upgrade path... I hate to say it. Might be time for an upgrade
for your current rig, a better video card wont do much. your rig is pretty well matched up. keep it for a while and enjoy (if you upgrade video you will get bottleneck with your 3000+)
then upgrade fully when you have the $
my 2 cents
silent-circuit
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Yeah, you aren't CPU-bottlenecked because the card is well matched to the CPU, but with an X1950XT or similar you're going to run in to big CPU and memory bottlenecks, not being able to feed the GPU fast enough.
So just crank the FSAA, Aniso filtering, and 3d quality settings up.
Continues to boggle the mind why people say "Oh, you'll soooo bottleneck that more powerful video card, it's not worth getting it". I mean, seriously, it's not going to be SLOWER than your current card! Sure, it could run even faster with a more powerful CPU, but you've still got a lot you can do with it.
As I mentioned above - FSAA and AF are 100% video card. If the CPU is 'holding the card back', so that it runs the game at the same FPS at 0xAA as it does at 6xAA...is that bad? I mean, that's 6xAA for free, right?
Really, think about that. Say, he has some in-game settings that lets his CPU push 40 or 50 frames per second or so of stuff for the video card to do. In this hypothetical situation, his 9800 Pro can keep up with that (barely) at 0xAA and 0xAF and 1024x768. Okay, fine, drop in an X1950 Pro. Now he can run 6xAA, 16xAF, at 1280x1024. Is he getting better than the 40-50 FPS his CPU can drive? Of course not. But would you REALLY argue his game experience isn't improved just because his FPS didn't go up?
The only time that CPU bottleneckage becomes and issue is when either your CPU is slow slow you can't get any good frame rates and you'd be better off upgrading your entire PC, or your GPU/s is so stupidly fast (say two GTX's with a 3500+) that you can even stress them with max AA/AF on.
I agree completely with dderidex and Obi_Kwiet, people throw the term "bottleneck" around far too loosely. You will get better eye candy with a newer card.
My concern comes down to your several year old power supply. Take a look at the sticker and tell us what its total wattage rating is and how many amps it has on the 12v rail.
The choices in AGP have opened up quite nicely. You'd get solid performance from any of the previously mentioned ATI 1950s. If you're a little greener, the 7900gs and 7950gt are also strong choices. A little further down the performance ladder is the 7800gs, which I've been seeing some good deals for lately. But my money would stay with the former Canadians and I'd be looking at the similarly priced x1950gt or for a touch more the x1950pro.
My concern comes down to your several year old power supply. Take a look at the sticker and tell us what its total wattage rating is and how many amps it has on the 12v rail.
The choices in AGP have opened up quite nicely. You'd get solid performance from any of the previously mentioned ATI 1950s. If you're a little greener, the 7900gs and 7950gt are also strong choices. A little further down the performance ladder is the 7800gs, which I've been seeing some good deals for lately. But my money would stay with the former Canadians and I'd be looking at the similarly priced x1950gt or for a touch more the x1950pro.
Uhh, its an Antec TruPower 350, IIRC. And It is a bit older, quite a bit actually. I have been meaning to upgrade that as well, but it seems to be doing its job.
silent-circuit
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You really should replace that Antec. It likely will not last long if you swap out GPUs, and is likely working at full load or nearly so at all times you're in-game, now. Not at all good for it..
$50 gets you a 500watt XClio Goodpower if you're on a serious budget, but the 520 or 620 watt Corsairs are great PSUs if you have the money. If your next build will/may be SLI, get something like a little more juice like a PC Power and Cooling Silencer 750 Quad or one of the higher end Thermaltake Toughpower series. (700+ watts)
Agree with upgrading the PSU - any new vidcard you're looking at will need auxiliary power connector, your 350w antec will not cut it, it doesn't have the amps to support the new video card. But if you fry your system, well then it's time to get a whole new system right?
So just crank the FSAA, Aniso filtering, and 3d quality settings up.
Continues to boggle the mind why people say "Oh, you'll soooo bottleneck that more powerful video card, it's not worth getting it". I mean, seriously, it's not going to be SLOWER than your current card! Sure, it could run even faster with a more powerful CPU, but you've still got a lot you can do with it.
As I mentioned above - FSAA and AF are 100% video card. If the CPU is 'holding the card back', so that it runs the game at the same FPS at 0xAA as it does at 6xAA...is that bad? I mean, that's 6xAA for free, right?
Really, think about that. Say, he has some in-game settings that lets his CPU push 40 or 50 frames per second or so of stuff for the video card to do. In this hypothetical situation, his 9800 Pro can keep up with that (barely) at 0xAA and 0xAF and 1024x768. Okay, fine, drop in an X1950 Pro. Now he can run 6xAA, 16xAF, at 1280x1024. Is he getting better than the 40-50 FPS his CPU can drive? Of course not. But would you REALLY argue his game experience isn't improved just because his FPS didn't go up?
Exactly, I agree 100%. The bottlenecking comments are getting old.
the antec, if it is a newer version with 21 amps on the 12 volt rail. It should work ok as long as he doesnt overclock. If he starts pushing any harder he should upgrade to a more modern PSU with around 30 amps on teh 12V rail(s).
A 7800GS would be an affordable upgrade and give you more eyecandy and features. I just happen to have one if you are interested.
A 7800GS would be an affordable upgrade and give you more eyecandy and features. I just happen to have one if you are interested.
Dangman
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If you want a bit of future proofing, Sapphire is coming out with an AGP DX10 card:
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7556
That will definitely make sure you can use your system for a lot while longer.
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=7556
That will definitely make sure you can use your system for a lot while longer.
don't listen to these guys. i wouldn't spend more than 150-175ish, though. i've been out of the agp loop, but if you can find a 7600gt at a decent price, snag it. your computer is plenty fast, despite what these ultra high end buyers will tell you.
The phrase "future proofing" should be abolished on this forum. For one thing "future proofing" in reference to computer equipment is rediculous and using it in reference to an AGP machine is out right absurd.
Yes the machine is still decent. However I think that if the original poster has a couple hundred bucks to spend on a graphics card, the money would be better spent on a newer more modern machine. Simply save for a bit longer and upgrade the rest. You can get a dual core X2 or Core 2 Duo, motherboard, ram, and PSU relatively cheaply. For around $650-$700 you'd be in business I think. You'll be able to put together something that will carry you farther down the road than any $200 graphics card can now.
Uh, at least at Newegg, the agp 7600gt and x1950gt are in the same ballpark. The x1950pro is down into the "150-175ish" range. (After rebate.)
In support of Dan's idea: I did just spend about $650 to get up to date. 8800GTS 320, c2d e6420, 2 gigs ram, SLI mobo. You could likely do something similar. I have a pretty recent PSU though. (Though I am watching for a good deal...) The huge price drops in RAM made it possible.
If you want to do a staggered upgrade, and spend a little more in the process I'm sure you can find a socket 754 mobo with a PCIe slot. They're cheap too, I just found a couple for $50 at the Egg. Less with rebate.
So many options, so little money...
legcramp
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x1900 series + A64 + 2gigs = good.. now upgrade and everyone else shush.
RussianHAXOR
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I have heard rumors about an HD 2600 AGP
Dangman
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Read the link in post #15.