Video Card advise needed

[dekay]

Current System:
AMD 2500+ Barton
Leadtek GF4 Ti-4400
512mb DDR PC3200

Game: AOE3
Monitor: Dell 2005fpw

To make a long story short, I recently purchased AOE3 and found out that my system is lacking in running this game, especially at native resolution which is 1680x1050. The game is still playable with everything set to low, but there is a bit of lag, which is something that cannot take place for someone who loves RTS games.

I'm currently looking to upgrade my video card in hopes that it can let me play this game reasonably well. My budget is around $150-$250 CDN, so around $100-$180 USD; so I'm looking for a mid to low AGP video card, since it's just not worth spending top dollars on a pretty dead platform.

At the moment, I'm looking into the 6600GT or the x800 GTO. Please take into mind that I'm not an overclocker. I dont have much preference between ATI and Nvidia, although I've had a better experience with Nvidia most of the time. Won't have to change drivers either.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[name]

Try this 6800 vanilla - it's faster than the 6600GT, and only $169:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122193

Also, I know you aren't much into overclocking, but the following article explains how to unlock the extra pipes in the AGP 6800, making it an even better performer for the money:

http://firingsquad.com/hardware/geforce_6800_unlocking/

It doesn't require any hardmods or anything and is just a few clicks away using "Rivatuner."

 

[dekay]

Found a retailer that carrys the Leadtek 6800. Sells for $275 CDN. If an ATI X800 XL (retail box) sells for $299 CDN here, which one is actually a better buy?

Both are still more than what I want to dish out though, but would still like to know.

 

[kirbyrj]

The X800XL for $20 more is the better deal. It is a fairly high-end AGP card that will carry you through the end of the platform nicely. I ran the PCIe version on my 2005FPW for a while until I bought a 7800GT.