tigs

In the market for a new graphics card for an older system.

The machine in question is about 4 years old. P4 3.0ghz, 2g ram, and it had a ati 9800xt card. Built by Alienware. The card recently fried and I'm looking to get a decent card to replace it.

I'm leaning towards the hd2600xt but from what I've read it seems to require an 8x agp slot.

How can I tell which type of agp slot I have? Was the 9800 an 8x card? Will the hd2600 work in a non-8x slot?

Thanks a bunch.

pioneerisloud

Yes, its an AGP 8x slot. No worries there. But you'd be better off looking at the ATI X1950 series (GT or Pro) instead unless you want STRICTLY high def video and that's it.

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tigs

no, its just for gaming. i've looked at 1950s and didn't think it worth the extra 50$. all i need is a fill in card for a year or so, till im ready to build a new system. you don't think a hd2600 will perform as well as my old 9800xt?

Perry

My 8600GTS can take it and that's saying something since it isn't the baddest on the block.

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/forum...e-preview.html

There's a comparison review for you.

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guyladouche

Well, it depends on what you want to do/play. Just because the HD2600's are newer tech than the AGP x1950's doesn't mean that they're up to par for gaming. The memory bandwidth of the x1950's is far superior to the HD2600's, which is most likely where you'll see the biggest gain in gaming (about 3 times higher). It's just that $50 might not seem worth it for an older-tech card, but I think it's going to take that extra $50 if you want to do any fun gaming in the meantime... Even an x850xt AGP card has a better/faster memory interface than the HD2600. I'm not saying that you should buy one, only that just 'cause the HD's are newer doesn't mean that they're faster/better. You might spend $120 for a new card that's a dud and won't do anything you want it to do, but $170 for an older card that does everything you want and more. Just something to keep in mind.

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Kramy

It'll stomp your 9800XT entirely. Should be 2-3x faster, I'd think. Of course, your CPU may hold it back a bit.

At this point, investing in old tech isn't a good idea; the HD2600XT is a good choice in my opinion, since once you turf your AGP rig, you could use it or sell it as an HTPC box. In the end the HD2600XT AGP and x1950PRO AGP will probably have the same resell value because of this.

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-Kramy

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tigs

thanks for the replies everyone.

i'm mainly looking to play rpgs and strategy games. neverwinter nights 2, the total war series, the only new game i'm worried about on the horizon is starcraft 2.

another question.. in reading some of the reviews for 1950 series cards i saw something mentioned about using crt monitors. that an adapter is needed because the card has been designed for flat panels. and doing so incurs a hit on performance.

knowing that this is for a crt monitor, does anyone have any different advice on which card to shoot for? at which model/series number did this adapter requirement appear?

Astroz

If you have to have AGP and are on a budget, the 6800 cards work very nicely for the price (Using one right now, plays CoD 4 on low, WiC on Med, and Maxes out BF2, Halo, Rome: Total War and Guild Wars), and will SMOKE your 9800.

sugarton

Ehh, it's not at all easy to get ahold of 6800 series cards anymore, and you're probably best to just avoid them now. For $200 I got my X1950 Pro which destroys anything from the 6800 series. The only reason I'd recommend going for it is if you can get a 6800GT for VERY cheap.

I should note though that my X1950 Pro is being bottlenecked quite a bit by my CPU (same as yours).

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CuriouslyHigh

They use DVI-D adapters, and 2600XT's are if anything more likely to use these than 1950's. DVI-D is just a neweg type of monitor plug, DVI-D to VGA (VGA/V-Dub being older connection, the blue plug) adapters are cheaper than dirt and come with almost any video card that uses DVI. My X1950XT has dual DVI-D ports and came with two DVI/VGA adapters. Some flat panels even use VGA, it isn't obsolete, and unless you use resolutions above 1400 x 900/1280 x 1024, DVI vs VGA means virtually nothing. The adapters work fine, I am using one for a secondary CRT monitor right now, and they will not hinder performance or image quality in the slighest bit, ESPECIALLY not on a CRT monitor that I imagine runs either 1024 x 768 or 1280 x 1024.

The DVI ports are if anything good for resale value, as newer lcds use them, and the card will surely come with an adapter. No worries there at all.

And I support the notion that your best bet is something like an X1950 Pro. I have it's bigger brother, the X1950XT, with 256 mb RAM, and I can run any game out there in DX9 mode maxed out with my 1440 x 900 monitor.

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Pros: I loaded up Bioshock and maxed out the settings, but this graphics slit the game's throat then ate it's entrails for dessert. It slammed Assassin's Creed's head onto the curb then stomped its head into that curb until it was nothing but a bloody pulp. This card is one bad mo-fo. It'll backhand your sister and degrade your mom, but they will still love it and want to date it because it is just that good. I love this card so much that I burned my tongue trying to french kiss it, and I still keep trying.