[chopsuix]

Here's the situation. I have this desktop which is about 6 years old and had it all through university. It was great at the time and could run, farcry, CS source and a bunch of games at high quality. Here are the basic specs of the original system

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3400+
Ram: 2 gigs
Graphics: ATI radeon 800XL AGP 256mb
HD: 150gb

A few months ago, my video card died, so I decided to go on newegg and buy a new one. My mentality was that if my original card cost me $250 6 years ago, i should be able to get something just as good or better for $75. I decided to go with the

EVGA GeForce 6200 256DDR2.

The card came I popped it in and once all the drivers were installed i booted up CS source and it was unplayable. I had to turn all the settings down to low/medium to get the fps up. What gives? Shouldn't the GeForce be able to handle the same types of games as my original radeon? I'm not looking to build/buy a new system I just wanted to replace the video card. Can anyone suggest a better card for under $100?

 

[dihartnell]

You didn't take into account of inflation.

Not much for $100 but you could get a HD6670 or a GTS250.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127586
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814261062

 

[chopsuix]

unfortunately my old desktop is AGP so only agp willl work

 

[brobanmanx2]

The 6200 is MUCH weaker than the one you had. Not sure why you got it before consulting it if it was good or not.

If you can, try to return it or get a new one like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125281 Which is around 80 dollars and just as good as your ol' 800 XL.

Would have suggested the 4670 but its 130.

you can also try to find people selling good old AGP cards.

 

[BallaTheFeared]

Heh, I think you're due for a complete system upgrade... If its within your budget anyways >.>

 

[AliceInChains]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BallaTheFeared Heh, I think you're due for a complete system upgrade... If its within your budget anyways >.>

Yea, Id save up for a new rig if you can. Its not worth dropping money into agp cards.

 

[jellis142]

Look for a used 4670 AGP, it's pretty much the best way to make that platform last, even if they are expensive

But even a cheap AM2 with PCI-E would be loads better.

 

[mdocod]

The 6200AGP is good for about 0.6 gigapixels per second draw rate.
The 800XL is good for about 6.4 gigapixels per seconds draw rate.

So... you essentially bought a card 10X slower.

most modern AGP cards sold new are heavily inflated price wise because the volume of sales is so low for them. Also, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the price points on them. The price/performance is all over the place.

Research before buying:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compari...ocessing_units
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nvidia_gpu

That 4670 mentioned by others would actually be BETTER than your old card.

 

[brettjv]

Send it back, like others said ... you got the wrong card unfortunately

In fact, the 6200 is just as old of a card as your 800XL, only instead of being a decent mid-range card at release, it was a cheap, entry-level, cruddy card. Heck it was probably about $75 back then, too.

The only AGP cards I know of that are 'close to as good' or even 'slightly better' than what you had are the AGP versions of:

Ati: 3850, 4670, 1950 Pro (in order of decreasing power, all I think are *considerably* better than 800XL)
nV: 7800GS (I think it's probably a bit faster), 6800 (I think it's around the same).

Not saying you'll be able to FIND any of these, just that I know they exist(ed) and were of similar or better quality.

Seriously, though ... sometimes you find a combo deal at like Frys or Newegg where you pick up a cheap board/proc combo that has PCI-Ex slots for like $70, then drop $40 for a lightly used 9600GSO/GT (in fact I even just such a card laying around I'll sell to you for that if you pay shipping), and have a rig that's considerably more powerful overall than what you'd have if you were to invest in any of those decent AGP cards to add to your current platform (if you even can find one of any of them, it'll probably cost you $100 or more).

Welcome to OCN, btw, and next time you're making a hardware move, ask around here first

 

[edalbkrad]

jesus for 75$ you should have gotten an HD3850 AGP.
for less than 50$ you could get an x1900XT AGP.

the 6200 is a lot slower than your last x800 but it should be able to run CS SOURCE on low settings.

Best choice is to get an x1650pro AGP for 30$ because anything faster would be bottlenecked by the athlon

 

[HeadlessKnight]

6200 was a low-end Nvidia card released in 2004.
X800 was released also in 2004 to compete with 6800 series, and it was a high-end card back then. but it lacks shader 3.0 unlike nvidia 6000 series.
The GeForce 6800 was released to compete with this card.
So any card above GeForce 6800 will be faster than X800.
You can find HD4650/4670 card and they are much better than 6200.
return the card if you can. as everyone suggested.
Keep your eye at these
Radeon : X1950PRO/HD3650/HD3850/HD4650/HD4670
GeForce : 7600 GT/7800 GS/7900 GS/7950 GT
but the HD series can do DX10. unlike the geforces mentioned above.

 

[brettjv]

Quote:

Originally Posted by edalbkrad;14190592
jesus for 75$ you should have gotten an HD3850 AGP.
for less than 50$ you could get an x1900XT AGP.

the 6200 is a lot slower than your last x800 but it should be able to run CS SOURCE on low settings.

Best choice is to get an x1650pro AGP for 30$ because anything faster would be bottlenecked by the athlon

I'm sure he'd love it if you could tell him where he can actually get those cards at those prices

I disagree about the BN though. You can't just look at hardware and proclaim card X will be bottlenecked by cpu Y. You also have to know what software is running, and what settings it's being run at. Metro2033 wouldn't be the least bit slowed down by that CPU w/any of those cards, for example.

 

[chopsuix]

Thanks for all the input. I must really need a new computer because I think my mobo is currently on the fritz. Only problem is that I dont have too much money to put into a new computer. Could I just replace the mobo and graphics card? The most I could afford would be like $300. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[dihartnell]

Quote:

Originally Posted by chopsuix Thanks for all the input. I must really need a new computer because I think my mobo is currently on the fritz. Only problem is that I dont have too much money to put into a new computer. Could I just replace the mobo and graphics card? The most I could afford would be like $300. Anyone have any suggestions?

What about a new egg combo like this;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...719450-_-Combo

 

[SSquared]

Chop, you can put together a great budget mobo/cpu/gpu for $300.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.726746
This is a combo deal on newegg. Athlon II dual core 3Ghz, AMD 770 ATX mobo - $100
Gskill Rip Jaws 8gb DDR3 1600 $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231314
Sapphire HD 6770 -$110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102940
For $250 you can have a nice up to date rig that will play just about anything, although some games not on max res. If you need a new PSU, a corsair 430w can be had for $45, with a $20 mail in rebate.

You can go on newegg yourself, and I think you'll be suprised what $300 can get you. Shop around for combo deals, free shipping and mail in rebates!

 

[chopsuix]

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm Canadian so i don't know about the free shipping. It sounds tempting for 300 but I guess i just gotta figure out my priorities. Do I really need a new desktop? I got a brand new MBP, ps3 and xbox 360, but there is still something to be said about having a desktop. Much more comfortable to spend more time on a desktop keyboard then a macbook keyboard.