Another Graphics Card Thread

[Suka]

Right here is the deal.
Since it was my birthday yesterday i know have up to £100 to spend on a card. I would like something relativly powerful but not all that great, just so that i can at least run games. If i can not spend the entire £100 that would be good too.
A few other questions. What is the difference between AGP and PCI-Express? I only ask becasue i assumed that i would need a PCI-Express card but looking at the pictures on the net it looks like they wouldn't go into the expansion slots on my pc. It looks like a PCI-Express slot but it seems as if the card would go in backwards and end up with the ports facing the inside of the computer rather than poking out the back. If you know what i mean. I thought i knew a bit about computers but it was so long since i built my last one i have forgotten a lot.
Please help me!

[Guest]

PCI-Express - new slot (replaces AGP) - you need a graphics card thats PCI-e and a mobo thats PCI-e
your best bet is an AGP 6800

[NuclearCrap]

For that much money you can get the 6800GS for AGP and a 7600GT for PCI-E. I'd say find out what you have first.

By the way there's a PC thread if you didn't notice.

[Cotterik]

be careful. you're in the exact same situation I was in 3 months ago.

I wanted to change my graphics card. had a little money. then realised i needed a whole new setup to be able to upgrade to PCI-E. I'm just about to install the last part of a £700 order. Although I was thinking of upgrading the system anyway.

once you realise the extra money you pay to stay in the past with AGP..you'll fall into the trap.

[NuclearCrap]

be careful. you're in the exact same situation I was in 3 months ago.

I wanted to change my graphics card. had a little money. then realised i needed a whole new setup to be able to upgrade to PCI-E. I'm just about to install the last part of a £700 order. Although I was thinking of upgrading the system anyway.

once you realise the extra money you pay to stay in the past with AGP..you'll fall into the trap.

Well there's a "refresh period" for eveybody.

The AGP version of the 6800GS can be fully unlocked into a 6800GT, so no loss there, although we still don't know what he has.

[Suka]

Ok, i'm fairly sure i will need an AGP card. What are you on about Cotterik? I only have £100 to spend. I dont like the idea of having to spend lots of cash on other stuff. I have a crappy Dell PC with a 3.2 Ghz Celeron and 1GB of RAM. I don't know what the hell the motherboard is but that shouldn't matter right? It has two AGP slots on it.
So a 6800GS is a good idea yeah? I just did a Google search and couldn't find that card anywhere for under £100.
What is this card like? 6600GT
What is the difference between that and the 6600?
Cheers for the help.

[NuclearCrap]

Ok, i'm fairly sure i will need an AGP card. What are you on about Cotterik? I only have £100 to spend. I dont like the idea of having to spend lots of cash on other stuff. I have a crappy Dell PC with a 3.2 Ghz Celeron and 1GB of RAM. I don't know what the hell the motherboard is but that shouldn't matter right? It has two AGP slots on it.
So a 6800GS is a good idea yeah? I just did a Google search and couldn't find that card anywhere for under £100.
What is this card like? 6600GT
What is the difference between that and the 6600?
Cheers for the help.

6600GT has GDDR3 memory, allowing it to run as fast as the 6800XT, although the 6800XT is slow. The base 6600 "vanilla", on the other hand, is much much slower. Try and see if you can find a 7600GT for under 100, if not I guess your best bet would be the 7600GS.

And if I have to rank these cards based on performance:
7600GT > 6800GT > 6800GS > 7600GS > 6800XT (GDDR3) > 6600GT > 6800XT (GDDR2) > 6600

[Cotterik]

this is a new model, released along with the x1950xt about a month back:

http://komplett.co.uk/k/ki.asp?sku=325504

ATI x1650 pro. GDDR3 . £95

if that were my price range, i'd go for that. Its one of the 7600GTs rivals..at a better price.

Neoseeker:"The new RV535 GPU revision from ATI leaves me with good feelings. We have seen with our testing that it can compete with those cards that made use of an RV530 chip. We have even seen instances where the X1650 Pro from Sapphire preforms on par with those cards that have been labeled as it's superiors. But as mid-range value goes, this card definitely hits the sweet spot."

[Suka]

Ok then. So now i want this ATI beasty. Looks like a good deal. This the best card i could get for my price range yeah? I just want to make the most out of the money i have.
Are komplett a reliable source to buy from? Is there anywhere else i could buy from since i was hoping to have this card by friday but komplett have none in stock till thursday.

[adamfraser]

Ebuyer ?

[Suka]

I can't find it on their site.
I will just have to wait till the end of the week.

[NuclearCrap]

The X1650Pro is only a tiny bit better than the 7600GS........

I found a few AGP 7600GT for your price range.
http://www.lambda-tek.com/components...&prodID=B63959
http://www.morecomputers.co.uk/textr...eferer=Froogle

Well that's all I could find as I don't know good online sellers in the UK. 7600GT is much better than X1650Pro and 7600GS though.

[Revolution]

Heh, I myself am upgrading from my Radeon 9550 256mb AGP.
I chose a Leadtek A7600GT AGP, I'm picking it up on Saturday. Along with that comes a new PSU, plus 1gb of dual channel Corsair DDR RAM. Around $600-$650 AUD will be spent.
Once its all installed I'll let you know how it is, if you like.

[Suka]

Unless the 7600GT is like twice as good as the ATI card i think i will stick with the X1650. I can have it for half-term next week and i can't be arsed to spend my time searching for a 7600GT in stock and in my range...

[Revolution]

If you really wanted something top of the line, theres an x1950 Pro AGP coming in November!
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatal...ics_Cards.html

GeCube ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 VIVO TV-Out/Dual DVI (AGP) - Retail (GX-004-GC)
Is your rig ready for the onslaught of next generation games? It will be with the GeCube X1950 Pro. Designed from the ground up to deliver maximum graphical detail at ultra-high frame rates, the GeCube X1950's state-of-the-art architecture includes an ultra-threaded engine for unparalleled shader performance. The GeCube X1950 ups the ante with Avivo?video and display technology that delivers movies, games, and photos in high-definition with stunning color and realism.

X1900 XT performance but with the advantage of much lower power consumption, cooler running and now available on AGP. A cracking card for very little money and one that packs a serious punch with superb image quality.

- Powered by ATI Radeon X1950 PRO - 575MHz (RV570 80nm)
- 256MB-256bit 8 channel GDDR3 memory - 1.38GHz
- 36 Pixel shader processor
- Ultra-threaded SM 3.0 Engine
- 512-bit Ring-bus
- HDCP Ready!!
- Low power consumption (Consumes 60W less than equivalent X1900 XT)

Arriving end of November 2006




Price: £159.99 (£187.99 Including VAT at 17.5%)

Pretty damn expensive though!. AGP isn't dead yet!