Upgrading my computer. Need help picking a graphics card!

FFMooglestar

FFMooglestar

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I recently came into a little bit of extra money and have decided to beef up my PC just a little bit. I wanted to hit 3 areas (RAM, PSU, and Graphics Card). I've already picked out the RAM (2x 1GB Sticks) and PSU (Shuttle PC50) I am going to purchase, so all that is left is the graphics card.

I am looking to spend somewhere near $100.00 for an AGP Card. I would love for it to be able to run games like Oblivion and CS:Source with the visusal settings turned up high, but I don't know if that is possible with the amount I wish to spend.

The card will be replacing this old card that I got when FFXI launched because my integrated video card couldn't run it:
Best Data Arcade FX 64MB DDR GeForce 4 MX 440 - 8X

Now I am pretty oblivious as to what to look for in a video card other than that it fits in an AGP slot so everyone's help will be appreciated.

One card I have my eye on is this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102680R

It sounds right, but then again I really have no idea what I am looking at.

Please help me fellow CAG's you are my only hope!
 
Great card. I just recently bought that one (not open box though). It can run Oblivion at high and Episode One at max settings and pretty much every game before that at high. Drivers for it aren't that great though. Great bang for buck with this one.
 
[quote name='gunm']The 6600GT is another decent AGP alternative:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814135185

In my case, I'm still running an old nforce3 platform w/AGP, so it's not even worth it for me to try and upgrade specific components anymore. As long as WoW works, I'm happy...[/quote]

id prefer the 6600 over the x1600, id be weary with getting open box stuff, but since this is only 100 its not that much of a risk. u wont see a difference between 256mb ram and 512mb ram with that card because it wont be able to handle many games at resolutions of 1600x1200 and over, where the extra ram really matters. the 1600 wont let you play oblivion on high though, just keep that in mind. My x1900xtx only gets ~30fps outdoors on 1680x1050 and everything on max. You'll have to make some sacrafices.
 
[quote name='Americanpierg']id prefer the 6600 over the x1600, id be weary with getting open box stuff, but since this is only 100 its not that much of a risk. u wont see a difference between 256mb ram and 512mb ram with that card because it wont be able to handle many games at resolutions of 1600x1200 and over, where the extra ram really matters. the 1600 wont let you play oblivion on high though, just keep that in mind. My x1900xtx only gets ~30fps outdoors on 1680x1050 and everything on max. You'll have to make some sacrafices.[/QUOTE]

I have the 6600 GT now and it's really nice. Although it only has 128MB (My card only as that much anyways), I can run my games at 1680x1050 like the guy above me with no problems on CS:Source, Far Cry, Doom 3, X- Legends 2, ect. And that's with most if not all of the options turned to the highest. In the CS:Source test, I get around 100FPS and I have a 3.0Ghz P4, 2 Gigs of DDR400 Ram, Sound Blaster Live 24-Bit, and that's it.
 
[quote name='Americanpierg']id prefer the 6600 over the x1600, id be weary with getting open box stuff, but since this is only 100 its not that much of a risk. u wont see a difference between 256mb ram and 512mb ram with that card because it wont be able to handle many games at resolutions of 1600x1200 and over, where the extra ram really matters. the 1600 wont let you play oblivion on high though, just keep that in mind. My x1900xtx only gets ~30fps outdoors on 1680x1050 and everything on max. You'll have to make some sacrafices.[/QUOTE]

Well, most any card would stutter at that resolution.:lol:

I'd go with the X1600. Why? It's a newer chipset... it supports more features than the 6600 so it'll be able to handle more from newer games. The 6 series is pretty old.
 
For how long would the x1600Pro be considered a decent card? I still am using an AGP card too (with a Abit NF7-S, XP 2600+, and only 512MB RAM right now). I want to play Oblivion a lot but I don't know if I should spend the $150 or so to get it upgraded for a little bit now (that card plus more RAM), or wait awhile and upgrade the whole system for $500 or so. Comments?
 
Get the x1600 - great product. Doesn't matter if it's open box - run a few benchmarks when it arrives and stress test it a bit - if there's a problem, return it to newegg within 15 days for a refund.

Strebor - the x1600 is considered an above average card, but if you're willing to wait it out a few months, prices should drop on a bunch of cards once the new wave hits.
 
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