Video Cards

[rush_fan]

Hi all- 100th post*woot woot*

Anyway, I was thinking of investing in a new video card.  I have an ATI 9800XT and I think I need an upgrade if i want to play BF2, Age Of Empires III, and TES4 Oblivion to their fullest potential.  Can this be solved by overclocking my video card- if so, how do i do it?  

If I need to invest in a new video card, which would be the best "bang for the buck"?  I prefer ATI, but that is just because i am used to how they number their video cards(9800 than the x series all the way up to x1900).  Also, I have seen the ati models made by different manufacturers, such as Sapphire, and they are MUCH cheaper.  Are these cards worse, or is there not much difference but price?  Please help.  Any help is appreciated. Thanks

Also, I need to use AGP based cards

[Almeidaboo]

nVidia G-Force, the latest ones...they´re the best IMO...

[Osmose]

Actually, I upgraded my video card specifically for Oblivion (Although I accidentally ordered a PCI Express card, and thus had to upgrade the motherboard as well). Depending on your budget, you might want to get something better, but I got an ATI Radeon x700, and it runs Oblivion nicely. The FPS isn't superastounding, and the settings aren't all the way up, but it's definately both playable and enjoyable. It cost $150, though.

Your best bet would be to browse through Newegg to see what cards they have that fit your profile. This card, for example, looks like it's pretty powerful for a decent price (the reason why it's an x1300 but the same price as my x700 is because mine was PCI Express, which is a better format than AGP in terms of performance).

Oh, and my previous card was a Sapphire, and although I have nothing to compare it to (it was the first computer I had that I knew what hardware was in it, since it was the one I built), it ran fine for me - played Morrowind at a damn good FPS, at least. It was a Radeon 9200+ Sapphire.

[MrMister]

Originally posted by rush_fan
I think I need an upgrade if i want to play BF2, Age Of Empires III, and TES4 Oblivion to their fullest potential.

It's likely they need super pixel shading. Your card is like 3 years old I believe.. you might need to upgrade.

[rush_fan]

Well, i was looking at this one-

How does it look- it seems right after i bought my computer, pci express was released... grrr..... anyway, does this look to good to be true- an x1300 for under $100?

[rush_fan]

How much would it be just to upgrade my motherboard and vid card- i have an awsome amd athalon 64 processor and great cddrives and stuff- how much would a motherboard upgrade cost?

[Osmose]

Well it all depends on your paticular situation. For example, when I upgraded my motherboard, I had to make sure everything was compatable with it, including the case.

I wouldn't have gotten a new motherboard if I had looked at the graphics card and made sure it was AGP. If you have the money to throw at it, you might want to get a new motherboard, but be warned that there still isn't, as far as I know, that much of a difference between AGP 8x and PCI Express. Their capabilities are vastly different, PCI Express being nearly double what AGP is, but no game has yet to push itself beyond AGP's limits, meaning that you won't find much of a difference between comparable cards in the different formats.

But, if you can see yourself getting a new graphics card in the future once PCIe gets going, and you have the extra cash, you could get a new motherboard. However, be prepared to strip down your entire computer and stick it all back together. You'll have to check everything in your computer first, and then check the motherboard to see if everything is compatble, and then double and triple check it all to be sure. There's risks of losing hard drive data, having to install a BIOS, etc etc. You'll probably have to reinstall drivers for most everything, too. It didn't happen to me (XP only had to be revalidated, not reinstalled), but it could happen to you.

I *built* my computer and it still took me over 3 hours to get everything plugged in right when I swapped boards. And even then I didn't know about thermal paste on the CPU, which led to me bending pins on it when I applied some I got, which led to me having to buy a whole new CPU, although I got the exact same type. $200 flushed away for no good reason... *sigh*

[rush_fan]

Well, i found an x1600 pro for $120, and it is AGP!!!! So, for now I am going to stick with my motherboard!!

[rush_fan]

i'm confused- what is better- x1600pro or x800pro??

[Osmose]

I'd assume the x1600 pro. Lemme check it out...

...wow, that's some screwy numbering. According to Newegg, the All-In-Wonder x800 is way better than the x1600 right above it. Just goes to show you that version numbers can be decieving.

I'd compare the actual numbers, I guess. Reviews are a great tool, as well.

If I see anyone I know who's a hardware wizard I'll point them in your direction.

[rush_fan]

Thanks- thats the expression i got when i compared the specs!

I am willing to spend $200 on an AGP card- I need a worth while upgrade for my ATI 9800xt