Freshmixture Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Everyone alright? I need your help. I'm upgrading to a 512 MB AGP video card. The 3 listed are just under $200 at Newegg.com. My computer specs are in my sig. Heres what I know: 1. The x1600 is the lowest ATI card that GRAW supports. 2. All vid cards need at least a 300w PSU--COVERED. 3. Only have used NVIDIA. Heres what I need to know: 1. How much can I overclock and or tweak these cards? 2. Are these cards fine as is? 3. Is there a better 512 MB video card out there around my price range? 4. Is there a better price elsewhere for these cards? 5. Unsure about the difference in pipeline amount. 6. Unsure about the difference in memory interface "bit" amount. Here are my card options: SAPPHIRE Radeon X1600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Video Card ($138 at Newegg.com) Pixel Pipelines: 12 Core clock: n/a Memory Clock: n/a Memory Size: 512 MB Memory Interface: 128-bit Memory Type: GDDR2 RAMDAC: 400 mhz DirectX: DirectX 9 OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0 ASUS Geforce 6800 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Video Card ($173 at Newegg.com) Pixel Pipelines: 12 Core clock: 325 mhz Memory Clock: 540 mhz Memory Size: 512 MB Memory Interface: 128-bit Memory Type: GDDR2 RAMDAC: 400 mhz DirectX: DirectX 9 OpenGL: OpenGL 1.5 BIOSTAR Geforce 6800XT 512MB 256-bit GDDR2 AGP 4X/8X Video Card ($150 at Newegg.com) Pixel Pipelines: 8 Core clock: 325 mhz Memory Clock: 700 mhz Memory Size: 512 MB Memory Interface: 256-bit Memory Type: GDDR2 RAMDAC: 400 mhz DirectX: DirectX 9 OpenGL: OpenGL 2.0 I thank you all in advance for all you help. Please feel free to direct me to or away from there cards. Cheers! Fresh..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROCO*AFZ* Posted May 16, 2006 Share Posted May 16, 2006 Here is the thing... just because it has 512mb of ram doesn't mean it's better then a 256. I have a geforce 6800GS (paid 230$ for it) 256mb. It will beat a 6800 512 anyday. Why do i say this... check this review http://www.avault.com/hardware/getreview.a...ga6800gs&page=2 My core is 75mhz over the 6800 and the 6800 only has DDR 600-700mhz where the 6800GS uses DDR3 @ 1000 mhz I also get a 256bit frame buffer where the 6800 flat gets 128bit. 6800 - 19.2 GB pers sec mem bandwidth. 6800GS = 32GB Big things to look for are what kind of memory (not always how much (DDR3 for example)) What it's core clock is What it's memory clock and bandwidth is How many vertex shaders (both 6800 and 6800GS have the same) And how many pixel pipelines (both have the same again) Confusing as hell isn't it? LOL! bottom line is the more you pay the better card you get. doesn't matter what the ram is as you pay for core and clock not amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimson Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Roco basically said it. None of those cards are worth your time or money. On the ATi side, I wouldn't go for anything lower than an X1800XT (~$250 and up). As for nVidia, 7800/7900GT (~$280 and up). If you wanna play you gotta pay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stealth-IRA Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 (edited) I think you have the same quandary that lots of GR players have...you have an AGP MB and dont want to junk out a perfectly good CPU/MB/memory...just to get into the better NV/ATI pciexpress video cards. I have been looking myself for the last 2 weeks at this exact situation. I dont want to go the RADEON 1600 PRO 512mb route or nV 6800 agp because for the $150 those sell for they are really only marginally better for GR:AW that my current RADEON 9800PRO 128. So let me cut to the chase...ya gots 2 choices...and they are both around $300 bux Choice No 1. nVidia GeForce 7800GS...this is the best all around performing agp card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814150131 Choice No. 2 ATI X850 XT ..this is the fastest ATI built agp card http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/simprod.as...11857&ad=pwatch Choice No. 3 ATI X800PRO..this is the minimun card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102017 You can find X850XT's on epay for in the 200 range...all 3 cards listed above are faster than ATI X1600 and the first 2 will be faster that nv6800 Look at tomshardware for game testing of these and more video cards Actually I just looked at that Biostar 6800 again and notice only 8 pixel pipelines... sry thats just not gonna cut it. What you need.. core clock memory clock memory access..256 or no good pixel pipelines Those are the big 4...having 512mb of memory shouldnt be a concern until you are getting the first 4 with HIGH numbers If you are like me and got used to running GR at 1024X768 or above that ...you can't buy a $150 video card that will run GR:AW in that resolution.(And hold tight at 30fps or above during intense firefights) My 9800PRO only qualifies for 800X600 @60 hz....and the game doesnt look the same. Edited May 17, 2006 by Stealth-IRA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lightspeed Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 only margianlly better then a 9800 pro...lmao. you're way off. i went from a 9800 to a 6600gt, the difference was huge - you cant compare the two for performance. run a search on: xpertvision gts super 512 ram (it is/was the fastest AGP solution on the market about 1 month ago, there may be one faster now) but thats what I bought cos I was stuck with AGP. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viiiper Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 I think you have the same quandary that lots of GR players have...you have an AGP MB and dont want to junk out a perfectly good CPU/MB/memory...just to get into the better NV/ATI pciexpress video cards. I have been looking myself for the last 2 weeks at this exact situation. I dont want to go the RADEON 1600 PRO 512mb route or nV 6800 agp because for the $150 those sell for they are really only marginally better for GR:AW that my current RADEON 9800PRO 128. So let me cut to the chase...ya gots 2 choices...and they are both around $300 bux Choice No 1. nVidia GeForce 7800GS...this is the best all around performing agp card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814150131 Choice No. 2 ATI X850 XT ..this is the fastest ATI built agp card http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/simprod.as...11857&ad=pwatch Choice No. 3 ATI X800PRO..this is the minimun card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16814102017 You can find X850XT's on epay for in the 200 range...all 3 cards listed above are faster than ATI X1600 and the first 2 will be faster that nv6800 Look at tomshardware for game testing of these and more video cards Actually I just looked at that Biostar 6800 again and notice only 8 pixel pipelines... sry thats just not gonna cut it. What you need.. core clock memory clock memory access..256 or no good pixel pipelines Those are the big 4...having 512mb of memory shouldnt be a concern until you are getting the first 4 with HIGH numbers If you are like me and got used to running GR at 1024X768 or above that ...you can't buy a $150 video card that will run GR:AW in that resolution.(And hold tight at 30fps or above during intense firefights) My 9800PRO only qualifies for 800X600 @60 hz....and the game doesnt look the same. All Squabbles end !!! Measure up your Beast here for FREE I AM REFERING TO YOUR VIDEO CARDS LADS MESSURE UP YOUR VIDEO CARD TODAY SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON OF 90% OF THE WORLDS TOP PC VIDEO CARDS CLICK De LINK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR6 Posted May 17, 2006 Share Posted May 17, 2006 Everyone alright? I need your help. I'm upgrading to a 512 MB AGP video card. The 3 listed are just under $200 at Newegg.com. My computer specs are in my sig. Fresh, you have a 2GHz machine, and it is NOT worth it to upgrade to a 7800GS AGP as the card is TOO fast for your system. I.e. the card will be limited by your CPU which will be the bottleneck. You have at least a 3 year old system. If you seriously want to play GRAW at higher settings, you need to upgrade your CPU. Like Crimson said, if you want to play with the big boys, you have to pay I have almost the same system as you but with P4 2.5GHz/1GB RDRAM running a 9800Pro. I wouldn't spend any more to upgrade your current machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freshmixture Posted May 18, 2006 Author Share Posted May 18, 2006 Everyone alright? I need your help. I'm upgrading to a 512 MB AGP video card. The 3 listed are just under $200 at Newegg.com. My computer specs are in my sig. Fresh, you have a 2GHz machine, and it is NOT worth it to upgrade to a 7800GS AGP as the card is TOO fast for your system. I.e. the card will be limited by your CPU which will be the bottleneck. You have at least a 3 year old system. If you seriously want to play GRAW at higher settings, you need to upgrade your CPU. Like Crimson said, if you want to play with the big boys, you have to pay I have almost the same system as you but with P4 2.5GHz/1GB RDRAM running a 9800Pro. I wouldn't spend any more to upgrade your current machine. After reading everyones posts, I can max out my CPU to a 2.8, and from what I read, OC it to 3.0 safely. Think I should give that a go....... Fresh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR6 Posted May 18, 2006 Share Posted May 18, 2006 After reading everyones posts, I can max out my CPU to a 2.8, and from what I read, OC it to 3.0 safely. Think I should give that a go....... Fresh You mentioned this before, but remember that P4 CPUs that work with RDRAM motherboards were discontinued almost 2 years ago, and that RDRAM is not easily overclockable. You basically need a new CPU, mobo, and RAM. Both Intel and AMD are refreshing their new-gen CPUs by the end of the year (Core 2 Duo and AM2 CPUs respectively), so I wouldn't buy a new system til the fall. I see you've updated your sig - I assume you bought the 6800? That would be a good match for your current system. You should be able to play GRAW at lower res acceptably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freshmixture Posted May 22, 2006 Author Share Posted May 22, 2006 After reading everyones posts, I can max out my CPU to a 2.8, and from what I read, OC it to 3.0 safely. Think I should give that a go....... Fresh You mentioned this before, but remember that P4 CPUs that work with RDRAM motherboards were discontinued almost 2 years ago, and that RDRAM is not easily overclockable. You basically need a new CPU, mobo, and RAM. Both Intel and AMD are refreshing their new-gen CPUs by the end of the year (Core 2 Duo and AM2 CPUs respectively), so I wouldn't buy a new system til the fall. I see you've updated your sig - I assume you bought the 6800? That would be a good match for your current system. You should be able to play GRAW at lower res acceptably. After reading some Dell forums, I can upgrade my CPU from a 2.0 @ 400 fsb to a 3.06 gb at 533 fsb with HT (through a BIOS upgrade). My mobo supports 400 fsb and 533 fsb. My installed memory (1.5 gb currently, can max it to 2.0 gb) supports both 400 fsb and 533 fsb as well. I can get the CPU for $100 through some connections I have. What do you think about this upgrade? I can't really afford to build a new computer right now, I've got a 4 month old little boy.... I hope this CPU upgrade will help me out. Please let me know. Laters! Fresh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CR6 Posted May 22, 2006 Share Posted May 22, 2006 After reading some Dell forums, I can upgrade my CPU from a 2.0 @ 400 fsb to a 3.06 gb at 533 fsb with HT (through a BIOS upgrade). My mobo supports 400 fsb and 533 fsb. My installed memory (1.5 gb currently, can max it to 2.0 gb) supports both 400 fsb and 533 fsb as well. What motherboard chipset do you have? Is it an Intel 850 or 850E? Note: If your new RDRAM RIMMs are PC1066 Rambus memory, and you mixed them with older PC800 RIMMs, the motherboard will default back to 400FSB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freshmixture Posted May 23, 2006 Author Share Posted May 23, 2006 After reading some Dell forums, I can upgrade my CPU from a 2.0 @ 400 fsb to a 3.06 gb at 533 fsb with HT (through a BIOS upgrade). My mobo supports 400 fsb and 533 fsb. My installed memory (1.5 gb currently, can max it to 2.0 gb) supports both 400 fsb and 533 fsb as well. What motherboard chipset do you have? Is it an Intel 850 or 850E? Note: If your new RDRAM RIMMs are PC1066 Rambus memory, and you mixed them with older PC800 RIMMs, the motherboard will default back to 400FSB. Its a 850E, thats why I'm able to go to the 533 fsb from 400. My memory is all set as well (PC800, 40ns) Fresh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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