Should you update the graphics Adapter on a 4 year old computer??

Crazy!

Road Runner!
ok I'll have to decide between a Radeon X1600, Radeon 9600XT & Radeon 9800XT...So yeah I mentioned this last card on the last thread after editing it, I found this card and assumed it was even more powerful than the 9600XT.. is it? and can my psu handle it as it is now {300W}?

And also is the 9800XT better than the X1600 or just as good??

More & more quezzies, I know! ;)
 
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Jale

Active member
The 9800 XT has a slower core speed than the X1600, but it has a lot more memroy bandwidth than the X1600.
 

Jale

Active member
To understand how fast ATI graphic cards are, they're schemed like this:

High-end (expensive/powerful): **8** and **9** (9800, X1800, X1950, etc).
Mainstream (mid-range/balanced): **7**, **6** and **5** (9500, 9600, X700, X1600, etc).
Low-end (cheap/low performance): **4**, **3**, 9***, 8*** and 7*** series (9200, 9250, X300, etc).

The difference between the 9000 series and the X1000 series is the Shader Model. The X1000 series are always Shader Model 3.0, while the 9000 series are Shader Model 2.0, 2.0a and 2.0b depending of the model.
 
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Crazy!

Road Runner!
The 9800 XT has a slower core speed than the X1600, but it has a lot more memroy bandwidth than the X1600.

So which do you suggest...?? *I know I need a good punch!* haha :p

And thanks for that chart about low-high end cards I'm getting much more of an idea, it's probably gonna be either 9800XT or X1600 after I get more RAM! Thanks.;)
 

Jale

Active member
The 9800XT is a high end video card and an expensive one (well, being a Shader Model 2.0 card makes it a little cheaper). If you can't afford it, consider getting any mid-range (mainstream) cards (see table above).
 

Crazy!

Road Runner!
the 9800XT only requires a 300W PSU, great, I could have got this card but it requires a AGP 3.0 Config and mines 2.0 soo...http://hisdigitals.com/html/9800xt.htm

But I've also looked at the X1600 and it requires a 350W psu and mines 300W, I just want to get the full power of the card, but I don't kmow again now...hmmmph!:( *I'm so undecisive, I might have upgrade my PSU aswell then)


EDIT: I've also read about the 9600XT and this card requires over 300W psu, look here on the description...http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ATI-RADEON-96...oryZ3762QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

What to do???....:(

So the cards X1600 & 9600XT both need over 300W according to these sources..hmmmph, that's really annoyed me and I can't use the other one {9800XT} cos it needs a 3.0 AGP config!!:(
 
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Crazy!

Road Runner!
There's so many to pick from I just cant decide what the best one will be after I've upgraded RAM, I'm gonna be looking for a while, when I've finally found one which I think will be good, I'll show ya! :)
 

Crazy!

Road Runner!
I've made a decision after a bit of 'research' almost anything higher doesn't work good with my PSU and this card sounds good & affordable, the description says that the card can play games like Battlefield 2, Half Life 1/2 and Counter Strike and all games are reasonably demanding and are really wicked graphically...I've chosen the: Inno3D GeForce 6600 256MB AGP Graphics Card

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=250104720766&rd=1&rd=1

And it looks like I'm gonna get it cheap, I think this card is old, but not too old and can cope well with alot of modern games. I've asked the seller if it will work well with my psu, I've looked on net and it said it would but I just wanna make double sure! sooo.. this might be the one! I probably won't come on here for installation enquiries cos I've got the motherboard manual which explains how install everything, thanks for everyones help on this!! Bye!! :0 :p ;)
 

Jale

Active member
The 6600 is a mid-range card and its features are:

  • 500 MHz core speed.
  • 1 GHz memory speed.
  • 16 GB/s peak memory bandwidth.
A good choice, IMHO. I'm not familiar with nVIDIA cards.
 

Zach

New member
6600 is pretty old.. If you can afford a better card I'd go for it. My 6800 is starting to show it's age for certain, in a lot of games.

If playing in lower resolutions and with less detail doesn't really bother you, then yeah you could get by for a couple years yet with the 6600.
 

Crazy!

Road Runner!
yeah my psu is a problem i'm starting to notice...I tried bidding on a Radeon 6000 PRO [256MB, AGP] card and this card would work well with a 300W psu and it sounds pretty good and affordable, would this be a better choice than the Geforce 6600 or 6800??

Thanks!
 
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Jale

Active member
yeah my psu is a problem i'm starting to notice...I tried bidding on a Radeon 6000 PRO [256MB, AGP] card and this card would work well with a 300W psu and it sounds pretty good and affordable, would this be a better choice than the Geforce 6600 or 6800??

Thanks!
Radeon what? :confused:

The 6800 is better than the 6600, being the 6800 a high-end card while the 6600 is a mid-range card.
 

Crazy!

Road Runner!
Radeon what? :confused:

The 6800 is better than the 6600, being the 6800 a high-end card while the 6600 is a mid-range card.

lol, haha, 'ooops I did it AGAIN!!' sorry I meant the Radeon 9600 PRO {256MB AGP}, look here's the one I lost on eBay -> http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....MEDW:IT&viewitem=&item=150114742625&rd=1&rd=1

Here's the one I'm watching, is it wise to get this card on a budget and with my 300W psu??? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....m=300103488736&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020

I've looked on the official ATI site and it said it recommends 300W or higher, so I'm sure it'll be cool! ;x
 
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Zach

New member
6600 Will probably edge out the 9600 Pro. My bro had one and neither he or I were at all impressed with it - and he upgraded from a shitty 9200 at that.

It doesn't even begin to compare to the 6800 for sure.
 

Crazy!

Road Runner!
Oh I thought that card was older than the 9600 PRO, so your saying the 6800 is better, I cant remember if that'll work with my PSU, I'll go and see and I've got to make a decison soon on which card will give me the BEST performance with 512MB of RAM and a 300W Power Supply...mmmmm
 

Jale

Active member
Just because the 6600 is a lower number than the 9600 it doesn't mean is crappy. The 6600 is from nVIDIA's and the 9600 is from ATI's and both have different naming schemes.

I agree with Zach on this. If you want an AGP high-end card, get the 6800. It's the best AGP card out there.
 
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