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Best AGP card.

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Well, the 7800gs+ 512mb is supposed to be basically a 7900gt 512, which makes it a fair margin faster than the 6800gt. It does cost £330 though. There's also the 7800gs 512 which is basically a 7800gt 512, agian that'd be a fair bit faster, but it's still £260. The other 7800gs' will probably clock further than your 6800gt, but the difference in speed at stock wouldn't be that great.

The ATI option would be an X850XT PE, but that doesn't support SM3.0 and will be hard to find first hand. This'd be quicker than the standard 7800gs, but slower than the other 2 I mentioned.
 
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Almost certainly not worth it as you'll probably get say £100-120ish for your graphics card and even at that the Gainward 7800gs(A 7900gt in disguise) will still cost you around £210 which seems quite a lot to be spending on a 'dead' standard. The ATI options will barely improve on what you have particularly if your graphics card is overclocked.
 
I really don't understand this "dead standard" thing.

The card is still incredably quick getting comparable benchmarks to the PCi-e version. It still does what it should and being AGP doesn't change that.

You could equally say that anyone buying a S939 PCI-e motherboard today is investing in a "dead standard" as the new AM2 based motheboards will be out mid year so next time they want to upgrade the CPU they will have to buy another motherboard and DD2 RAM.

Not forgetting the current cards will be obsolete with DX9 cards being a "dead standard" this time next year anyway with the new DX10 cards.

The Gainward AGP 7800gs+ is a cracking card that will keep any half decent AGP system at the top end (with the exception of SLi of course) for the next year the same as if you bought the PCI-e version & PCI-e motherboard. It really doesn't make much difference either way except you don't have the hassle of a motherboard transplant this time round.

Both versions will be old technology next year, as normal. In the mean time it is a substantial performance increase over your old card
 
The 7600GT and 7600GS will be comming out around July time.

7600GT-AGP : 560MHz Core / 700MHz memory, 12 pipes, available in 256MB/128bit DDR3 memory interface, 3080 in 3DMark06

7600GS-AGP : 400MHz Core / 400MHz memory, 12 pipes, available in 256MB/128bit DDR2 memory interface, 2117 in 3DMark06

From vr-zone Here
 
tmileson said:
I really don't understand this "dead standard" thing.

The card is still incredably quick getting comparable benchmarks to the PCi-e version. It still does what it should and being AGP doesn't change that.
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It's a dead standard because it's in such low demand that it's now cheaper in most cases to buy an nForce4 motherboard and PCI-E graphics card than it is to buy most AGP graphics cards. I did the same and my socket 754 Newcastle is still cruising along happily with an X1800XT next to it.
 
Why? You'll still need to change it again after this summer if you want to upgrade your processor.... If you want DX10 you'll have to change your GPU.

S939 PCI-e motherboards and video cards at the moment are nothing more than a filler for the next 6 - 12months. Any PCI-e S939 motherboard you buy now is obsolete in a month or two (when Socket AM2 appears) the same as AGP ones.
 
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tmileson said:
Why? You'll still need to change it again after this summer if you want to upgrade your processor.... If you want DX10 you'll have to change your GPU.

S939 PCI-e motherboards and video cards at the moment are nothing more than a filler for the next 6 - 12months. Any PCI-e S939 motherboard you buy now is obsolete in a month or two the same as AGP ones.
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I agree with you mate - no standard is "dead" untill there are no useful products available on it.

I have seen so many threads with people encouraging others do swap out their AGP motherboards in favour of PCI-express

Some people just dont want the extra hassle of changing motherboard and possibly cpu to save a couple of quid on a graphics card
 
i seem to remember a post saying that Steam Stats say that 75% of their users are on AGP.

Hardly a DEAD standard. It was probably a marketing ploy to push pci-e. After all it would mean more mobo sales and more income for Nvidea.

I am sticking with AGP for one simple reason. Other than graphics there is no real gain for me to upgrade my whole system. I would need 2gb of memory, a new processor. 3ghz+, a decent mobo with at least 6 sata ports and raid capability and a new graphics card. All in all i would be looking at £600+ to keep me at a similar spec with the exception of graphics. I think it makes more sense to upgrade the graphics for £300.
 
tmileson said:
Why? You'll still need to change it again after this summer if you want to upgrade your processor.... If you want DX10 you'll have to change your GPU.

S939 PCI-e motherboards and video cards at the moment are nothing more than a filler for the next 6 - 12months. Any PCI-e S939 motherboard you buy now is obsolete in a month or two the same as AGP ones.
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6-12 months is an optimistic estimate. Vista keeps being delayed, and even when it's finally released, it'll take six months to a year for decent DX10 titles to hit the shelves.

If you're going to upgrade as soon as DX10 cards are out, you'll find yourself in the same position you are talking about. Your card will be obsolete by the time you can play anything.

flashdjdan said:
I agree with you mate - no standard is "dead" untill there are no useful products available on it.

I have seen so many threads with people encouraging others do swap out their AGP motherboards in favour of PCI-express

Some people just dont want the extra hassle of changing motherboard and possibly cpu to save a couple of quid on a graphics card
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It's cheaper in the long-term and offers a better upgrade path for the next 12+ months.

Gav said:
i seem to remember a post saying that Steam Stats say that 75% of their users are on AGP.

Hardly a DEAD standard. It was probably a marketing ploy to push pci-e. After all it would mean more mobo sales and more income for Nvidea.

I am sticking with AGP for one simple reason. Other than graphics there is no real gain for me to upgrade my whole system. I would need 2gb of memory, a new processor. 3ghz+, a decent mobo with at least 6 sata ports and raid capability and a new graphics card. All in all i would be looking at £600+ to keep me at a similar spec with the exception of graphics. I think it makes more sense to upgrade the graphics for £300.
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Yeah, 75% of HL2 players are using old technology, and that's not a problem because HL2 doesn't need it and those people are obviously uninterested in upgrading. But for anyone interested in upgrading, encouraging them to buy an AGP card when they could get an nForce4 mobo and better PCI-E graphics card for the same price is just bad advice.

Not sure why there are people so vehemently defending AGP, it's not like you lose anything by upgrading, in fact it's cheaper. :rolleyes:
 
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Be absolute madness to get a DX10 card as soon as they come out, you gona spend £500+ on an operating system (Vista), as thats the only thing going to use it for donkeys, when the DX10 stuff starts to appear that its going to be worth buying a DX10 card for, then your going to have to spend yet another £500+ on a new card, as by that time you DX10 card will be old hat, and not run em well, cards are out every couple of months, games take years.
 
The point being PCI-e motherboards bought now don't really have any longer life in terms of upgradability than AGP. Buy a PCI-e motherboard now and if you want a new high end processor in 6 months time you'll have to replace it again (unless you go for an "dead standard" S939 proc, in which according to the PCI-e argument would be pointless).

The bottom line is there's almost nothing in it. The GW 7800GS+ gives you a 24pipeline 512mb card capable of 500/1400 minimum for about the same price as you'd pay for the PCI-e version plus a motherboard but without the hassle.
 
LoadsaMoney said:
Be absolute madness to get a DX10 card as soon as they come out, you gona spend £500+ on an operating system (Vista), as thats the only thing going to use it for donkeys, when the DX10 stuff starts to appear that its going to be worth buying a DX10 card for, then your going to have to spend yet another £500+ on a new card, as by that time you DX10 card will be old hat, and not run em well, cards are out every couple of months, games take years.
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Why would you spend £500+ on the OS??? I'd go for the £60 (or whatever it is) OEM or £80(ish) upgrade... /shrug

The point being that a AGP 7900GT 512mb has just as long a life as a PCi-e one pretty much.

My "Dead Standard" AGP mother board supports an FX60 and a the Gainward 7900GT 512mb. By the time I want to change my processor for a new one (faster than the FX60) I'll need a new (AM2) motherboard (even if I had a PCI-e one) anyway and, I'd suggest at that point I'm going to want to change my "old" 7900gt for a nice new DX10 card.

I can see advantages to current PCI-e, I just don't think it's the big thing it's made out to be.
 
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tmileson said:
The point being PCI-e motherboards bought now don't really have any longer life in terms of upgradability than AGP. Buy a PCI-e motherboard now and if you want a new high end processor in 6 months time you'll have to replace it again (unless you go for an "dead standard" S939 proc, in which according to the PCI-e argument would be pointless).

The bottom line is there's almost nothing in it. The GW 7800GS+ gives you a 24pipeline 512mb card capable of 500/1400 minimum for about the same price as you'd pay for the PCI-e version plus a motherboard but without the hassle.
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Sorry, come again?

Gainward BLISS Geforce 7800GS+ 512MB = £328 including VAT.
Total: £328

Gigabyte GA-K8NE Socket 754 PCI-E Mobo = £46 including VAT.
Gainward BLISS Geforce 7900GT 256MB = £211 including VAT.
Total: £257

Gigabyte GA-K8NE Socket 754 PCI-E Mobo = £46 including VAT.
Sapphire Radeon X1800XT 512MB = £258 including VAT.
Total: £304

Gigabyte GA-K8NE Socket 754 PCI-E Mobo = £46 including VAT.
Sapphire Radeon X1800XT 256MB = £170 including VAT.
Total: £216

Sorry mate, but "the bottom line" is that AGP is not only stupidly more expensive, it's limiting your upgrade path even more than any sane person should be willing to unless under incredible circumstances.

Personally, I'd end up with a weight on my conscience if I didn't reccommend an AGP user switch to PCI-E while upgrading their graphics card. They're just be spending so much more than necessary.

PS. I am fully aware that I used a socket 754 motherboard here, I was posting the options I had to choose from not long back. Socket 939 nForce4 boards are just as cheap.
 
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Exsomnis said:
Not sure why there are people so vehemently defending AGP, it's not like you lose anything by upgrading, in fact it's cheaper. :rolleyes:
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How is it cheaper?

I have at present:
P4 3.2
Abit IC7-Max3
2GB PC3200 Cas2 ram
6800GT

So spec me a new processor, mobo, memory and graphics to a similar spec for £350
 
Dunno for Pentium mate, I've not used one since the Pentium 3 650Mhz. But for Socket 754 and Socket 939 Athlons it's much cheaper to simply take the plunge and buy an nForce4 motherboard.

See my previous post for prices. Not only do you get a better, volt-moddable graphics card, you get a better upgrade path for well into Q3+ 2007. ;)

Addition: Not sure if your processor is LGA775 but the Abit NI8 SLi-GR nForce4 SLi is only £64 mate and has the advantage of SLi which 99% of socket 754 motherboards do not, even if they have PCI-E.

Addition: The MSI 915PL Neo-F Intel 915PL is also LGA775 and PCI-E, and only £46 to boot. Only supports two sticks of memory though.
 
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