I'm lost and scared..

[iCraig]

..with how far graphics cards have advanced.

Anyway, here's the deal:

I'm thinking of getting Battlefield 2142 to play with my mates, but I'm aware that my graphics card is going a bit wrinkly and grey now.

My current PC setup is

AMD Athlon XP 2800+
1.5GB of DDR400 RAM
ATi Radeon 9800 Pro.

I'm aware that ideally I should think about getting a new mobo and CPU and going down the PCI Express route, but money is tight this time of year and I can't justify a new system like that just for one game.

So I'm going to have to stick with AGP for now and see how well it does.

So my question is, what's the best AGP graphics card available for about £100-150 budget?

Needs to be a decent upgrade over a 9800 Pro, I was hoping to find some 6800GT's/Ultras cheap but they appear to be all out of stock.

So, what would you people recommend?

 

[iCraig]

How does the 7600GT compare to the older titans that I heard everyone rave about a year or so ago?

Is it as good as the 6800 Ultra? The X800 Pro etc?

 

[iCraig]

I really have no idea. This is exactly why I asked, if I went into a store I would probably end up coming out with a SNES cartridge.

 

[iCraig]

Example of why buying a new AGP card is pointless...

AGP 7600GT Price:£140.99 Including VAT

Well that's one price, I've found one for £128.97 somewhere else, and at £105.92 somewhere else.

if you really must have a new card then there is a brand new X800 XT going on a popular auction site for £95 inc delivery, it has comparible if not better performance than a 7600GT but no SM3.0 support... not like many games use it anyway. Personally i would go put a wanted advert up in members market and post AGP card wanted, £80 waiting. youl probably get offerd an X800XT / X850Pro / 6800GT or Ultra. id be going with any of those.

But I was told above that the 7600GT is far better than the 6800/X800 stuff, so why not pay an extra 20-30 quid for a better card?

I understand the logic that in the long term, I will be wasting money on the card. But I simply can't afford the parts, nor time to get myself a PCI-e based system. Probably in 8-12 months.

 

[iCraig]

because its not £20 / £30 quid its £42 , you can get a second hand 6800GT for £70 or X800XT for £80 or find a little X800GT for around £50 to tide you over untill your ready for a full upgrade, all from members market, and all includes delivery.

Like I said, I can get a 7600GT for £100. Which I've been told is way better than the 6800GT etc, so it's worth the extra 20-30 pound.

or you can pay £140 + £8 postage and packaging for an AGP version of a card thats worth £88 + £8 p&p. the 6800GT isnt as powerful as the 7600GT this is true but its still more cost effective, the X800XT can match it easily.

It's not £140! Is the £8 delivery figure made up or something? This competitor is free delivery for items over £80. You can't add delivery costs etc into an argument about saving money, as it's subjective to where you buy it from. You've just picked one figure to go by. It can be bought cheaper elsewhere. £105 is the lowest I've found so far. £35 less.

So the X800XT is as good as the 7600GT in terms of performance? Even so, is it worth £20 extra to have a brand new one, rather than a second hand card that has probably been clocked, modded and used a fair bit etc. Buying new also removes the hassle of finding a seller in the first place, making sure he is genuine etc etc. For a few hundred yes, but £20 isn't a lot of money for piece of mind and convenience.

buying cards for an AGP socket especially when your stuck with an older cpu like the AMD XP range is a bad idea and a waste of money.

All I'm after is a quick upgrade to see me through one game at medium settings. The 7600GT will do that.

from the members market you can get the following...
sockt 939 motherboard £30 (specify that you want PCI-E with 4 x memory sockets)
socket 939 CPU + cooler £45 (probably something like an AMD A 3000+ venice)
use existing ram
buy PCI-E 7600GT £96 inc delivery from OCUK.

total cost £171

Sell
XP 2800 £25
old motherboard £20
9800Pro £40

total £85
total spent on upgrading after selling old parts = £86

for a little effort and £86 you can have a brand new pc with a 7600GT, hell you can even spent an extra £40 on an X1800XT and still come in at less than £150 spent.

True, but most of that will involve selling this PC and locating and buying second hand parts. I work from my PC each day and having it in pieces across the floor, juggling components and buying new ones from MM means I could be without a PC for several days. Not good. Don't forget, I'm only buying this graphics card to see me through one game. I don't need socket 939 or a new CPU for that really. My line of work doesn't require it either. If I played more games, or needed a faster PC overall, I wouldn't of bothered asking here, I would have gone with the new PC option.

hardly difficult now is it...

I can see your point without you having to be condescending.