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Need an AGP card

ajm said:
I am not sure how long i will be keeping this system before upgrading to Pci-e, but when i do i will be giving this system to my son as he likes to game and his system is getting a litlle old now. So it won't be wasted
Click to expand...
That changes things slightly & justifies going for the AGP HD 3850 Pro. Maybe search around, might get it cheaper/second-hand. As mentioned, PSU will handle fine ;)
 
Dont go for the GX2. Avoid SLi whenever possible. The 3850 512 is a great card. Depedning on the games you play and how GPU intensive they are it may be worth it fidning an older X1950 PRO
 
I am a bit confused now as i am being told that the 3850 512 card is the best option then X1950 PRO. Also if i were to go for the 3850 512mb is there a specific one to get or are they all the same (Brand, manufacturers)?
 
ajm said:
Both the same price which one is best or are there other brands that might be a better choice?

Also do you get the pci-e to molex connector with these cards?
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Yes you should get a molex connector adaptor :)

The card's are different in the specs, & possible warranty & bundle (i.e. games/software included). HIS ATI Radeon HD 3850 Pro Turbo card is overclocked hence 'Turbo' & you get a (dual-slot) beefier cooler.

Having owned cards from both manufactures, I'd recommend the HIS over Sapphire. Those coolers they use, are really good & very silent!
 
hp7909 said:
Having owned cards from both manufactures, I'd recommend the HIS over Sapphire. Those coolers they use, are really good & very silent!
Click to expand...

Yep, use to have a HIS 9800PRO AGP and HIS X1950PRO pci-e, were very cool and very quietly. I may even go as far as saying I was a bit silly then to upgrade from x1950 to 3870, as even the modified GeCube cooler is still stupidly loud. If HIS do another Turbo edition 4 series I am def going back to them.
 
You'd honestly be better selling your old equipment and upgrading to a basic/budget Core2Duo setup. I doubt it would be that much more expensive to do this that buying a new decent agp card. You'd get a massive performance increase buy doing this for very little money, especially if you buy 2nd hand parts :)

Other than that and you don't believe me, then look at getting an AGP X1950XT 512mb or an agp 3850 512mb.

Matthew
 
I wouldn't even bother upgrading a P4's GPU to be honest.

Even if you had a P4 with a PCIE slot, I still wouldn't touch it.

Do as said, buy a cheap E2160, a cheap motherboard, 2GB of ram and a GPU.

FAR better performance, the P4 sucks now completely and utterly in games.
 
How can it be cheaper to upgrade..

Grahphics card
CPU
Motherboard
Memory
PSU

I don't like the idea of buying second hand. This would be much more costly than an ago card. I do understand what you are saying about the P4 holding it back.

@hp7909 & [ZiiP]carrot

Thanks for the info on the different cards. Looks like the HIS will be the best option.:)
 
HI,

I have the HIS 3850 AGP card in my old system, and completely agree it is overkill for anything other than a s939 Athlon 64x2 set up.

My reasons for buying it were for some old games such as C&C 3 and also watching DVD's as it was intended to be a second system anyway.

I have had trouble with drivers, been unable to get smooth DVD replay and I am still trying to sort the DVD replay out. (Not so much the cards fault I guess), the card is supposed to help with CPU load for HD movies but this seems a little hit and miss in my system?

I did manage to play some C&C 3 levels on high and medium settings but performance was limited due to my 2.2g CPU.

It also required more power (150w via an unexpected 8 pin PCI-E cable, compaired to the Saphire's 6 pin 75w requirement) than expected and as such I am just getting away with a six pin PCI-E cable from my Hiper 580 PSU.

The card is running nicely now with my XP pro and Ubuntu and capable of playing most of my games on higher settings than I have expected, but the CPU still lets me know its limits, and second hand s939+CPU prices for AGP seem a little high compared to retail prices of socket 775 stuff.

If sticking with AGP a little longer as I decided, I would say there is also no point paying eBay prices or retail prices of £110 for an older 7900 or up to £150 for a 7950 card when the HIS 3850 AGP is more powerful and available for less than these cards, if you don't mind a CPU bottle neck or re-selling the card some time and losing out a little.

If I see a suitable s939 mobo and CPU going "cheap" I may give it a go, if not the card will do me till I build a cheapish PCI-E system capable of reasonable Blue Ray/DVD and games performance, as I have decided it was a little bit of a waste of time sticking with AGP.

I am now thinking of getting a couple of new DVD drives and 1 TB HD's to add to this which I can later use with a new cheapish build. If the Hiper 580w PSU and it's six pin PCI-E cable is up to a newer PCI-E graphics card with two HD's and two DVD drives?

Personally I would advise getting a new computer to anyone who had similar ideas of sticking with AGP, but if your mind is made up on sticking with AGP then the 3850 is probably the most powerful card available with the 3650 probably offering the best performance per pound for a system you are planning to change anyway.

Steve
 
ajm said:
How can it be cheaper to upgrade..

Grahphics card
CPU
Motherboard
Memory
PSU
Click to expand...

It isnt going to be cheaper, but you will get far more for you money if you go for what i recommended on the last page. Not much more expensive than a 3850 agp card and you can use you current cpu for a while until you have an extra £40 to get a core2duo chip.
It will be so much quicker than your current setup and a new card

Your current psu will be fine a run a much more power hungry system on less
 
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I do hear what yo uare saying "andy" as someone mentioned earlier that the p4 would hold me back, would this not still be the case if i put it in the asrock board?

@sastusbulbas

Thanks for that info it does sound like i may be making a mistake by getting this agp card. I just wanted the cheapest upgrade without having to do all the system. I did try for a 7950 card but were unabvle to get one at a decent price and also heard of driver issues.

I were intending on upgrading the full system but something came up and used up the budget i had for it.

@qwerty321
Your current psu will be fine a run a much more power hungry system on less
Click to expand...

My psu is only atx though and not atx 2.0. WIll this not cause problems with the connections need to plug into the motherboard.
 
aye the cpu will still hold you back

its more of a good idea when going second hand really. that mobo sells for 20/25 quid on the MM and you can always pick up bargain PCI E cards on there too.

also nothing stopping you getting a 40 quid c2d chip in a few months . although that board isnt the best clocker !

if your sticking with AGP id probably get a 1950 card and put the money you save towards something in the future
 
Thanks fo rthe tip "andy", but i don't like to buy second hand really, aslo i can't use the MM. Looks like i may have to do a little bit of saving to get what i want. I would like a cheap option but with half decent components. I don't overclock so no need for something with good clocking abilities.

If i were to upgrade to pci-e would i need a new psu as mine is atx and doesn't have the connectors need for the mobo?
 
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