Quiet AGP Upgrade from 9800 Pro? Advice, please?

Capsaicin · Post by **Capsaicin** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 9:02 am

I'm looking to upgrade my current system (P4 3.0Ghz) one last time before I do a complete rebuild. I have an ATI 9800 Pro and am looking for a video card with at least a 50% performance boost (specifically, for Lord of the Rings Online @ 1680x1050).

I've used these articles as a reference:
http://www.behardware.com/articles/663- ... -2007.html
http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=88&pgno=0

I'd like to keep the price under $150 (under $100 would be even better). And of course noise is a concern. I'm willing to replace the HSF (e.g., with a Zalman unit -- I did that with my 9800 Pro). Card size shouldn't be too much of a problem (as long as it's not super long).

Any of these good? Other recommendations?
POWER COLOR X1650 XT: http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx ... KU=CA66170
GECUBE Radeon X1950PRO: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814241041
XFX GeForce 7600GT: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814150233
EVGA GeForce 7800GS: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814130274

psiu · Post by **psiu** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 11:58 am

Actually, I would suggest more along the lines of an X800 series--hunt one down on eBay or FS/FT forums.
Pretty good performance boost, won't pay too much (probably sub-80 would be fair).

And to be honest, all the charts are nice though everything gets outdated pretty quick, but I have found the wikipedia articles on video cards are surprisingly informative and non-fanboy infested.

Good source for stats on the various cards too...helps when you're trying to avoid crippled or hamstrung cards with fancy numbers and letters in their name.

tehfire · Post by **tehfire** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 1:08 pm

I'd go with the 7600GT. There are some versions which are passive, so that's a big plus. The stock fan isn't horrible, but not silent. I had one a few months back and it was a huge improvement compared to my old 9800PRO, especially in newer games. Pretty cheap, too. Makes next to no heat compared to the 9800

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 1:08 pm

7600 GT would be good if you're gamer. However, Sapphire has made HD 2600-series for AGP. But I am not sure how many heatsinks go with HD 2600-series.

But you might find easier passively cooled X1650 XT ( bit better than 7600 GT ) or 7600 GT ( still venerable and great card for medium level gaming )

if you're really want to game and have some eye cangy, the X1950 Pro is your choice then. But it draws a lot energy and is hot.

MSI HD 2600 PRO: RX2600PRO-T2D256Z/D2 is passive cooled HD-2600 Pro for AGP slot.
http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func ... at2_no=137

Capsaicin · Post by **Capsaicin** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 4:35 pm

Cool, thanks for the tips.

ghettojiggalo · Post by **ghettojiggalo** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:10 pm

theres a 1950pro in agp flavor which is only made by 1 vendor (cant think of which at the moment)...the 1950pro is the most powerful agp card in existance and i think can be passively cooled if you have good airflow in your case.

i was also in a similar situation last year and bought the overpriced/underpowered 7800gs which at the time was the king of agp....1 of my worse decisions ever, agp cards from the 7 series need a bridge chip therefore cannot be used w/ an aftermarket cooler.

as soon as the mainstream 45nm core2quads come out i will be upgrading my entire system and i hope to make it entirely passive w/ a few case fans active only. the new 45nm core2 duo/quads are amazingly low wattage for their performance. looks like i'll be going w/ intel again this time around unless phenom pulls a hat trick in nov.

oh btw my 7800gs had terrible frame rates w/ LOTR online @ 1920x1080 maxxed visuals/ no AA/AF...

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Tue Oct 30, 2007 5:39 pm

x1950 pro is the ultimate card for you.

the only exception is if you could find a higher clocked 2600. that would be a big improvement over a 9800. It cannot run high res monitors, but it is great with medium settings and smaller monitors. 1950 pro though is strong and fine for 2008 for most uses.

Capsaicin · Post by **Capsaicin** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 1:05 pm

ghettojiggalo wrote:oh btw my 7800gs had terrible frame rates w/ LOTR online @ 1920x1080 maxxed visuals/ no AA/AF...

Wow. Ouch.

Newegg has 4 brands of x1950 Pro cards. Only the Gecube is in my price range, though.

~El~Jefe~ wrote:the only exception is if you could find a higher clocked 2600. that would be a big improvement over a 9800. It cannot run high res monitors, but it is great with medium settings and smaller monitors. 1950 pro though is strong and fine for 2008 for most uses.

Resolution is a bit of an issue atm (depends on what you consider medium/small). I had to bump my res down to 1280x800 (hey, free blurry AA

) to get decent frame rates with medium detail textures. I'm hoping to be able to run 1680x1050 with high detail (and AA/AF) when I upgrade.

Capsaicin · Post by **Capsaicin** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 2:13 pm

After reading some comments on the x1950, I realized my power supply may need replacing, too (Nexus NX-3000, 300w).

Think I'll need something like one of these?
Antec earthwatts EA380: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371005
Antec earthwatts EA430: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371006
SeaSonic S12 II SS-380GB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817151032
CORSAIR CMPSU-450VX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817139003

Also, found this page -- has power consumption for several of these cards (about 2/3 the way down the page):
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/ ... 0xt_4.html

(edit: had the wrong wattage for my Nexus, added link to xbitlabs)

ghettojiggalo · Post by **ghettojiggalo** » Wed Oct 31, 2007 8:18 pm

i dunno who oem's Nexus power supplies but i think a seasonic s12-330 would be more than enough for you agp build

at 1600x1200 and above resolutions, i suggest you get a 512mb card because lotr online and other modern rpgs have alotta textures and a 256mb card will reduce your frames dramatically

my total system setup pulls 215Watts at the socket during load

specs:

P4 3ghz northwood
7800gs stock
1 dvd writer
4 HDD's (1 74gb raptor, 2 300gb maxtors, 1 750gb seagate)
1 12cm case fan
audigy soundcard
2gb ocz ddr1 4400 ram
abit ic7-max3 mobo
seasonic s12-330watt

Capsaicin · Post by **Capsaicin** » Tue Nov 06, 2007 8:16 am

Update: I ordered an x850 XT off the 'bay, premodded with an Arctic Cooling Silencer. Unfortunately, one of the cooler bits on the back of the card (looks like some sort of threaded fastener) goes right where one of my RAM chips sits (mobo has 2 slots, both filled).

You can see it on their diagram here (not sure the exact model, but it's close enough): http://www.arctic-cooling.com/downloads ... ti5_r2.pdf

Soooo, I'm attempting to "RMA" it with the seller before I try something else (e.g., different card, or different cooler if I can't return it -- Accelero S2 any good?). Any further ideas would be great.