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[RaBBiTTini]

I have a pretty good vid card and I have a pretty good idea what I want to get.  Im looking at some radeon hd's but I thought it would be smart to get the opinion of the boys, so help me out.  Im looking for the best overall card for $200 or under.

[Lt. Maverick]

I did this post a while back. It should help you compare all video cards from ATI and NVIDIA.

http://www.boomgaming.net/smf/index.php/topic,184.0.html

I've run an NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra 256 MB AGP Card for nearly 4 years on my old PC. It was the top of the line card costing $350.00  when I bought it. It still ranks extremely high in the market and is still highly sought after by gamers. It's a rock solid and smooth card that plays COD4 a smooth as glass even 4 years after the card was released. That's totally impressive and shows how it's held up in the market. It gives me 120 FPS on de_dust 2 in CS: Source!

That card goes for about $75 - $100 used on eBay. I'd say get a card that compares closely or is better than that one for your standard. Anything less and you won't be happy, especially with newer games. Here's a review of the GeForce 6800 Ultra 256 MB AGP card if you're interested.

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/article/1708/

Good luck in your search.
Mav

[RaBBiTTini]

I have the nvidia g7600 gs 512mb,  but with directx 10.1 out im wondering If i should start looking now.

[Lt. Maverick]

You have a great card, but I'd forget Directx 10 or better with AGP. I don't think AGP cards can't do that. If the time comes, I believe you need to upgrade to a PCI- Express motherboard and new PCI-X video card to run Directx 10 or greater.

Mav.

[RaBBiTTini]

thats what I thought until i saw this   http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3876340&Sku=V261-3876&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf%20mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq..  Im still listening though,,am i seeing something wrong

[Lt. Maverick]

Well that card looks very good. I'm very surprised. It appears Nvidia and ATI made a handful of DirectX 10 compatible AGP video cards in the latter part of 2007 near the end of the lifecycle of AGP cards. I don't believe they are adding any new AGP cards to their line-ups because nearly every motherboard manufacturer is building around the PCI-Express standard these days.

It's good to see there are some of these out there. They are a great option for the budget-minded PC owner who doesn't want to upgrade his/her entire PC to get a DirectX 10 video card. Just remember though, in a couple years from now, AGP will be, for the most part, history. If you're thinking about the future, you may still want to upgrade your whole PC rather than buying another AGP card. Especially since the AGP card you have now is quite good. DirectX 10 gives you some new features for the newer games, but the speed and bandwidth limitations of the AGP buss are still going to hurt you with the newer and hotter games. AGP cards simply can't do the work they need to for the cutting-edge 3D games of the future. If you plan to stick to older games for a while, that card should do very nicely, but with what you already have, I'd say the purchase of a newer card just for DirectX 10 would be a waste of your money. I certainly wouldn't do it if I had the card you do already.

Good info,
Mav

[RaBBiTTini]

Makes sense. I guess i should get the new board then this should be fun..  thanks for p:ssing on my parade.. no seriously your right i should start looking to the future.  What kind of board do you think I should start with.

[Tribium]

honestly my best opinion is to just invest on a new computer. Most computers out today come stock with 3-6 gig's of ram, quad-core, and 8400 geForce and up.

[Lt. Maverick]

I'd recommend figuring out your budget first, then decide on what you want. You can spend $700 - $900 and build a great system, or you could go nuts and spend much more. I recommmend looking at motherboard/cpu bundle kits on http://www.tigertirect.com and getting an idea at what you want spend. They are a great place to seach out stuff and have the best customer service out there.

You also need to know what brand of video card you plan to use before buying a motherboard. This will make a difference on what motherboard you choose. For instance, ff you plan to use an Nvidia product such as a GeForce card for your video, you will should get a motherboard that supports "SLI" technology. If you plan to use an ATI video card like a Radeon, then your motherboard should support "Crossfire" technology. "SLI" (by Nvidia) and "Crossfire" (by AMD/ATI) allow you to install multiple video cards and combine their power for better overall graphics performance. This is very cool stuff as long as you get a video card that supports "SLI" or "Crossfire" and have a motherboard designed for the right technology. Make sure you consider this while you shop. Sometimes buying 2 less powerful video cards and combining ther power is cheaper than buying one super powerful card. You can also add one later as long as you have the right motherboard to start with.

Before you buy, let us know what you're thinking about. We can help you make the right decisions for your needs and budget.

Mav

[Tribium]

wow that website does have a lot to offer definitely check it out Rab

[RaBBiTTini]

Yes. Tiger direct is the best.  Thats where I got my 7600.  I may just get the 7800 and call it a day.