Good AGP graphics for the money?

basscrrbasscrr
edited January 2009 in Hardware
Ive been trying to find a decently priced AGP graphics card to upgrade from my ailing Radeon 9800XT 256meg card.

I have been considering this card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102073

But i am not sure how much of an upgrade it would be over the 9800. Also, i am not sure how far off in price the best AGP graphics card would be. From the few online reviews i have been able to dig up, the 3850 seems like it is the best AGP option, and this card seems to be reasonably priced:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102730

But since i intend to buy a new computer in a year or so i think i plan to stay with the 1650. So i guess my main question is, what do yall think about the 1650, and do you know what its power supply requirement is? Also, a game i want to play that might be coming out soon (AA 3.0) recomends an ATI X1950 or better, how far off is the 1650 from that?

Thanks,

Bass

Comments

  • revorocksrevorocks England, East Sussex, Hove Member
    edited January 2009
    The 3850 is a very good AGP card. What is the game(s) you want to play plus what are your other specs. If your motherboard is AGP then it is likely that the rest of your components are outdated too. If so, then you would be better off saving for a new system :)
  • TimTim Southwest PA Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    I've got a 3850 AGP Sapphire video card for sale. I used it briefly (a week or so) before finding out my monitor was the problem, and building a new computer with PCI Express and a 4870 gpu.

    $115 shipped in the continental usa?
  • basscrrbasscrr
    edited January 2009
    I have 2 gigs of ram, and a 3.2Ghz pentium 4 processor.

    I do plan to buy a new system in about a year or two, i just need a card that can hold me over until that time. The SAPPHIRE Radeon X1650PRO 512MB is the card i am leaning towards, but i am not sure if it is good enough. The game i want to play, Americas Army 3.0, requires at minimum the ATI X1300 256MB and recomends the ATI 512MB X1950.

    The X1650 i am looking at runs about 63 after shipping, and the highest i would really be willing to go for an AGP card is around 85. The 3850 is the card i would like to buy, but since money is tight and i plan on buying a new computer soon i dont want to go that high in price.
  • revorocksrevorocks England, East Sussex, Hove Member
    edited January 2009
    The X1650 PRO isnt that good but the X1950 would be better. A 3850 would be even better but you cant afford it :(
    You understand that the ati cards are done in series. The 1 series (ie X1650, X1950)
    2 series (2900PRO, 2400, 2900XT etc)
    3 series (3870, 3850, 3650 etc)
    4 series, newest cards (4850, 4870, 4650 etc) The newer series are generally better and more advanced and support newer technolegies. You would be best off saving for a 3850. You would most likely need a new PSU too. A corsair CX400 should run it fine.
    You could always get a 3850 second hand.
  • MachineDogMachineDog New
    edited January 2009
    basscrr wrote:
    I have 2 gigs of ram, and a 3.2Ghz pentium 4 processor.

    I do plan to buy a new system in about a year or two, i just need a card that can hold me over until that time. The SAPPHIRE Radeon X1650PRO 512MB is the card i am leaning towards, but i am not sure if it is good enough. The game i want to play, Americas Army 3.0, requires at minimum the ATI X1300 256MB and recomends the ATI 512MB X1950.

    The X1650 i am looking at runs about 63 after shipping, and the highest i would really be willing to go for an AGP card is around 85. The 3850 is the card i would like to buy, but since money is tight and i plan on buying a new computer soon i dont want to go that high in price.

    You're going to have to buy a new video card even when the time comes around, it's not too worth it. Just wait and you'll have $100 extra for your new computer build.
  • basscrrbasscrr
    edited January 2009
    Most of the used cards on ebay run close to the price of a new one, know of anywhere else to buy a second hand card?

    I would wait to buy if i could, that was my original intention. But a couple months ago my video card started making alot of noise (i think the fan on it is messed up) and now today i notice alot of weird digital lines appearing around the edges of the windows of applications. My cursor you cant even see the arrow point, its just black with a sort of matrix look to it. here is a SS of my desktop: http://img264.imageshack.us/my.php?image=vidcardzj8.jpg and of a word document that also helps demonstrate the issue: http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/518/vidcard22cu2.jpg

    is the ATI HD 2400Pro with 256MB better than the Radeon X1650 with 512Mb?
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Toms Hardware benchmark shows the X1650 Pro is twice as fast as the 2400 pro... Scroll to the bottom :(

    http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1280x1024,Marque_fbrandx4,796.html

    I'd save your money for the new system, I have a X1950 GT AGP and a 3.2Ghz CPU, all the new games settings have to be turned down quite a bit in order to get a barely playable 20 fps...

    The 3850 would be a waste of money as you couldn't drive the card fast enough to make a difference. (IMHO) (This only applies to AGP systems.)

    I've clocked my X1950 GT up as high as it would go and didn't make a difference to the FPS in benchmarks, only when I started clocking up the CPU did the FPS go up.

    I'd get what you can get by with for under $100 and save for the new system. Just put an E8600 & HD4870 together for a buddy and it's nice to see him set all the games to Maximum settings @ 1600x1050.

    He reinstalled Assassin's Creed on the new system with all settings cranked and WOW it's a totally different looking game then before. (He had a X1950 Pro)

    Sorry to ramble, just my 2 cents worth... :)
  • MachineDogMachineDog New
    edited January 2009
    troll wrote:
    Toms Hardware benchmark shows the X1650 Pro is twice as fast as the 2400 pro... Scroll to the bottom :(

    http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/gaming-graphics-charts-q3-2008/Sum-of-FPS-Benchmarks-1280x1024,Marque_fbrandx4,796.html

    I'd save your money for the new system, I have a X1950 GT AGP and a 3.2Ghz CPU, all the new games settings have to be turned down quite a bit in order to get a barely playable 20 fps...

    The 3850 would be a waste of money as you couldn't drive the card fast enough to make a difference. (IMHO) (This only applies to AGP systems.)

    I've clocked my X1950 GT up as high as it would go and didn't make a difference to the FPS in benchmarks, only when I started clocking up the CPU did the FPS go up.

    I'd get what you can get by with for under $100 and save for the new system. Just put an E8600 & HD4870 together for a buddy and it's nice to see him set all the games to Maximum settings @ 1600x1050.

    He reinstalled Assassin's Creed on the new system with all settings cranked and WOW it's a totally different looking game then before. (He had a X1950 Pro)

    Sorry to ramble, just my 2 cents worth... :)

    I was going to mention, the X series is sepperate from the HD series I believe.
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Yeah the X1000+ series are DX9 and the HD's are DX10, but in his old AGP system he will find the X1650 Pro faster then the HD2400...
  • basscrrbasscrr
    edited January 2009
    I appreciate everyones input, and i do agree with the consensus that its not worth putting much into my current system.

    I do need to get a new card tho, just to keep this computer alive until i finally decide to buy a new computer. the X1650 puts me out around 63 bucks, or i could just go for a NVIDIA Geforce FX 5200 256MB for around 40. Do yall think the difference of around 25 bucks is worth going towards the 1650, or should i stick with the cheaper FX 5200?
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    I'd grab the X1650 as the FX5200 only has PS2.0... (If your not going to do much gaming till you get the new system then the 5200 for general computer stuff would be fine.)
  • basscrrbasscrr
    edited January 2009
    Sweet, thanks. I think that is what i will do. the X1650 is in my price range, provides me somewhat of an upgrade, and should keep me happy long enough to hold out another year or two before i buy a new computer.

    Out of curiosity, is the discoloring shown in this screenshot the result of the video card malfunctioning, or could something else cause this? http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/518/vidcard22cu2.jpg
  • trolltroll Windsor, Nova Scotia Icrontian
    edited January 2009
    Looks to me like ram is going bad on the card, heat could cause this as well.
    You can take the fan off and oil the bearing but it is just a temporary fix.

    You could also try cleaning the card connector edge with some electrical cleaner, but I'm pretty sure you'll find it's the ram on the board and there isn't an easy fix for that.

    You usually see random characters and colors in the post screen as well when ram is going bad...

    The best way to be sure is to try a different video card in your machine (someone always has a old card laying around) or take that card to another machine and try it.
  • basscrrbasscrr
    edited January 2009
    Ok cool, so its most likely the card still then. I was afraid something else more complicated could be the issue. After i get the new video card hopefully this issue will stop.

    Thanks again.
  • basscrrbasscrr
    edited January 2009
    I just got my new card in the mail and installed it, and my computer runs great. All problems fixed.

    Thanks again for all the help.
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