7800gs v. 7950GT: AGP Dilemma

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Wow, I didn't know this would garner so much discussion, sorry I couldn't input sooner. I feel bad now that I never gave you the specs on my comp:

Available here:
HP Pavilion a642n Desktop PC - Product Specifications

Important Specs
HP Pavilion a642n
AMD Athlon 64 3200+
1 GB RAM (upgraded)
AGP Mobo (obviously)
200 GB hard drive
GeForce FX5200XT

I know, I know, it's a pre-built machine but I was 18 and simply wanted Athlon 64, which was top of the line at the time. Also, this is my monitor:

HP Pavilion f1703 Monitor Specifications

This will probably send me another strange look but it came with the computer and this is before I knew that all monitors were not created equal. But that's why I only showed the 256 MB but I guess the improve core clock speed and memory clock are worth $20. So anymore help with this new info would be appreciated.
 
With that system I highly suggest an X1950PRO as the X1950XT may just be bottlenecked and would take away the performance increase that put it above the X1950PRO for not too much more.
 
Another thing.. What's the specs on your power supply. Because I know:

Radeon X1950XT Series of products requires connection to your PC's internal power supply. ATI recommends a 450-Watt power supply or greater...

Not sure about the pro...
 
Either way, you're gonna have to upgrade your PSU.

Any of these cards will be a GIGANTIC improvement over your 5200, so you can't lose. If the system is only going to tide you over until the end of college, go for the lower priced card, get a PSU to feed it, and up your RAM to 2 gigs. Then you will be fine and dandy until school's over.
 
For whatever reason, I never even looked at ATI cards, I just had an nVidia chipset and had an nVidia card already so I thought I should stick with it. The X1950Pro looks very good even up against the 7950GT, and it is $199 v. $270 which is always good. I thought my system would bottleneck the card so I wanted to be sure. Also, I do not OC because, I just don't have the time to learn right now, so everything is stock.

As for the power supply, I knew that whatever I decided to get I would need a new PSU, mine is the stock and it tops out at 250W. I was thinking about this one:

Newegg.com - XClio 450BL ATX 450W Power Supply 115/230 V UL, CUL, TUV, CB - Retail

Thanks for the heads up on this little gem, Sora. Yay to reading stickies...Anyway, the only other thing that draws power that I didn't mention before is my Audigy 2 sound card, remember, I got the comp almost 3 years ago. So, for about $40 more I would go from the eVGA 7800gs to the HIS X1950Pro which is still cheaper than the XFX 7950GT. That looks pretty good. Again, here is my comp:

AMD Athlon 64 3200+
1 GB RAM (max allowed)
250W stock power supply
5200XT
ASUS (K8N8X-LA PES) Mobo
Creative Audigy 2 sound card

This is a microATX form factor mobo, will the card fit if I only have 1 expansion bay left? I've read that the X1950Pro is a rather long card.

More info here:

HP Pavilion a642n Desktop PC - Product Specifications

Thanks
 
The 450BL is an amazing little piece of work for being so cheap. It will have no trouble running an X1950PRO

EDIT: It probably would fit as the PRO isn't anything like the XT or XTX's
 
the pro is 9"long and it takes the pci slot next to it but that is for the cooler. i was reading on andantech and you may be bottlenecking a little from what i heard it would be wise to oc to squeeze all the performance out of it, also what res do you game at? higher rez means u need more vram
 
He would bottleneck a little so yes OC what you can to lighten it up a bit but it wouldn't kill your performance that much either way.

If you can overclock a little bit.
 
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