Help choose next upgrade(s) from 9800 Pro

Status
Not open for further replies.

Schmidget

Beta member
Messages
4
I seem to have placed myself in quite a predicament.
When I built my computer over last summer, I chose a socket 754 mobo for my already purchased Athlon 64 2800+. Of course, this limited me to an AGP slot for the graphics card. I chose the 9800 Pro 128MB because of its great reviews and great price.

Unfortunately, these new PC games that are going to arrive this year and next are going to make my 9800 Pro look really old. Not only that, but the upgradability factor for my rig is very low because of the socket 754 format for the CPU and AGP for the graphics card.

So, is their still a modern graphics card, that uses AGP, that would be much more powerful than my 9800 Pro? Pixel Shader 3 support prefered.

Or would it be better to get a new Mobo with PCI-E, socket 939 CPU, and buy a newer PCI-E graphics card?

My budget is small, $500 MAX

Also, I'm hoping for XBOX 360 graphics capability, but I understand that probably won't happen.


-----System Specs-----
Athlon 64 2800+ @ 2.0GHz
LanParty UT 250 Mobo
1 Gig Generic DDR400 RAM
9800 Pro 128MB @ 435/378
2x80GB CaviarSE RAID 0
 
One option to upgrade slowly is to get an NForce3 mobo (like I have) that supports both AGP and skt 939. This way, you can upgrade a little more slowly.

When I was building my new system, I was in a situation similar to yours. I had a 9800Pro (AGP) and wanted to go to a skt 939. The NForce3 chipset seems to be the best option available to upgrade slowly.
 
I'm not so much concerned with upgrading the proc unless absolutely necessary. My mobo is the LanParty UT 250. The reason I don't really want to upgrade the Mobo/Proc is because I recently purchased this mobo to replace the previous one which was causing BSODs. And I spent a great deal of money to do so :p


But, I guess what I'm asking is if there are any AGP cards out that are as powerful as some of the new performace PCI-E cards such as the X1800 or the GF7800.

But, Thanx for the replys!
 
The best you're going to do is the new 7800GS... That's going to be the end of the line for AGP. Well, it looks that way at least.

Ryan
 
To say the truth, the 7800 GS can handle most games now at reasonable solution. That is quite a nice upgrade. But it means the end as well. Probably it will do the trick until the next year, when u can afford a new mobo.
 
Thanks

Thanks for the posts! This is by far the most impressive forum I've been to so far.

Ok, a few last questions:

How much would that A64 2800+ affect the performance of the coming games of 2006/2007?

Also, what is better for the money:
The GeForce 7800GS or the Geforce 6800 Ultra?

Finally, I'm not sure specifically what PSU I have, but it is a 500 watt with 18A on the 12v rail. Is this powerful enough to support the either of the two GF cards above along with the rest of the system?
 
EVGA 7800GT $285
MSI K8N Neo4-F $80
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ $170

Total $535 w/o shipping

You might want to check on your PSU to see if it can handle new cards. If it is too weak be careful when buying a PSU, but if you want a decent budget PSU here is one http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954.

If money is too tight then go with a eVGA 6800GS they are around $200 on newegg, but at this time I would go with a 7800GT.

Do NOT buy a 6800 Ultra! You can easily OC a 6800GS past Ultra performance with stock heatsink and no artic silver.
 
Would the above ^^ allow for games with graphics of, oh...say, X360 quality?

I kinda want to show off the computer to some friends who keep bragging about their X360's!
 
Wait for Socket AM2, trust me, you won't regret it.

If you want a solid, cheap solution for now, the 6600GT is a good idea.

But really, I'd advise you wait.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom