Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - Looking for video card advice...

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Looking for video card advice...

Howdy,
Stepping out of the shadows here (for that matter this is my first visit in some time with a new baby and life in general) to ask this:
I am looking for a new video card and wondering what is the best possible deal to buy that will involve no other upgrades at the moment.
the two systems involved (my crash box was the original intended upgrade target, not so sure now though) are
Main system:
A7V 333 MB
Athlon XP 1900 CPU
AGP Pro 4x Slot
ATI AIW 7500 (still getting my $400+ worth out of it)

Secondary/crash box (used for nearly all of my gaming)
A7V133 MB
Athlon 1300 CPU
AGP Pro 4x slot
Geforce4 MX4000 128 MB card (just upgraded last summer from a Hercules Prophet 64 MB card)

I have been considering a ATI 9800 pro or an ATI 9550 as I have seen the 9800 firsthand and was impressed.
I was reading that sticky above for video cards and the specs listed for the GeForce 7600GS caught my eye and have me wondering - what is AGP 2.0/3.0, and how does that relate to the AGP Pro on my systems? Most of those snazzy looking AGP cards I have seen on newegg have rather high minimum requirements with the CPU and they list AGP 2 or 3.

almost forgot to mention, my best/newest test subject is Doom3 - it is by far the most graphically intense game I have available to test. My Hercules Prophet 64 card would not even consider it, and the MX40000 will at least go through the motions of loading the game before playing it as smoothly as Wolfenstein 3D on a 286 PS/1. All I am looking for is something that can handle Doom3 decently and play Half-Life smoothly (my AIW 7500 has some problems with HL).
much thanks for any and all help, I will respond at some point in the next day or so at the latest.

Wikipedia sums it up easily:

Quote:

Versions of AGP
Intel released the first version of AGP; appropriately titled “AGP specification 1.0,” in 1997. It included both the 1x and 2x speeds. Specification 2.0 documented AGP 4X and 3.0 documented 8X. Available versions include:

AGP 1x
A 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 266 megabytes per second (MB/s), doubled from the 133 MB/s transfer rate of PCI bus 33 MHz / 32-bit; 3.3 V signaling.
AGP 2x
A 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz double pumped to an effective 133 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 533 MB/s; signaling voltages the same as AGP 1x;
AGP 4x
A 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz quad pumped to an effective 266 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 1066 MB/s (1 GB/s); 1.5 V signaling;
AGP 8x
A 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz, strobing eight times per clock, delivering an effective 533 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 2133 MB/s (2 GB/s); 0.8 V signaling.
In addition, AGP Pro cards of various types exist. They require more power and are often longer than standard AGP cards (though they only connect to one AGP slot). These cards are usually used to accelerate professional computer-aided design applications employed in the fields of architecture, machining, engineering, simulations, and similar fields. The AGP Pro slot has a few extra pins which supply extra power to the graphics card. However, AGP Pro has not become widely accepted. Instead, modern desktop grade power-hungry video cards are equipped with a separate power source, either through a Molex or peripheral plug for additional power. Generally, there are two types of AGP Pro slots, regarding necessary power: 50 W or 110 W, with or without molex connector on the graphic card (although standard AGP slot is confined to 42 W of power through slot itself).

I just purchased one of these and know a couple people who run the nVidia7800GS AGP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130274

That makes sense.I had checked on wikipedia and through a google search but was feeling a bit overwhelmed/tired and frustrated with other things happening in life.

I know nothing about the Athlon CPUs but I know that one of my friends runs NeverWinter Nights, World of Warcraft, and a number of very recent games. His rig is about 3 years old and not a gaming machine at all.

I'd buy a 7600 GS. It'll work on your mobo; disregard the AGP version crap. The 7800 GS AGP is a good pick but chances are your CPU will bottleneck it and it won't run it any better than the 7600 GS.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lasereth

I'd buy a 7600 GS. It'll work on your mobo; disregard the AGP version crap. The 7800 GS AGP is a good pick but chances are your CPU will bottleneck it and it won't run it any better than the 7600 GS.

thank you so much, that card did look nice, but I had uncertainty that it would it work with my 'old' system (hence my post here asking people who would know :thumbsup: )