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View Full Version : AGP upgrade advice needed


cabbitboy
01-13-2006, 10:45 PM
Greetings GPU-gurus!

I'm really glad I found this site, the GPU compare options is GREAT. However for the GPU-novice all the technobabble can be overwhelming....

The Short Version: I want to upgrade my system a bit to make playing World of Warcraft a bit more fun in massive PvP.

PCIe just has to wait until I can afford a whole new system.

Long Version: Available if you think it's ness...

Current Card: Radeon 9200 series 64mb (AGP 4x / 8x)

Desired: ABOUT $100 in video power upgrade. I'm partial to ATI but it's not required.

I've been looking at sales and refurbished models of the 128mb cards in the 9800series and x700 series, as they seem to be in my price range (either on sale or refurbs @newegg.com)

My System:
AMD Athalon 2600+ (2ghz, not overclocked)
1 gig DDRAM (2 x 512)
Dragon 2 (kt880) mobo (socket A

A tried a friends AIW9700PRO 128mb that was having memory problems but was unable to cool it sufficiently with a few chopped up heat sinks and thermal paste and paying for a $45+ cooling fan + the time to change them didn't seem worth it in that price range for a new card

Am I looking for more pipes, faster GPU's, Faster RAM......


Much Thanx in advance

-Cabbitboy

Mike
01-13-2006, 11:47 PM
if you're partial to ATi, a refurbed 9800 pro would be a good buy...if you don't want to go refurbished I'd grab an x700 agp...but any new card you buy for that price won't have quite the memory bandwidth of an older high-end card like that 9800 pro...however, they'll likely be a lot cooler running and draw less power...

cabbitboy
01-14-2006, 01:37 PM
Good Pro / Con comment, i hadn't considered the heat consideration.

Thanx Mike!