Recommend a good NVidia AGPx8 card please

[Prodromoi]

Hi.

I need to replace an Radeon AGPx8 graphics card in one of my computers (the WinXP machine) and I want the replacement to be an NVidia one. (Long story which I won't bore you with unless it becomes relevant!)

1. The motherboard is an ASUS P4C800 Deluxe, so the graphics card slot is an AGPx8.
2. I'd like as much memory on the card as possible. At least 256MB but more would be good.
3. I'll be running a monitor at 1680x1050, 32-bit colour.
4. Minimum of 1x DVI output. A second output, DVI (preferably) or VGA would be useful.
5. The main use for the card will be fairly demanding Photoshop/image handling work, but a few games (not cutting edge) too.
6. The PSU of the box is a 520W or 620W (can't recall at the moment) so there's probably plenty spare.
7. I have no preference whether the card has a fan or silent cooler. While silence would be nice, my primary concern is finding a card that fulfills the previous criteria.

Finding some helpful information about suitable cards is proving tricky, since they're rather becoming "old tech". I've found a local source for a GeForce 5500, but little else. I've seen a GeForce 6200 or 6600 on eBay (secondhand).

Can anyone comment on those suggestions or give a better alternative that fits these criteria?

(Also, if this isn't the right forum for this kind of card, please point me at the appropriate one!)

Thanks in advance.
Alex

[Xyphus]

Did some searching, and for an nVidia AGP, this is pretty much the best I could find so far...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814143069

[hapooh]

.

[jimmor]

According to the Amazon sub link below, some pretty good Nvidia 8x AGP cards, inc a excellent 7950gt 512Mb, are still available ?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/browse.html?ie=UTF8&marketplaceID=A1F83G8C2ARO7P&me=A1VVHNASQLQK8G

:)

[CaptNKILL]

There are a ton of 512Mb 7950 AGP cards on ebay for around $100.

Alternatively, you could get something more up to date (but not nvidia) if you go with a Radeon 4650 or 4670:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106792627%201069609639&name=AGP%204X%2f8X

The 7950GT is a pretty decent card though. Not real fast by todays standards but still respectable enough to play some games. A 7900GT will run Crysis at medium settings, and a 7950 is faster than that.

[mullet]

I agree with CaptNKILL, the 4670 1GB is a great card for all around use.

[ATOJAR]

My mum has a evga 7950 GT 512MB in her system lol.

[mullet]

And it's still going, awesome.

[ATOJAR]

And it's still going, awesome.

It was mine at first, I bought it when they where first released, I bought a 8800GT 512MB and sold it to a mate. He had for a long long time. He in turn bought a 8800GT 512MB and sold to to another person we know, Now that person just bought a GTX260 so i bought some components from him that included that GPU! ... Now my mum owns it lol ... Yip, Still going strong.

(sorry for changing thread topic)

Anyway as for a good AGP card as you could imagine i would go for a 7950GT lol.

[MustangSVT]

If you really want nVIDIA, then get a 7950 GT.

As far as ATI goes, I believe they make a 3850 for AGP and a 4670 for AGP as well.

[Redeemed]

Hmm... I'd get the cheapest card you can that'll match or exceed the performance of your older one. I'd not really dump a lot of money into an AGP system- unless you have plenty of money to spare- in which case I'd then say just get a new system. :lol:

I myself am stuck using a single core A64 3800 with an AGP 7800GS + 3.5GB DDR400 as I've run out of money to finish my i7 build. The 7800GS is no top performer, but it does the trick at near any res. Might have to drop the in-game settings to low in a lot of newer titles, but it'll at least play them.

I'd get the least expensive option you can for now, and put the rest of your money towards a complete system upgrade. You need to ditch AGP like a bad habbit. :lol: It *is* a dead platform.

A lof of today's mainstream, and even some low-end CPUs, are incredibly fast for the price. For about $250 USD you can have a rockin' system... give or take some $$$. :lol:

I mentioned this in another thread, but not too long ago I build a rig for my older sister. It's sporting the PhenomII X2 550 BE, 3GB DDR2 800 RAM, and just using the HD3400 (I believe that's what it was ) that's integrated into the mobo. She doesn't game, but for stuff like browsing the web, making home movied, photo albums, music, etc it's blazing fast. Slap a nice video card in there and it'd be a rocking gaming rig. I built that for her at just over $300. Add maybe $100 for a good gaming card and you got just over $400. There's plenty you can do to shrink that price tag though. ;)

Little over a year ago I build a rig for my older brother. It's rocking the Pentium E2140, 2GB DDR2 800, and one of my old 9600GTs. It's actually pretty darn fast. A rig like this is great at just day-to-day tasks, and with a card like the 9600GT it can game rather well also. Best part is, it was super cheap to build. I think under $300 including the card. :lol:

That's my advice. :)

AMD AthlonII X2 240 + Gigabyte 785G Mobo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.273663) + 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 G.Skill (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122) for a grand total, shipped, of $208.90. That motherboard also has an integrated Radeon HD4200. That, even though it's integrated, would be a faster GPU than what you were previously running. :lol: For a mere $208.90 you can have a brand new system. That Gigabyte mobo will also accept any curret AM3 processor from AMD. So if you ran into some money later on down the line, you could buy one of their AM3 PhenomII X4 CPUs and have a quad-core rig for cheap. Or, keep that AthlonII X2 and put in a better video card. GTX260 Core216s are going cheap, as are the 4870 1GB. Granted, all these prices are USD so I'm not sure what you could get over in London for a comparable price. But, it's worth looking into. ;)

[MarzEz]

I'm currently using a Quadro4 750 XGL, and that works well, however I have also used a GEForce 6800 - I strongly reccomend getting one of these. If you're into overclocking, the 6800 is also an excellent card - you can get a lot more out of it.
However, I melted my 6800 when the fan bearings died. (at standard clock speeds.)

[Redeemed]

I'm currently using a Quadro4 750 XGL, and that works well, however I have also used a GEForce 6800 - I strongly reccomend getting one of these. If you're into overclocking, the 6800 is also an excellent card - you can get a lot more out of it.
However, I melted my 6800 when the fan bearings died. (at standard clock speeds.)

A year and a half later I'm sure he's already solved his problem. :lol:

New poster, low post count, bumps old thread... I smell bot. :lol:

[Rummy]

Does it smell good?

[snowmanwithahat]

There are a ton of 512Mb 7950 AGP cards on ebay for around $100.

Alternatively, you could get something more up to date (but not nvidia) if you go with a Radeon 4650 or 4670:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%20106792627%201069609639&name=AGP%204X%2f8X

The 7950GT is a pretty decent card though. Not real fast by todays standards but still respectable enough to play some games. A 7900GT will run Crysis at medium settings, and a 7950 is faster than that.

I'm pretty sure you're dead on there... ATI definitely had the last word in the AGP space

//Didn't realize this was a thread-necro job. meh

[wheeljack12]

I would definitely go with a ati card here. More ram, higher memory bandwidth, dx 10, what more could you ask for.