AGP < $200.00

[NomisST]

Okay, I finally decided after reading through hundreds of posts that I am going to upgrade my AGP. I'm a college student and well buying a new mobo, ram, pci-e, cpu, will just cost way too much and selling my old stuff will be a hassle. I just need something that will last me less than a year for gaming on my P4. Now I decided to go for an x1950, but I'm also interested in the XFX 7900GS and am curious about the upcoming HD 3850. I just don't know which one to go for. Here is my list of choices, also note that I'm trying to spend less than $200.00 and am using Ebay and Online stores preferably Newegg:

XFX 7900GS - $149.99 Free Shipping

Diamond Viper x1950 - Ebay

HIS Hightech x1950 - 149.99 + Shipping After Rebate

GECUBE x1950 - 114.99 + Shipping After Rebate

Sapphire x1950 - $129.99 + Shipping

I really only want to spend $150.00, but I will save up a little more if it's REALLY worth it. I'm so confused as to which one to get. I hear that Sapphire is the best bang for the buck, but I'm questioning that now. Should I wait for a HD 3850? Mind you, I have a Zalman 400 Watt PSU that I also may have to consider buying an upgrade on my PSU, but I hear that someone online has the same exact PSU that I do and is able to run the Sapphire. The only thing is, I doubt that person is running anything near the amount of hardware that I am. Anyway, no one replied to my previous post, but that was fine. I have finally decided, but now I need answers on what to get! Please help...bidding ends very soon...

 

[Munky]

If the agp 3850 becomes available soon, it would smoke all the other cards listed. However, just because the pci-e version is supposed to cost $150, that doesn't mean the agp version will not be jacked up to $300. If it is, then your best choice is any of the x1950pro cards.

 

[NomisST]

In terms of performance are they all almost the same or are the 512mb cards better (Diamond Viper & HIS Hightech)? Should I be getting a new PSU too?

Also does anyone know when the HD 3850 for AGP come out?

 

[Denithor]

The 512MB is only a factor if you play at high resolutions (1600x1200 and above) with AA/AF enabled. In many newer games you will suffer low fps with these conditions even with 512MB so it is not really necessary, especially if you game at lower resolutions.

The 7900gs is not quite as powerful at stock speeds as the x1950pro but it overclocks quite well (keep in mind this is not guaranteed however). The 7900gs also is not as power-hungry as the x1950pro so you should be able to stick with your current power supply.

If you decide on the x1950pro, here is a good power supply: Thermaltake PurePower 500W for $35 after MIR.

If you can afford to wait about 1.5 weeks, the 3850 is supposed to launch around Nov 19 and you could see pricing/availability of the fastest AGP card yet. If nothing else, this launch could drive down the price on the older DX9 cards even further.

 

[NomisST]

I heard it was pointless for P4 users to get a 3850 because it would just not be powerful enough to use it's full features. In order to even use DX10 I need Vista, and P4 for vista at 3.0Ghz with 1gb of ram isn't enough right? Is what I heard true? Cause if that is the case I'm just going to buy a x1950.

 

[fleshconsumed]

You could still benefit from faster GPU even if you have slow CPU (BTW 3.0GHz P4 is not THAT slow) by enabling eye candy that only taxes GPU such as AA and AF. These two features are not dependant on your CPU so you could play older games with better quality. The only problem I see is that AGP 3850 is probably going to cost more than PCIe version, so depending on the price it may be not a very good buy.

 

[NomisST]

I guess I'm going to have to wait for a few weeks then. Another thing has come to my attention, is getting an x1950pro worth it over a x1950gt? Or will the Sapphire GT suffice? I hope the 3850 isn't > $200.00. If it is then the other cards won't really get much of a decrease in price either and I'll have waited 2 weeks for nothing...