Help! Have $200 for Vid Card ~ Which 1 for my PC?

Hiya!


I just purchased a computer that I had built for me for as close to $500 as possible. I took MOST of the AWESOME advice here and just applied it!! You guys ROCK!!! Thank you!!!

I was just informed that I have $200 extra ( a belated gift) to upgrade the video card. The system already shipped and is on it's way so I have to buy it myself and install it ..which is no problem. I just don't know WHICH ONE to get??? I DO know that I want to stay with Nvidia and that the PC is AGP based ... Here are the specs:


Turbo X-Infinity 420W Case (BLUE)
AMD™ Athlon™ XP-3000+ Processor (Barton 512K L2 Cache)
ASUS A7N8X-X nVidia nForce-2 400 FSB 8X AGP w/ USB2.0, LAN, &; AUDIO
512MB (256MBx2) PC3200 DDR400 Dual Channel (Major_Brand)
80GB 7200 RPM ATA 100 HARD DRIVE
GeForce FX5200 128MB W/CRT, TVO, & DVI
CD-RW 52X32X52 (BLACK)
ELEMENT 17inch .27 MM SVGA MONITOR
3D WAVE ON-BOARD 5.1 SOUND CARD

Sooooo..... My question is: Which Video card should I get in the $200 range??? That's one area I'm not too clear on and I would LOVE the input! I'm a really big gamer so I want to do as well as I can for what I can spend right now. And you guys Kick Ass with Advice!!


Thanks sooooooooooo MUCH!!!

 

The Best video card you can get for $200 is the Radeon 9800 Pro

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-268&depa=0

I went from a FX5200 like u have to the 9800 pro, and the difference was spectular. I didnt leave my room for days. It was that good.



cooked

 

Thanks so much for advice!!


There was that big of a difference???

Awesome!!!

Is there anything like that in Nvidia?? I really want to stick with them. Unless you think this one is WAY better....

 

Not at that price. You could get a nVidia 5950 for $300, but if you where going to spend that, kick in a few more bucks, and get a 6800.



cooked

 

the nVidia GeFroce FX5900XT is on par with the 9800 and only $180. its a worthy alternative if thats what you are looking for.

either that, or wait a few weeks for the GeForce 6600 AGP8x card to come out and it should only be $200... and quite a bit better than a 9800 or a 5900xt

 

are they even going to make an agp version of the 6600? the nvidia website lists the 6600 and GT as pci express only

 

yes, the 6600 and 6600GT will be ported to AGP8X sometime in november. i have read a few articles on it, here is just one http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=18258

 

Hiya


Thanks!!


That is EXACTLY the kind of info I was looking for!! Way AWESOME!! Thank you everybody!!

As usual, you guys ROCK!!

 

if you want the best out right now..it is the GeForce 6800 GTO. I have this one and it is amazaing...the only downfall is the power consumption......