Is it worth buying an AGP card?

hey all,

im a student... student=little money lol, my graphics card is way too old, my whole system is too old, i was just wondering if its worth buying a graphics card (i was looking at 7600gs or gt) or saving my money for a new system?

would i get much of a fps increase in games? or would my system bottleneck it drasticaly??

 

You're in luck. I just read a couple of articles on Tom's hardware that are right in line with this question. They talk about the current AGP video cards going into an Athlon XP 2500+ Barton system. (Athlon 64 socket 939 system in the second link)

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/10/agp-platform-analysis/index.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/02/01/agp-platform-analysis/index.html

 

Good link Wyatt! Some interesting insight there.

 

hey, thanks alot for that link! that system is nearly identicle to my system, i run my cpu at 2.0ghz, reckon that 200mhz would make a little difference?

other than that, the 7600gt looks pretty tempting, could get me by for another year, seing as i still play games on my 9600pro which is pretty dam old now, 5yrs or something?

it looks like the cpu wouldnt bottleneck the 7600gt, only because they arent as quick as the 1950gt's in australia the 7600gt's are just over $200,

think i might spend $200, then use this yr to save for a new system next yr,

and i might get a good aftermarket cooler and OC my cpu a bit more, i did get it up to 2.2ghz, but had to turn it down due to insufficient cooling.

so gettin an agp card doesnt seem like a bad idea right now

thanks again for the link!

 

actually might even concider the powercolour 1950pro.... not bad

 

sorry bout this but... OMFG :cry Im stuck with an AGP 4x system.. im Screwed... But Im trying to build a new system right now i went out and bought a 8800GTX but I wouldnt mind upgrading the vid card on this comp but this freaking computer is way out of date...thats nice to see new cards comming out for AGP

 

in the review that i just read, there was NO difference between AGPx8 and AGPx4, i spose it would just depend on ur cpu/mobo, coz its the cpu that would bottleneck the cards

 

Nooo there is a difference If you have a system that will only go up to 4x then you CAN NOT use an 8x card wich I think really sucks... My 5200 FX is biting the dust these days ... and Im shocked its still alive lol but that little damn thing has a Big Heart

 

Actually, there is virtually no difference between 4x and 8x. Here is a benchmark, while a little old, still relavent.

http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?id=604&cid=3&pg=4

The blue bar is the card running in 4x mode, the purple is the card in 8x mode. They are nearly identical.