Looking to upgrade graphics card, need advice.

[hurdy]

I'm having problems enjoying new high-end games with my current graphics card so I decided to upgrade, my budget is around 200GBP (UK) and I was looking into 7800GS but still not sure if thats the right one for me.
The card will mainly be used for high-end games.

Specs:
Windows XP Home Edition SP2
Processor: Pentium CPU 3.20GHz
Motherboard: ABIT AS8-V
Memory: OCZ PC3200 2x512mb sticks DDR400
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce 6600
PSU: Jeantec 500w ATX 12v

Thanks in advance.

[CGR]

At this point I wouldnt get anythign lower than a 7900GT if you want to play high end games with acceptable settings. Usually you can find good deals with rebates that make the card worthwhile, but you have to be prepared to not receive the rebate.

I have seen some nice deals on X1900's lately, which come to around $275USD after rebate. So you should be able to get a 7900GT for a good price if you look around.

You may also look into upping your memory to 2GB. Most of the current games out run A LOT better with 2GB. Sometimes its a night and day difference.

[TRF-Inferno]

The Geforce 7800GS is going to be as good as it gets for AGP platform. It performs about the same as a Radeon X850XT, but if the main difference is that the Geforce supports SM 3.0.

[greenmaji]

For high end games, you might want to look into what your rig is worth if you sold it right now and add that to your budget to see if a PCIe upgrade it feasable.

[rajanm1]

i am also from the UK and would recomend you to go to www.overclockers.co.uk they have great deals and currently have a 7900GS for £99.99+VAT

[Neural Net]

i am also from the UK and would recomend you to go to www.overclockers.co.uk they have great deals and currently have a 7900GS for £99.99+VAT

I second that. This site has the best graphics card deals for UK buyers period. :)

[fireandice]

hes got AGP.

i would go with a 6800GS. i got a bfg and it was about $100 less than a 7800GS and it unlocked and oc'ed to ultra clocks and the 7800gs isent that much better " for $100 more"

what resalution do you game at? if it anything higher than 1024X768 then i think you should look into a pcie upgrade and a 7900GT. if you game at 1024X768 or under then a 6800GS should be ok for you.

[hurdy]

Thanks for the replies, I went ahead and bought the BFG 7800GS OC as I'll only be needing it for one year.

@CGR: I plan on upgrading my memory in a month or two as I dont have the money for it now but can I add any type of memory with my existing ones or does it have to be compatible? Like OCZ PC3200 only?

[fireandice]

you might bottle neck some with that 3.2 p4


if you got pc3200 then stick with pc3200. you dont need to mach brands but its allways best to do so. also if you want 1gb get 2 512mb sticks so you can run dual channel

[hurdy]

you might bottle neck some with that 3.2 p4


if you got pc3200 then stick with pc3200. you dont need to mach brands but its allways best to do so. also if you want 1gb get 2 512mb sticks so you can run dual channel

Thanks, I'll be going for the exact same brand then. I'm a bit of a newbie but what do you mean by dual channel? two 512mb sticks perform better than 1gig stick?

[rajanm1]

Thanks, I'll be going for the exact same brand then. I'm a bit of a newbie but what do you mean by dual channel? two 512mb sticks perform better than 1gig stick?

yes