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[MidgarBlowedUp]

So it's officially been a decade since AGP was born, and I'm still cooking with it. My current PC which is an ACER (Chipset :SiS 661FX), I acquired and upgraded, is getting a little old. I had a 5700Ultra, then upgraded to a 6600GT, and now I'm not sure if I should get a 7600GS or just move this PC to the basement and build myself a new one, preferably with a better processor and PCI-E.

A 7600 AGP is rather cheap now, under $150, but will my system even benefit from a better graphics card?


Processor : Intel Celeron D 335J @ 2800 MHz
Memory : 1024 MB (2 x 512 DDR-SDRAM )
Video : Nvidia Corp GeForce 6600 GT

And if I build a new machine, what could I do for under $1,000?

 

[Mr. Pointy]

You can still get decent cards for AGP. I don't remember if you can get Nvidia 8-series cards in AGP, but the Radeon HDs come in AGP and it seems the 2600XT is worth it. You can even get higher end 7-series card in AGP.

Alternatively, newegg.com. You can build a decent piece of kit for under $1,000 there if you cannibalise your optical drives and maybe your HDDs and case if they're decent.

 

[Gadfly]

I am in the same boat. My PC is a little bit better though. Pentium 4 3.0 GHZ with HT, 1.5 Gig memory, ATI 9800 XT.
I used to upgrade my system every 2 years and this one has lasted 3 1/2 years already. Vista is running fine but I like to play some of the new upcoming games. I am torn between upgrading my machine and getting a new AGP video card.

 

[Bauer Action Hour]

And if I build a new machine, what could I do for under $1,000?

You could get a lot.

At newegg, for just $700 (before rebates, $635 after), you can get:

C2D E6420 CPU
GIGABYTE GA-965P-DS3 MOBO
EVGA 8800 GTS 320 MB GPU
Crucial Ballistix 2GB DDR2-800 RAM

If you need a new case and HDD, you'd only need another $125 to get good stuff (Centurion 5 case, 320 GB Seagate HDD).

I'd say you're far better off building a new PC than just plopping in a new VGA card in your old rig.

 

[D3MO]

My PC only has PCI (not -E ...not even AGP )

 

[Durante]

You kids and your newfangled ports. Back in my day we had VESA local bus and we were damn happy with it.

But seriously, Bauer already said everything that needs to be said. If you're building, $1000 is more than enough to get a gaming system that will run anything you throw at it flawlessly.

 

[MidgarBlowedUp]

You kids and your newfangled ports. Back in my day we had VESA local bus and we were damn happy with it.

I think my first real computer, beyond the Vic-20 days, was a Gateway from 1991/92. A DX2-50Mhz with 8MB of ram and a 2MB graphics card.

 

[Vagabundo]

Ive decided to take the plunge and got with PCIe this summer.

Ive already gotten my SATAII hard drive and a 450W power supply from a minor upgrade two years ago.

I found a great bundle for socket AM2: Athlon54x2 4200, 2 gigs of ram and a motherboard PCIe x 16 + onboard VGA for €230.

Will pick up a gfx card around oct or so when the next price drop happens.

Need to go with PCIe at some stage, I figure.

For a $1000, wow.. hmmmm nice system. You could pick something with some future in it.

 

[theultimo]

If you are stuck on AGP, the X1950 pro is easily the best bet. The nvidia 7 series on AGP sputters, and is generally 15-50% slower.

PCI, good luck getting something even in the nvidia 6 series, you are better off spending a little more for AGP or PCIe support.

 

[SapientWolf]

That Celeron is a serious bottleneck. You would have to overclock it to even justify the slight upgrade to the 7600GT. Stay away from the 7600GS unless it is under $90. I doubt that your PSU can handle the x1950 pro but the 7600GT uses less juice than your current card while performing twice as well.