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Motherboard with AGP? Don't throw it away quite yet!
THE Ted
TedoculusOklahomaRegistered User regular
TedoculusOklahomaRegistered User regular
Three years and one month ago, I paid $1,300 for a top of the line cpu. 2GB ram (DDR, sadly, and not DDR2) 3.4 Ghz P4, Sata HD, and my pride a joy, an X800 Pro with 256Mb.
But alas, I was cursed by the fates to have chosen a motherboard with an AGP slot. The computer itself, still runs beautifully, and I didn't even realize I was falling behind until Bioshock wouldn't run because the X800 didn't have pixel shader 3.0. The only thing I really needed to replace was the video card, but alas, could I even do that without having to also replace my motherboard (and processor, because why the hell not?) simply for a PCI-E slot?
I thought I had found the solution with the release of the Radeon HD 2400, which had the same amount of ram as my X800. I didn't want any more hardware performance, I was quite happy with running the orange box at mid-high range, I just didn't want to be stopped by upcoming software updates, i.e. pixel shader 3.0 (and 4.0) and eventually DirectX 10. I wanted my 3 year old computer to last another 2 years. The 2400 supports all of these future software hurdles...but it was a huge disappointment when put to real gaming performance. I played some Bioshock, which of course I hadn't been able to play with the X800, so I had nothing to really compare it with. I was disappointed with what I thought was the game itself; the controls simply felt sluggish. I went back to my TF2 addiction, and didn't notice anything right away, hell I'm playing on a 17" CRT. But as the 30 day mark crept closer, I put my X800 back in just to see. The difference was astounding, I hadn't been able to appreciate how beautiful Team Fortress 2 is until I had played it on such lower settings. My 3 year old X800 pro was kicking the HD 2400 pro's butt!
So I took the 2400 back to Best Buy and got a refund. The 2400 had cost $100 at best buy (its dropped to 70 now). I went on the research prowl and this review really spoke. The 2600 XT (512MB DDR3) isn't pushing the competition as far as "crazy go nuts high settings I can't really notice on today's games" but as far as upcoming software hurtles, mostly DirectX 10, its pulling its weight and throwing a few punches.
I payed $164 (I had already committed $100 to the 2400 a month previous, so it felt like only 64) at TigerDirect.com for an AGP VistionTek HD 2600XT 512mb DDR3. It arrived today. Woh ho Dan. Bioshock is a completely different game. It runs better with the highest settings on the 2600XT than it did with the lowest settings on the 2400Pro. HL2 Ep2 runs beautifully smooth with everything up, Anti-Aliasing at 8x, Anisotropic filtering 16X, Full High Dynamic Range enabled, etc. The same goes for TF2.
There were some problems apparently with these cards and people trying to install the latest drivers from ATI, instead of using the ones from the VisionTek website. Also I've seen complaints about the catalyst control center not working with performance clocking stuff, fan speeds and all that. I don't know anything about overclocking gunk, I just keep my room icy cold. Considering that this is pretty much the last AGP video card of real consequence to be released and is for a minority of consumers, a little bit of hassle with the drivers is understandable. I downloaded the driver from the VisionTek website that it told me to, and supposedly even though it was put there in October it contains the drivers released by ATI in November but they actually work on the AGP unlike the one released directly by ATI. Any dang way, it works, and if I'm not running the latest driver I can't tell so what do I care, I'm sure the next updated driver will be all fixed out.
As far as I can tell VisionTek is the only brand to have the 2600XT IN AGP available for purchase. For instance the PowerColor website lists 2600XT AGP cards but I can't find a single one for actual sale.
If you are cursed with AGP and have been dreading the inevitable buying of a completely new PC and are happy with your current video performance on TODAY'S games (as I was with my X800 + Orange Box), and simply want that mid to high range to continue for a few more years, the 2600XT may be the perfect choice, and the last hope for your current AGP slotted PC.
But alas, I was cursed by the fates to have chosen a motherboard with an AGP slot. The computer itself, still runs beautifully, and I didn't even realize I was falling behind until Bioshock wouldn't run because the X800 didn't have pixel shader 3.0. The only thing I really needed to replace was the video card, but alas, could I even do that without having to also replace my motherboard (and processor, because why the hell not?) simply for a PCI-E slot?
I thought I had found the solution with the release of the Radeon HD 2400, which had the same amount of ram as my X800. I didn't want any more hardware performance, I was quite happy with running the orange box at mid-high range, I just didn't want to be stopped by upcoming software updates, i.e. pixel shader 3.0 (and 4.0) and eventually DirectX 10. I wanted my 3 year old computer to last another 2 years. The 2400 supports all of these future software hurdles...but it was a huge disappointment when put to real gaming performance. I played some Bioshock, which of course I hadn't been able to play with the X800, so I had nothing to really compare it with. I was disappointed with what I thought was the game itself; the controls simply felt sluggish. I went back to my TF2 addiction, and didn't notice anything right away, hell I'm playing on a 17" CRT. But as the 30 day mark crept closer, I put my X800 back in just to see. The difference was astounding, I hadn't been able to appreciate how beautiful Team Fortress 2 is until I had played it on such lower settings. My 3 year old X800 pro was kicking the HD 2400 pro's butt!
So I took the 2400 back to Best Buy and got a refund. The 2400 had cost $100 at best buy (its dropped to 70 now). I went on the research prowl and this review really spoke. The 2600 XT (512MB DDR3) isn't pushing the competition as far as "crazy go nuts high settings I can't really notice on today's games" but as far as upcoming software hurtles, mostly DirectX 10, its pulling its weight and throwing a few punches.
I payed $164 (I had already committed $100 to the 2400 a month previous, so it felt like only 64) at TigerDirect.com for an AGP VistionTek HD 2600XT 512mb DDR3. It arrived today. Woh ho Dan. Bioshock is a completely different game. It runs better with the highest settings on the 2600XT than it did with the lowest settings on the 2400Pro. HL2 Ep2 runs beautifully smooth with everything up, Anti-Aliasing at 8x, Anisotropic filtering 16X, Full High Dynamic Range enabled, etc. The same goes for TF2.
There were some problems apparently with these cards and people trying to install the latest drivers from ATI, instead of using the ones from the VisionTek website. Also I've seen complaints about the catalyst control center not working with performance clocking stuff, fan speeds and all that. I don't know anything about overclocking gunk, I just keep my room icy cold. Considering that this is pretty much the last AGP video card of real consequence to be released and is for a minority of consumers, a little bit of hassle with the drivers is understandable. I downloaded the driver from the VisionTek website that it told me to, and supposedly even though it was put there in October it contains the drivers released by ATI in November but they actually work on the AGP unlike the one released directly by ATI. Any dang way, it works, and if I'm not running the latest driver I can't tell so what do I care, I'm sure the next updated driver will be all fixed out.
As far as I can tell VisionTek is the only brand to have the 2600XT IN AGP available for purchase. For instance the PowerColor website lists 2600XT AGP cards but I can't find a single one for actual sale.
If you are cursed with AGP and have been dreading the inevitable buying of a completely new PC and are happy with your current video performance on TODAY'S games (as I was with my X800 + Orange Box), and simply want that mid to high range to continue for a few more years, the 2600XT may be the perfect choice, and the last hope for your current AGP slotted PC.
The train is a lie. The cake is a spy.
THE Ted on
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Posts
An XFX 7950 GT is still a faster AGP card, I'm pretty sure.
Now, the X1950Pro will kick the shit out of any other AGP card until somebody gets around to making an AGP version of the Geforce 8800GT.
Also I forgot about ATI's offering.
Wow, really? Shit, they must have used their own board layout and converter chip and everything. I wonder how much the thing costs.
Anyway, both that and the ATi card are about the same, performance-wise, and while they're at a price premium over similarly-performing PCIe cards, it's probably cheaper than a new motherboard and RAM and CPU and all that shit.
I talked to my 7800GS OC, and it said you can go to hell.
I'm not saying that there aren't any better cards, but my 1gb 3GHZ rig still plays everything with solid options and good framerates. If your goal is to play new games and not have them look like ass on a 2005 PC, there are certianly options out there.
Best Cards for the buck, including AGP.
Radeon HD 2600XT wins for cards around $115, and x1950 Pro wins for $175.
It's the bang for the buck argument. And finally:
"it looks like there's an AGP version of the Radeon 38x0 series in the works!
So, if you're going to spend more than $200 on an AGP card, you owe it to yourself to hold off a bit and see if the Radeon 3850 will be gracing the AGP bus in the near future."
The non-overclocked versions of the 7800GS are like three times as expensive as the 7600GT and are only marginally faster. I was just trying to warn people.
Edit: ok like 5 people replied while I was typing this? Haha.
AMD sure isn't taking any performance crowns, but I really have to like what they're doing for new hardware working on older platforms. The new quad-core Pheoms will plug into old Socket AM2 motherboards, too, apparently.
The thing I meant to press about the X1650 or X1950 or the 7900GS (which is also $180-$200 in reality with AGP)is that they may beat the 2600 on today's games, but they don't have pixel shader 4.0 or DirectX 10. Of course I'm assuming that DX 10 will be a big deal, and that the cards that say they will be able to use it WILL be able to use it. Again, it isn't the hardware specs, its the software ones that kill the user who is happy with middle-high range graphics. And even more, its the price of finding an AGP card in reality. Also if you plan to turn your pc into a HD-DVD or blue ray player, I'm pretty sure the 2600XT will be more adequate (Tom agrees, I plan to buy a 42" plasma to hook up to my PC, so this is a must).
Edit: 7950GT in AGP in reality is $250.
I looked all of 5 minutes and found:
Radeon HD 2600XT, AGP, less than $115 (256mb model, but eh...): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102711
Radeon X1950 Pro, AGP, $175:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161071&Tpk=x1950%2bradeon%2bagp
I couldn't find a similar price for the 7950GT AGP, but I didn't look very hard at all.
All AM3 processors are supposed to work in AM2/AM2+ motherboards, with the HyperTransport bus slowing down to whatever speed the motherboard's chipset supports. All that should be required is a firmware update.
So I'm good with my AIW 9800 pro?
It's a damn good card - I can still play at 1920x1200 with high settings on most games.
really hard.
the x1950 requires a ridiculously powerful power source to work, the 7800 can get by with less
Do you see a 'click to buy' button? It's no longer available. That's what's been frustrating about this buying an AGP card business is you see them everywhere on manufacturer's websites and tech reviews, but when you go 'ok I want it' its not there.
That sapphire XT has 256mb of DDR3 ram, while the visiontek pro has 512mb of DDR2 ram. Whether or not DDR3 is greater than twice as much DDR2, I've got no idea. Also I'd rather trust VisionTek to provide the latest drivers if the direct from ATI one's are no longer working on new AGP cards than I would Sapphire.
Also I'm very very sorry for spouting a price for the X1950 that's 25 more than reality, even though my real point is that the X1950 is going to meet software barriers before the 2600XT will hit hardware ones.
According to Tom's VGA Chartz the 2600XT is worse than a 7600GT, and the x1950 Pro is much faster than either card. But the 8800GT blows them all away by such a huge margin that I don't understand why you would upgrade to anything less.
Because this thread is about AGP cards? It's likely that the x1950 is going to continue to be the cieling for AGP cards since both companies are only making mid-low end AGP cards now.
I wouldn't be playing anything more advanced than the orange box games.
I run my stuff pretty high.
Well, it was In Stock last night, now its out of stock.... I guess I should have ordered one.