Finally bought my agp card......?

Question

I have asked about 10,000 questions I swear.......
I bought this one:

http://www2.pny.com/FX-5200-256MB-AGP-P1731C16.aspx

I installed it and everything went GREAT!!! WOW it was a major difference vs my onboard video......

Downloaded RCT3 and Doom 3...They both look great (from what I'm used to).......

However, I was thinking of getting this SPECIFIC card......
http://www2.pny.com/7600-GS-512MB-AGP--P1897C14.aspx

Any better (it's almost 60.00 more)?

Thanks
(remember I'm a novice to this stuff!)

Answer 1

It is a much faster card.
The 7600GT is about 40% faster than the 7600GS

The AGP buss is obsolete. You might be able to get a new motherboard for about $100 that could use all your old components but have a PCI x16 slot. The new motherboard would also probably have the option to upgrade the CPU to the latest dual core type at some future date.

Common Graphics Card Buses and their Max Bandwidth
http://www.directron.com/expressguide.html
AGP 4X # 1,066 MB/s
AGP 8X # 2,100 MB/s
PCI Express 16x 8000 MB/s

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048%201069609639&bop=And&Order=RATING
7600GS Performance index 28 Price $89
7600GT Performance index 40.9 Price $129
X1950GT Performance index 53.8 Price $125

The 7600GT is about 40% faster than the 7600GS


Performance index (frames per second) higher is faster.
See "Graphics card gaming performance charts" below.

Graphics card gaming performance charts:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/06/11/the_best_gaming_video_cards_for_the_money/page6.html
http://www.pcper.com/article.php?aid=399&type=expert&pid=1

You need to check what the power supply requirements are for the video card. Depending on the card, they will list something like this:

Requires a power supply with a minimum rating of 450 Watts and a minimum 12V current of 21 amps.

If your existing power supply does not meet the minimum requirements for the video card then you will need to upgrade your power supply to use that card.


CPU gaming performance charts:
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_2007.html

CPU Benchmarks
http://www.cpubenchmark.net/index.php

Answer 2

The 5200 series is about 3-4 years old, where the 7600 series is only about 1.5-2.5 years old. The jump in series alone will increase your performace besides the fact you are doubling the dedicated video memory between the cards. The 7600 series will process the graphical data faster so framerates should go up as well.

Answer 3

the "SPECIFIC" card you mentioned above is WELL WORTH the additional $60.

I had a 256 for a while, and when playing World of Warcraft, there were several areas in which my game would "lag" and then catch up to real time...

But after installing a 512, I have only seen that "lag" once. So, with memory being at a relatively low price, I also upgraded to 2g of RAM as well, so I'm certain that helped a lot too.

Answer 4

The FX 5200 is outdated and very slow for most current games. The 7600GS AGP performs much BETTER and can play many current games at low to medium settings. That card on your link is pricey though. Here's a faster but cheaper one.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000JHO4TM/ref=pd_cp_e_1/002-6150526-0136829?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-41&pf_rd_r=14PWPE3N1KT479ST8F1T&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_p=250314601&pf_rd_i=B000H70X3A

Answer 5

Better deal because of the faster clocks and the 512MB. Looks like you saw it for 119.99 after rebate on newegg huh?

Answer 6

Time to upgrade to PCI-E man... You will notice a world of difference.