video card help?

Question

i am looking at getting a new video card my motherboard has both pci-e and agp at the moment i have a 7600gt agp card but amd looking at getting a 8600gt 512mb pci-e card would the 8600gt be a better card

Answer 1

If 8600GT 512mb ddr2, it might NOT be any better. 8600GT ddr3 (especially factory overclocked versions) would be better but still not an awesome upgrade.

Answer 2

Not an upgrade I would be looking at doing. There are a few big differences between the 8600GT and 7600GT but speed for gaming on current titles really isn't one of them.

The biggest differences are these:
1. The 8600GT has Dx10 support and the 7600GT does not. However, there aren't any Dx10 titles out there right now so what difference does it make. Also, the upcoming titles which do have Dx10 support are too advanced for the 8600GT to handle properly so you still can't play them. Also, those new titles which support Dx10 also support Dx9 so your current card will still be able to play them.

2. The 8600GT has dedicated Hi-Def DVD decoding. If you have a Blu-Ray or HD-DVD burner and want to watch Hi-DEF DVD's then get the 8600GT as it will take the load right off your CPU when you are watching these movies. Your 7600GT doesn't have the decoder so those movies will bring your system to a crawl. If you just watch regular DVD's there isn't a difference though, only the HI-Def ones

Overall thought, save your cash, your 7600GT is just fine for now. Only upgrade when you really have to and make a bigger jump than the 8600GT

Answer 3

Yes but not by much.

I suggest you get the 8600GTS or the ATI X1950 pro instead.

Answer 4

Personally I would't do it. The difference between those 2 is small if anything. Even if it has higher memory, it only heavily affects when playing at ultra high resolutions.

Answer 5

the 8600 would be a better card, because it has more video ram and is PCI-e.