Can anyone suggest an upgrade to the eVGA 6800GT video card?

September 29, 2008 9:52 AM

What is currently the fastest AGP video card out? I am on the fence about spending money on upgrading my computer, If i can find an upgrade to my videocard eVGA 6800 GT and more ram then I will most likely be good for now(playing warhammer online).

My problem is currently I have a pretty nice computer, with the best you could get of the old technology, AGP, DDR ram, etc I have already upgraded to a dual core proc, but my ram is slow, and my videocard is starting to show its age, so If i can upgrade to another 2GB of ram and a higher level video card for under $200 I'll do it, otherwise its the all out upgrade(Mobo, PCI-Express, DDR2/3 ram, etc...) just to upgrade to a 24/30" monitor because its a Dual-DVI connector, and my current video card does not have Dual-DVI

posted by Mesach to computers & internet (8 comments total)

I was in a similar situation recently and looked at this from Tom's Hardware. The HD 3850 is kind of a beast.

I decided to screw it and wait for my mobo to eventually die, or new processors to lure me into a full upgrade.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 10:19 AM on September 29, 2008

Oh, here is the review showing the HD 3850 to dominate the 6600, quick googling of "6800 3850" shows forum posting suggesting that the ATI card is way better in this case.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 10:25 AM on September 29, 2008

Judging by this page at toms hardware it looks like the 3850 is about 7 generations better than the 6800gt I think i'll go with the 3850 it sounds like a good card and for 100-135 it will last me for a while.
posted by Mesach at 10:53 AM on September 29, 2008

Warhammer is a low-graphic mmo, like Warcraft. Id be very surprised if the 6800 couldnt handle it. I would think the bottleneck would exist elsewhere.

I recommend buying the game first and then deciding if you really need more graphical horsepower.

If you msut upgrade I'd get this cheapo x1650 and save up for a new system, instead of spending 200+ on an AGP card.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:16 AM on September 29, 2008

I totally misread your question, ignore the above. The 2600XT AGP can be had cheaply without going overboard on price.
posted by damn dirty ape at 11:23 AM on September 29, 2008

The ATI 3850/3870 is pretty much the end of the line for AGP. Beyond that (the 4850 and even the 4650), the throttling effect of the limited AGP bus bandwidth means that you won't see hardly any benefit of a faster chip. Nvidia has pretty much abandoned AGP except for cheap entry-level stuff.

The 3850 is a decent mid-to-low end card these days, and significantly faster than a 6800gt, so would make a good last upgrade if you're determined to hang on. After that, you really will need to make the leap to pci-e, so bear that in mind. Once nehalem (core i7) comes out, that will depress prices on current gen kit quite nicely.
posted by ArkhanJG at 12:16 PM on September 29, 2008

I already own the game(CE) but i need more graphic horse power to run a 24-30" monitor i plan on getting, and the 6800 wont cut that, I'm trying not to spend 1k on the computer just to run the monitor.

I have dual screen now, but want just 1 monitor and want lots of real estate. Judging by my concerns you could probably guess, money isnt the concern, I just want to get away spending less now on the rig, so that later I can blow it out later and already have the monitor to push it for games like COD, Dawn of War, Medal of Honor, Crysis 1/2 etc... the 6800 chugs for MoH, and its OK on Warhammer(this is what i'm currently playing alot)
posted by Mesach at 2:02 PM on September 29, 2008

Would one need a dual core to see a difference between the 3850 and the 2600xt? I've been wanting to upgrade, but I have an old P4 2.4 ghz cpu with hyperthreading, and I don't know if the cpu will be a bottleneck. There's only a $30 to $40 difference, but I don't know if my processor would actually make the 3850 look worse.

(Sorry to piggyback on your question, Mesach. I think we might be the only two people left in the market for AGP cards!)
posted by amarynth at 7:08 PM on September 29, 2008