Upgrading my video card.

[ToXiC_ViPeR]

I currently have a Radeon 9550 256mb and i want to upgrade to something else.
What AGP 8x video card do any of you suggust that would be good for gaming? My price range is about 150-250.

Thanks in advance :)

[saphalline]

Newegg isn't working for me right now, so I can't make any concrete recommendations on price. But I can guess based on ballpark figures. ;)

A GeForce 6600 GT would be the minimum I would recommend. Those can be had in AGP version for about $150-200. After that, I'd say something like a Radeon X800 GT/GTO (if they have those in AGP). For something more powerful, and much more expensive, there's the GeForce 6800 GT and Radeon X800 XL. I can't remember specifically if all of these are available in AGP, but I'll check Newegg again tomorrow.

[aristotlewilde]

For newer, more graphic intense games, I'd forego the 6600's completely. The price difference is there for a reason.

I had a manufacturer overclocked 6600GT, and had to continually restart my system while playing Battlefield 2. It would freeze mid game all the time.

Learn from my mistakes, I ended up selling my 6600 after 5 weeks of frustration. The extra $$ for a 6800 or better will be well worth it.

[saphalline]

Keep in mind that your problems with a certain OC'ed 6600 GT card is just one incident. I've seen many many 6600 GT's (even OC'ed ones) play games just fine. Something was probably wrong with your particular card in your system for whatever reason, and you can't make the claim that all 6600 GT's are bad just because yours was.

[hockey man]

I have a 6600GT and it runs everything that I have thrown at it. Though I do not have many new games.

[madad2005]

I bought a 6800XT and managed to unlock extra pipelines and vertex shaders and it is an absolute dream compared to my 6600. I ran Farcry at maximum settings all round and 1280x1024 and I had fps of between 27-35. It looked fantastic! It may not be as powerful as the cards below, but it is a good stop-gap till you decide to move to PCI-E where you have more (cheaper) options.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121206

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814140067

However, if you want a more secured power investment, I'd consider either the 6800GS or the X800GTO. Links for both are below:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130002

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102002

[saphalline]

Careful with that. This is not a modding forum - we don't recommend computer components based on what you can unlock or overclock. This is mostly a self-defense policy. Most users don't have the expertise or knowledge to safely do something like that. My opinion on that is if people have to ask how to unlock or overclock, then they shouldn't be doing it!