which or these 3 cards will preform better

[soupnatizzle]

ive kinda narrowed it down to these 3 cards

1: MSI Radeon X800 RX800-TD256E Video Card
Link to it (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814127172)

2: ASUS Geforce 6600GT EN6600GT/HTD/256 Video Card
link to it (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121209)

3: ASUS Geforce 6800 N6800/TD/512M Video Card
and here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121216)

I also need a cheap PCU to upgrade from my old 300 WATT cheapper the better im trying to get PSU, 1gb ram, and video card for under 250.

[soupnatizzle]

this card looks good to
ATI Radeon X1300PRO 100-437601 Video Card
here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102681)

[Deagle]

Correct me if I'm wrong but doesn't your mobo only has AGP slot? If that's so then I'd definitely recommend Nvidia 6600GT or 6800GS. Don't go for that 6800 just because of the 512MB memory, that's just a marketing gimmick. $250 is kinda tight for a good PSU, vid card and 1gb of ram.

[hockey man]

Yes, $250 is too tight for that. . .I would get the gig of RAM, a 6600Gt and save the rest. I have a 6600GT running happliy on a 305 Watt crappy Dell PSU. . .and you will never get a 6800Gs and a PSU on that budget.

[xboxmaster]

call me Naive or just stupid but i already had a 128mb videocard and honestly dont want to send 130 dollars to get another one, the only 6600gt APG slot i can find on newegg are 128mb and i dont uidnersand how that is better then my current videocard well atleast not 130 dollars better

[xboxmaster]

so i cant get a PCI express 16x to run on ym MOBO so i need some kind of AGP card correct?

this card is a 512 i know that its just there to mkae it look good but it good good reviews well ok ASUS Geforce 6800 N6800/TD/512M Video Card
here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814121216)

anyway say i dont a card running 128mb and one running 256 or 512 would the 256 always be better then the 128 or does it have to do with pipline and core speed and such?

[paul_]

It's got plenty to do with the GPU. There will always be a bottleneck, and the trick is getting the size of it to a minimum. You can have 1GB of RAM at 200MHz and a GPU running at 500, but it will run only as fast or slower than a 256MB card with both RAM and GPU running at close speeds.

That 6800 you're looking at would most definitely require a new PSU, so you need to consider your budget.

[Agnog]

If you need an AGP card I just bought this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150096) a month ago and I am very happy with it.

XFX 6600GT 256MB 128 bit DDR3 AGP 4x/8x

Only $159.00 from the great Newegg...

[hockey man]

There are many factors which affect a graphics card. I am just saphalline's follower and barly know anything compared to him, but I will try to shed some light. There are about 7 factors which determine how well a card works. Interface (AGP, PCIe), Clock speed, RAM speed, RAM amount, pipelines, shaders, and overall effeciency of the GPU design. So while more RAM is always helpful, if the GPU clock speed is slow, it woun't do any good. Plus with todays games relying on shaders so much, old graphics cards are quickly becoming well. . .old. so you must have a good balance. At this point shaders, pipelines, and RAM/GPU clock speeds are the most important. Not the quantity of RAM. Pluss, if soupnatizzle deciedes to get anythin over a 6600GT he will be lookin at a new PSU. That is out of his budget considering a great PSU and video card will be really hurt with only 256 MB or RAM for the system. So to make a balance, a 6600GT and 1 Gig of RAM would be the best upgrade at the moment for him.

[jlreich]

Well said Hockey_man. And I agree with your recommendations for soupnatizzle, for the budget that is a nice upgrade. :)

There is far more to video card ram than the amount. Like what type, GDDR/2/3 is far better than DDR, how fast it is clocked, and how efficiently it is used by the video card.

xboxmaster it would be best to start your own thread so it doesn't get confusing in this one and so you can get the attention you deserve.

[xboxmaster]

that card that Agnog recomened looks great im just afraid of the fact that it requires a 350WATT PSU and ive only got a 300WATT, if nothing else comes up ill probly chance it and just go with this card

[saphalline]

anyway say i dont a card running 128mb and one running 256 or 512 would the 256 always be better then the 128 or does it have to do with pipline and core speed and such?As has been said, there's more to a vid card than just the amount of RAM it has, just like there's more to a computer than just CPU speed.

My system has a 2.6 GHz P4 Northwood C, 2GB dual-channel DDR333 RAM, and a Radeon 9700 Pro vid card. For gaming, my system would absolutely crush a 3.0 GHz P4 with 256MB of single-channel RAM and onboard video. The average person would stop at the speed of the CPU and declare mine the loser, but when you view the computer as a whole in terms of gaming, it's easy to see mine is superior. The same goes for vid cards. The power and speed of their GPU/VPU and the overall RAM bandwidth are better indicators for performance than merely the amount of RAM they have on them. Here's an example: Try playing Oblivion with a 256MB GeForce FX 5200 and then compare it to a 128MB Radeon X800 GTO! ;)

I agree that soupnatizzle would be better served by getting the 1GB of RAM and the 6600 GT vid card. More cost-effective considering that the quality of a PSU becomes ever more important (and expensive) as you put more of a load on it, and gaming is a serious load on a PSU! If you moved up to a 6800 GS, you'd need to spend at least $80 on a new PSU. These things don't grow on trees and they definitely are not all made equal. I've seen quite a few 500W PSU's that can't support a modern gaming system, and I know of several high quality 450W PSU's that can support a modern gaming system without a problem. Again, with PSU's, the big wattage number isn't the whole story...