For both Nvidia and ATI, what are the current (or fairly recent) PCI-E
graphics cards that will give a similar performance to my current AGP Radeon
9800 Pro?
I want to upgrade to an AM2/PCI-E system and I will be forced to upgrade the
graphics card but I don't necessarily need anything *much* better than what
I already have.
TIA
Depends on the use, comparing old to new video cards is like
comparing apples to oranges because these classes of cards
were designed for gaming and gaming requirements changed
over time.
It's usually better to think in terms of the budget and
expected uses, the features you need. For example you might
want dual DVI output, or you might not. Maybe video in and
out (to TV) sockets, or maybe not.
A random suggestion might be an nVidia 7600GT. At places
like
http://www.newegg.com they're now often rebated to
under $90,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&Subcategory=48&description=&Ntk=&srchInDesc=
They are fairly energy efficient (by gaming card standards),
don't require a lot of power nor produce a lot of heat so
they are easier to impliment. Some might have louder fans
than others, I don't know which are quietest and I ended up
putting a replacement heatsink/fan on one I bought.