peek^ said:
Which of these 3 video cards should I get?
BIOSTAR V6802XA52
GECUBE GC-RX155PGA2-E3R
or
DIAMOND X1600AGP512SB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductCompare.asp?Category=38&N=2010380048+
1069609639+4027+1068310557&Submit=ENE&Nty=1&SubCategory=48&
CompareItemList=N82E16814141026R%2CN82E16814241042R%2CN82E16814103005R
I just selected 75 to $100, 512 MB memory, AGC 4x/8x... Im not sure whether
I need that much memory though. I plan to run Vista Ultimate and play a few
occasional games. I want something cheap that will work excellent and
support Windows Aero. Im running in 1280x1024x32... 19" monitor at 75 GHz.
If video card affects refresh rate then I want one that can support more of
it, I have ViewSonic A90 monitor.
Thanks for any help..
Rough guess based on this chart, is the 6800XT might be best for gaming.
http://www23.tomshardware.com/graphics.html?modelx=33&model1=572&model2=545&chart=196
Chart with parameters here:
http://www.techpowerup.com/gpudb/
X1550 is a newer version of the X1300, with change to clock value.
No one web site really tracks all the variations any more. So you could
waste the whole afternoon looking for "bake off" articles that compare
a few different cards at a time.
Now, that being said, the reviews for the Biostar say it runs hot and
is noisy. So by the time you've fixed that, it might cost you another
$50 for a cooler of some sort. Note that finding coolers for the AGP
cards that use bridge chips, is harder than finding coolers for PCI
Express cards. The search for a replacement cooler is not a trivial one,
for bridged AGP.
Customer Reviews for BIOSTAR V6802XA52 GeForce 6800XT 512MB 256-bit GDDR2 AGP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?Item=N82E16814141026
Note that one reviewer here, said Diamond has a warranty runaround,
so if there are problems with the X1600, you're on your own.
Customer Reviews for DIAMOND X1600AGP512SB Radeon X1600PRO 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?Item=N82E16814103005
There are only two reviews for the X1550, with one warning about how
to install Vista. Not enough reviews to form an opinion. Might
in fact be OK, but two reviews is not enough. The card is too new
to have more reviews.
Customer Reviews for GECUBE GC-RX155PGA2-E3R Radeon X1550 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?Item=N82E16814241042
This card for $119 has reasonable reviews. A 7600GS is not a barn burner,
but should be OK. Presumably a little bit slower than the 6800XT.
Customer Reviews for EVGA 256-A8-N542-T2 GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 AGP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/CustratingReview.asp?Item=N82E16814130076
There are very few cards, where I'm impressed by the cooler they come with.
It is so easy for these manufacturers to slap a cheap fan on there.
7600GS is estimated to use 28W while gaming.
http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/power-noise_6.html
Good luck,
Paul
