New AGP Gaming Card

[Ian]

It looks like the AGP slot has one last high end card after all

It's based on the ATI X1950 Pro and breaths a bit of life into an older system if all you have is an AGP slot. Maybe not the best choice in the long run, but if you are really restricted then it may be of use

http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=553

 

[PotGuy]

Thanks for the heads up Ian.

AGP still has 70 - 65% market share (in america at least) so I think there may be a few more high end cards to come

 

[Abarbarian]

Thats an excellent review Ian . Now if I could only remember where I put my wallet .

 

[crazylegs]

Thats exactly the card I have bought 3 weeks ago and added to my Athlon 64 3200...See my sig...

This card is absolutely superb, the Catalyst drivers are rock solid for this beast and Playing COD2 on my large widescreen monitor at 1620 x 1050 is just a Cinematic experience with unbelievable frame rates...My jaw just drops when I play it..

Stalker shadow of chernobyl at 1620 x 1050 with Full Anisotropic filtering and everything on highest graphics settings just gets eaten by this card..again awesome frame rates and jaw dropping performance..

This card is very long and has a beast of a Heatsink and fan so make sure you have enough space in your case, as it goes right back and wiring touches hard disks if space is tight in your case..

Also You need at least a 500 watt quality power supply with at least two 12 volt rails both supplying 28amp as card has 2 yes 2 power sockets for sumping current...This is a power hungry card and if yours ain't up to it, it will soon tell you..I ordered a TAGAN dual engine 600 watt with four 12 volt rails each pumping 28amps and it runs sweet as a nut...

Anyone still running Athlon64 system that wants to play the latest games for another year and a half would do a lot worse than to get one of these baby's to give there system a new lease of life...

 

[Abarbarian]

Some very interesting reading here folks can you help me out . I've been looking for a better graphics card as a last improvement for my pc .I've done a fair amount of reading up on various cards . I do not want to change anything except the graphics card .
Would my set up cope with any of these cards and fancy the HIS brand for the quiet cooler . Will my set up cope with the HIS 512 ? or would I be better of with the His 256 . Is the Sappire 512 a better card than the His 512 ?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-071-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=403

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-069-HT&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=403

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-137-SP&groupid=701&catid=56&subcat=403

If the cards above are not suitable for my set up would this be a good buy ,

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-060-XF

I was originaly looking at a X850XT which has a similar spec but is probably about £30 more to buy .
Ideally I'd go for the 1950 as its performance is much better . If I got one there are hundereds of games out there that I could play with super graphics and I'm sure I would be happily amused for a long long time . Also with this card when I have to upgrade my monitor this would still provide good game play .
Any thoughts would be most welcome .

 

[crazylegs]

The X1950 pro 512mb all the way abarbarian, your gonna see a massive jump in performance from your 9800....

I'd go for the iceq if you have the money, Mine was £160 3 weeks ago from Scan.co.uk

Your gonna need another PSU to run it though but its worth it go for a decent quality 500+ watt jobbie...If moneys tight go for something like a Hiper 520 watt that should handle it no probs...Should be able to pick one up around the £46 mark if you look around....

 

[Abarbarian]

Thanks crazylegs , is there a lot of difference in performance bettween the 512 and the 256 , I mean would you actually see a big difference . Would one use less power than the othere ?

I do have a 500w Ultra X Connect that was for a friends pc and a 430w Coolermaster Green Power that was meant for my sisters pc . Both a lot cheaper by far than my Greenager and I've no idea how quiet they are . Am very impressed by the Greenager as it is very very quiet . Guess I could get a card and see how it works with what I have .

Had a hell of a job finding out info on my psu this is the best I can come up with if it helps .

 

[crazylegs]

Nope your Greenerger psu would be of no use, I wouldn't chance it as it could ***k your new card up...Specifications state Psu must be at least 450watt minimum and capable of delivering 28amp on the 12 volt rail or you will have lock-ups, crashes in-game and the pc will suffer random restarts, its just not worth taking the chance Abarbarian...

The 512mb card allows for faster frame rates as the ram buffer doesn't have to be refreshed so often....

 

[Abarbarian]

Thanks . Came across this article and test report and it made very interesting reading . The cpus were faster than mine but it was the board performance that was most illuminating .

http://www.hwupgrade.com/articles/v...eon-x1950pro-revisiting-agp-part-1_index.html

I'm going to have to get out more . Reading techie reviews , blimey , whatever next . Overclocking ??

 

[crazylegs]

Yeah basically my card came out top an owned all the other cards...Which is nice to know....

 

[PotGuy]

Also on 512 -

On some games (Quake 4 for one) Ultra Quality is only available with a 512mb card

 

[crazylegs]

Hey Abarbarian did you get the card and new PSU or you go for something else or you still saving up for it...

 

[Abarbarian]

Well I tried to find one for sale and everyone was out of stock , so thats on a back burner at the moment . I did win an auction for a 6800GT on e-bay sold as faulty , £8.25 inc p+p and I think from the description that with a chum I might be able to get it working . Hmmm oh well lifes a gamble . Still keen on the HIS 512 and will wait a while , maybee the price will drop a few pounds . Busy testing Cool and Quiet on me pc and did me first ever overclock on the cpu and looking to install Laura Croft Tomb Raider with the Gildos extras so I'm busy and happy for a while .