#287110 - 25/09/2006 13:25
Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/08/2000
Posts: 3826
Loc: SLC, UT, USA
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I'm running an old Shuttle SS51G as my animation rig at the moment, with an NVIDIA GeForce4 Ti 4200 128MB graphics card. It's okay for the small game stuff I'm animating but I can't play crap for games. I had an urge to play some FPS yesterday and realized this card won't cut it. I reallllly wanna play Half Life 2 and Battlefield 2 on my new Viewsonic 20" widescreen.
QUESTION: What is the best 4x AGP card I can get for SUPER cheap.
My budget for this is next to nothing since it's a frivilous purchase. I saw this ATI Radeon 9550 for $50 on craigslist (http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/sys/211414527.html) but have no idea where on the ATI timeline this thing falls. I wish the card makers would put up a big chart/timeline with every card they have made in order horizontally by time and vertically by speed/quality.
Thanks a ton. I'm so lost in the PC world these days!
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#287111 - 25/09/2006 13:55
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: loren]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/08/2000
Posts: 3826
Loc: SLC, UT, USA
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#287112 - 25/09/2006 14:29
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: loren]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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Looking at the prices on NewEgg, it seems you can get an ATI x1600 for a little over $100, or a similar NVidia card, the 7600GS for around the same price. Previous generation is going to be the x700/x800 or the 6600/6800 line of cards.
The 75-100 range seems to be filled with some cards you will want to avoid. Do not buy any NVidia 5xxx product, and stay away from the even older MX series. It looks like the NVidia 6600 sits in this price range, and should be good enough for what you want to play. ATI wise, it seems a lot of the cards in this price range are 9550 or 9600 cards. They would be an upgrade, but not a huge one, and considering the price of the cards above aren't that much more, it might be worth it to spend slightly more.
My concern with any of them though is the need for the extra power. I did run an ATI Radeon 9700 Pro in the SS51G for a while (and my friend who bought the system still has it running), so at long as these new cards don't need all that much more power, it should be fine.
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#287113 - 25/09/2006 15:02
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: drakino]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/08/2000
Posts: 3826
Loc: SLC, UT, USA
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Thanks! That helps a TON. I now feel armed with knowledge. Let the bargain shopping commence.
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#287114 - 25/09/2006 16:12
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: loren]
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Anonymous
Unregistered
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I've got the x700, and the graphics are great -- I've never seen it get choppy. I don't know specifically how well it does on HL2 or BF2, but it kicks ass on CS 1.6.  But from what I've read, it'll handle those games with ease.
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#287115 - 25/09/2006 17:42
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: ]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/08/2000
Posts: 3826
Loc: SLC, UT, USA
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QUESTION: Will an 8x AGP card work in my 4x slot? or does it have to say specifically 4x/8x?
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#287116 - 25/09/2006 18:23
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: loren]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 20/12/1999
Posts: 31596
Loc: Seattle, WA
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This is a very good question that I wanted to know the answer to, as well. So I asked uncle Google, and found this: Quote:
Will my 8X AGP video card work in my 4x AGP slot? This question is not answered as easily as it might seem. First let's establish a few things you need to know to answer this question.
What is AGP 2.0
AGP 2.0 is a 1.5V AGP slot capable of 4x,2x and 1x speeds.
What is AGP 3.0
AGP 3.0 is keyed like a 1.5V AGP 2.0 slot, but it only uses 0.8V of power. It supports 8X, 4X, 2X and 1X speeds.
Rule #1: Speeds are backwards compatible
AGP Speeds are required to be backwards compatible. This means that an 8X video card MUST be able to run at 4x, 2x, or 1x speeds. However, this does NOT necessarily mean that your 8X card will run on a 4x slot.
Signalling Voltage incompatibility
Because speeds must be backwards compatible, Signalling Voltage is where incompatibilities arise. Basically:
* All 8x cards are 0.8v AGP 3.0 spec
* 8x cards will fit in 1.5V slots, and can tolerate the voltage, but will NOT run properly
* 4x cards can be either 1.5V or 0.8V
* 2x and 1x cards are either 3.3V or 1.5V
* Except in the case of the 8X cards, using the wrong voltage card with the wrong motherboard can result in damage in card and board
* If you install a card of incompatible voltages with the motherboard's specs, the card will NOT run
The connectors on AGP video cards are keyed in such a way that you can only install equipment that have compatible Voltage keyed connectors. Normally the key of the card determines its signal voltage. AGP 1.0 and AGP 2.0 cards using a 1.5V key will signal at 1.5 volts. However, AGP 3.0 devices can tolerate 1.5V - they won't be destroyed, they just might not work properly.
The Bottomline
The bottomline is that your 8X video card can theoretically be safely TESTED in any 1.5V motherboard for compatibility. But if you know for a fact that your board only runs 1.5V AGP 2.0 spec and your 8X AGP 3.0 card runs only 0.8v spec, then the two should NOT be compatible one another. At the very least it will be unstable, if it runs at all. However, we've had a lot of users tell us that their AGP 8x cards work on 4x only motherboards. This is likely due to the fact that some AGP8X video cards are in fact universal 1.5V capable AGP3.0 cards that can run on either 1.5V or 0.8V (remember, AGP speeds are backwards compatible, only voltage incompatibilies cause problems).
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#287117 - 25/09/2006 19:07
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: tfabris]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 25/12/2000
Posts: 16706
Loc: Raleigh, NC US
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So, to sum up: maybe.
_________________________
Bitt Faulk
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#287118 - 25/09/2006 19:21
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: loren]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 08/06/1999
Posts: 7868
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Browse NewEgg and get a picture of the card. If the AGP connector looks like the card on the right and says it is 8x, it will work:  If it looks like the card on the left, it will take some digging to know if it will work because of the voltage issue Tony talked about above. Some cards are "Universal" and can work at eithe rvoltage, while others demand 0.8v only. This site goes into detail on it.
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#287119 - 25/09/2006 20:14
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: drakino]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/08/2000
Posts: 3826
Loc: SLC, UT, USA
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ahhhrrgggg. Crap. Now I'm all confused. I hate PC's. =]
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#287120 - 25/09/2006 20:29
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: wfaulk]
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old hand
Registered: 07/01/2005
Posts: 893
Loc: Sector ZZ9pZa
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Quote:
So, to sum up: maybe.
lol
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#287121 - 25/09/2006 21:24
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: loren]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
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I recently upgraded my graphics card- FX5200 on sale for $40. Before I could do that, though, I had to do some research and learn about the various interfaces. Wikipedia was a big help.
_________________________
10101311 (20GB- backup empeg)
10101466 (2x60GB, Eutronix/GreenLights Blue) (Stolen!)
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#287122 - 27/09/2006 12:59
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: Robotic]
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pooh-bah
Registered: 06/04/2005
Posts: 2026
Loc: Seattle transplant
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I haven't read it, but this review is linked from slashdot today.
_________________________
10101311 (20GB- backup empeg)
10101466 (2x60GB, Eutronix/GreenLights Blue) (Stolen!)
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#287123 - 28/09/2006 04:20
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: Robotic]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/08/2000
Posts: 3826
Loc: SLC, UT, USA
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Ooo... nice. Thanks for that link. I missed a couple of good cards for super cheap on craigslist... gotta keep lookin'.
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#287124 - 05/10/2006 18:23
Re: Cheapo AGP Graphics card advice ... please!
[Re: loren]
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carpal tunnel
Registered: 23/08/2000
Posts: 3826
Loc: SLC, UT, USA
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Okay, So I picked up a Leadtek Winfast A400 (nVidia 6800) AGP card from a local guy for $65. I just opened my shuttle, and upon looking at it immediately was bummed, because there's no WAY this card was going in there. The huge copper heat sink wraps around the back of the card with a large plastic fan enclosure that does the same and was hitting the drive mount bracket. Then I realized I could remove the CD-ROM drive bracket. So I did, and slotted the card in, then replaced everything. WOW. What an insane piece of engineering the shuttle is. I mean, the tollerence for this card fitting is ZERO. I can't believe it fits... WITH a soundcard behind it.
Downloading the BF2 1.4 patch now, so we'll see how this puppy performs! Thanks for your help guys!
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