Damn you Oblivion!

[WhiteZero]

Well... I wasnt planning on upgrading untill like Q2 of 2006... but thanks to Oblivion and Lost Coast comming out this year I'm pretty much going to have to upgrade my video card from my current Radeon 9800Pro, since it's the deciding factor for my game performance at this point for my current specs:
CPU: 3.0 ghz P4
RAM: 1.5 GB of PC3200 DDR
etc. etc. etc.

I'm not doing a full upgrade yet, which would mean getting a new mobo that has PCI-E and whatnot, so I need an awesome AGP card. I've been scouring for reviews, benchmarks and prices all morning and have decided that for my money I'll be best off with somekind of ATi x800xt or x850xt. I'm trying to get some cheap bids on eBay for a x850xt right now (yes, I know how to be carefull on eBay).

Any thoughts on my choice?

 

[bryanf445]

oh do yourself a favor and get a 6800gt, thats what i was going to get and then i noticed evga had an offer with a 7800gt and a free sli mobo. Too bad that deal is gone (got mine the last night of the sale )

 

[WhiteZero]

Ok... why?
The x800xt has a 150mhz higher core clock and costs about the same.
And I wouldent really want a free Mobo anyway.


EDIT: I'm looking through from comparative benchmarks right now. The 6800 GT might be worth it.

 

[giant384]

yes the x850 is faster but the 6800 would look better in oblivion because of the shaders its supports

 

[WhiteZero]

The x800 and x850 dont have Shader 3.0?

 

[Lemonking]

nope they dont

 

[WhiteZero]

Gah... lame, cuz their slightly more powerfull.

6800GT is it then.
Thanks for the help guys.
:thumbs:

Now I'll just pray that I'll be able to run Oblivion at near higest quality.

EDIT: Also, do all 6800Gts have Shader 3.0, or just the one that have OpenGL 2.0?

 

[Quixoticism]

I would keep to your system and just hold out like you were planning.
According to Bethesda you will need a current top of the line computer to enjoy it in all it's glory, and you'd be better off waiting(I know it's hard) for better hardware to come out to run it how it's meant to be.

 

[Asus]

If you do buy a card, wait for the new ATI cards (first part of Oct) to see them benchmarked. Then buy the 6800gt. =p

 

[WhiteZero]

Bump for the answer to this:
Do all 6800Gts have Shader 3.0, or just the one that have OpenGL 2.0?

 

[Qonfused]

All have it.

 

[WhiteZero]

Cool.
Well, I'm pretty much decided. A good 6800GT or Ultra can keep me going for another year atleased, at which time I can do a full upgrade in probably late 2006 or early 2007.

Again, thanks guys.

 

[giant384]

Bump for the answer to this:
Do all 6800Gts have Shader 3.0, or just the one that have OpenGL 2.0?

all 6 series cards can do shader 3.0 but asus theres no point in waiting for the x1800 since it will be pci-e only

 

[Quixoticism]

...asus theres no point in waiting for the x1800 since it will be pci-e only

Price drop son.. :farmer:

 

[Lahire149]

Price drop son.. :farmer:

price drop for AGP models, probablly not.... BUT we can hope.

 

[WhiteZero]

Well, with the prices I'm going for on eBay for these cards (like $200), it wont make much of a difference for me.
:thumbs:

 

[NJspeed]

Spend the extra money, get the 7800, and then wait longer to upgrade. If you buy a 6800 this year, and you plan to upgrade next year... you'll just be upgrading to a 7800 anyway...

 

[WhiteZero]

erm... What part about "AGP, not PCI-E" didnt you understand?
lol
6800 is the higest AGP nVidia model.

 

[holydeadpenguins]

Well ur gonna eventually have to get rid of that cpu and mobo.

 

[WhiteZero]

Well ur gonna eventually have to get rid of that cpu and mobo.

...ok
I currently have a Pentium based Mobo... my next big upgrade will more than likely take me the AMD route once again. I do not want to upgrade my CPU for awhile since it's going to cost quite a bit.

Thusly, it's absolutly pointless to bother getting a new P4 Mobo that supports PCI-E just to get an even more expencive gfx card that I'd wind up wanting to upgrade again when I goto AMD.

So a high end AGP card is the best choice for me right now.

 

[holydeadpenguins]

...ok
I currently have a Pentium based Mobo... my next big upgrade will more than likely take me the AMD route once again. I do not want to upgrade my CPU for awhile since it's going to cost quite a bit.

Thusly, it's absolutly pointless to bother getting a new P4 Mobo that supports PCI-E just to get an even more expencive gfx card that I'd wind up wanting to upgrade again when I goto AMD.

So a high end AGP card is the best choice for me right now.

You should probably wait to upgrade your cpu until that new amd socket comes out.

 

[NJspeed]

Dude you ask everyones opinion, and then you rebut each one. Why not just listen to everyones recommendation and then form an opinion?

(btw my bad for not reading agp, soooo sorry)

 

[WhiteZero]

Probably because people are recommending things outside outside of what I was asking about, and I didnt ask about them (CPU and Mobo) for good reason (see my last post).
I already said that I didnt want to upgrade anything else for awhile and yet people are like "yah, you'll need a new CPU and mobo anyway" and "wait for the new AMDs". Right... thats why I said I'm waiting to upgrade everything else.
Though some people didnt pick up on that for some reason.
Example:

You should probably wait to upgrade your cpu until that new amd socket comes out.

Yes... I already said I'm waiting.
-.-

All I was asking about was the video card. Nothing else, because I've already planned for awhile to wait to make a major upgrade later on.

Reading though a bunch of recommendations that are contrarty to what I've already said can get a bit irritating.
Because this is pretty much how it's gone:
"You should wait"
"I know, I said that"
"Well, you should wait"
"Yes I know!!!"
-.-