Card Upgrade?

:FI:Murph · Post by **:FI:Murph** » Tue Jan 23, 2007 11:13 pm

I ran across a GEForce 7600oc (AGP) with 512m onboard memory today at my local Compusa for $200. My current card, which cost twice as much two years ago is a 6800oc w/256m. I will probably have to keep my current PC setup for at least another year before upgrading, maybe longer. Would this card be likely to give me a noticeable boost in performance?
My rig is an AMD64 3000 on an ASUS K8V Deluxe MB with 1 gig of Corsair CMX3200 (2x512). What do our resident hardware mavens think?

Post by **Deathsledge** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:18 am

you can run at higher resolutions without any stutter, given that the game itself doesnt have bugs

:FI:TacticalS! · Post by **:FI:TacticalS!** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:08 pm

I trust you have compared the specs between the two cards, right Murph? Just make sure your PSU will work with this newer card.

:FI:Dr_Strangelove · Post by **:FI:Dr_Strangelove** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 2:41 pm

I would say do not upgrade to that card IMHO. If anything get this for $159 after rebate http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814143046" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It is going to be a noticeable improvement over what you have now.

Gurkesaft · Post by **Gurkesaft** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 3:15 pm

Thank you, someone, for mentioning Newegg.

I got my 7600GT PCIe for about $100!

Newegg rocks!

Post by **Deathsledge** » Wed Jan 24, 2007 8:47 pm

yeah, Newegg does rock and they ship fast too

:FI:TacticalS! · Post by **:FI:TacticalS!** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 2:58 pm

Just to add to my initial post and this discussion Murph. I'm sure you have already gone to the BFG website but for ease of reference:

BFG 6800 GS OC 256MB - Core Clock 370MHz - 350W PSU
BFG 7600 GS OC 512MB - Core Clock 420MHz - 350W PSU
BFG 7800 GS OC 256MB - Core Clock 400MHz - 400W PSU

* Also consider the voltage and amperage requirements that are mentioned.

We both have the 6800 card. I looked at the 7800 card which is the last card they did for AGP but my 350W PSU wasn't sufficient.

I also considered the 7600 card. While the PSU will work (didn't confirm voltage/amperage), it only generates 525 million vertices/sec versus 555 million vertices/sec that our 6800 cards can do.

You noticed that right Murph? The 7600 is actually a poorer performer. Now that's not to say for certain games that could use the increased memory on the video card wouldn't benefit, though some articles I have read suggest that most games are only taking advantage of 256MB at best.

So in the end I realized my existing card, which has treated me well over the last couple of years since upgrading from an ATI 9700TX card, is my best option until I eventually buy a newer machine.

Hope something here has helped.

Regards,
TS!

:FI:Murph · Post by **:FI:Murph** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 4:14 am

Thanks everyone for your input- I'll probably wait a while longer to make a decision, definitely not going with the 7600 though, maybe with the 7800. I'll have to study the comparison charts.