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Zemmer18

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OK - Looking for a video card so I will list what I have for specs and then we can discuss.

MSI 645 Ultra mainboard
1.8mhz processor
400 W power supply
512 Mb RAM
Slots
One CNR (Communication Network Riser).
One AGP 4X/2X universal slot.
Five PCI (v2.2) 32 bit Master PCI bus slots.

Currently using an nVidia GeForce mx440 AGP video card

OK - I would like to be under $100 to spend on a decent card but not some serious gamer card. I play TW2003 and TW2007, plus the Call of Duty series. They are a nightmare with this card with the exception to TW2003. I have played Americas Army in the past but it is impossible now and wouldn't mind getting back into it.

Which card would be better, an AGP or a PCI?

I have looked at the GeForce FX5500 AGP card. It is 128mb and at a price of $49.99 new at Circuit City. I also looked at the Radeon 9250 256mb PCI card on Walmart.com for $49.00.

I guess I would like the best card that will work with my Mainboard for under $100 and with all the specs I have above. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 
Just about any AGP 4x/8x card will go on. But you would want one of the newer models where updrivers are still available. The 9250 is on the dinosaur list now for ATI models. You looking for something like the Radeon X700 Pro to X850 models to see a better card. But the board is the main drawback between AGP 4x backclock there plus the 333mhz fsb and 512mb of ram? The newer games with better graphics like memory! as well as pixel support.

For under $100 at the moment newegg has the ATI 9800 Pro All-in-Wonder model seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814195027
 
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Thanks for the info. I appreciate it. I know the board is weak but the price was right, FREE from my brother. I still have a few slots open for memory so I can add that for sure as well. I will definately check out that card for sure. Thanks again
 
The older model I ran on the old build was the ATI Radeon 9550 256mb model with the 9660 chip on it. That replaced two diffferent NVidia models tried out there. But you would have to dig through the ATI archives to get the Catalyst 5.11 version at this late date. The better cards are still seen way above the $100 mark like the Radeon X850. ouch!
 
So both of you agree that if I have an AGP slot I should get an AGP card? What would be the difference between using my PCI slot or my AGP slot? I know some about this stuff but not enough and I appreciate any advice so I can learn some more.

Thanks in advance.
 
the PCI slots are universal for devices.. the AGP slot is specially designed for grafic's cards. (it can move data to the card faster, to put it very simple)

PCI cards are not really worth it,. they're way too expensive for the (lousy) performance they have.
so yes.. i'd go for an AGP card too. altough, i think a 6600GT might be a bit overkill for the rest of the pc already. I'd look into a 6200, or a 6600LE at max tbh.
 
The Radeon 9550 was a great one for a stock setup while the driver support was there at ATI. The selection currently seen at newegg however is a little limited especially in preparation for the new release of Vista. You'll start seeing them stock more heavily on the latest and soon to come models mainly PCI-E. Yet they keep the Radeon X line AGP models at high prices.

For a little extra I would be looking at the X850 Pro seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102606 or the Radeon All-in-Wonder 2006 edition for a little less at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102581 The X850 gets the favored view here for the extra $30.
 
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