The 7800 GS AGP

bjdj82 · May 4, 2006, 02:07 PM

Dear All

I've got this system:

Intel Celeron 3.06 Ghz

Radeon 9600 series 256mb

1 gb Ram

And an AGP motherboard

I am on a limited budget for the time being so I want to upgrade my graphics card ONLY.

I am told the best AGP card out there is the 7800 GS - is this true?

If I buy a 7800 GS will it be worth the extra cash or will my system drag it down so that a, say, 6800 AGP card would be more even?

In short: Is a 7800 GS AGP card a good purchase for me?

Been playing a lot of Oblivion lately and I really need some more juice...

Please help since I am completely lost in the jungle of low-end, mid range, high end what-have-you's...

CDsDontBurn · May 4, 2006, 04:09 PM

the 7800Gs is a good card. it's about as powerful as a 6800 Ultra, but you get the benefit of having both sm3.0 and HDR, whereas w/the 6800 card, you'd only have sm3.0

. go for it

fobis · May 4, 2006, 04:20 PM

A 7800GS is a really nice card and would do you much more good than a 6800 in general.
I'd say if you really want it, go for it, especially since you can overclock those suckers like mad.

But keep in mind that your system isn't exactly top end which would be recommended for this card. So just because you have this video card, don't always expect to get the same results as the reviewers online.

bjdj82 · May 4, 2006, 05:21 PM

But would I be getting enough out of the card to warrant it in my machine or would my cpu bottleneck it too bad?

bjdj82 · May 4, 2006, 06:50 PM

Would a gainward bliss be too much for my machine?

fobis · May 4, 2006, 07:08 PM

When you say Gainward Bliss 7800GS, do you mean the one that is basically a 7800GT bridged to AGP?
I would say just go for it, even if the CPU may bottleneck it a little bit. You can always overclock if need be, right?
But be sure to have a 500W+ PSU (good kind, not generic who knows what kind) to power your video card.

bjdj82 · May 4, 2006, 07:14 PM

I do mean the one with the 7800 GT chip...

Okay - thx for the help - It's been enlightning!

douglasbzittrer · May 16, 2006, 06:24 PM

I'm posting this message since I'm interested in 7 series nVidia cards. I currently have a 2.8 GHZ processor, an ATI Radeon X800XL, 2 GB of Ram, a Sound Blaster X-Fi sound card, and an 80 GB hard drive (which I'm planning on upgrading when I get a new video card). I'm not yet prepared to change to a PCI-Express motherboard nor am I going to be getting Vista (hence DirectX 10) right away. I want to prepare myself for the next generation games such as Crysis and Stalker. I was just wondering if I should wait for a 7900 GT to come out for AGP or if I should stick with a 7800 GS overclocked. I don't intend to run Crysis on maximum or with all the settings. I simply want the game to run well and look good. In other words, I want a fun gaming experience with games like Crysis and Stalker. I just don't know which of the two cards I should go with, and if paying more for a 7900 GT, if and when it comes out, is worth it or not. Thanks in advance to anyone who give me advice or feedback and shed some more light on this for me.

CDsDontBurn · May 16, 2006, 06:55 PM

i believe that there won't be any more of the new x1x00 series from ati nor anymore 7x00 series from nvidia coming out in AGP form aside from the 7800GS. so if you want to upgrade to a 7900, then PCI-E is the only way to go.

douglasbzittrer · May 16, 2006, 07:45 PM

Well I'm definitely not going to say you're wrong because I'm not 100% sure. From what I've heard, there's the possibility the 7600GT and 7900GT will be released later this year for AGP. In either case, if neither card is being released would a 7800 GS overclocked card be a worthwhile upgrade for me? What's important is that the card runs games like Crysis and Stalker relatively well. I just want the best AGP card until I get Vista and DirectX 10, and until I finally decide to change to a PCI-Express motherboard.

CDsDontBurn · May 16, 2006, 08:24 PM

vista will only require to dx10 to use all of it's graphical features.

the only difference between an ati x800 series and a nvidia 6x00 series is that they only support either HDR (ATI) or sm3.0 (nvidia). whereas a 7900 series supports both HDR and sm3.0. So therefore, the 7800GS is the only AGP card that supports both, which will only benefit you in your gaming eye candy. On a performance level, the 7800GS stands at around a 6800 Ultra, maybe a little better, but not by much.

douglasbzittrer · May 16, 2006, 08:53 PM

That really does make me feel better. I will take any advantage I can get hands down. I'm not sure if you meant to say that nVidia 7 series cards support both HDR and Shader Model 3.0 instead of just the 7900. I have to be honest when I say that I was quite shocked to see that a 7800 GS overclocked card was less expensive than a 6800 GT and 6800 Ultra card. When I checked the fill rate, the 6800 Ultra is about the same as an X850XT, but from what I've heard the edge goes to the X850XT. What's important to me is going from Smart Shader 2.0 to 3.0 but I'd like to also go from 256 MB of Video Memory to 512. That's why I'm hoping the 7900GT will be released for AGP. If not, I guess I'm going to settle for the 7800 GS overclocked. Thanks a lot for clarifying that for me. I just want to give myself the best chance to play next generation games as well as I can until I switch to Vista and DirectX 10 and from AGP to PCI-Express.

CDsDontBurn · May 16, 2006, 09:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by douglasbzittrer

I'm not sure if you meant to say that nVidia 7 series cards support both HDR and Shader Model 3.0 instead of just the 7900

all 7x00 series cards support both HDR and sm3.0. also, all x1x00 series cards do the same

douglasbzittrer · May 17, 2006, 10:27 AM

We understand each other perfectly now. I figured that's what you were trying to say. I think you accidently typed 7900 instead of 7*00 series cards. I know the number eight and asterisk key is right next to the number 9 and ( key lol. Anyways, from the look of things it looks like my only two choices right now are either going with the X1600 Pro or the 7800 GS overclocked. I've already had two people (at Futureshop and Best Buy) tell me that I should stay with my card instead of going with the X1600 since that card has 12 pipelines whereas mine is 16. I guess it looks like I'm going to be crossing my fingers hoping a 7900 series card will be released for AGP but I won't hold my breath. It's either going to mean I will end up having to settle with a slightly better card which supports Shader Model 3.0 or just do a complete overhaul of my computer and switch to a PCI-Express motherboard and go with Vista and DirectX 10 sooner than I wanted to. I will have to see if I have the money to afford that but I know in the end it'll be worth it.

[hobo]eclipse · May 17, 2006, 11:04 AM

im even more curious about how an x800xl AGP to 7800GS will affect performance, even so that i have one in the mail to be here any day. itll be runnin on my rig below and im hopin to see a nice boost in alot of newer games. Im not into graphics benching that much but im sure ill run a few 3DMArks, i really dont feel like reformatting but i prolly will. Ittl be nicw to have the sm 3.0, one question though, will it Give me better IQ? better performance? or both? if ya wait a few days ill chime bak in when i have the card installed and runnin and tell ya how i fell. BTW what 2.8 GHz processor youhave? i see are sysytems are similar.

to the original poster - im sure you will see a large improvement over the 9600 series, yer CPU will be bottlenecking you. But just the newer more efficient technology is enough to buy the 7800 over the 6800, i think anyway.

mike2h · May 17, 2006, 11:35 AM

i had a 6800gt at 400/1100(it went into my wifes machine). i noticed an improvement in speed & iq with the 7800gs(sc vers). it is the best agp card out there.

[hobo]eclipse · May 17, 2006, 11:54 AM

ya thats the one i got comin, the superclock! W00T!

mike2h · May 17, 2006, 12:13 PM

try & make sure it is on its own power lead. i also rec using some vers of the 8456 driver(try differnet vers ofthis driver to see what works best 4 u). this seems to have the best results.
wished the zp guys would get busy on this one

also, do not try oc until you are absoutely sure you have a stable setup that plays all your games.

[hobo]eclipse · May 17, 2006, 12:28 PM

can i refer you to my own thread over here.

To the other posters considering 7800GS, keep your PSU in mind as the 7800 im sure require quite abit more power than the 9600 and prolly a bit more than the x800xl, mine will be on its own molex power lead as the 520 powersteam has 2 "exclusive" shielded leads for the gpu and the HDD.

douglasbzittrer · May 17, 2006, 04:42 PM

In response to what processor I have, it's an Intel P4 2.8 GHZ. I decided to double my RAM and now I'm up to 2 GB. From the games I've been running, I'll be honest when I say that, I haven't had any problems whatsoever. I don't know exactly when I'll be getting a 7800 GS overclocked, or even better a 7900 GT if and when it ever comes out. I'm planning on waiting until the last minute to see if the 7800 GS is still going to be the best AGP card. All I know for sure is that I'm getting at least a 400 Watt power supply, upgrading my 80 GB hard drive to either 250 or 300 GB and getting a new video card. Like I said in other posts, I just want the best AGP card available so that games like Crysis and Stalker will run well and look good. I'm not a hardcore gamer but the games I do play tend to be demanding. I'm currently playing Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and all in all it has run amazingly well. I'm hoping my system will be okay to run Prey relatively well and then eventually I'll upgrade my video card, hard drive and power supply. After that, I'm planning on a complete overhaul and getting a PCI-Express Motherboard and Vista with DirectX 10.

mike2h · May 17, 2006, 04:52 PM

i woulg go with a quality psu in the 500 range. that way it will be usable down the road. if you live by a costco/sams club(dont know if they have them up there) the have a great buy on a 400 gig/7200 rpm/16mb cache wd hd for $149.

douglasbzittrer · May 17, 2006, 05:00 PM

Hey, if I can find a 400 or 500 power supply I'll definitely go with it especially for a great price like $150.00 or even a bit more than that. By the way, I would love any feedback from someone who upgraded their video card to the 7800 GS. I'd love to know if it makes a difference. If anyone knows or has any idea about Crysis, please let me know if upgrading from an X800XL to a 7800 GS overclocked would make any kind of difference in terms of graphics and the way the game will most likely run. I realize it has Shader Model 3.0 and any extra feature would definitely help. I'd just like to know from as many people as possible how they think the 7800 GS overclocked would run a game like Crysis or Stalker. Thanks

mike2h · May 17, 2006, 05:15 PM

you sould be able to get a good psu for around $80 - $110. i have already given my opinion on the 7800gs sc upgrade in this thread.

wiskerbizkit · May 17, 2006, 05:21 PM

I went from an X800XL to a 7800gs sc and it was definately worth it.

douglasbzittrer · May 17, 2006, 05:53 PM

Thanks for the feedback. For your sake I hope that I'm wrong and that nVidia isn't planning on releasing the 7600GT or 7900GT for AGP. On the other hand, if I had to choose between the 7600GT, 7800GS or the 7900GT, I wonder which one most people would choose. Well in either case, I'm definitely upgrading my power supply to either 400 or 500 Watts and getting a 7 series nVidia card whatever the best one will be at that time. As for a new hard drive, I'm still trying to decide but from what I've heard having extra space does help in terms of performance. I'm just waiting to get my hands on some more cash and hopefully by then the price of the 7800GS overclocked will have dropped or a better card like the 7900GT or 7900GTX, X1800XT or one of the X1900 cards will be out. All I know is that I'm definitely upgrading for Stalker and Crysis. I really appreciate the feedback, especially the fact that you guys upgraded from an X800XL to a 7800GS, which is what I'm seriously considering.