ati 3850 vs geforce 7800gs agp

[jeff5]

Right now I'm running a AMD 4200 dual core processor, 2 gigs of ram, with an GeForce 7800GS agp. I was reading about the ati 3850 agp and wanted to get some opinions as to whether it would be an upgrade over my nvidia card. My initial thought is it would either be a lateral, or a very small up (which would be okay actually), but I can't find any comparisons and its kind of hard to compare specs. I'm probably going to build a new system in the next few months and am trying to tweak as much as I can out of my current right. Thanks!

 

[pauldh]

Oh my, It's a huge step up. The HD3850 is much better than a 7900GTX, never mind the 7800GS. With a dual core CPU, and current fairly low AGP HD3850 prices, go for it. You wouldn't need a new system. But if buying a new system is a definate, you may not want to put $130 into an AGP card now.

The 7800GS is like a 7600GT. The X1950 pro is a large step up from them. And the HD3850 is a large step up from that.

 

[pauldh]

http://www.tomshardware.com/charts/desktop-vga-charts/oblivion-the-elder-scrolls-4-outdoor,568.html?p=1591%2C1601%2C1596%2C1598%2C1614%2C1613%2C1597%2C1602%2C1600%2C1599%2C1643%2C1590%2C1637%2C1635%2C1594%2C1595%2C1593%2C1616%2C1612%2C1641%2C1589%2C1583%2C1579%2C1592%2C1615%2C1574%2C1581%2C1611%2C1586%2C1577%2C1636%2C1582%2C1642%2C1628%2C1640%2C1634%2C1632%2C1573%2C1608%2C1631%2C1639%2C1633%2C1587%2C1570%2C1578%2C1630%2C1588%2C1638%2C1609%2C1568%2C1572%2C1610%2C1580%2C1576%2C1629%2C1604%2C1627%2C1626%2C1620%2C1624%2C1571%2C1607%2C1562%2C1585%2C1566%2C1575%2C1622%2C1569%2C1560%2C1567%2C1625%2C1619%2C1623%2C1603%2C1561%2C1584%2C1565%2C1605%2C1621%2C1558%2C1559%2C1557%2C1618%2C1606%2C1564%2C1617%2C1563

Look above - Oblivion 1024x768 max details:

HD3850 - 37.5 fps
7600GT - 10 fps
Full bore 7800GT (not slower GS) - 12.2 fps



Also look how the HD3850 outperforms the 7950GT by 100%, and the 7950GT > 7900GT > 7800GT > 7800GS.
http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=3151&p=9

 

[mathiasschnell]

Also you're running a dual core processor. I believe Toms was using a single core. So you'll probably get even better scores than the ones shown. And if you can overclock it, all the better.

 

[dagger]

Also you're running a dual core processor. I believe Toms was using a single core. So you'll probably get even better scores than the ones shown. And if you can overclock it, all the better.

Yep, go for it. It'll still bottleneck on newer games, but not too much. Worth putting in the money.

 

[jeff5]

Thing is, if I do build a new PC in a few months, my wife will get this PC. So either way I'll be using whatever upgrades I put into it, and if that card extends the life a bit it may be a good thing. Thanks for the feedback!