[citation][nom]apache_lives[/nom]Let me get this right, so you buy a half assed video card for some ancient machine and because, then you need a PSU so you buy one, then you need more ram, then your crappy motherboard dies so you end up with a pile of parts you spent dead money - waste of time.Heres a better idea - forget "future proof" and forget "upgrading an old machine" (within reason) - my pc's usually survive 1 overhaul and 1 upgrade package then there scrapped etc - MUCH better lifespanexample: my rig started as a E6600 @ 3.2 + 2gb + 7900GT, and in one big batch i jumped to a Q6600, 8gb and 8800GT - final upgrade for it before i get a new rig.And as for AGP vs PCIE - if i remember correctly, atleast with the Nvidia 6600GT the AGP variants were actually quicker then the PCIE variants and had to be underclocked to line up performance - AGP (8x) being "slow" compared to PCIE (1.0) is a myth.[/citation]
Well, ther is a lot of people that 1 year ago bought a 3850 AGP to play new games with their old pentium 4/athlon XP single core system and then they realize there was a huge bottleneck and can´t play new games, so they can´t give back the videocard to the shop, but they can now buy a Am2 AGP motherboard with an athñon 5xxx/7xxx and ddr2 memory for about 150 dolars/euros, and have a very competitive system.
There are also people that boutgh a 3850 AGP because their old AGP card sudenly broke, so they bought a 3850 AGP. For this people is also a good option to buy what i said before.
Finally i can asure that a 3850 AGP is as fast as a 3850 PCI-exprees.