Geforce 7600 GS AGP a good buy?

[agent14]

Hey I dont have much money to spend and I'm looking to upgrade my gfx card. I currently have an embarrassing Nvidia Geforce FX 5200 128mb and I am interested in the 7600GS for $100. At $100 do you think that it is a good price? Or should I go for the ATI Radeon X1650 Pro or a cheaper 7300GS? Any tips appreciated. btw it is a zobis 7600 gs over at newegg...open box/oem though thats why it's so cheap so no cables,drivers,etc.

 

[XFXSupport]

That is pretty good card for only $100. It will be a big improvement over your current 5200.

 

[piratepast40]

You're taking a chance with open box. A new one is only $30 more if you can swing it.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814170112.

And there's this one that's $109 after rebate:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814145135

 

[agent14]

Thanks for the replies guys, I'd love to get the retail box version but where I live 1 US$=$2 so its not that cheap since I'm only 17. It will be a huge difference between my FX 5200 and I'll be quite pleased.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

If they are the same price then the X1650PRO is faster at stock speeds.
The benefit of the GF7600GS is overclocking potential, but you need to be sure it's a GDDR3 model for good overclocking.

 

[PaCanc]

You should also look for 7300GT with DDR3 memory, as they are close to 7600GS, for less money.

Like this one, though it's out of stock:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814122008

 

[I]

It's not a bad price and fortunately 7600GS is very miserly on power and thus low heat, you aren't likely to need a PSU upgrade or any different case cooling unlike some cards.

As another poster already mentioned there's the issue of memory, not only whether DDR3 or 2 but the ns rating, I mean the default speed rating of the card's memory as some of the AGP versions of the GS have significantly lower spec'd memory than others even if it only has DDR2.

Another reasonable alternative for AGP would be an X800/X8(nnn whatever), though they are larger more power hungry hotter and lesser video acceleration, but they do outperform the 7600GS at older games.

 

[slashzapper]

You should see a difference from your previous card , but i would hold on till the end of this month or till mid feb so that if prices fall at the top you might be able to stretch your money a bit more

 

[agent14]

Well I can't use the 7300 GT cause I'm using AGP unfortunately. I'd love to get the 8300 when it comes out but I doubt that it will be AGP. The 7600 GS should last me until December this year when I upgrade to PCI Express.

 

[PaCanc]

Sorry, I didn't notice that you're on AGP.

Hey, I still have an AGP sistem myself. With a 6600GT.

 

[AdamBomb42]

The 7600GS is a good card for the price and you would be very happy with it.

 

[agent14]

Yup but I have another question...should I risk going with an open box video card? I'm pretty sure it will work but what are your opinions?

 

[I]

Open box is a gamble, but having bought a lot of them myself, the odds of getting a good card are better than 2:1. In other words even if you got a bad one and had to pay $8 to return it to them, then bought another (open box), odds are you still save money over buying a new one.

IMO, the larger gamble is whether it is the right time to spend $100 on an AGP video card. If you have DDR1 memory you can reuse, that $100 would get you a skt 939 CPU and refub'd motherboard with a little $ left over (depending on what you get), and if you sold your present CPU & board you'd come close to covering the lower price of the PCI Express version of a 7600GS or whatever. That may not be the right choice for you, but in retrospect I always felt I got a better value out of begining an investment in a newer platform tech than trying to squeeze another year or two out of an older tech.

Plus if on a limited budget, it could be even more of an expense later to have to buy motherboard, CPU, video, and possibly memory too all at the same time for the next upgrade.

 

[agent14]

I'd have to agree with you I. However I'll sell the card later this year when I upgrade to PCI Express. One reason why I've waited for jumping to pci express is because pci express 2.0 is soon on its way out...
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/10/11/pic-sig_posts_pcie_2_final_draft/
http://www.pcisig.com/news_room/news/press_releases/01_15_07