Hi I am wondering if upgrading from an AGP 6600GT 128mb to a 7600GT 256mb with my current cpu/ram will give me a noticeable boost with games such as crysis?

I can play Crysis on my 6600GT on low settings in 800x600 but that makes it look worse than far cry!

By just upgrading my GPU, will I be able to turn some medium settings on or even use my monitor's native 1024x768 or will my old socket 754 AGP board and single core CPU be bottlenecking it?

Thank you for your help!

"Crysis will no doubt be a fairly demanding game. It will require a good system to perform well. However, CryEngine2 is very scalable so lower end machines will still stand a chance. Here are the official, and complete system requirements for Crysis."

http://www.crysis-online.com/Inform...

There is no question as to the superiority of a 7600GT over the dated 6600GT, the real issue is how long you plan on holding yourself back to the AGP platform; without spending more money than is necessary.

Another idea is to look at a used 7600GS .... this gets you added boost over the 6600GT & won't involve spending too much.

Hi yeah the 7600gt really is the last time I am planning on spending on my AGP system. I cannot afford to update to PCI Express at the moment so want to get a cheap boost that will keep me going for at least another year.

If I understand correctly, isn't GS inferior to GT? Would overclocking my 6600GT get it near to 7600GS spec?

Thanks

no. the 6600 is old and slow. I use to have one before I bought my agp 6800gt. I would say your possible upgrades are the 6800GT/GS, or the 7XXX series. I believe the 7600 is faster than any of the 6x00 cards.

Cool thanks for the help guys. 7 series it is then.

Could have gotten a ATI 2600PRO AGP series for 100 bucks on newegg.

I always forget to mention I'm in the uk so newegg is no good. Thanks though. Is there a way to put my location in my profile?

The first and only time I delved into ATI was when I got an expensive 9800 Pro and it didn't impress me. There was tearing all over games and no vertical sync option in the control panel so I wasn't best pleased. The graphics looked different and I swear worse than my previous Nvidia Ti4200! The card didn't last long though because I managed to damage it replacing the fan! For the money I thought it was crap when compared to a cheaper Nvidia. So i've been put off ATI ever since!

I went straight back to Nvidia and felt right at home.

Well it wasn't the card it was the drivers and beleive me Nvidia has had it's share of horrible drivers. Heck, they are still trying to work the bugs out of the Vista Geforce drives. ATI 7 series drivers have been rock solid for the most part, I can't say the same for Nvidia's 100 series drivers.

I have had more then my share of trouble and so have many other people with the Geforce 100 series drivers so far. They are getting better but there is still ways to go for them to be as rock solid as they were before.

I only upgraded from forceware 91 to 100 series last night so i've not had time to see if any problems arise. I did notice, however, the awful overhaul of the control panel...oh dear oh dear what have they done!

I've realised that the highest AGP card I can get is the XFX 7950GT 512 which is really tempting me. I'm prepared to wait for the price to fall as £140 is too much but I figure I want to get the max out of my system before I'm forced to upgrade to PCI Express.

The performance gain from a 7600GT to a 7950GT with an extra 256mb VRAM (perfect for Crysis) must be quite an increase I'm assuming?

One thing I'm confused about is that there are two versions of the card. They're identical apart from the memory clock.

One has 1.2Ghz and the other 1.3 - which is best? Higher or lower?

Thanks.

higher is better, but it's nothing what a little overclocking can't solve.

Well they also have the ATI AGP 1950GT for 130 dollars which is still a very nice card and will hang right in there with the 7950GT for less price.

Hmmm...I could try ati again, i'm just a little reluctant as I really like Nvidia.

I've been reading that the 7950 needs 400w psu minimun...I have Antec 380w which I hope will be enough. I really don't want a new PSU.

It's only 20w off surely it will be ok?

I read that the important part is the PSU must have 20A on the 12v rail. Mine has max 24A so I guess it should be ok?

Cheers!

Power supplies can go 50w beyond the rated limit, just not consistant. That's good for performance spikes but not anything continuos.

Amps are the most important on a 12v rail. A 350w power supply that has a higher 12v amp then a 450w power supply is better.

I wouldn't worry about the extra 20 watts, just don't overclock the card and you should be fine.

Thanks for all your help. I've decided to go with the Leadtek 7600gt as it has low temps, quiet fan and low psu usage which will suit my system better. I also believe that anything better than this card may be wasted on my system as it will be bottlenecked by my cpu and low screen res especially true for the 7950gt but I hear that has a design fault which causes it to overheat and die within days. I'd rather not risk that!

If anyone wants to sell their 7600gt i'd glady buy it off you!

Does anyone know of any sites that list 2nd hand cards? I've not really found any decent ones.

£70 for a 7600gt is a little more than I want to spend. I wonder if the price will go down when the new 9 series is released?

Thanks.

Hello ... fleabay UK???

lol yeah sorry, I have been there and only found one 6700gt card worth buying. I should have said.

I have a 7600gt and it's not working good for all games like crysis or other game of this kind.