was also considering:
SAPPHIRE 100198L Radeon X1650 512MB
but reading some benchmarks it didnt seem to live up to the specs. ($75)

so now im looking at:
XFX PVT73AUDF3 GeForce 7600GT 256MB ($110)
VS.
EVGA 256-A8-N542-T2 GeForce 7600GS ($85)

It almost seems worth the extra 25 but my machine is getting old and I dont know if my current mobo and cpu will bottleneck my videocard at all or my intention to have 1gig at pc2700 only.

see my machine specs at previous post:
http://www.computing.net/hardware/w...

Thanks again! I'm close to deciding!

Any of those cards is a waste of money unless you get more RAM. If you get more RAM, I'd go with the X1650, as long as it's the GDDR3 version............as I did.

P4 3.20HT @ 3.60ghz
Abit IS7-E2
2x1024mb OCZ Value DDR400 @ DDR450 Dual Channel
80GB Diamondmax9+ SATA 160GB Diamondmax10 SATA
HIS Radeon X1950PRO ICEQ3 Turbo
Hiper Type R 530W PSU

I currently have 512 and I am planning to add 1 gig more (2x512) so I would have 1.5 gigs total. You don't think that would be enough?

What games have you played with that card?
fear, quake 4?

The x1650 for the price i was considering is GDDR2

Of the cards you mentioned, the 7600GT is the best. But if you're willing to spend $110, why not spend $120 & get a Radeon X1950GT?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...

Here's how it compares to the 7600GT. I chose Oblivion because that's the game you mentioned in your other post:

http://www23.tomshardware.com/graph...

And if you scan down the chart, you'll see the X1650Pro w/GDDR3 is lower on the list & the 7600GS is even lower than that. The X1650Pro w/GDDR2 is comparable to the 7600GS.

Notice that even the 7600GT doesn't have acceptable frame rates for Oblivion at 1024*768, so the resolution would probably have to be lowered to 800*600.

thanks. i checked it out.

yeah I was just at tomshardware too.

i guess nothing tells you like real performance tests. specs are too iffy.

i guess the number of pipelines really made the difference. else i see no diff in specs between the x1650 and the 7600gt. actually the 7600 had a bit higher memory clock and core clock.

But again I guess that is why you dont go off straight specs.

one more question. do you think this card will be wasted in my system or just not be able to show its full potential?

Thanks again!!!

looks like that card is a power beast. 2 power connectors? guess i havent looked at video cards in a while.

"do you think this card will be wasted in my system or just not be able to show its full potential?"

It may be somewhat bottlenecked, but for $10 more, it's MUCH better than the 7600GT. However, you'll definitely need a good power supply & you also need more RAM.

You need to ask yourself if it's worth investing another $250 +/- in an aging system.

I was already planning on getting more RAM no matter what card I picked.

As for power.. I do have a 350 W PSU I could try and if that isnt enough I guess I will buy one.

I think its worth it because I don't plan on buying a new system within the next 2 years. Plus I usually buy older games so I am used to having to wait for the newest.

-thanks.

The reason why I would gor for the X1650 is that the X1650(GDDR3) and the 7600GT are VERY similar cards BUT, in England anyway, you can get the Radeon for £10($20) less, which is like a 20% price difference. So I would say that gives you more of a "bang for the buck" :-). As for your PSU, I'll let Jam explain why wattage don't mean so much.

P4 3.20HT @ 3.60ghz
Abit IS7-E2
2x1024mb OCZ Value DDR400 @ DDR450 Dual Channel
80GB Diamondmax9+ SATA 160GB Diamondmax10 SATA Sapphire Radeon X1650 PRO 256mb
Hiper Type R 530W PSU

if anyone is curious here is what i went w/:

Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply 115/230 V ($12 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...

(2x) WINTEC AMPO 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...

SAPPHIRE 100209L Radeon X1950GT 256MB 256-bit GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X HDCP Ready Video Card
($20 rebate)
http://www.newegg.com/product/produ...

hope it all works out