BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

[diamond-optic]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

i was looking at the GTs..

would it be better to have a normal 6600 256mb DDR
or a 6600GT 128mb GDDR3 ?

[Yawgm0th]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

well my mobo is only agp 4x.. so IDK...

Any AGP 4/8x card will work just as well as if you had 8x.

I must be out of it, though... I hadn't even realized they had AGP 6200s now. I'd recommend against it for AGP, though. There are more powerful (even more powerful 256MB) cards in the same price range, but then that's irrelevant at this point...

So now you have the choice of 256MB 6600, 6600GT, or 9800 Pro. The 9800 Pro is kind of an irrelevant in-between point, so I'd say not to consider that. Though, if you wanted to mix the benefits of 256MB with having a more powerful card, something like this could be a decent choice, with the only problem being that 9800 Pros don't have Pixel Shader 3.0. That said, I'd suggest a 128MB 6600GT, but I'm sure you'd be happy with a 256MB 6600, which would also be about $20 cheaper. The 6600GT will perform better in any existing game and probably any future one, but if games in the near future do indeed end up being reliant on having 256MB of RAM, then the 6600 would theoretically be longer-lasting, but I really doubt that is the case. More likely, by the time 256MB is necessary, both cards will be in the low end and it won't matter if the 6600 has 256MB.

[relic2279]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

I would suggest the higher ram, it provides your card with more longivity. People have been saying for years that there are no games that can take advatage of higher amounts of video ram, but that has since changed (see BF2 benchmarks).

I believe ram on video cards will play a more important role going forward. Nvidia showed their 6800 with 1 GIG of ram off at computex, I'm sure there was a reason.

In this day and age, to me, longivity is more valuable then performace. I learned first hand. The hard way.

[Darthtanion]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

Before you jump on the 6600 or 6600GT bandwagon, pull out your motherboard manual and verify the supported voltage levels of your AGP port. Many older AGP4x boards still pushed 3.3v through the AGP port. Speeds are moot but the voltage is critical. I'd be willing to bet a cold beer that the video boards you're looking at require voltage levels of 1.5v or 0.8v. If your mainboard can only pump 3.3v through the port, you'll have burned out your new toy before you even get the chance to witness its graphical prowess.

[diamond-optic]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

Any AGP 4/8x card will work just as well as if you had 8x.

The 9800 Pro is kind of an irrelevant in-between point, so I'd say not to consider that.

yeah.. Ive read in plenty of places online that there isnt really much of a noticable difference in 4x and 8x.. cuase the speed there is mainly dependent on the card itself...


and also.. not really looking at ati.. Ive had geforce as far back as I remember.. heh I remember my old geforce2 gts/pro 32mb card.. I used that thing for years and years.. and didnt replace it till the 5*00 series came out, and it was still giving me really good fps in everything that I played.. plus Ive been tweaking my geforce cards constantly for as long as I can remember too.. idk.. i feel more comfortable with nvidia, dont want to start over lol.. and plus theyve never really gave me any trouble.. except for a fan dying, but that was PNY's fualt but i put a better one on afterwards anyway lol..

but thanks for all the replys... I'm gonna probably keep looking about at details of different makes but I want to at least buy/order a new card by the weekend...

[eat@joes]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

Voodoo 4 life

[Spriggan X]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

If i were you diamond, i would go for the 6600gt.

[diamond-optic]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

Before you jump on the 6600 or 6600GT bandwagon, pull out your motherboard manual and verify the supported voltage levels of your AGP port. Many older AGP4x boards still pushed 3.3v through the AGP port. Speeds are moot but the voltage is critical. I'd be willing to bet a cold beer that the video boards you're looking at require voltage levels of 1.5v or 0.8v. If your mainboard can only pump 3.3v through the port, you'll have burned out your new toy before you even get the chance to witness its graphical prowess.

well now this has got me all confused lol...
i cant find anything bout voltage of my board.. plus having a packaged pc (dell) seems to make hardware info a bit harder to find anyway...

knowing what my cards insert keys look like (or whatever theyre called)

my 5200u's little tabs look like this I believe:
http://images10.newegg.com/productim...145-112-02.JPG
( ^ thats the 6600 card I was looking at anyway)

while just about every other card.. looks like:
http://images10.newegg.com/productim...135-160-02.JPG
( ^ thats a GT, but I couldnt see any GTs that had the keys like the one above)

and Im pretty sure the different keys have to do with voltage...

I might have to open my damn pc up and pull out my card and check to see if there is any blocks or whatever in the slot..

or am I totally wrong here?

[eat@joes]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

Yours uses the extended AGP. The newer cards use the smaller ones. They will fit into the same slot. Make sure you check the voltage output on your board to see if it can put the requirements for the newer cards. Like Darth said, you'll burn out your card before anything.

[Darthtanion]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

Yes, mainboard and video board manufacturers added in a key for voltage reasons to help prevent exactly what we're talking about. Last I heard, Dell still had pretty decent customer support so you might shoot them an email. If you provide them with the service number (located on a tag usually on the back of the machine), they should be able to let you know if the board is compatible with a modern 1.5v AGP video card. Make sure you refer to the maximum 1.5v voltage requirements of the video card so there won;t be any confusion. Otherwise you'll be looking at replacing the mainboard and most likely the PSU also since they use a proprietary 20-pin power block for their motherboards.

[diamond-optic]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

well i already have put in a better psu..

but anyways I couldnt find anything bout voltage on dells spec info page bout my machine.. I might have to try to email them like you said...

if i goto the setup thingy on bootup and look at the bios settings or whatnot, might it tell me voltage in there?

[Darthtanion]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

It might, but Dell generally neuters their BIOS settings to the point where you have next to no control in there. You might try something like SiSoft Sandra... it may give enough information to tell you supported voltages but I don't recall offhand.

[diamond-optic]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

i'm thinking maybe this page will help me a bit...

http://www.ertyu.org/~steven_nikkel/...atibility.html

i think i might need to look at my slot and compare it to the chart thingy at the bottom.. man this voltage stuff is confusing lol

[diamond-optic]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

ok.. what ive found.. i think this is what Im looking for..

I finally found the book that came with the pc.. and it says runs 2x/4x agp @ 1.5v...

then also on dells page for the dimension 8100 (what i got.. tho who knows if they all have the same mother boards.. but good chance they are the same or at least very similar and same agp slot specs) it says:

<TABLE cellSpacing=2 cellPadding=4 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=327 height=20>AGP connector</TD><TD vAlign=top width=539 height=20>one</TD></TR><TR><TD width=327 height=20>AGP connector size</TD><TD width=539 height=20>172 pins</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=327 height=20>AGP connector data width (maximum)</TD><TD vAlign=top width=539 height=20>32 bits</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=327 height=20>AGP bus protocols</TD><TD vAlign=top width=539 height=20>4x/2x modes at 1.5 V</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
so I'm guessing that means its 1.5volts lol.. and thats what Im looking for correct? at least I hope so lol.. I want to order a new card asap lol

[Darthtanion]

Re: BFG Tech 6200 OC 256MB DDR AGP

It sounds like it but I'd go ahead and pull the video board and compare the slot architecture to the picture from the site you linked to above. If everything jives then you should be safe to start playing.