Cheapest worthwhile replacement for a 9800 Pro?

[firezip]

Re: Cheapest worthwhile replacement for a 9800 Pro?

Best card for 130 bucks is the x800GTO, you can flash the memory and (I'm not saying it always happens) unlock 16 pipelines. If you do plan to Overclock that card be sure to get a better cooler for it.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102002

Or if you can find a 6800gs(Extremely Rare/Overpriced now-a-days) that is a good agp card too, but those run for 250+ bucks and are rare.

[tlniec]

Re: Cheapest worthwhile replacement for a 9800 Pro?

That 6800XT looks pretty nice -- same # of pixel pipelines as I have now (unless the flash trick would work for me), and similar 256-bit memory interface, but with twice the RAM. Looks like a faster memory clock, too. I'll have to check it out in more detail.

On a side note, I'm surprised at how well the 9800 pro has held its value since I bought it... nowadays, you'd still pay about $100 to get one.

Maybe the improvements would be so marginal, I should just leave my system the way it is. Or should I invest in more system RAM instead of a video card? I've heard some folks say that helps...