Would like to upgrade

[Sammy10]

Ok, so this is my first post and I am not a hardcore computer guy...just would like some advice from the gurus:

I am currently playing BF2 on my computer which has a GeForceFX 5200 AGP card and only 512 mb ram. Needless to say the quality of the image is pretty low. I'd like to upgrade to a better graphics card and maybe add some ram. I have a few questions and any help will be appreciated!

1) My computer doesn't have PCI Express slots and the most cost-effective Nvidia chip looks to me like a GeForce 6800GT which uses AGP rather than PCI express. I read somewhere that PCI is faster/better? true? false? Any suggestions on graphics cards would be welcome. I have around $250-$275 to blow.

2) Would I be better off/see more improvement by adding in another 512mb of ram? If so does it have to be high-end ram? Can I get away with value stuff? I don't even know what over-clocking is if that helps answer my question. Will I see in-game improvement by have 1 gb of ram or is that not really necessary?

3) Last one I promise: Is there a big difference in quality betwee the GeForce 6800GT and the plain old 6800? There is about a $70 price difference on newegg.

Thanks in advance,
Sam

[ZiRo]

False, AGP isn't really that much slower than PCI-E.

True, You would benefit from another 512mb of ram. You should be able to get away with value, it costs you penuts anyway.

There is a very big difference. The GT/Ultra are the only cards worth getting. The GT is better value because you can turn it into an Ultra anyway.

Get the 6800GT and 512mb of RAM, it will be better than what you've got now anyway.

[Sammy10]

Thanks for the help

[Nitemare]

Yeah deffinitely get the 6800 GT, i suggest the eVGA brand. Another 512 of ram will also help you quite a bit, if you get the 6800 GT and you have a gig of ram you should be able to run high.

[Sammy10]

Sweet! What is the differnce (besides price) between the GT and the Ultra?

Also do you guys have any experience buying refurbished from newegg rather than new? Would it matter on a graphics card?

[Nitemare]

I think the refurb don't come with any wiring, just the card. That's what I heard from someone but I'm not sure. The GT you can OC to Ultra speeds, but the Ultra comes stock with more power, plus you can OC it even more. If you had 450 dollars you could get the ultra, but thats the price of PCI-E, I dunno about AGP. Check it out and lemme know. If it's not too much more I would say get the Ultra.

[ZiRo]

GT is basically an underclocked Ultra, you can usually Overclock them out of the box to ultra speeds.

[Nitemare]

eVGA 6800 GT AGP - $294

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130203

eVGA 6800 Ultra AGP - $445

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130196

GT Core Clock: 350 Mhz
GT Memory Clock: 1000 Mhz

Ultra Core Clock: 400 Mhz
Ultra Memory Clock: 1100 Mhz

Damn, I didn't think there was THAT much of a price gap. Well there ya go.

[Sammy10]

Thanks I think I've settled on the eVGA 6800GT AGP. I really appreciate all of the good input.