ATI 9700 - Is an Upgrade to 6600GT AGP Worth it?

[firstadopter]

I have a 2.6 ghz Intel p4, 1 gig of PC2700 ram, and ATI 9700 AGP graphics card.

Would an upgrade to a Nvidia 6600GT be worth it for games?

[arogan]

for about the same price as the 6600GT take alook at a regular 6800 (non GT, non ultra). If you can get a deal on them (about $160 is what my friend payed for one) then it's probably the best bang for the buck currently in that price range. Plus with a little luck you can softmod it.

http://www.comeapart.com/6800.php
http://www.guru3d.com/rivatuner/

No harm if it doesn't work. Just a few clicks and a reboot and you are back to normal. Warranty still valid.

If you get lucky you might get a full blown 6800GT for only $160.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?Manufactory=&PropertyCodeValue=679%3A9573&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&PropertyCodeValue=0&description=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&SubCategory=48&Submit=Property

read up on the comments to try and get a better idea which brands might give you a better chance to softmod.

[CAG]

I have a 2.6 ghz Intel p4, 1 gig of PC2700 ram, and ATI 9700 AGP graphics card.

Would an upgrade to a Nvidia 6600GT be worth it for games?
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I have 2.6 P4, 1G ram, and an ATi 9800 non-pro and its been running fine for 2 years. Now, if you could get a 256 mb ATi 9800 Pro, that would be a very sweet upgrade ;)

[firstadopter]

Any good place to find out with my 300 watt power supply can handle this load:

1 gig of ram
2.6 ghz P4
2 hard-drives
dual tuner Hauppuagge PVR card
dvd-rw drive
dvd-drom drive

AND

a nvidia 6800?

I'm a bit lazy, don't feel like getting another power supply. Well I guess if I need it, to upgrade my ati 9700.

[Gambler]

You're underpowered, dude. To run the Nvidia 6600GT AGP they RECOMMEND at least the same, i.e., 300 W that you're using now. The more hardware you keep installed the more power you need. I bought a new PSU maybe 6 months ago. I went from 360 W to 550 W, so no more worries about that.

As for 6800 or 6600GT. I'd say there's no particular difference there. If you can get the 6600GT cheaper although it came out after the 6800, I'd go with that. You can also overclock the 6600GT to well over 1GHz memory clock and way past the stock engine clock. I'm currently running mine at 500/950.

[arogan]

I use nothing but Antec True Power Power Supplies. I use an antec neo for my main gaming rig. Many of my servers run on 380w just fine.

I would just get an antec true power 480 and call it a day.
IMO it's well worth the money.