Graphics Graphics Card recommendation

Hi guys. I've been reading the forums for quite a while now and felt that I should go ahead and post.

Alrighty, I have a Dell 8250(I know, I know) with 3 open PCI slots. It's Dell's larger case so it has plenty of room for expansion. I bought it in May of 2003 and it was pretty nice at the time, but it isn't running games as smooth as I would like it too. I download the demos for DOOM3 and Far Cry, which it actually ran kinda well (maybe 25fps on low settings). Strangely, it can't handle UT2K4 which I own, but can't play, because it tops out at about 18 fps. I really want to play Half-life 2 because I'm a huge Counterstrike fan, but my computer can't handle it

Here's the Questions: I'm wanting to upgrade my graphics card and was looking at the Nvidia 6600GT. It's a nice card for around $200, the most that I want to spend. Do you think that this is a wise choice for my system specs and if it isn't, what should I buy to play Half-life 2 with a decent framerate?

Specs:
P4 2.40 GHz
512 RDRAM
NVIDIA GeForce MX 420 (it blows hardcore )
60GB HD
XP Home

Thanks!

 

That's a PCI-e card which u don't have. Do u have AGP? If not, you will have to look for regular PCI cards.

 

I have one AGP and two PCI

 

then u need agp

 

Do you know a good 6600GT manufacturer?

 

u cant get 6600gt its only pci-e for now

u can wait or get a 9800 pro like this

http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-102-281&depa=1

however this is out of stock right now

if u get a 9800pro make sure its 128mb 256 bit

 

Sounds good
What would I need to buy so I could use a pci-e card?

 

new motherboard, cpu.

 

Well, I don't have that kinda cash lying around, so I guess I'll stick with the 9800pro if that's the best card for $200 and under.

 

anyone else agree, but I would wait a few weeks, in the other post TMM was tlking about 6600gt AGP as his guess to Bigz's comment.

 

Go with the Radeon 9800 Pro. Shop around. Most places have it.

 

I just searched it and the 6600GT AGP will be coming out sometime this November. From what I have read, the 6600 seems to be outperforming the 9800 overall.

 

I found a picture of the 6600GT AGP model. The heatsync has been rotated 45 degrees as opposed to the 6600 PCIe.

 

As an alternative to the 6600 / 9800, the X700 seems a reasonable choice, but like the 6600 series, it isn't out for AGP as of now, and I'm sure what the ETA on AGP 6600s (or X700s) is.