Upgrade to 9600XT, 9800Pro, Will Cpu handle it?
 

I currently have:

Athlon XP 1600+
MSI KT4V
512 PC2100 Ram
GeForce2 GTS 32MB
DVD
CD
Soundblaster Live
Enermax 350W PS

I am wanting to upgrade to a 9600XT, but don't know if my cpu can handle it. So should I uprgade the vid card or just wait until I can upgrade the mobo, cpu, and ram as well?

If I do get the 9600XT, will that run future games such as HL2 and Doom3?

Also, newegg has the 9800Pro on sale today for $204. Seeing that I will be upgrading cpu, mobo etc to Athlon64 later this year, should I just go for the 9800Pro now? Will the 9800Pro run on my current system?

Thanks for the help.

A new Radeon will run fine, assuming you have an open AGP slot. That being said, regarding price, the new gens of video cards will be hitting the market soon, with nVidia already sending out demo cards and ATI set to launch soon. This will most likely drive prices down. As long as there's nothing you need a new card to play in the next 6 weeks or so, I'd probably wait.

And yes, current-gen Radeons will run HL2/D3 fine. People forget that game makers need to cater to a wide audience, and with games this big, I'm sure they want as many people as possible to be able to play.

i think your computer could handle the 9800pro... but, of course, the faster the chip, the better it would be.

the 9600xt is pretty slow compared to the 9800pro, but it doesn't need external power.

i'd get the 9800pro.

You should stick with the 9600XT until they launch the X800's in early May. After that 9800's (Pro & XT) will be dropping even more in price.

Your mobo will support faster cpu's. Put a 2800+ in it for $98 and you are screamin right along, without a major overhaul. Slap in a new vid card and you are haulin ass for only $300 total.

Regardless a 9800 pro will work fine with your current cpu.

I was also gonna suggest a faster CPU... here's what your mobo supports

Palomino (0.18u) 133/266MHz FSB

AthlonXP 1500+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 1600+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 1700+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 1800+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 1900+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2000+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2100+ 133 Auto OK

Thoroughbred (0.13u) 133/266MHz FSB

AthlonXP 1700+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 1800+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 1900+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2000+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2100+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2200+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2400+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2600+ 133 Auto OK

Thoroughbred (0.13u) 166/333MHz FSB

AthlonXP 2800+ 166 Auto OK

Thorton (0.13u) 133/266MHz FSB 256KB L2 Cache

AthlonXP 2000+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2200+ 133 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2400+ 133 Auto OK

Thorton (0.13u) 166/333MHz FSB 256KB L2 Cache

AthlonXP 2600+ 166 Auto OK

Barton (0.13u) 166/333MHz FSB 512KB L2 Cache

AthlonXP 2500+ 166 Auto OK
AthlonXP 2800+ 166 Auto OK
AthlonXP 3000+ 166 Auto OK