What should be by next video card upgrade?

Dear all, I currently own a GeForce4 MX 4000 video card equipped with 128MB of RAM. So far it managed to do its job by giving me a decent frame rate in 1024X768 resolution in games like Doom 3 and Call Of Duty 1 among others. It is well understood that today I am facing problems with running more recent games lets say dated 2004 onwards (understood right?!). Some of these don't even load at all since they require a programmable pixel shader, a features which is not supported by the MX GPU (such as silent hill 3 and 4).

I am really getting confused in choosing my next upgrade which will at least give me a decent visual experience in running much more recent games in 1024X768 resolution. I am not really interested in latest high-end GPUs since probably I would need to upgrade my computer specs too for that, something which I not very well willing to do. Therefore my guess would be a mid-range GPU.

I am not a guru in choosing video cards and that's why I'm asking for your advice. What NVIDIA GPU would you recommend for the following computer? Shall I go for the high-end version of a GeForce FX series such as the FX5900, or the mid-range of the GeForce 7 series such as the 7600GS? With a limited budget would you recommend upgrading to the latest series such a GeForce 8 but the light version (LE) or an older series like the GeForce 6 but the GT version? Where is the compromise?

P4 - 2.4GHZ - 800MHZ FSB

512MB DDR RAM 400MHZ

AGP Video interface

Many thanks in advance

Dear all, I currently own a GeForce4 MX 4000 video card equipped with 128MB of RAM. So far it managed to do its job by giving me a decent frame rate in 1024X768 resolution in games like Doom 3 and Call Of Duty 1 among others. It is well understood that today I am facing problems with running more recent games lets say dated 2004 onwards (understood right?!). Some of these don't even load at all since they require a programmable pixel shader, a features which is not supported by the MX GPU (such as silent hill 3 and 4).

I am really getting confused in choosing my next upgrade which will at least give me a decent visual experience in running much more recent games in 1024X768 resolution. I am not really interested in latest high-end GPUs since probably I would need to upgrade my computer specs too for that, something which I not very well willing to do. Therefore my guess would be a mid-range GPU.

I am not a guru in choosing video cards and that's why I'm asking for your advice. What NVIDIA GPU would you recommend for the following computer? Shall I go for the high-end version of a GeForce FX series such as the FX5900, or the mid-range of the GeForce 7 series such as the 7600GS? With a limited budget would you recommend upgrading to the latest series such a GeForce 8 but the light version (LE) or an older series like the GeForce 6 but the GT version? Where is the compromise?

P4 - 2.4GHZ - 800MHZ FSB

512MB DDR RAM 400MHZ

AGP Video interface

Many thanks in advance

chipster_23

I bought an AGP Leadtek 7600GT the other day and i'm really happy with it. It runs the games I like (WoW, HL2, Halo) at high settings with a nice framerate.... I really should buy some new games now. :P

I think the 7600GT memory clocks are much higher than the computer itself can handle. That's something which I don't want since those would be money down the drain.chipster_23

[QUOTE="chipster_23"]P4 - 2.4GHZ - 800MHZ FSB

512MB DDR RAM 400MHZ

AGP Video interface

Many thanks in advance

Generalkill8888

[QUOTE="Generalkill8888"][QUOTE="chipster_23"]P4 - 2.4GHZ - 800MHZ FSB

512MB DDR RAM 400MHZ

AGP Video interface

Many thanks in advance

RayvinAzn

[QUOTE="RayvinAzn"][QUOTE="Generalkill8888"][QUOTE="chipster_23"]P4 - 2.4GHZ - 800MHZ FSB

512MB DDR RAM 400MHZ

AGP Video interface

Many thanks in advance

KSlater85

[QUOTE="KSlater85"][QUOTE="RayvinAzn"][QUOTE="Generalkill8888"][QUOTE="chipster_23"]P4 - 2.4GHZ - 800MHZ FSB

512MB DDR RAM 400MHZ

AGP Video interface

Many thanks in advance

Generalkill8888

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130076

$119 eVGA 7600 GS AGP...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814143046

$209 BFG 7800 GS AGP (not a bad choice either.. a buddy has one of those and it's really nice)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150210

$174 XFX 7600 GT AGP

Those are all AGP 7xxx cards...