My current system is:Dell XPS (original series)Intel P4 3.0 ghz1 gig RAMATI 9800 Pro 128mb Audigy2 sound cardMy board is AGP only so I can't consider a PCIe card.Now, I'm not really ready to buy a new system, but I have been looking at upgrading my trusty old 9800 Pro. I wasn't really looking at going for one of the latest nVidia or ATI cards (6800gt or x800 XT +) for >$300+. However, if people think that kind of upgrade would really help, I would consider it. I was looking more at the mid-range cards, like the 6600gt or something ATI. I was looking at Tomshardware.com, and I was not impressed with the benchmarks for the 6600 over the old 9800 pro. Even though the cards are selling cheap, the increase barely seems worth it. I am not necessarily looking for a framerate boost, but the ability to be able to crank up some of the video card features (AA, AF, etc) without losing performance. My current card can run about 2x AA but any more than that will tend to reduce overall FPS. I do also play some first person shooter games, lately Call of Duty multiplayer, so I imagine an upgrade would help those kinds of games more. So my question is, what to buy to upgrade my current card? I don't have a preference ATI vs Nvidia, I've owned both and have had good experiences. I can only buy AGP. Is it worth it to drop $350+ on a monster card? I am looking at buying a whole new system in a year or so, so I'm not so sure on this option. What other card out there would give me the ability to crank up the card some, and help my other games too? Or, can I go longer without a full PC upgrade if I drop a monster video card in here? I just figure my next PC will be PCIe which won't allow me to drop an AGP card in. Anyone done a similar upgrade and want to tell your experience? Thanks in advance.

to be honest i would stick with your 9800 PRO, i used to have a G4 ti 4600 and went for a 6600GT, the G4 was 4xAGP and the 66 is 8xAGP, i was expecting big things for this new card, but got only a small increase in performance, and even a redution in a couple of games running Open GL. I was actually going to buy a card like yours but decided to put another 20 quid to it and go for the 6600GT. the up-grade should give me better support for newer games as it is fully Dx 9c complient compeed to the older card which is only 8, but as a perormance boost it did not give me the big boost i was hoping for (I was hopeing for something similar to that i had going from a AGP Voodoo 5 to the G4 ti 4600), your 9800 is the daddy of its generation, like my 4600 was of its whereas the 6600GT is a not, the fact that a 120 quid card can even perform as well as a last generation top card speaks volumes for card development but i doubt if anything short of the absolute dogs bollocks will give you a big jump (if any).