Okay, so next week, I will finally be getting a new graphics card.

 I been looking at this one, had my mind pretty much set on it too, but tonight I was looking at their site and well. Is there really any advantage in it over this one??

 Other than the monitor inputs I don't see a lot of advantage to spending the extra $60.

 Are they not the same basic cards? And if not, am I really going to notice the (50% price  increase) difference especially since they're AGP? I know there's a few of you here that know the ins and outs of every card so I am asking "the experts" for your opinions.

 Thanks.

 EDIT: Oh wait I see it now. I didn't see the 3SIX50 as oppoposed to 8. UUm, I'm an idiot. K, you guys can remove this thread now.

 

Weigh your options.  Maybe you could upgrade to a PCI=E cars (new motherboard, ram, CPU) for a similar cost or a bit more...  Although, the "fastest AGP card ever" for $160cad sounds like a real deal.  I think if this card were available a couple years ago I might still be running AGP.  However, be aware that you are investing in a dead technology and if you want to end up with a real high end system you should consider (investing some extra bucks/upgrade time in) the other option. 

Because of your P4 3.0 cpu, you wouldn't see the full potential of the 3850.  An AGP 3850 only makes sense if you have a fast dual core Athlon 64 X2 cpu with a socket 939 motherboard.  That's the fastest platform that supports AGP.  Otherwise I think you're wasting money with a 3850.  My recommendation would be to get one of these:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/index.php?do=ShowProduct&cmd=pd&pid=016170&cid=999.821
You'll save some money, and it's a HUGE improvement over the GeForce 6200 you have now, and a very good fit for your p4.

If you want more performance than that, you'll need to upgrade to a PCI-E system as Steve mentioned.

Edit:  Scratch that link above... here is a much better deal!!  It's the XT version of the HD 2600 with GDDR3 memory for $89.99, and it's in stock.  Very good deal!  Best vid card for your system imo, and hard to find these days.  GTL and GTR2 will run smooth as silk @ 1280x1024 DX9 with this.
http://www.pccanada.com/viewitem.asp?id=6835

I saw it's "soon to be discontinued", Looks like a good deal. And even if I still got the 3850, it's noticebly cheaper there and easier for me to get too than the other place. LOL.

 I'm still kinda itching for it merely because it IS "the best" and I get few chances in life to have "the best" and well, I just linda think for the price.....plus eventually I may find a newer PC that can use it as all I can work with is used stuff.....

 So. Comparision.

 What does the 3850 do over the 2600? In layman's terms? What do you get for the extra 50 bucks?

EDIT:Looks like I'll be getting the new card Monday. The kids have Friday off school (my original planned day) and so the wife is going to loan me $200 Monday and I'll pay her back Friday. COOL!

 Thanks Kristof.

 I've only played like Civilization III (badly) and Railway Tycoon other than GTL and GTR2, but I want to try more stuff one day. I know I want Flight Simulator. Is it 2004? The one before X. And eventually Ship Simulator, and um, Train Simulator, And I'd like to try shooters and stuff. One day.

 Since I've gotten sick, my PC has become "my world" and I want to broaden that world. LOL.

 Thanks DRokK.

 I'm thinking though for the minimal extra investment, I'm going for it as I'm more likely on my budget to get a newer AGP PC than a PCI-E and if I DO get a PCI-E, I will worry about that when it happens. Not likely to very soon.

 Basically, I'm tired of compromising and then getting home and being disapointed. So this time I'm going to go for it just because I can. Besides. It'll make my year!!

So, Kristof. You think bluntly, the 3850 is a good idea?

I'm not sure you'd benefit much if you upgrade to a 'newer' AGP system in the future.  If you upgrade to a faster AGP video card now, then the next logical upgrade path would be to a PCI-E system.  It's been around long enough that you can find used motherboards, ddr2 ram, and dual core cpu's for very cheap, so just because it's PCI-E doesn't mean you have to buy the latest most expensive parts.

 This really helped, a special thank you to Peter Enqvist. For my experience with this, I wrote it here.

Just ordered Radeon HD 4850... will crossfire it with another 4850 or 4870 later..