Current PC specs: 3200+ 64 bit, 1GB PC3200, Geforce 6600GT AGP, xp
sp2. Playing Battlefield 2 is not a good experience as you can imagine
(I can play at 1024x768 but at low avg frame rates), and when Unreal
Tournament 3 comes out in Q3/4 I will need to upgrade anyway. I would
like to play BF2 and UT3 at reasonable resolution/framerate without
replacing my entire computer. Here is my plan..

Replace 6600GT with eVGA 256-A8-N506-AX Geforce 7800GS 256MB 256-bit
GDDR3 AGP 4X/8X.
Add 1GB PC3200.

Will this give me what I want?

With such a slow cpu, should I look into a passive cooled 7600? I feel
a 7800 may be better paired with a faster cpu (according to a few
benchmarks at least); thanks for your help.

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does your motherboard surport pci-express? if it does and its x16 it would be worth getting a card for that, I have the 512mb pci-e card and it runs all the programs i want it to.

yes you will notice a difference, however that will probably be the top end of AGP cards that you will be able to get so if that is all your motherboard supports and you dont wnat to spend out on an enitre new system it is a better move.

i have an AGP video card which is pretty good : radeon x 1600 pro AGP 512 mb, only cost me £ 99
obviously it is not PCI express but it runs early next gen games : oblivion, prey, quake 4 etc at decent settings but if you wanna play the latest games then you should go with PCI express
i am waiting for directx 10 to come out then im going to get a decent card and new CPU etc
ultimately it comes down to how much money you are willing spend

He he i had one of those Beebsy just upgraded to last in the AGP range of the X1950 Sapphire 512mb Pro, that was only 150 quid i noticed an incredible difference so when you have some cash lying around and fancy an upgrade it is a worth while move