Which graphics card for HL2/Doom3 etc?

conZ

I've recently purchased a PC upgrade.

EpoX EP-8RDA3+ motherboard,
AMD 2500XP+ clocked to 3200XP+
Coolermaster Aero 7+
2 x 256mb Twinmos PC3700 DDR RAM (for dual DDR)

Now i'm left with my trusty 4x AGP Geforce 2 MX 400 64mb.

With CS 1.6 due out in the next few weeks, HL2 in September and Doom 3 soon after that, I'll be pretty fncked for graphics.

So.

Which graphics card should I get, without breaking the bank?

I was thinking along the lines of a Geforce FX 5200 Ultra.
Would, say, a Geforce 4 Ti 4200/4600 do the job?

I suppose i'd need 8x AGP, 128mb (256mb if possible - price pending) DDR.

Any recommendations?

Creamy Goodness

congrats on that system looks the biz.


as i own a geforce 4 ti4200 myself and i've had no problems with them at all where as my friend recently bought a gainward geforce fx5200 128mb card and he cannot say the same thing it has problems running unreal 2.

the fx5200 is like the mx of the fx cards don't go near them.

have u consider the path of ati some nice cards at good prices but i'm just a nvidia freak so i chose to get my geforce 4 ti4200, which should help me over see half-life2 at least.

El_MUERkO

Half-Life 2 : System Test

El_MUERkO

I'd get a DX 9 gfx card so you can see all the loveliness in both the games.

GeForce FX 5600 or ATi Radion 9700 :ninja:

Creamy Goodness

in that system test it asks you for your video ram and it gives you options from 4mb to 512mb

i've never seen a 512mb card do they exist or is it just a typo?

BoB_BoT

yeap the 512's exist and only cost 700 dollars Cr3m0. Was kinda surprised to see that myself so i googled it came up with the wild cat model of the fx i think, 512mb on it :P ffs who need that for feckin gaming yet!!!

Creamy Goodness

jesus yeh like 64mb isn't even minium spec yet so i'm happy with my 128mb card for the time being anyway.

and also certain motherboards can take higher than 256mb

Sir Random

I'm in the same position, just built a new rig too and looking for a GFX card.
Specs:
Abit IS7 mobo, P4 2.4 @ 2988Mhz (stock cooling), 2x256 DDR400 @ 416Mhz
2x40Gig Maxtor 7200 SATA RAID 0
Realtek AC97 5.1 EAX
3COM Gigabit LAN
Hercules Prophet GeForce 3

I luv that old GF3 but it's had it's day. If I was loaded, I'd get the FX5900 Ultra, but I'm waiting until the Radeon 9900 is released so prices will hopefully drop on the 9800 & FX5900.

It just doesn't seem right to spend more on a GFX card than on my mobo/cpu/ram combined.

red_ice

Ive got a Hercules gf3 and in order to play 'comfortably' im told to play in 800x600!

If your thinkin of getting a good card cheep, try http://www.jaguarcompsys.ie/ a good friend of mine works there and they have great prices on cards imo

*disclaimer* im not advertising

Matt Simis

Originally posted by Leggo
yeap the 512's exist and only cost 700 dollars Cr3m0. Was kinda surprised to see that myself so i googled it came up with the wild cat model of the fx i think, 512mb on it :P ffs who need that for feckin gaming yet!!!

http://www.3dlabs.com/product/wildcatvp/vppro/index.htm

It has nothing to do with the FX, its a professional card for design work of various sorts.

Maximum PC have an article in this months mag about systems needed to play HL2. They have a break down on exactly what you miss out on the further your card is from DX9 spec.


Matt

BKtje

With CS 1.6 due out in the next few weeks, HL2 in September and Doom 3 soon after that, I'll be pretty fncked for graphics

I'm assuming CS is just a patch and therefore will be using the old HL engine still, pointless to get a new gfx card for that. Netither Doom3 or HL2 are expected out this year so buying a gfx card for those games is a waste of money at this stage. Wait till the games are soon going to be released, newer gfx cards will be out at that stage which means the price of currently top cards (which ud be getting now) will drop.

I suppose i'd need 8x AGP, 128mb (256mb if possible - price pending) DDR

You don't need x8 but most new cards come with it anyway, very little performance increase. DDR would be a good idea as would 128mb.

If you have yor mind set on getting a graphics card any of the new (none budget) cards will do you. Personally got a 9700pro. Love it to bits tho i know people dont like em. Its really a matter of opinion.

jesus_thats_gre

Netither Doom3 or HL2 are expected out this year

Eh HL2 is out this year.

As for the graphics cards. A Radeon 9800 Pro with 128mb should more than do the job. The recent showcases of HL2 all used the 9800 so its the safe bet. By the time HL2 is released, the 9800 pro will hopefully be a few quid cheaper too.

red_ice

Originally posted by B-K-DzR
I'm assuming CS is just a patch and therefore will be using the old HL engine still, pointless to get a new gfx card for that.

Well, your right and wrong there. The game evolvs with faster machines. for some reason the game always feels better on the fastest spec but as far as 1.6 goes you are right there is little changes. They have infact made the textures easier on the graphics card on most maps to suit the lower end spec machines

Praetorian

Gabe Newell from Valve says that Half Life 2 is prettier & quicker on a Radeon 9800 than any available Nvidia card. It's something to consider.

The 9700’s are about 10% slower than the 9800’s, but they are excellent value for money.

BKtje

the game always feels better on the fastest spec

Of course this is true but i dont know how much more of an improvement you'll get with a top of the range card when you already have an xp3200+. Suppose it depends on how much the engine makes the gfx card do. I know UT is more reliant on cpu than gfx tho i believe this is the exception the the rule. I'd still have to wonder how much of a noticable performance increase you'll feel.... Its like FPS, its always nice to have lots and lots but once your over 120 or something your not going to be able to tell the difference really.

Eh HL2 is out this year.

Ok to be fair it is scheduled to be out around christmas now but i believe it will slip to early 2004. Apologies.
However xmas is still months away so my suggestion stands. Wait till closer the time unless you really can't wait.

Fabre

check www.crucial.com/eu for a 9800 pro at a decent price (compared to the average price)

MrPinK

Gotta agree with B-K-DzR on this one. If you want a gfx card for HL/Doom 3 then don't buy it now. Wait until they're released. If you're finding your current card unbearable, get a cheap second hand card to tide you over for 4 or 5 months, a GeForce 3 or something.

Sir Random

Originally posted by B-K-DzR
Ok to be fair it is scheduled to be out around christmas now but i believe it will slip to early 2004. Apologies.
However xmas is still months away so my suggestion stands. Wait till closer the time unless you really can't wait.

Where did you get the idea that HL2 will be delayed until next year? There's no mention of this on any HL2 websites that I'm aware of.
I've pre-ordered HL2 and afaik it's due to be shipped on Sep 30th (6 weeks away). I know there was a rumour about a delay, but Gabe Newell has denied this.
Quote from NoFrag interview with Gabe Newell (July):
NoFrag : There is a rumor over the Net saying that HL2 won't be released until December 15. It seems that Amazon.com is the origin of the rumor. We are pretty sure to have read elsewhere that this was actually WRONG and that the game will ship on Sept 30.
Can you confirm that the release date hasn't slipped?
Gabe Newell : Date hasn't slipped.

jesus_thats_gre

Regarding specific dates, I am not sure. But I am cetain it will be available before Christmas.

conZ

Gabe Newell from Valve says that Half Life 2 is prettier & quicker on a Radeon 9800 than any available Nvidia card.

That could be true, or he could have said it to promote Ati Radeon following the news about the Half Life 2/ATI Bundle Deal .

I started this thread to see how the GF4 Ti's would compare in performance with the FX5200 (newer features etc.), even though the FX5200 is outperformed in CS/HL by the GF4.

Looks like I might just pay that bit extra to get a Radeon 9700/9800 so I wont have to upgrade soon after that.

weemcd

ah think you should hold out till crimbo, 64 bit processor will be out around then, the graphics cards will fall in price, and youll have more time to suss out the best card

nadir

im the same as Cr3m0, im gonna stick with my GeForce Ti4200 4xagp 128DDR. Might get some more system mem tho. But I really dont see how The FX or the new radeon will improve performance so much to warrent buying one. I mean most of the new hardware features arent supported by the software anyway, so its all the same imo.

conZ

I already have the upgrade.

I have the money now, so why wait. I'm not an out and out gamer and not too bothered on speed really. Just I got a good deal on that kit. I dont need 64bit processors and wont for another few years.

I said I might as well get the parts while I can, while I've the money and while I can get them cheap.

Ryo Hazuki

Results
Processor: Your processor is fine.
Graphics Memory: You should have no problems running high graphics.
System Memory: You have enough RAM
Operating System: You will be able to play on Win XP.
Architecture: No Problems


Architecture, I set it to 32-bit. I presume it refers to the OS?

conZ

Just having a conversation with geo in IRC about HL2.

How long will it be until CS is moved onto the HL2 engine?

When it does im sure everyone playing with 500mhz PC's (which can just about play CS at this stage) will have to upgrade processor/ram etc.

And by architecture, I think it means Windows or else CPU. Windows XP 64-bit being the only OS that has it, or that will have it afaik.

CPU's, then. Think the Operton is the newest AMD that's 64bit. Intel have one in the pipe's too.

Dr Bolouswki

Note this weeks specials in komplett... an FX5600 with 256mb RAM for €160...

Does this card rate? I know 256mb sounds wild but would it not just be wasted? I also heard they were noisy....

Still, at €160 it seems pretty cheap...

http://www.komplett.ie/k/k.asp?action=weekly

nadir

Looks like there is to be a linux version of HL2 as well, with the new kernel supporting 16 and over processors, Id say some of the uber geeks will be running crazy FPS on maxed out res.

BKtje

Intel have one in the pipe's too

Intel already have a 64bit processor, its for business machines or something aint it? (ie VERY expensive) Or am i confused with something else?

How long will it be until CS is moved onto the HL2 engine?

Probably as soon as CS2 is finished being created. Guess this could take some time depenging how hard the designer works at it. (or is a company designing cs2?)

Im fairly sure a lot of people will continue to play cs1 as either their machines can't handle hl2's engine or they just think its better. I wouldnt expect to see a totaly collapse of the community if i were you. Maybe this isn't what you meant, if so ignore this

MrPinK

Originally posted by B-K-DzR
Intel already have a 64bit processor, its for business machines or something aint it? (ie VERY expensive) Or am i confused with something else?

The itanium. It's been out for years. They're on to their second series of them already (which, is keeping with intel tradition, is called Itanium 2).

Creamy Goodness

afaik valve own the rights to CS now since the creator joined valve and valve now own the rights to it.


valve have been very quiet about multiplayer.

i'd like to think that this is for the shock of having CS2 released with half-life2 as a surprize.


but i doubt it will happen

Johnny82

If you want the best card for your money you are looking at buying a Radeon 9600 pro or Radeon 9500pro. You will pick up a 9500pro for about 190 - 210 euro and a 9600 pro for 260 or so.
I am currently using a 9500pro and it out-performs the geforce4600ti by far. Most places won't have a 9500pro in stock so you will have to order it but trust me man, they are worth the wait and they overclock like a bitch!

Johhny82