New vid card

As described in my other tread, I'm having trouble with my video card. I hope problems can be solved, but if they can't I'll have to get a new video card.

I'm thinking of getting one of these 2:

Nvidia GeForce 5700LE 128 MB

or

Nvidia GeForce FX 5600XT 128MB

Both come with Zahlman fans.

Normally I perfer Nvidia over Ati...

But grab a Ati 9800 Pro vs *any* Geforce FX 5xxx series card.

Both will run GW just fine and the 5600 XT should be a bit better then the 5700LE.

Does it really matter that much? I can get both the Nvidia's for €30 each, the 9800 is more than twice that price. (I'm talking about used cards, I'm not getting a new one)

DO NOT GET EITHER OF THOSE CARDS!!!


Please listen to me, I used to have the 5xxx series!!

You wont be happy with them!

(unless of course you are getting PCI then its probably the best possible card)

Do you have PCI, AGP, or PCI-e?? I will help you out here..

and how much are you trying to spend??

I know that for just over 100 dollars US, you can get a Sapphire ATI x1600pro 512mb (which is what I use, and ive never seen guild wars look so seemless and perfect)

I have AGP

I have a 5600FX now, and I was happy with it until it broke of course.

And I'm only willing to spend 30-50 euros. But I do not have much choice, I'm getting a used one like I said.

I have the 5700LE.

I have no problems with the card and runs GW at 1024x768 at max resolution with no problems. Oh wait, it does hang slightly when you get to those graphic-intensive situations (like UW trapping).

Anywho, the only other problem I have with the card is in Windows itself. If I run a restart, it crashes the system (it doesn't like restart, but it will cold start just fine everytime). It may just be the brand vs. my asus board, but that's not what you were here to discuss.

Go with the 5600 XT (vs the 5700 LE).

I would go with another route if you can but GW should run slightly better then your old card with the 5600 XT.

Is the 9600 XT or 9700 Pro ? in your price range.. and you may want to take a look at this: http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=1904&p=1

I upgraded from FX 5700 Ultra 128 and I do agree GW runs fine, but if your spending about $100 US the Ati cards may give you better performance across the board thats all.

I don't know the euro conversion, but you're going to be much happier with a 9600xt (above any 5xxx from nvidia) and over here in the us you can find them for about $80 (65 euros?). 9700 pro on the other hand is about $260... Honestly you could even go with a x1300 for around $100. These are all brand new and i'm certain i wouldn't spend any sort money on an 5xxx used. Save up another 30 euros, you'll be much happier and you can afford a 6800pro if you really want an nvidia. More often then not ati's low end card will beat out the low-end nvidia.

I'm 16 and have no work at the moment. That's why I can't spend more than €30. If I have to spend the double, I have to wait 2 months.

But if I get a job soon, I'll consider it.

all i recommend is that if you upgrade your video card for (100$ us) (sorry bad with money ratios) to get something roughly the same, id recommend spending an extra 20 bucks on something that will actually give you some improvement in gameplay.

I personally would never ever trust a used vid card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...gp+128&Ntk=all

many of these are in your price range, id imagine... most are better than the FX Series (seriously man, dont get another FX card- expecially used!- it wont last you long enough- and your experience with it 'breaking' come on man- ditch those things in the trash where they belong 5x00 series is a marketing joke!)


you want to pay attention to the:

1. core speed (mhz) - get one over 400
2. memory speed - same- over 400
3. bus apperature - get at least 128... no less than 64 if you must go low.



OUt of all of those on the page there, I recommend this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...2E16814121195R

look at the core/memory speed compared to the rest. compare it to any FX card... price/features... id bet on this one.

Bad luck with used cards here, too. Can't trust a big butt and a smile (oh wait, nevermind...)

If you absolutely cannot scrounge up any extra money then get the best you can afford, but beware that buying used may cost you a lot more in the long run if the used card is a dud also.

I posted in your other thread too. My recommendation would be a 6600 non-GT, which goes for under 100 US dollars. Considering the rest of your system (P4 1.5, 384MB), it's all you'll need for the remainder of that computer's useful life.

If you buy new, try to get a minimum 3 year warranty. If you buy used, make SURE you can return it, and burn it in like crazy as soon as you get your hands on it.

Not true. If you have PCI you can get the BFG Geforce 6200 OC and it runs great. Can run GW at all highest settings with a 1280x1024 resolution at 20-30 FPS, lower the resolution and you can get a steady 40-50 FPS, so for PCI that would be your best bet.

As for a vid card, with those system specs, having a really expensive one is overkill. I WOULD however, recommend a 6-series video card, though those can get expensive. If not a 6-series then go for something that supports at least Pixel Shader 2.0/DirectX9/OpenGL 1.5 or 2.0. I also recommend picking up another 512 MB ram, but thats just my opinion,

I found a N6200 TD for €30.

Is that one better or still shit?

I hope i didnt come off as a jerk here- but like i said, after my own experience I really really want to let people know my feelings on th FX series.


I was told to get the FX here on these very forums exactly one year ago- worst 80 bucks i ever spent IMHO.


Id say the 6200 you found is a fair deal- but please dont get a used card >.< I wouldnt feel good about myself if I didnt tell you this

I really respect your help, and I would get a new card if I could, but I have no money at the moment.

Nothing wrong with used. Get the 6200 or save up for more.

Simple and sweet.

I would stay away from FX series. Don't expect large improvements, because your budget pretty much limits all improvement. Make sure the used card carries some sort of warranty so you can test it out.

You have AGP, so you might as well explore some better cards. I am sure you can get a used 6 series for around 30 euros.

I had to do a test, just for my own peace of mind, the 6200 is a total piece of crap. I had a FX 5200 and 6200 LE lying around and put them in a high-end machine (conro 6600) and got at best 10-12 FPS on both cards at standard clock rates. If you're hurting for cash, for sure, either will work but the choppiness and low performance to me is a nightmare. This was in the pci (5200) and pci-e (6200 LE) flavors so no favorable measures could improve either performance.

I then took a 9250 and a 9550 both agp 8x cards and was quite happy with the results. They both maxed around 25-30 fps on an althon +3200 machine with the equal 1 gig of RAM to the conro test machine. For the price of about $45 usd for either card, I think you'd still be much happier with ati offerings over nvidia. Even if you're looking at used cards I'd strongly suggest going ati for that price.

here even did some leg-work for you...

-9550
http://www.cclonline.com/product-inf...1429&pc=kelkoo 9550

-9250
http://www.savastore.com/productinfo...3&pid=45&tid=2

I found a job, I'll spend about 70€ now. I think that's about 90$. I'll probably get a 6600 then. Or should I get the ATI version?

Problem is, your not going to get any sort of performance jump from $45 - $90 range. Each card manufacture fluctuates that much anyway. You won't see anything major till you hit around the $120 mark.

I don't need a boost, i just need a replacement card.

gabrial said it.

-Extremely old and outdated vid card without support for modern technology.
Price: $0-30

-Old cards but can still do a half @$$ed job on games made in the last 5? years. The LOW end.
Price: $31-120

-Decent cards. Not the high end, but not too far away. Run most games on medium, and are rock solid with their performance. You aren't gonna get 10FPS in one game then 40 in another, you are going to stay relatively similar.
Price: $121-200

Good cards. They support new technology, and can get great FPS in most recent games. The low end. What seperates these from high end is that they might not be clocked as fast, or have as much ram. They are expensive, but still called "mid range." This is where you find the most bang for your buck (IMO).
Price: $201-350

Extremely high end. These tings pump out all the force needed to run todays games, and tomorrows. (Well, we will leave DX10 out for now.) They are often big, beast-like cards that look extremely intimidating.
Price:$351-XXXX

So where you actually start getting good performance is the "mid range." Until you go there you are always going to want more. A $10 difference in a card doesn't mean anything.

If you don't need a boost just pocket the extra $30. The 5xxx suck just as bad as the 6xxx. both will run it, but you aren't going to notice a big difference, not even a little one.

I have absolutely no problems with the video quality. I'd rather spend my €20 euros on memory.

Then you might want to look at the ATI Radeon 9550.

The 9550 uses the exact same GPU as the 9800 (R350), it is simply clocked down a bit (250 MHz Vs. 325 MHz). It is what I currently use (I bought it last year, am waiting for next year to build a new PCIE system with Direct X 10). I have played side by side in other games with a friend that has a 9800, and never noticed a more then 2-5 fps difference (not even noticeable).

I did some checking on-line, and a new 9550 with 256 meg RAM seems to run between €34-38. And there are programs out there to let you ramp the speed back up to what the 9800 is capable of.

Oh, and as an added bonus, you get a coupon good for a free account for Guild Wars, with 10 hours of useage.

HI

just wanted to say on one pc here is a 5600 ultra which runs GW great.

the other is a 6600 GT (GT is a huge performance jump over 6600 plain)

NOTE TO STAY AWAY FROM HIDDEN BUDGET VERSIONS WHICH ARE DESEGINATED WITH THE SUFFIX LE/LS/OTHERS I FORGET

THEY SAVE MONEY BY DISABLING PART OF THE CARD WHICH DEGRADES PERFORMANCE BADLY

AVOID THE LE/LS

EDIT PREFIX FOR SUFFIX