Im buying a pre-built PC , the specs r nice . but im not sure bout the card comin with it (http://www.intel.com/products/chipsets/eg2/index.htm) this anygood or do i have to buy me a vid card , cuase either way . im just askin if i gotta buy a good vid card , or if this is enough to run HL2 on high graphics.
Hi, I would seriously think about getting a new card! You MAY be able to run HL2, but only in the lowest resolution, or maybe 640x480 and even then with low detail. Work out an extra budget for a card and get yourself an upgrade if you want to play games. Cheers.
k , so shitbox got ya . so could u suggest to me a good nvidia 128mb Card in AUD dollers , cuase buying from overseas cost like 1000$ more (e.g comp cost 3000USD , sending it to australia will cost some extra fetures n such and it all comes to aobut 1000USD , leaving my with about 6000AUD to pay , SO NO!) . anyone? , i dont buy 256mb vid cards cuase i get problems with flash games n such for some reason (i now got an 5200FX 256mb *shitbox* and my friend got a 5200FX 128mb , his flash games run fine , mine lag) but ayways , plz suggest me a good 128mb nvidia card that wont overheat and is well cooled.
So you don't recomend the GeForce FX5200 256MB? Thats what I was going to buy lol! I'll look into it.
I wouldnt reccomend an FX 5xxx series for HL2 anyway. Due to DX differences, they can't do the same rendering as an equivalen ATI, 9600pro/9800pro and scenes with water in look horrible. (scroll down to the water picture, standard is DX9 shading, move mouseover and it shows DX8) http://www.anandtech.com/video/showdoc.aspx?i=2281&p=2 And I have seen this on my friends FX5900Ultra and it is like that. Played on a resonable ATI or Nvidia 6xxx series, it will be fine. What budget do you have for a card in AUD? Cheers.
http://www.google.com.au > Search your own country for cards or http://www.ebay.com.au > had a look and some cards are going for good prices, for example i seen a GF6600 going for about AD$190 (£~79)..... Hope this helps : )
lol , sir.age , u definetly need an update 2 ur PC , and yeh i definiatly dont reccomend the 5200FX from winfast(leadtek) cuase there equipet with a heatsink , too much overheat. and my price range is practicly 500AUD no more , so yeh.
I am going to build a pc but am discussing the idea in another thread. How about the Sapphire Radeon 9600 APG x8 128MB at £54.11 (135AUD) which has good reviews. Supports DX9, Memory Clock Speed 400 MHz,Core Clock Speed 325 MHz.
i dont like radion , too much problems wat i hear , and its also got isseus with other hardware , like the new radion in laptops , if u have a specific network card type , the vid card wont work , and i also hear updating is a pain in the ass
Hi, @sir-age If you can then get the 9600pro, it has the 600mhz memory and it makes one hell of a difference. The 9600 is a good card, but the pro isn't alot more for a good improvement. @sasha1303 The new Radeon drivers have sorted a lot of past problems, their Catalyst drivers quite stable now. Updating is as easy as downloading the latest drivers, as with Nvidia. If you want to spend up to $500AUD then I'd go and buy something like a 6800GT, theres a few here for less. http://www.ausprices.com.au/cgi/Search?state=&q=nvidia+6800gt&cid=0 Or save some money and get a 6800 non-ultra. All this assuming you have AGP slot in new machine. Hope it helps. Cheers
Connect 3D 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600 Pro - £68.49 From Directfrom.com (3.50 postage) Sapphire Radeon 9600 Pro Advantage 256MB is actually a 446MHz and is £5 more expensive. Would a Sapphire Radeon 9600 AGP X8 256MB be better than a Sapphire Radeon 9600 AGP X8 128MB?
Hi here's one for not much more than the non-pro... http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=74653 Unfortunately these guys do not state the memory speed. If its a 400mhz version then steer clear, the 9600pro was and is a good buy if its the 600mhz version. In my experience the 256MB versions of cards have not provided a big improvement, usually it is because they use slower RAM, so the benefit of being able to feed more textures is counteracted by the slower memory. The only game I have seen recently that claims to want loads of graphics memory was Doom 3, they reckoned 512MB for ultra detail!!! Quite shocking as at the time of release there wasn't any...lol. I guess it's on its way now, but unless you can find a 256mb version of a card with the same speed memory as the 128, I wouldn't be convinced at it being better. Hope my essay has helped lol. Cheers
Thats the card I was talking about in my above post but I wrote 256mb instead of 128mb - it gets confusing if you have 5 browsers viewing simmilar cards. I found a local shop near me, they have good deals: SAPPHIRE RADEON9800 PRO ATLANTIS 128MB: £74.99 (ebuyer is £79.99) ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB: £60.00 ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 256MB: £70.00 I guess theres not much point of going for the Pro 256mb but would a SAPPHIRE RADEON9800 PRO ATLANTIS be alot better than a ATI RADEON 9600 PRO 128MB?
Hi, The 9800Pro would be a lot better than the 9600pro, but ONLY if it's the 256bit bus speed one (speed it transfers your data around), Sapphire made a 128bit one which was quite crippled and only as good as a decent 9600pro. If it's the 256bit one, then get it while it's at a good price. Cheers.
A review from ebuyer: [bold]****[/bold] I think its important to say that alot of 9800pro cards have been found out to be actually 128bit while being advertised as 256bit. "The website boycottsapphire.com alleges graphics card maker Sapphire is selling Radeon cards labeled "9800pro" that have only 128-bit memory interfaces and lower clock speeds, and so perform much slower than a true Radeon 9800 Pro. If the allegations are true, well, we would be shocked—shocked!—to find evidence of misleading product names in the world of graphics. But we'll have to deal with the possibility that it might be happening. Not that a little old website could force a graphics card company to clarify its naming scheme, of course." Sapphire are offering a 256bit upgrade to correct the problem, you have to send your card to them + $25: "A press release from Sapphire shows that the company is responding to recent complaints. Unhappy customers unable to get refunds for their 128-bit parts may now receive 256-bit upgrades directly from the manufacturer by sending their card, a receipt, and $25 to cover the retail price difference. The company is also changing the product name, and clearly marking the part as 128-bit. With these changes to the requisite garish packaging, Sapphire hopes the issue is now crystal-clear." Links: http://www.boycottsapphire.com/ http://www.sapphiretech.com/press/128-bit-9800.pdf [bold]****[/bold] I think I'll stick with the 9600 pro, to be safe and a bit cheaper. On the saphire website they say its a 256bit and when I read articles they are from June last year so perhaps its been changed. "ONLY WHILE CURRENT STOCKS LAST" Is what it says in the shop website, could this mean that they still have the 128bit that they want to get rid off cheaply but actually expensive for a 128bit!?
60 - 70 pounds? , wow u english get a frigin good bargin . that card would cost much more here in AUS , im thinking 250 - 400AUD (not very sure) but 70 pounds?? that a hell of a good deal . how much would that be in AUD dollers , and is that a good card? cuase im not such a "big fan" of radeon since i gave it upto due to issues.
Hi, 70.00GBP=170.512 AUD at todays exchange rate. We usually get screwed over here If there is chance that the 9800pro is 128bit, then I would seriously stay away from it, besides the 9600pro cards clock really well too @sasha If you want a cheap card and don't mind straying back to ATI, then you can't go far wrong with a 9600pro 128mb, their drivers are loads better and great performance with HL2. I went for a cheap 6800le card, in the hope I could unlock it (I failed), but it runs everything I have thrown at it in at least medium detail with AA + AF turned on at 1024x768. Theres a lot to choose from, all I can say is do not go for ANY cards with SE on the end and don't pay a lot more for a 256mb card unless the memory speed is the same as a 128mb. Cheers.
LOL, yeah something like that mate Seriously though, you cant go wrong with a 6800le/6800/6800GT/6800ultra, just depends how much you want to spend. Or ATI, new cards x800pro/x800xt, not as cheap as nvidia, but damn theyre fast Or to save some cash, 9600pro(600mhz ram) or 9800pro (256bit) hehe, still not narrowed it down have I, Sorry mate.
