GF4 mx420 pci is only slightly better than gf2 mx400 = pci video DEAD for today's games

[JEDI]

My system (p3-667mhz 256megs ram) doesnt have a agp slot. thus i have a radeon sdr 32meg pci which is about equivalent to the gf2 mx400.

i thought i had to spend $300 to upgrade to a new mobo/chip/gf4 ti4200 when i discovered that the gf4 mx420 comes in pci flavor! and that some walmarts have it for $50 clearance!

1) then my hope started to fade. i found out that the mx420 only uses sdr ram, while the mx440 and mx460 comes w/ddr. but the latter 2 does not come in pci format

looking at the specs Specs, the gf4 mx420 has 25% better clock rate. all other specs are mostly the same.

From the Unreal Tornament 2003 performance test Link, the gf2 mx400 gives 17fps at 800x600x32bit. doing straight math, that means the gf4 mx420 would give 21 fps. to most people 21 fps is unacceptable.

2) then hope finally faded for PCI video:
my last chance was the Radeon 7500LE PCI, but i can't find it for sale anywhere! yes it exists Radeon 7500LE PCI, but according to the performance stats above, the 7500 only does 15 fps at 1024x768x32bit. again unacceptable, especially for spending $ to buy a new card. even if you allow a VERY optimistic 50% increase for the new ATI Catalyst drivers, you only get 23 fps.

So it looks like PCI video is not viable for today's games, and i'll be spending that $300 for new mobo/chip/gf4 ti4200

 

[Actaeon]

Um..

What are you asking?

But I do agree, spend that money on a new chipset and card.

 

[CubicZirconia]

So it looks like PCI video is not viable for today's games, and i'll be spending that $300 for new mobo/chip/gf4 ti4200

Remember thats a good thing. PCI + video cards = not fun gaming

 

[Rand]

From the Unreal Tornament 2003 performance test Link, the gf2 mx400 gives 17fps at 800x600x32bit. doing straight math, that means the gf4 mx420 would give 21 fps. to most people 21 fps is unacceptable.

Given that was an AGP GF2 MX400 then you shouldnt expect a PCI GF4 MX420 to even hit that figure. The GF4 MX (and R7500) cores are heavily reliant upon AGP's advanced feature set and typically don't perform nearly as well when operated in PCI mode.
Indeed, a PCI GF2 MX400 is generally only slightly faster then an AGP MX200.

Of course one should point out that neither the PCI R7500LE nor the GF4 MX420 are the highest performance PCI graphics cards available.

That said, PCI has been more or less a dead end for gaming for awhile now.

 

[JEDI]

then what r the highest performance PCI cards available for games?!

 

[EdipisReks]

i would guess the voodoo5 5500.