Video Card for Star Wars Galaxies

impX · Jun 25, 2003

I need help from the vid card experts from this forum:

My budget for a new video card is not to exceed $150 (preferably -- no hard limit). It is basically going to be used primarly for Star Wars Galaxies. The game uses DirectX 9.0 so a compliant card is suggested. I'd also like the card to be linux-friendly as I actually use the (ahem) better OS 90% of the time as compared to the other thing.

These are some of the choices I have been mulling over:

o GeForce4 TI 4200;
o GeForce4 TI 4800SE;
o GeForce FX 5600;
o RADEON 9500 (Red PCB if possible) or
o RADEON 9600;

I've read several posts here and reduced my choices to those four. I would really like a 9500P but that is even beyond my soft limit (is the real ATI 9500P at $175 a decent buy?). The 9600P is a possibility but that's a long shot. So, given these choices, what would be your recommendation(s) and why? And are there any manufacturer brand names I should be wary of? I could also wait a bit longer if the prices will drop further....

If you have another suggestion, I would also like to read them. Thanks very much!

Glitchny · Jun 25, 2003

id go for the 9600pro and then OC it, the performance should be enough to run galaxies and its a great card for its price.

Corporate Thug · Jun 25, 2003

Originally posted by: Glitchny
id go for the 9600pro and then OC it, the performance should be enough to run galaxies and its a great card for its price.

agreed, there has been a lot of 9600 pro bashing here but the fack of the matter is that it is just as good as the 9500 pro when both are OCed and it is cheaper

toyzrs · Jun 25, 2003

whered you get that game from? i have been looking for it

Thanks.

Gravija · Jun 25, 2003

9600pro, i overclocked mine to bout 510/345, beats my 9500pro stock now
i do believe only the last 3 are DX9 compliant though

dfloyd · Jun 25, 2003

9700 Pro Here
1.7 Athlon Processor
512 MB of Ram

SWG ran but ran pretty crappy on my setup. Never stayed @30fps was always dipping down into the teens. Also just a suggestion but you might want to wait and read the forums, if you have not already played in beta that is. I love Star Wars but I am definatly not buying SWG.

flashbacck · Jun 27, 2003

I was under the impression, that despite being "older" and not (I think, correct me if I'm wrong) dx9 compliant, that the 9500 was better than the 9600 most of the time? Anand's review

And I don't mean to get too off subject, but I definitely agree with dfloyd. I was also in the beta and I think you should probably wait and read the reviews before forking over $50 + $15/month

Lonyo · Jun 27, 2003

The 9600Pro overclocks quite a bit though which can take it above the perf of the 9500Pro.

Corporate Thug · Jun 27, 2003

when both are OCed, the 9500 pro and 9600 pro have identical performance

waylman · Jun 27, 2003

actually, when both are OC'ed, 9500PRO wins most benches.

Pete · Jun 27, 2003

Allstarshop, a highly-rated store on ResellerRatings.com, sells the Sapphire 9600P Lite for $156 shipped. That's a good deal, provided you confirm with Allstarshop that this card is simply a full-clocked Sapphire 9600P without the extras bundled with their full package (RtCW, adapters, DVD player--I think they're worth the extra $11, but if you don't have the money, there's nothing you can do--then again, $167 is closing in on the $205 nec'y for a much faster 9700).

I don't know how different cards fare in SWG, but I'd prefer a DX9 9600P with good AA/AF performance over an equally-priced DX8 4800SE. That said, I don't know if a $100 4200 will be a better price/performance card for SWG. I'd guess the 9600P should be faster, but I don't know for sure how well the game is coded. I'm also not sure I'd take the chance on a $135 9500 modding into a 9700, but that's your call. A 9600P is just a safer bet, and, if you do elect to OC it (better odds than modding a 9500, IMO), it can apparently rival a 9700.

Harabecw · Jun 27, 2003

From what I've heard, SWG is sluggish on every system, plus its worth to wait a couple of months until they actually finish it.

(to flash) the entire 9500 family and up (meaning 9500, 9500 pro, 9600, 9600 pro, 9700 etc.) supports DX9. 9000/9100/9200 do not.

impX · Jun 28, 2003

[Just a little update--

Turns out the game runs well with my old video card (GeForce2), believe it or not. And on a modem connection as well. I'm a casual gamer and don't get caught up with the graphics too much although from what I have seen, it's great.

I am leaning a little towards getting the 5600 (non-ultra) simply b/c Linux runs well with Nvidia. ATI is a bit slow in catching up with the XFree development and have yet to make a genuine driver for the 4.3 library of XFree. Otherwise I would grab a 9600P

I only use windows to play games (not too often), thank goodness. Actually, I just might wait until the prices drop even more. Afterall, the game works just fine right now.

Thanks to all those who replied. All comments were valuable and noted.

Originally posted by: toyzrs
whered you get that game from? i have been looking for it

Pre-ordered it

nutxo · Jun 28, 2003

Originally posted by: Pete
Allstarshop, a highly-rated store on ResellerRatings.com, sells the Sapphire 9600P Lite for $156 shipped. That's a good deal, provided you confirm with Allstarshop that this card is simply a full-clocked Sapphire 9600P without the extras bundled with their full package (RtCW, adapters, DVD player--I think they're worth the extra $11, but if you don't have the money, there's nothing you can do--then again, $167 is closing in on the $205 nec'y for a much faster 9700).

I don't know how different cards fare in SWG, but I'd prefer a DX9 9600P with good AA/AF performance over an equally-priced DX8 4800SE. That said, I don't know if a $100 4200 will be a better price/performance card for SWG. I'd guess the 9600P should be faster, but I don't know for sure how well the game is coded. I'm also not sure I'd take the chance on a $135 9500 modding into a 9700, but that's your call. A 9600P is just a safer bet, and, if you do elect to OC it (better odds than modding a 9500, IMO), it can apparently rival a 9700.

I think the lite is the one with 4ns ram aint it?

Cesar · Jun 28, 2003

try to get the 9500 Pro if you can if not get the 9600 Pro

Wingznut · Jun 29, 2003

Get the GeForce FX card if you want good Linux support.

Get either the 9500 PRO or 9600 PRO (whichever you can find for the better deal) if you want the best performance.

Shamrock · Jun 29, 2003

There is a 5600 Ultra for $138 It's the NEW flip chip design too. SUpposedly this card can outperform the Ati 9600 pro, and overclock even better. Not sure, as I am only giving the message from the NVNews post I just linked to

http://www.shentech.com/bfgasgefxul1.html

read about it here

http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=baa27d0359007f24bc92134a72114395&threadid=14043

CorCentral · Jun 29, 2003

I don't know about you guys but I think that card is possibly mispriced . The 5600U at ShenTek .

$138. !??! .................... I thought this was going to be around $250. ?

Jump on that price **LOL**

BoberFett · Jun 29, 2003

Right now, I've got:

Athlon XP 1700+ @ 10x166 (roughly XP 2000+ speed)
512 MB PC2700
Powercolor Radeon 9100 64 MB

Nothing spectacular, but SWG usually runs fine on my machine. What I am tired of though is the mem swapping. When I spin around quickly in town, the hard drive light goes nuts, and my frame rate drops to practically nothing. Sometimes I go a couple seconds without a screen refresh. I don't think SWG requires a massive video card to run, when I'm just walking around, with all graphic details at about half (which look darn nice) I get 20-30 fps. When I crank everything to the max, I get 10-15 fps. But as soon as I get within range of a new building, it grinds to a halt while loading from the hard drive.

So I'm going to add more RAM, and consider a new hard drive. This game is a memory hog, because there are so many unique models. If you're standing on a busy street, there could be 100 unique models in the near vicinity, plus buildings, statues, etc. That all chews up RAM like nothing. If you've only got 512 MB of RAM, I think another $60 of RAM is a better investment than a video card, if we're talking strictly SWG.

Pete · Jun 29, 2003

Originally posted by: nutxo
I think the lite is the one with 4ns ram aint it?

Yes, I think that Sapphire 9600P
"Lite" may actually be the 400MHz effective DDR version, as the user review on the same card at NewEgg states. If so, obviously avoid it. I thought it was just the "lite" version of their "full" retail package, meaning minus the extra trinkets that may not be used by everyone.

Another disappointing, almost deceiptful naming scheme (emphasis on the word scheme) by either ATi or its resellers.

Edit: Shamrock, that 5600U price is unbelievable. I may just pick one up rather than wait to afford a 9700. A $140 5600Uv2 has a price/performance ratio about equal to a $200 9700--not bad. Plus, there's 4xS AA for older games.

Edit the Second: Nevermind. Tax and shipping brings the (admittedly improbable) price up to $160, in which case it's probably worth it to save for the 9700.

Video Card for Star Wars Galaxies

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