what direct X8 video card for the guy that rearly plays games?

[Cosmic_Horror]

hi all

i recieved an early xmas gift in the form of a new game, "street Legal". Now my stsyem isn't too bad, but as i hardly ever play games anymore so i never got around to replacing my ~4 yo diamond viper V550 (TNT 16mb). Now this game says it needs a direct X 8.1 video card and am not sure what to get. just curious what my options are. ATi cards tend to be very expensive here so i am a little unsure what to purchase, so any advice is greatly appricated.

thanks


the rest of the system is as follows

Athlon XP 1700+
MSI K7T turbo 2 motherboard (via kt133a chipset)
384Mb ram
80gb seagate hard drive barricuda IV
40Gb ibm hard drive GXP60
tnt 16mb video card
SB 128 vibra sound card
network card
tv tuner card
36x cd-rom
12x 10x 32x + 8x dvd cdrw-dvd combo drive (ricoh)

 

[Dacalo]

where is "here?"

I was gonna recommend radeon 8500, but you said they are expensive there.

Why not try GeForce3 ti300 or ti500? Try Geforce 3 if you cant afford ti500

 

[Cosmic_Horror]

opps sorry here in Australia

i was thinking the geforce 3 ti200 , but a couple of local places have stopped stocking them, and either suggest an Ge 4 MX or a Ge 4 Ti.

i do not believe that Ge 4 MX cards have hardware direct x8 support.

Is it worth geting a 64Mb ti4200 card or is the extra memory a must. My monitor doesn't support over 1240 x 1024 anyway. and i am not looking at replacing it anytime soon, but then again, i will not be replacing what ever new video card i get either.
thanks again

 

[MedicBob]

TI 200 should do you just fine. Stay away from all MX cards, GF 3 and GF4. They are slower and , as you pointed out, lack some features you will want.

 

[tenoc]

A Ti4200 64meg should be fine for the casual gamer.

Like the man said, don't do an MX.

 

[jiffylube1024]

I'd say any GeForce 3 card, or a Radeon 8500 or Radeon 9000Pro would be your best bet. Your system is very decent, and would perform pretty well with any of those. In order of speed (slowest to fastest) the cards would be: Radeon 9000Pro (slowest) < Geforce 3 <Radeon 8500 (fastest).

 

[AnAndAustin]

XP1700+ is a pretty nice CPU. As for what gfx card to go with it, Rad9000PRO or the slightly superior Rad8500 (inc LE) are good options although outside US & Canada they tend to be pricey. So you could get a GF3, TI200 is mighty fine in 3D but has a few weaknesses in other areas which might mean a GF4TI4200 would be a better bet. All these cards are mind-numbingly better than what you currently have, don't worry about 64MB vs 128MB, more is certainly better but 64MB will do no harm esp if you're on a tight budget. Here's some Aussie prices ...

AusPC Market
Leadtek 4200-8X 128MB VIVO $396
Prolink 4200 128MB VIVO $330
Super Rad9500PRO 128MB 277/540 $440
Matrox Parhelia 128MB oem $924 (LOL!)

Also check out Techbuy

From AusPC Market it seems clear the std 4200 for $330 is the one to go for although the Rad9500PRO is MUCH faster and superior in every dept and can be yours for $440. Rad8500 or Rad9000PRO would be decent enough if you could find them closer to $250, even though they aren't as good as 4200 they are still MORE than enough for a casual gamer!

 

[CJP]

I've got a pentium 4 1.8 ghz system (close in power to yours) with a geforce 3 ti500 and I can play any current game at decent resolutions. It might be easier to find a geforce 4 ti4200 though and they're a bit faster but both cards are pretty cheap now. Like everyone else said though, avoid the mx's.

 

[aswedc]

If you somehow manage to get past all those issues, you'll undoubtedly be horrified by the game's dismal graphics engine. On different test systems (a 1.6GHz Pentium 4 and a 1.4GHz Athlon, both with GeForce 4-based graphics cards), Street Legal performed so poorly as to be unplayable. Even at 640x480 resolution and the lowest detail settings, the game runs at a sub-glacial frame rate with some of the worst clipping and draw-in we've seen in a racing game in some time. Vehicles suddenly materialize on previously empty strips of road. The action freezes at least once every few seconds for hard drive access.

(GameSpot Review). It received a 4.2 out of 10. Sorry but I think you'd be best off trying to return the game...

 

[AnAndAustin]

Although it still makes sense to get a DX8 card, esp now prices are SO much cheaper than 12 months ago. Running a TNT with an XP1700+ is NOT a good thing if you have any gaming aspirations at all, a Duron 1ghz with a GF3 would easily smoke you ... go on upgrade that gfx card even if the game you really want to play isn't overly impressive

 

[Davegod]

... and GET MORE GAMES!

there is nothing else worth having a computer for

Seriously though, a ti4200 would be fine. Maybe an excellent choice is a r9500pro but might be a bit overkill for your needs and you say ATI expensive there (ATI or all ATI-based boards?). If there's a fairly minor price diff between the two I'd def go for the r9500pro, based on what ive read. A rough indiction of relative card performances, er well theyre in order of fastest at top anyway, can be found in this THG roundup.

 

[Cosmic_Horror]

wow thanks for the info guys!


The game was a gift so i wouldn't return it. On my system it is a slide show but i assuemd that was because of the my TNT video card


I upgrade every 12 months or so (this cpu based system was last upgraded last easter) i just haven't gotten around to doing anything with the video card


i think if i can find a geforce 3 or a 64mb ti4200 maybe the way to go or if i can find one a radeon 9000 pro, thanks guys for all your help !
and have a great christmas!

bye

 

[Shalmanese]

Radeon 8500le's are selling for ~ 200, 9000 pro's are selling for ~ 200, Ti4200's are selling for ~ 250. One of those should suit you fine.

 

[Cosmic_Horror]

Shalmanese

can you send me a link to where you have seen these prices? they seem pretty good to me. i don't think i have seen a Ti4200 for $250!

 

[kadajawi]

better get a 128 mb card... yes, you may not need the 128 mb at the moment... but as you intend to keep the card a quite long time the 128 mb will help you keep up to date for a few more months. Some games will need those 128 mb in future...
I'd say the 4Ti4200 is quite a good buy.

But... uh... a KT133A???

 

[NEVERwinter]

Originally posted by: kadajawi
better get a 128 mb card... yes, you may not need the 128 mb at the moment... but as you intend to keep the card a quite long time the 128 mb will help you keep up to date for a few more months. Some games will need those 128 mb in future...
I'd say the 4Ti4200 is quite a good buy.

But... uh... a KT133A???

yes, if you upgrade some things every 1 year a ti4200 or even GF3/Radeon 8500 will kepps you happy until then. Same as the TNT did. and.. LOL.. think to upgrade your KT133A & SDRAM hehe...

 

[AnAndAustin]

Well a KT133A with PC133 should only be 15% slower than an nForce2 with PC2100 - PC2700 if all other components are the same. Of course you really want at least a KT266A / SiS735 or nForce mobo with at least DDR-PC2100 but KT133A+PC133 isn't as bad as it sounds ... there are certainly more cost effective upgrades that's for sure

 

[Cosmic_Horror]

Hehe

yeah i know about the kt133a and sdram not being as fasts as DDR and just about any other chipset. This sytem was upgraded last in April 2002 ( from a duron 800Mhz) and was meant to tie me over till Hammer was released (eg hopefully by now) then i was going to do a complete upgrade (cpu , motherboard, ram, video card).. hence the reason why my system is the way it is
Now i just have to find some time and go shopping.