single best graphics card for this game

[ABBAFAN]

i need a graphics card to FINALLY ARGH get this game running.i have win xp on my comp and also im after a faster processor what do people recommend im going looking tommorow.

[_Seth_]

Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX !!! The King!:up:

[mookiemookie]

Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX !!! The King!:up:

Yours for the low, low price of about $600! :lol:

[mr chris]

I have a ATI SAPHIRE X850 256mgb
and a Pentium 4 processor 3.00ghz
It works very well i have frame rates of 35-50 in port and 120-180 at sea in GWX.:up:

[_Seth_]

Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX !!! The King!:up:
Yours for the low, low price of about $600! :lol:

:nope::nope::nope:ok, thats the downside....

[melnibonian]

Nvidia GeForce 8800 GTX !!! The King!:up:

Yours for the low, low price of about $600! :lol:
A real bargain :rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

[AVGWarhawk]

I run the Nvidia 6200 256mb OC and it runs just fine and looks great. Also, the buggers can be had for a very nice price.

Look at the Nvidia cards and you will not be sorry. That's all I got to say about that.;)

[stabiz]

I have the XFX 7900GS, and play with AA and AF at full with no slowdowns. It also runs any other game maxed out (including Medieval 2).

Its also rather cheap now, because of the imminent Direct X 10.

[Roads88]

Nvidia 7950GT KO really runs.:up:

Not cheap

At the cost of the new direct X card(s), I think I will be good for sometime.

[Cpt. Stewker]

I'd go for the 8800 of course, but atm I have no money... at all.

Currently though I am using SLI'd 7900 GTXs.

EDIT: it's overkill for SHIII though... SHIV may be a different story though.

[Kingcobra24]

I have the latest ATI card:

[/URL] [URL="http://www.connect3d.com/products/pcie_x1950crossfire.htm"]Connect3D RADEON X1950 Crossfire Edition 512MB PCI-E (C3D-3061) (http://www.connect3d.com/products/pcie_x1950crossfire.htm)
but it's not for the faint of heart or thin wallets. My price was $450 :rotfl::rotfl:

:lurk:

[Vikinger]

It depends what connection your motherboard have.

Is it AGP or PCI Express slot?

I have an PCI Express slot and are using this card now:
Leadtek Winfast PX7800 GTX TDH MyVivo Extreme 256meg.

I think that card can be bought for about 300-330$ now.

And iam happy whit that card.

[ABBAFAN]

i dont know about the motherboard unless thats the mainboard which on mine is
GA-K8VT800 PRO

i have a 64 bit cpu but id like to get pentium 4 or something like that.is that ok with most games?

also my vid card was 256mb fx6200 which should be adequate but nothing of the games i have will run on it.

[VIICDriver]

X850XT...no issues.

Chuck

[mookiemookie]

i dont know about the motherboard unless thats the mainboard which on mine is
GA-K8VT800 PRO

i have a 64 bit cpu but id like to get pentium 4 or something like that.is that ok with most games?

also my vid card was 256mb fx6200 which should be adequate but nothing of the games i have will run on it.

That board has PCI slots, not PCI-E. You should be able to pick up a nice PCI video card without breaking the bank.

[3Jane]

My asrock K7VT4Apro, AMD Sempron 3000+ (aging but still capable), ATI Radeon 9800 Pro (althought the X800 would be better) and 1.50 Gb memory, handles SHII-GW very well. A modest system but adiquate for the present.

[Tool]

For AGP (which is what yours is), you can get a 128mb ATI 9800 pro which worked well with SHIII on my p4 1.7 I just retired.


I just built a E6400 dual core, with a 7600GT OC and a gig of crucial last month. Talk about smooooooooooth. I'm even pulling 25FPS in F4:AF over the FLOT at 1024 with sliders at max.

[Vikinger]

i dont know about the motherboard unless thats the mainboard which on mine is
GA-K8VT800 PRO

i have a 64 bit cpu but id like to get pentium 4 or something like that.is that ok with most games?

also my vid card was 256mb fx6200 which should be adequate but nothing of the games i have will run on it.

That board has PCI slots, not PCI-E. You should be able to pick up a nice PCI video card without breaking the bank.

Yeah its important that you pickup the right card for the slot you have or els it wont work on your computer. And like mookiemookie said, You should look for a card that have/support for PCI slot.

[mookiemookie]

For AGP (which is what yours is), you can get a 128mb ATI 9800 pro which worked well with SHIII on my p4 1.7 I just retired.


I just built a E6400 dual core, with a 7600GT OC and a gig of crucial last month. Talk about smooooooooooth. I'm even pulling 25FPS in F4:AF over the FLOT at 1024 with sliders at max.

I've got a pair of GeForce 6600s in SLI, and a gig of memory inside, with another on the way for Christmas. I can't wait. She's gonna run like butter with 2 gigs in there! ;)

/computer nerdery

[stabiz]

Yes, the difference from 1 to 2 gigs is almost as noticable as from 512 to 1024. :up:

[nightdagger]

With SH3, you should be able to play with everything smooth turned up all the way on a 6800-series nVidia or X800 series ATI.

I personally have:

Pentium D 805 @ 3.8GHz
ASUS P5ND2-SLI
2x1GB G.SKILL 533MHz @ 667MHz
eVGA 7900GT @ 667/851
WD SATA 250GB 7200RPM

Hopefully with another video card inside for Christmas.

[Boris]

The best price/performance range are these:

7950GT from Nvidia

X1900XT from ATI/AMD

Both are almost the same in performance and price, and both give the best performance for their price range. The ATI card is supposed to perform slighly better with less card memory.

...but you might have to get a new MB as I think these two don't come in AGP.

Otherwise go with a 6800 Ultra or 6800GT, they used to be top end cards but should be cheaper than most newer mid range cards now.

[Gizzmoe]

i dont know about the motherboard unless thats the mainboard which on mine is GA-K8VT800 PRO

That board has an AGP slot.

i have a 64 bit cpu but id like to get pentium 4 or something like that.is that ok with most games?

You can´t put a Pentium 4 on that board, it doesn´t fit. You could upgrade it with a faster AMD CPU for Socket 754.

[Engel der Vernichtung]

Fastest AMD socket 754 CPU is the one I've got, an AMD 3000+; it's 2.0 Ghz.

[Boris]

ABBAFAN, do you know how fast your CPU is?

From what I've seen the fastest Athlon 64 for for socket 754 available is the 3200.

If you have that already, I might consider not even bothering with a CPU upgrade. If you have something like a Sempron, you might want a bit more power though.

If you just have to have the best, then know you have to get a new motherboard as well. This could turn out expensive though. If you want to buy all current generation stuff, then you will need a new motherboard, new graphics, new CPU, AND... new RAM, since the newer boards are DDR2.
That could become real expensive.

So you options are:

Buy an older but faster AGP card, keep the old motherboard and CPU.

Buy a more recent motherboard with PCI-E, that supports DDR1... maybe a socket 939 or something. They still have decent CPUs for those. This would stunt your future CPU upgrades, though the next gen graphics cards would run fine on this too, if you wanted to upgrade again sometime.

Finally, if you have money to burn, buy the latest stuff, new Motherboard, RAM, CPU and graphics card.

[Tachyon]

If all else fails...

STEAL SETH'S PC!!!!:lol:

[_Seth_]

If all else fails...

STEAL SETH'S PC!!!!:lol:
:rotfl::rotfl:Well, i did some research...Have to change my motherboard to be able to use the GF 8800 GTX...... Will cost me § 150 more........ :nope:
So if you want to steal my pc, be my guest....I have insurance, and that would pay me enough to get a new rig in excellent conditions!!! :up::up:

[ABBAFAN]

my cpu is a AMD XP3400 64 bit is this powerful enough?


If i simply upgrade the graphics card to a more powerful one
which supports pci and works with a 64 bit processor which one is best?

how much more of an improvement would the 7950GT from Nvidia be over the current one? (fx6200 AGP)and does this have pixel shading?

[stabiz]

I dont think you get the 7950Gt to PCI. (or the X1900XT)

The best AGP card is the nVidia 7800GS 256MB, which is a kick ass card. It is many times better than the one you have.

But the best thing would be to get a new motherboard that supports PCI Express. If you want to get it cheap, get one with AMD 939 socket. (Then you would have to change the cpu too, but the 939`s are cheap now)

[Tachyon]

If all else fails...

STEAL SETH'S PC!!!!:lol: :rotfl::rotfl:Well, i did some research...Have to change my motherboard to be able to use the GF 8800 GTX...... Will cost me § 150 more........ :nope:
So if you want to steal my pc, be my guest....I have insurance, and that would pay me enough to get a new rig in excellent conditions!!! :up::up:
Why do you have to change ur motherboard? It supports PCI-E doesn't it?

Btw, ABBAFAN, i'd suggest waiting a little more longer, there's no point in buying any card that wasn't designed for DX10, you need to think of this as a longer term investment (unless ur filthy rich and change ur GPU every month).

[Gizzmoe]

my cpu is a AMD XP3400 64 bit is this powerful enough?
If it´s really an XP then it´s a 32-bit CPU. The "Athlon 64 3400+" would be the 64-bit version. AFAIK an XP3400 doesn´t even exist. The "Athlon 64 3400+" is a good middle-class CPU.

If i simply upgrade the graphics card to a more powerful one
which supports pci and works with a 64 bit processor which one is best?
You need an AGP card, not PCI. Like stabiz said, the nVidia 7800GS 256MB is the best AGP card.

[MarshalLaw]

I have a Genforce 7600GT 256 meg card, uses PCI express. Good card for the price around $200.00 or less. I've been happy with it so far. Plus I have 2 gigs of memory Ram as well. few if any frame rate slow downs.

[AS]

Frankly, I would save the money and buy a cheap out-of-date card. I´ve got a 2 year old plain GeForce6600 that came along with a standard PC and SH3 plus GW runs just fine. Considering Direct X 10 and Windows Vista coming your way I would sit and wait a couple of months and buy a DirectX10 card for cheap money then. You all know how fast hardware issues go...so be patient.

My two cents, AS

[GT182]

I just upgraded to a GF 6800XT 256mb 256 bit card from eWiz..... went thru PriceWatch.com. Graphics are great in SHIII, IL2 and FS9. I just found MOHA Pacific Assault and can't believe the graphics in that with this card. Card supports dual minitors and both connections are DVI. For 139.00US and change you can't go wrong. ;)

My old GF FX5600Ultra 256mb card was and is still good but I couldn't pass up a bargain like the 6800XT.

[stabiz]

I somewhat disagree, AS. I would get a really good DX9 card now (check out auctions, the must-have-the-best-card-guys are dropping their really good top end cards like crazy these days), and put off Vista and DX10 for at least 6 months. Let the unreasonable prizes for DX10 cards drop, and let MS fix the unavoidable bugs first.

Games will be made for DX9 for a long time yet.

[AS]

@Stabiz: That´s exactly what I was saying, maybe I expressed myself in a confusing way. :oops: I wouldn´t recommend any expensive D9 card, though, since SH3 is comparatively "old" by today´s PC-standards and doesn´t really benefit from a high-end a-thousand shaders 1600x 1200 resolution card, you follow me? :yep:

So my suggestion is: buy a cheap, "old" GeForce 6600 or similar, save the money, wait a couple of months till prices for D10 cards drop and Vista runs more or less bug-free and THEN look for something really fast to be equipped for future games to come.:rock:

Cheers, AS

[_Seth_]

If all else fails...

STEAL SETH'S PC!!!!:lol: :rotfl::rotfl:Well, i did some research...Have to change my motherboard to be able to use the GF 8800 GTX...... Will cost me § 150 more........ :nope:
So if you want to steal my pc, be my guest....I have insurance, and that would pay me enough to get a new rig in excellent conditions!!! :up::up:
Why do you have to change ur motherboard? It supports PCI-E doesn't it?
Well, i talked to some "guru's" at the local computer-whizz store, and they told me that the 8800 didnt fit my motherboard...:nope:

Here is my board (from MSI webpage):
MS-7025
http://www.msicomputer.com/product/mb_image/MS-7025.jpg

PC-specs:
AMD Athlon 64
3200+
2.01 Ghz, 1.50 GB RAM

[ABBAFAN]

As a short term fix coz i really want to get this game working after owning it since release suppose i got the nVidia 7800GS 256MB would this be a sufficient upgrade to play sh3 as far as pixel shading etc goes?

will this card be ok for ship simulator?

[Boris]

More than just sufficient mate :up: Just make sure its AGP so it fits your Mobo.

[Biggles]

Question: How do I change my resolution option? I don't like what I have...makes the game look.......ugly...

[Gizzmoe]

Question: How do I change my resolution option? I don't like what I have...makes the game look.......ugly...

Look here:
http://www.communitymanuals.com/shiii/index.php?title=Display_Resolution

[Boris]

For some reason AF and AA don't work with the res fix. At least for me. I get better visuals with full AA and AF, than with a higher res. Not to mention better performance.

[stabiz]

I used AA and AF with the res fix. It looked insane.

Unfortunately fraps and res fix did not match, so it had to go.

Edit: Sorry, AS! We seem to be in perfect harmony, hehe.

[Sgt Swanson]

I use a GeForce 6200 OC card w/ 256Mb on it and it replaced the GeForce FX 5600 Ultra 128Mb card that came with my Alienware I bought back in 10/03.

Both cards worked fine with this game as well as BF2 / IL2 and Combat Mission.

I didn't know you could run 2 cards at the same time (with only one monitor)? Think I could put this one back in?

Specs.

Intel D875PBZ MB w/ P4 3.0 Ghz 512K L2 Cache 800Mhz FSB
1 Gig RAM

If not then the old card (FX 5600) is up for grabs.

The new rig I'm planning on ordering come the new year is their top of the line model @ a whopping $6500.00:up: :rock: But, I may wait a few more months because Vista will be released on Jan 15th.

[stabiz]

Swanson, you can only pair graphics card if they are the same. (And if you have an SLI or Crossfire motherboard)

A 6500$ pc?! :huh: Is it made of gold?

[Boris]

I used AA and AF with the res fix. It looked insane.

Unfortunately fraps and res fix did not match, so it had to go.

Edit: Sorry, AS! We seem to be in perfect harmony, hehe.

Dammit, any idea why it might not work... I have an ATI card... X1950XT

[Sgt Swanson]

Go to Alienware.com and max out their top end rig. It'll blow you away.

Area 51 / 7500 model
Intel Duel core 3.4Ghz MB
4 Gig RAM
2x RAID HDs
Top end vid card
Top end sound card
Liquid cooling
7.1 Doulby speaker system
21" LCD flat panel monitor

It came out to around $6500. Though the one I want will end up being around $3800 when done.

I didn't get a monitor or sound card with my current one and only a 120Gig HD. Didn't have that much $$$ to play with last time. This time I can go all out if I choose to.

This one I have now cost $2200 when I bought it, but I didn't take a few things that time.

[Tool]

Alienware makes nice machines, but oh so $$$$. I built this rig for $750.. (off newegg of course)

Intel 965LT Mobo
1 gig Crucial
E6400 (2.13ghz core 2 duo)
80 gig Sata
7600GT OC 256mb PCI-E
Antec 1050B 500watt case/ps

To that I added a game theatre XP 7.1 card, 200gig IDE and a pioneer DVDR out of my old machine. Plenty fast with XP Pro and here are a few results:

3dmark05. 1024x768, AA off.

Score was 6229 in game tests.
Score was 7029 in CPU test.

Couldn't change any of the specifics of 3dmark due it being a free version, but my score was more than 2.5x higher than my friend who owns a p4 3.2, and comparable hardware. Core 2 duo is where it is at, and you don't need to pay big prices for all the extra crap (lights, painted cases, etc.) I've learned in all my years of building machines, always drop about 2-3 steps below the highest end stuff, for the best deal, and just slightly slower speeds. Never go with top of the line as it is out of date by the time it hits your front door.

Just my nickels worth...
Tool.

[Tachyon]

Frankly, I would save the money and buy a cheap out-of-date card. I´ve got a 2 year old plain GeForce6600 that came along with a standard PC and SH3 plus GW runs just fine. Considering Direct X 10 and Windows Vista coming your way I would sit and wait a couple of months and buy a DirectX10 card for cheap money then. You all know how fast hardware issues go...so be patient.

My two cents, AS

Et tu AS?

I've got a Geforce 6600 too , decent card....but don't expect to run Oblivion in settings other than low-medium :)

[AS]

Depends on what other hardware you have. I got a Pentium IV 3.2 GHz and 1024MB DDR Ram and Oblivion runs fine in an acceptable medium setting. Some games rather depend on RAM than on graphic boards. Apart from that, I totally agree with you that my GeForce 6600 is out of date, e.g. I tried playing FEAR and it went like a slide show:damn:

But when I said "a GeForce 6600 is enough, save the money for some next generation card when prices will have dropped" I was just referring to SH3 (that´s what the original post was all about!!!)

Cheers, AS

[Tachyon]

Yeah, Oblivion does run ok in somewhat mediumish settings , my sys is an AMD 3500+ w/1024 mb ram too :) . Hmm...but i'm not going for the 8800 yet...too expensive, and ATI is soon going to release their monster.

[mookiemookie]

If you've got the cash for it, maybe another 6600 in SLI configuration would be a good bet. That's what I'm running (with an AMD 3400+ and a gig of ram....nearly identical setup as yours, Tach) and I was running Oblivion in medium-high settings.

[kkentopanga]

My Alienware ($2600) was supposed to ship on 11/30. It did not. It is in stage 5 of nine stages. I hope all these stages are a good sign. Without being able to play for a while (dead comp) I had to go to 688I on my laptop to keep from going into withdrawal. SH III will not run on it.
Did not go for the top end gaming machine with Alien ware. NOTE I think it was Sgt. Swanson that posted he was going to wait untill Vista came out. With the purchase of on of their top three machines with Windows Media. You get a free upgrade to Vista.

[JU_88]

Fastest AMD socket 754 CPU is the one I've got, an AMD 3000+; it's 2.0 Ghz.

Wrong! you can get an Athlon 64 3400 and 3700 for socket 754, rare as rocking horse **** though.

:nope: