Graphics cards for SH IV?

[Bill Nichols]

I have an NVidia GeForce 7800GTX. It was top-line when I bought it but technology has continued to progress. Which graphics effects in SH IV will I not be able to enjoy with my current card, and what's your ideas on the best bang-for-the-buck card today?

Thanks!

[DanCanovas]

think that card should be fine Bill. Im running a Geforce 6800 GT 256mb

[thefretmaster]

what about an ATI Radeon x600 hypermemory 256mb?

[flintlock]

Which graphics effects in SH IV will I not be able to enjoy with my current card A little difficult to say until we have the game, or see a detailed review with benchmarks.

what's your ideas on the best bang-for-the-buck card today? Best bang in which price range? NVIDIA just released a 320MB version of their 8800 GTS. Depending if you wish to spend more or less (it's retails about $299 US), it may be a card to consider as long as you're not running Vista.

[Onkel Neal]

Ahoy Bill, a card with 256 megs will probably run everything, all effects on, perhaps not all textures to their max res.

[Morts]

wonder how many FPS ill get in SH4

im currently getting 120-140 in SH3 with GWX:hmm:
with full grapich settings
and grapich card settings on full:hmm:

[FIREWALL]

Hi All

Has anyone dealt with TigerDirect. I already know about Newegg.
TD seems to have better prices for same card. Any news would be appreciated.

[TDK1044]

what about an ATI Radeon x600 hypermemory 256mb?

Trust me, that card will really struggle to run SH4. The fact that it's a hypermemory 256MB card means that it has 128MB of on board memory and it takes 128MB from your system RAM. If you can afford to upgrade...do.

[Boris]

the amount of memory isn't the best indicator of a cards performance, generally more is better, but isn't always the case. But an x600 is not going to run SH4 very well I expect.
The card's GPU is what matters most in it's performance, most cards are at least 256mb anyway these days.

[thefretmaster]

ok im gunna look into more cards as mine can struggle a bit now, only sometimes

[flintlock]

Just wait once SH4 is released and people have the game, I suspect we're going to have countless threads on this. I have a sneaking suspicion many will be surprised at just what it's going to take to get SH4 to look and run in a manner they're satisfied with. What makes things even more frustrating is when a game that looks as good as SH4 does, it's only natural to want to have all the setting maxed so you can enjoy the complete experience.

Ahh, the joy of speculation and waiting. ;)

[Finback]

Hi All

Has anyone dealt with TigerDirect. I already know about Newegg.
TD seems to have better prices for same card. Any news would be appreciated.

Tiger Direct is a good company. We order from them and newegg mostly. Tiger D actually seems to ship faster.

I'm going to wait a while before updating video cards. When I do it'll definitely be something DX10 compatible. Looks like ATI is finally going to put a new line on the market--should be a chipset to combat nVidia's 8800 series. When this happens we should see prices come down on the high end graphics. I'm just a little--ahem--reluctant to pay $600 for a video card even though hands on experience shows me that they Rock. Better than 2 7900's in SLI mode.

[KiwiVenge]

A6600GT 128meg here, hoping it will run it well enough (fps wise) at low (medium?) settings.

[corvette k225]

guys, Iam using a ATI radeon x1600 pro, I hope It will do the job!:oops:

[Onkel Neal]

Are we talking about buying a new graphics card??

Buy an affordable but powerful card here and support Subsim (http://www.subsim.com/sh4/silent_hunter_4_preorder_link.htm)

When you click on the banner and go to Amazon, look at all the different cards you want. When you find one you like, no matter which one you purchase, Amazon will give some $$ to Subsim at no extra cost to you!

thanks
Neal

PS: Is this card (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EG5VBS?tag=cyberknight&camp=15309&creative=331477&linkCode=st1&creativeASIN=B000EG5VBS&adid=1SC0ERRJX4B1FWCA2V5X&) better than my 6600GT ?

[tener]

wot about a geforce 6600 256mb? will this work or do i need to dust off my credit card??

[Finback]

Are we talking about buying a new graphics card??

Buy an affordable but powerful card here and support Subsim (http://www.subsim.com/sh4/silent_hunter_4_preorder_link.htm)

When you click on the banner and go to Amazon, look at all the different cards you want. When you find one you like, no matter which one you purchase, Amazon will give some $$ to Subsim at no extra cost to you!

thanks
Neal

PS: Is this card (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EG5VBS?tag=cyberknight&camp=15309&creative=331477&linkCode=st1&creativeASIN=B000EG5VBS&adid=1SC0ERRJX4B1FWCA2V5X&) better than my 6600GT ?

Yes but only marginally. If I were you (and I ain't ;) ) I'd hold off to see how your current card works. From that point you'll have tons of posts going here saying what works and what doesn't. EVGA is a good company though and often offer upgrades/trade-ins with their own cards. Or--when I can finally get my 8800GTX I may have an already broke in 7900 :hmm: .

[NefariousKoel]

You'll should be able to run it decently Bill.

As for a new card, if anyone needs a new card but don't wanna spend $200 or more, I'd recommend the 7900GS. It's quite powerful for the price.

I think I'm gonna get the XFX one since it seems to be clocked higher than the others.

[immortal44]

I think you should wait and see how the game plays with your current setup before you think about upgrading.

[NEON DEON]

I think you should wait and see how the game plays with your current setup before you think about upgrading.


Sounds like a plan! :up:

[fullmetaledges]

guy i know all you can do is speculate but i would like to know if I need to start saving. I can live with everything not on it's higest setting, but do I need to start saving for a new card for this game.

radeon x1300 512mb

[Boris]

Start saving, and if you're not satisfied buy a new card when you've seen it run. Otherwise keep your money. :D

And why do you get to have 512 mb ram? I bought an x1950xt and it only came in 256 :stare:

[tener]

I think you should wait and see how the game plays with your current setup before you think about upgrading.
good point m8,i,ll get it first and see wot happens.:cool:any one know if there,s going to be a demo??

[TDK1044]

A demo is highly unlikely in my view. One more DEV Diary is on the way though. :D

[Konovalov]

I have an NVidia GeForce 7800GTX. It was top-line when I bought it but technology has continued to progress. Which graphics effects in SH IV will I not be able to enjoy with my current card, and what's your ideas on the best bang-for-the-buck card today?

Thanks!

That is still a very good card today and it's DX9 features will be able to run all the graphics candy and effects in SHIV. You will probably not need to compromise much if at all unless you run at really big resolutions with full AA and AF.

[Seeadler]

And why do you get to have 512 mb ram? I bought an x1950xt and it only came in 256 :stare:
From current graphic cards are often two versions available, one with 256 and one with 512MB. Generally a card which supports the Shader 2.0 Model is required for SHIV. If in addition this card has 512MB that is perfect but 256 is enough.

e.g.
Nvidia GeForce 6xxx/7xxxx supports Shader Model 1.0 - 3.0 and DirectX 9
Nvidia GeForce 8xxx supports Shader Model 1.0 - 4.0 and DirectX 10

If one has a card in that range, it is not necessarily to buy a new one for SHIV until it becomes patched to Vista and DX10

I am not ATI guy therefore I cannot say how it looks like with these cards;)

[Morts]

I think you should wait and see how the game plays with your current setup before you think about upgrading.


Sounds like a plan! :up:
how can it sound like a plan when there is no sound
its a bunch of letters put together to make sense
and there is no sound file included saying what stands there...sooo
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:



:-j

[Bill Nichols]

And why do you get to have 512 mb ram? I bought an x1950xt and it only came in 256 :stare:
From current graphic cards are often two versions available, one with 256 and one with 512MB. Generally a card which supports the Shader 2.0 Model is required for SHIV. If in addition this card has 512MB that is perfect but 256 is enough.

e.g.
Nvidia GeForce 6xxx/7xxxx supports Shader Model 1.0 - 3.0 and DirectX 9
Nvidia GeForce 8xxx supports Shader Model 1.0 - 4.0 and DirectX 10

If one has a card in that range, it is not necessarily to buy a new one for SHIV until it becomes patched to Vista and DX10

I am not ATI guy therefore I cannot say how it looks like with these cards;)


Thanks, Seeadler - that helps a lot. I was worried about all these different 'shader' things and such.

:ping:

[Linavitch]

I think you should wait and see how the game plays with your current setup before you think about upgrading.
It's not really the time to be upgrading. With the recent release of Vista and DX10 there's gonna be a whole new range of new cards, which is gonna mean there will be bargains galore for DX9 cards.

If you can manage as you are I would recommend that course of action. A couple of months after release you'll have all the feedback you need to make an informed decision and them lovely bargain prices i mentioned.

Conversely, you may get tempted with some uber DX10 rig and blow your kids inheritance, but there is a war on after all.

[Boris]

I don't think DX10 cards will necessarily blow peoples budgets. Theres bound to be low and mid range models at affordable prices.

[StandingCow]

There is a new DX10 card with 328 megs of ram that is around 200 bucks I think...

I have a geforce 7950 GT KO 512 Megs of ram, so I should be good. :D

[AVGWarhawk]

I don't think DX10 cards will necessarily blow peoples budgets. Theres bound to be low and mid range models at affordable prices.


I'm with Boris on this. There will be economy cards up to outrageous cards.

I'm waiting for the game and try it then. I'm thinking 2 gig of ram will help more than a superduper card. Thats just me though. Heck, I was running SH3 on a P3 GeForce 5500 card without issue. This P3 was slow but it worked and ran just find with particle in options on 100%. Mind you this was not the GWX install but I suspect with some particle reduction it would have been fine.

[Linavitch]

I don't think DX10 cards will necessarily blow peoples budgets. Theres bound to be low and mid range models at affordable prices.

But think how cheap your gonna get them DX9 cards in a few months. I don't think I can justify a DX10 upgrade just yet cos i would need a new mobo too but I'm thinking of upgrading my card. I got an X850 XT atm. I got my eye on a couple on ebuyer.com in the Uk.

[StandingCow]

I don't think DX10 cards will necessarily blow peoples budgets. Theres bound to be low and mid range models at affordable prices.
But think how cheap your gonna get them DX9 cards in a few months. I don't think I can justify a DX10 upgrade just yet cos i would need a new mobo too but I'm thinking of upgrading my card. I got an X850 XT atm. I got my eye on a couple on ebuyer.com in the Uk.

New Mobo and windows vista, as XP cannot support DX10...

[thefretmaster]

http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?nov-88gts3&P=1
is this the dx10 card you mean? also im not good at graphic card specs, can someone help me out, what am i looking for? also this card says it supports xp or vista so i guess it dx10 works on xp, unless it just runs dx9. would it be better to get a dx9 card? cheers

[Boris]

DX10 won't run on XP, they made it vista exclusive to force people to buy the new OS.
Of course the card will run in XP, just not with DX10 features.

Yes, it is a good card, and better than most of the other cards on the market, and a good price too. It's about the same price I bought my 256mb x1950xt 3 or 4 months back, so it's a pretty damn good deal.

[flintlock]

There is a new DX10 card with 328 megs of ram that is around 200 bucks I think...
NVIDIA's new version of the 8800 GTS has 320MB. Retails for around $299.00 US. The only problem is the current state of NVIDIA's driver mess and Vista.

[Boris]

are there even any other DX10 cards out... and this one doesn't work in vista?

[flintlock]

8800 series are all at the moment, DX10 wise. Technically the cards work, the current drivers for Vista are horrible though (all sorts of problems). It may take a while to get things right. I'm curious to see what ATI bring to the table with their upcoming R600.

[bookworm_020]

My Geforce 6200 256MB card will have to do untill I get a new computer. By then Vista should have had the bugs worked out of it, and graphics cards will come down in price (they always do!).:up:

[NEON DEON]

I think you should wait and see how the game plays with your current setup before you think about upgrading.


Sounds like a plan! :up:
how can it sound like a plan when there is no sound
its a bunch of letters put together to make sense
and there is no sound file included saying what stands there...sooo
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:



:-j

I read it to myself outloud:p

Then I interpreted it so.

However, just in case you were confused, I will re-state: :D

Reads like a plan!:up:

[barracuda]

I wasn't able to run proprely GWX so I buy a new card - ATI X1600pro. In the box says that was 256mb. That was ok. When I have installed the card the system says 512MB!!!! Can this be possible? I think they put the wrong card in the wrong box. And all for 120 €!!!!

[Snakeeyes]

I have a Radeon 9800 Pro with 256 MB. The only thing that slows it down is the extra smoke and "death & destruction" mod I use. You know, bodies being blown into the water, extra gear blasted off the deck etc.

You think I'll be ok with SHIV?

[TDK1044]

The 9800 is an old card. It will probably run SH4 at moderate graphics settings. Your RAM and processor speed will be key running the game with that card.

[Snakeeyes]

I have a Pentium 2.6 with 1 Gig RAM.

[flintlock]

You think I'll be ok with SHIV? You'll find out soon enough. My guess is that unless you run a modest resolution with relatively low quality settings, you likely won't be satisfied with the performance.

[Deep Six]

Well I get my new rig on monday next week.....Sheesh only 3 months ago I built This

AMD Athlon 64X2 4200 Skt AM2
Thermaltake Mini Typhoon CPU Cooler
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
2 Gig Geil ULL Ram (800Mhz)
2X 7900GTX 512 in SLI
2X 250 Gig WD caviar Sata II 16meg cache (Raid 0)

Replacing with

Intel core 2 Duo E6700
Artic freezer pro 7 CPU Cooler
EVGA 122-CK-NF680i-SLI
EVGA 8800GTX ACS3 Edition Superclocked
2 Gig corsair TwinX DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC8500 (1066 mhz)
1X 76 Gig WD Raptor
1X 250 Gig WD Caviar

Some change!!!!


Deep six

[flintlock]

Very nice upgrade indeed. You'll definitely be experiencing SH4 in all it's intended splendor!

:up:

[bookworm_020]

Well I get my new rig on monday next week.....Sheesh only 3 months ago I built This

AMD Athlon 64X2 4200 Skt AM2
Thermaltake Mini Typhoon CPU Cooler
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
2 Gig Geil ULL Ram (800Mhz)
2X 7900GTX 512 in SLI
2X 250 Gig WD caviar Sata II 16meg cache (Raid 0)

Replacing with

Intel core 2 Duo E6700
Artic freezer pro 7 CPU Cooler
EVGA 122-CK-NF680i-SLI
EVGA 8800GTX ACS3 Edition Superclocked
2 Gig corsair TwinX DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC8500 (1066 mhz)
1X 76 Gig WD Raptor
1X 250 Gig WD Caviar

Some change!!!!


Deep six

Could I have your left over!:huh: It leaves my computer for dead.:dead:

[flintlock]

Could I have your left over! Would you settle for a few peas and a piece of brocolli? Willing to ship express.

:D

[Biggles]

Nvidia GF 7950GT OC
2GB RAM
Intel Core 2CPU 6400 2.13 GHz.

I think I'll do fine.........right?

[flintlock]

You look to be in fine shape, sailor.

[_Seth_]

Everything above GF6600 / 6800 (or similar) Will do fine.. Believe me....;)

[Boris]

Well if anyone knows it's you

[_Seth_]

Well if anyone knows it's you
I know that my GF FX5900 ZT wont take it without lag..(Stabiz called my card "WWI style...:-?).. Maybe i should buy a new one through Amazon, and support Subsim...:yep:

[peterloo]

I hope that every GF7 series card will do... :rock:

Hope that they have different 'details' settings in graphics settings so that GF6800 GT can come to party as well :hmm:

[flintlock]

Oh come to the party it will. The question is what will it do once there.

[Konovalov]

Well I get my new rig on monday next week.....Sheesh only 3 months ago I built This

AMD Athlon 64X2 4200 Skt AM2
Thermaltake Mini Typhoon CPU Cooler
Asus M2N32-SLI Deluxe
2 Gig Geil ULL Ram (800Mhz)
2X 7900GTX 512 in SLI
2X 250 Gig WD caviar Sata II 16meg cache (Raid 0)

Replacing with

Intel core 2 Duo E6700
Artic freezer pro 7 CPU Cooler
EVGA 122-CK-NF680i-SLI
EVGA 8800GTX ACS3 Edition Superclocked
2 Gig corsair TwinX DDR2 XMS2 Dominator PC8500 (1066 mhz)
1X 76 Gig WD Raptor
1X 250 Gig WD Caviar

Some change!!!!


Deep six

Very nice. :|\\ Similar to my spec in my sig except much stronger in the graphics department. I was budget limited on graphics card so will wait for DX10 cards to mature and improve. Plenty of overclocking potential in your new system with the RAM and AF Pro 7 which is a great cooler for such a low price of just over £10. :yep:

[TDK1044]

Everything above GF6600 / 6800 (or similar) Will do fine.. Believe me....;)

Those cards will cope with the game rather than do fine in my opinion.

[stabiz]

I hope that every GF7 series card will do... :rock:

Hope that they have different 'details' settings in graphics settings so that GF6800 GT can come to party as well :hmm:

From 7600 and up you will be fine, I`m guessing, but not maxed out.

Remember, the graphics are much better in SHIV, and the devs are not magicians, they are devs.

@Seth: :rotfl:Sorry, mate, but its true.

[TDK1044]

From 7600 and up you will be fine, I`m guessing, but not maxed out.

Remember, the graphics are much better in SHIV, and the devs are not magicians, they are devs.
[/quote]

I agree with that statement. The 7600 series and above will run the game at the highest graphical settings, assuming a good processor and plenty of RAM. Anything lower than the 7600 will need to run the game at reduced graphical settings.

[Barkhorn1x]

...and I just make the cut w/ a 7600 GT 256MB PCI card. I have 2 Gigs of RAM and that should help too!

:D

Barkhorn.

[TDK1044]

You have the same set up as me. You'll be fine I'm sure.

[_Seth_]

Everything above GF6600 / 6800 (or similar) Will do fine.. Believe me....;)
Those cards will cope with the game rather than do fine in my opinion. True mate, but for optimal performance (on steroids) , i recommend GF 8800 GTX.;) (Im sorry if i didnt express myself clear enough, matey ..:oops:)

Cope= 6600/6800
Do fine= 7600/7900/7950 (Similar?)
WOW! MY EYES!! = 8800 GTS / GTX

Just my 2 cents..:yep:

From 7600 and up you will be fine, I`m guessing, but not maxed out. Remember, the graphics are much better in SHIV, and the devs are not magicians, they are devs.:rock::rock::rock::up:

[TDK1044]

True mate, but for optimal performance (on steroids) , i recommend GF 8800 GTX.;) (Im sorry if i didnt express myself clear enough, matey ..:oops:)

Cope= 6600/6800
Do fine= 7600/7900/7950 (Similar?)
WOW! MY EYES!! = 8800 GTS / GTX

Just my 2 cents..:yep:

I would say you are 100 percent correct!

[Guido]

I have 2 really fast cards running in original "scan line interleave",,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Voodoo 2 X2, man it should be ok for SHIV right? I am hoping it will cope, these cards are so big they should cope with everything yeah?

:lol:

[Boris]

lol, 3dfx Voodoo... my first 3d card ever was a Voodoo Banshee

[TDK1044]

Should be fine. :D

[Guido]

I was joking btw, although I do still have the 2 voodoo cards! they havent been used for many years,,,,,, ahhh the days of quake!

Anyway, I also feel 2 gig of system memory will help most people overall, certainly regarding smoothness and load times.

as a few other says "7600 upwards should be fine" i agree also, you just about have the horsepower and get all the extra candy, until the dx10 patch is out that is.
By then maybe a GF 8600 will be around, along with a reduced AGP version? who knows.

[TDK1044]

Yeah. I looked up the specs. Haven't seen Voodoo in quite a while. :D

[stabiz]

I really doubt we will see DX10 on AGP.:hmm:

[marius]

2 cents.

6600gt will be minimum spec to run game with reasonable settings.
7900gt or x1900xt will be just right

1 gbyte ram would be minimum and more possibility of hd swapping mem data
2 gbyte ram will be just right

1 ide hd will give you longer load times
2 sata hd in raid 0 config will be just right

Onboard sound card will suck as always
Audigy cards will be almost good enough
X-Fi will be just right

CPU will affect performance especially if you have a good card with a single core older CPU... expect bottlenecking.. is bottlenecking a word? It is now.

[TDK1044]

2 cents.

6600gt will be minimum spec to run game with reasonable settings.
7900gt or x1900xt will be just right

1 gbyte ram would be minimum and more possibility of hd swapping mem data
2 gbyte ram will be just right

1 ide hd will give you longer load times
2 sata hd in raid 0 config will be just right

Onboard sound card will suck as always
Audigy cards will be almost good enough
X-Fi will be just right

CPU will affect performance especially if you have a good card with a single core older CPU... expect bottlenecking.. is bottlenecking a word? It is now.

I agree with everything you say here, but you can add the 7600GT to the 7900Gt and X1900XT.

[Guido]

I really doubt we will see DX10 on AGP.:hmm:

Thats what they said about the high end 7 series.............

simple economics mean, with lots of people with AGP who want to run vista nicely! some indy manufactures will have a go...........
Maybe it wont be a high end card as AGP bus cant do it, but I think a good chance you will see a 8 series "half cut" on AGP actualy. if you wait a bit after the early adopters are fleeced a bit first.:yep:

[StandingCow]

I really doubt we will see DX10 on AGP.:hmm:

Thats what they said about the high end 7 series.............

simple economics mean, with lots of people with AGP who want to run vista nicely! some indy manufactures will have a go...........
Maybe it wont be a high end card as AGP bus cant do it, but I think a good chance you will see a 8 series "half cut" on AGP actualy. if you wait a bit after the early adopters are fleeced a bit first.:yep:

I feel pretty comfortable saying, it is not going to happen. AGP is dieing out fast.

[flintlock]

The only reason you get the few sporadic new offerings for AGP today is that there is still a large installed user base. I don't think I've seen a major motherboard manufacturer offer a new AGP based mainboard for a very long time. I highly doubt the industry will see a DX10 AGP offering. Chances are, most systems using the antiquated AGP bus would likely be less than ideal candidates for Vista anyway.

Don't forget the next version of PCI Express is around the corner too.

[Guido]

so will everyone send me a £1 each when the 8550 is released on AGP?

I stand to make a fair bit of money here :lol:

[fullmetaledges]

ok guys break it down for me barney style please

replacing this
http://www.bizrate.com/graphicscards/visiontek-xtasy-radeon-x1300-512-mb-pci-e-graphics-card--pid432696467/
with this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814130056

good deal, bad deal, your an idiot or wasting my money?
I really don't know anything about computer guts but ask me about ww2 and I do alright.

[Mikkow]

ATI Radeon 1950 PRO (256mb version). Rest of computer is monstrous. At 1024x768 with no AA, everything in SH3 runs monstrous except the harbours in GWX - they noticably take away from the silky feeling. Out in the ocean however, pumping up any AA etc seems to do nothing to budge the mega FPS.

[Gizzmoe]

good deal, bad deal, your an idiot or wasting my money?
Good card, good deal, it´s a thousand times better than you current card, but if you can afford it you should get this card, it´s quite a bit faster:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102067

What´s your CPU and RAM?

[fullmetaledges]

2 gb of ram and a p4 3ghz

[flintlock]

You're in reasonably good shape here. Once you upgrade your video card, I think you may be quite pleased with the performance you'll be able to achive.

[Snakeeyes]

You guys seem pretty well versed in 3D cards. Gotta get me a good one of those one day... until then, well, I have a Radeon 9800 Pro with 256 ram.

If I were to give you some specs on my motherboard could you guys tell me the best performing card on my POS computer? What would you upgrade your card to WITH MY MOTHERBOARD or am I right and I have upgraded as far as I can go?

Here are my motherboard specs:

Board: Intel Corporation D845EBG2 AAA83975-205
Serial Number: CF2B22402624
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: Intel Corp. PT84520A.86A.0015.P08.0302261328

[Boris]

What's the motherboard model and brand. More importantly, is it AGP or PCI-E. Either way, there are plenty of cards out that are far better than your current one, in both formats. So there is room for improvement.
But SH4 will be processor and RAM reliant too, so they will also need to be up to speed.

[Snakeeyes]

Here's more of my stuff. Thanks for responding so fast. Like I said, I need at least your top two recommendations that will work in my POS.



Operating System System Model

Windows XP Home Edition Service Pack 1 (build 2600) Intel Corporation Processor a Main Circuit Board b 2.80 gigahertz Intel Pentium 4
8 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Intel Corporation D845EBG2 AAA83975-205
Serial Number: CF2B22402624
Bus Clock: 133 megahertz
BIOS: Intel Corp. PT84520A.86A.0015.P08.0302261328 02/26/2003 Drives Memory Modules c,d 40.01 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
12.91 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

SONY CD-RW CRX175A1 [CD-ROM drive]
SONY DVD-ROM DDU1621 [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]

ST340016A [Hard drive] (40.02 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 3HS4MLKX, rev 3.75, SMART (http://www.belarc.com/smart.html) Status: Healthy
WIBU - CodeMeter-Stick USB Device [Hard drive] (2 MB) -- drive 1 1024 Megabytes Installed Memory

Slot 'J6G2' has 512 MB
Slot 'J6G1' has 512 MB Local Drive Volumes


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[Boris]

Your system doesn't look too bad. Any card will work, compatibility issues are rare, BUT, you need to know if you have an AGP slot or a PCI-Express slot. That is the only area that you really need to be concerned about in terms of compatibility. If you still have your motherboard or graphics card manual, it will tell you in one of those.

There ar still decent cards around for each slot type (AGP is older). I'm willing to bet yours is AGP. Just depends on what you're willing to spend.

[stabiz]

What Boris said. :yep:

[Snakeeyes]

My 9800 Pro is using the AGP slot right now. :)

Recs?

[flintlock]

@ Boris: Good guess. That Intel mainboard (D845EBG2), is an AGP based board.

@ Snakeeyes: I noticed you have a WIBU CodeMeter-Stick. Are you an SB Pro PE player perchance?

[Snakeeyes]

I'm willing to bet yours is AGP. Just depends on what you're willing to spend. Good guess. That Intel mainboard (D845EBG2), is an AGP based board.

@ Snakeeyes, I noticed you have a WIBU CodeMeter-Stick. Are you an SB Pro PE player perchance?


Of course. :)

[flintlock]

Hehe, good to see a fellow tanker! :up:

[Snakeeyes]

My Dad was a REAL tanker. :)


I've noticed your great graphics advice Flintlock - it's the reason why I decided to post my questions here.

What AGP card do your recommend? I'm looking for something about $200.00 that will make SHIV look great and speed up my framerate in SB Pro.

[flintlock]

If your target is around $200.00, I'd seriously consider a Radeon X1950 Pro. It's basically the most powerful card you can get for the AGP bus today, and if I were in your shoes, that's what I'd be picking up. The added bonus is the card will make you system a viable gaming platform for a while longer (that's always a good thing for the wallet).

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[Snakeeyes]

Thanks Bud.

[elite_hunter_sh3]

id say save up a few hundred dollars (around 600ish$$) and wait for the ubergod ati R600 dx 10 to come out in late march early april, hope u will like SH4 on high definition 1080P :rock::rock::rock:

[John Channing]

Fastest AGP card around ifs the GeForce 7800 GS.

I traded up to one from a 9800 Pro and there was no comparison. BFG makes the one I have and it has been a joy to own.

You will need a big case, though!

JCC

[flintlock]

Performance wise, the 7800 GS is about on par with the Radeon X1950 Pro. The 7800 GS is also more expensive than the X1950 Pro. I like the 7800 GS, though for the money and performance, I feel the Radeon is a little better deal.

[Hartmann]

the amount of memory isn't the best indicator of a cards performance, generally more is better, but isn't always the case. But an x600 is not going to run SH4 very well I expect.
The card's GPU is what matters most in it's performance, most cards are at least 256mb anyway these days.

Yes , some cards have more memory, 256 but with a slown and cheaper memory

A good idea before buy a card is compare the nanosecons (ns) specs

[StandingCow]

If you have the patience, and money, I suggest going to a PCI-E compatable motherboard.

[fullmetaledges]

Hehe, good to see a fellow tanker! :up:
I also appreciate of excellence of SB Pro, although I'm not too good at it.

[Guido]

save the money, and get a 7600GT, the ATI offering is more powerful on agp, but only when matched with an appropriate cpu!

7600's are cheap. take your pick of manufacure.

[Hartmann]

i have an 6600gt AGP card , but i don´t want expend more money upgrading my system , except in memory, because i can´t find any processor compatible to replace my XP 2400+ cpu in my motherboard.

i prefer save money for a future major upgrade ,new board,dual core, memory and PCI-X graphic card. :roll:

[flintlock]

I also appreciate of excellence of SB Pro
There's a few of us landlubbers here it seems. :)

[_Seth_]

Fastest AGP card around ifs the GeForce 7800 GS.

I traded up to one from a 9800 Pro and there was no comparison. BFG makes the one I have and it has been a joy to own.

You will need a big case, though!

JCC

Just a little question, mates:
Is there a difference between the GF 7800 GS and this (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-030-GW) card, or is it the same? IIRC, the "standard" GF 7800 GS have only 256 MB SDRAM, but the one in the link has 512..
I have been doing some calculations, and the cheapest way to play SHIV is to continue using AGP (Upgrading to PCI-E when i have more money..:roll:). Would this card handle SHIV...?

[flintlock]

It's essentially the same card, Seth. The Gainword Bliss you linked actually have 7900 GS/GT GPUs. Next to the X1950 Pro, it's one of the fastest video cards you're going to get if you chose to stay with AGP for the interim. AGP or otherwise, it's an impressive card, period. I'd feel quite comfortable waiting for SH4 to be launched with this card in my AGP slot.

[_Seth_]

It's essentially the same card, Seth. The Gainword Bliss you linked actually have 7900 GS/GT GPUs. Next to the X1950 Pro, it's one of the fastest video cards you're going to get if you chose to stay with AGP for the interim. AGP or otherwise, it's an impressive card, period. I'd feel quite comfortable waiting for SH4 to be launched with this card in my AGP slot. Thanx for the reply, flintlock:up:. I might have a go at this! :yep:

[Guido]

id save the money.........again.

and get this over the £205 card you looked at, but i suppose it depends if you have a pref to ATI or nvidia stuff.

just seems better value to me, I dont think 512meg will have much impact on sh4.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-071-HT

in fact they list a 512 version too, £158.

[ook]

OK, and my question is: nVidia or ATI chipset? GeForce or Radeon? I dont know any ATI card since 1999 when I had ATI RagePro card. :-)

[Guido]

I suppose thats really personal choice, regarding the cards were looking at here.
But you confuse me with the term "chipset" as that doesnt have to be ATI or NVIDIA, what about VIA or INTEL.

For the simple matter of buying an agp card for SH4, now today.
I would get the most for the money, that X1950 is the better price, and will do all the fancy bits that the 7800 will do in lamens terms, and probably has more horsepower, if your cpu can supply any ;)

However of course we might see a new card on AGP that does DX10, although others are more sceptical about this happening, i wouldnt rule it out!

[_Seth_]

id save the money.........again.

and get this over the £205 card you looked at, but i suppose it depends if you have a pref to ATI or nvidia stuff.

just seems better value to me, I dont think 512meg will have much impact on sh4.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-071-HT

in fact they list a 512 version too, £158.nice find, mate! I have some thinking to do now...! :up::up:

[Guido]

no problem seth,

*note* the more silent (well its for silent hunter!)

This Week Only Offer

HIS ATI Radeon X1950 Pro ICEQ3 Turbo 512MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (AGP) - Retail

620MHz Core, 1480MHz Memory, 36 Pixel Shaders, 8 Vertex Shaders, 8 Geometry Pipelines, Shader Model 3.0, ICEQ3 Silent Cooling.

is the same price!

[Guido]

If anyone requires a nice silent 7900GT 256m fitted with a zalman - u can email or pm me. I have one that needs a home.

[zaloxski]

What about my GeForce 7600GS 256MB......AGPx4?

The question, is I'm using a AMD AthlonXP @2200 (1800Mhz) and 512x2 333Mhz RAM on ASUS MoBo, that only suports AGPx4, not x8.

Maybe can I consider buy a mixed MoBo with AGPx8 slot & PCIExpress.
Doing it, I must buy a new micro, may be new RAM...duno what to do..

.-zalox

[stabiz]

Hello, mate!

You cant get both AGP and PCI-Express on the same mobo, and if you are planning to buy something, make sure its PCI Express and that the mobo supports DDR 2 RAM, anything else is a waste now.

I think you will just scrape by with your current setup in SH4.


My estimate for enjoying (yes, the game will RUN on less) SH4:

At least 1GB RAM (preferable DDR2)
3ghz Intel or AMD equilent (AMD processors 2ghz and up)
7600GT and up (not very much I can say about Radeon)

This is my estimate for MEDIUM settings. Below this and I think you will be disappointed. I may be wrong, of course, but if I am I will be very surprised.

[flintlock]

7600GT and up (not very much I can say about Radeon)
An equivalent to the above is a Radeon X1650 XT.