I'm gonna do it....Buy new Video...So how about a little advice?
 

Yup... I need advice. EXPERIENCED, cool, technically qualified...ADVICE.

After a fair amount of the afternoon with SH4, I have, indeed, found a graphics setting that is 'for me' acceptable. But...

This may well be the last computer I ever own, so I think I am going to use SH4 as an excuse to buy the BEST video upgrade board available... just this once.

According to the book the ones that will work are : ATI Radeon 9600 / 9700 / 9800... and some "X" models. NVIDIA GeForce 6200 / 6600 / 6800 / 7800.

Since my previous computering was wrapped around 3dfx Voodoo 5 video, I am WAY out of my league here, so... with all you Super-Duper-Up-To-Date Nerds... what should I buy?

I really want info, not a stream of testimonies based on 'you own it, therefore you are stuck with it, therefore it must be the best' ...

You're doing a Mature Feller a favor...be kind.

COB

The info we need is: What kind of video card slot does your system use?

AGP2x
AGP4x/x8
PCI-Express
None of the Above

?

Chief, what are your system specs so we all can give a hand?

I'm using a XFX GF 6800XTreme 256mb DDR3 AGP 8x, 256 bit card with DX9 Shader 3.0 and Open GL 1.5. I found it at ewiz.com for a very reasonable price and SHIII runs great. I imagine it should work well for SH4, but I don't have it yet to tell if it's true or not.

I also use an Intel P4 3.2E CPU and 2gigs of DDR400 RAM, which helps too.

Edit:
Remember too, if you go with duo core or Quad, SLI, PCI express and all that, the cost will be up there. I'm waiting a year for prices to drop before I take that big step. My system is only 19 months old and will have to do me for at least another year.

I can recommend an XFX 7900GS as XFX has different clock speeds for it on different models. I got the highest one - only drawback is an occasionally louder vid card fan. It's one of the best bangs for the buck I've seen recently. If you have PCI-E, anyway.

Yeahhh... I shudda given more... sorry. This here is a Gen-You-Wine, off the shelf H/P machine... 3.4 Gc processor, 2 GB RAM, and the trusty ATI Radeon X1300... which I recall seeing is "PCI Express". Audio, etc... but I don't see that being related to video. I'll cross my fingers on power supply... I don't really see these 'war' games doing the video work...drawing instaneous power... like the fantasy zoom/boom ones...

COB

It's hard to go wrong by trusting Tom's Hardware. They're a great site, and here's a good article that I'm using to determine my next video card:

http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/...ney/index.html

This page, specifically, will give you an idea of the video card hierarchy and what nvidia product is equivalent to what radeon product and vice versa: http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/03/...ney/page7.html

you really need to find out if it is PCI-E or AGP. I have a GeForce 6800GT and its a decent card, it seems to run stuff very well, but is starting to show its age.
I perfer Nvidia Cards right now and you would be very safe with anything GeForce 6800 or higher. I find toms hardware very biased and you need to look around. once you find out about the PCI-E or AGP and throw out a budget i will be better able to help!

Oh.. I know it's not AGP.. No AGP slot in this grey box. It is just that I don't know how many kinds of 'PCI' video there may be...in this generation. According to the ATI page, the X1300 *is* PCI Express.

Is there a tangible reason for your NVIDIA preference?

I have looked through some of the specs for upper end video, and the rotten truth is that I get lost in the terms and values for them. That's why I am looking for somebody that USES one or another and can say 'why' they prefer...

Now... if this machine did have AGP, I still own a couple V5's... but for all they did on a '98SE machine with Falcon 4 and F/A-18, I bet they stink for SH4 !!

COB

I did some research and based off of the X1300 I believe that you have a PCI-E x16 slot.
I perfer Nvidia (and this is my personal preference) because
#1 there chipsets have been performing a littel better than their ATi counterpart.
#2 you cannot beat Nvidias drivers and driver supports they simply take the cake
#3 My favorite Nvidia chipset maker is BFG because they have very good tech support and some cards have lifetime warranties.

here is the card I suggest for you.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143049

Very good card, often referred to as "best bang for buck".

Yep, it's in the top 3 levels at Tom's it seems. Plus, it'll save you a few $$.

Chief, if you have a premade HP, then let me know the exact model number. We can look up the specs and make sure you have PCI-Ex16 which it definitely sounds like you do. Also, are you using WinVista? You'll likely need to add more RAM if that's the case.

The good thing about having a PCI-E slot is that you will be able to go all the way in terms of performance, as long as you want to spend the cash.

Actually, PCI-E is much cheaper in terms of similar performance. If you have AGP, you'll be paying extra for native PCI-E cards which have to be modified to run on AGP. It's been like that for about a year.

Good Stuff, Fellows....

My machine is exactly " a 1350 y " [Hewlett-Packard] . *NO* on VISTA, and I am not planning to ever change. [That is, I'll change when Steve Gibson at GRC changes...] . Should I be blessed with years enough to need a replacement for this machine, it will obviously be VISTA equipped.

Not really worried about the cost.. I don't see any that approach the sound barrier. I just want *for once* to go First Cabin ! I had expected SH4 to run similar to SH3 here, but it doesn't, and I expect to run SH4 until the wheels fall off...

I wonder if that XFX 7900 GS will RUN SH4? It isn't in the Holy List.

"These chipsets are the only ones that will run this game." Sounds kinda 'firm'....

COB

I had posted this on another thread but if you still have AGP here are some recomndations for good cheap AGP upgrades as well as a couple of reviews (Feb. 2007) from Tom's Hardware on the currently available AGP video cards.


AGP Platform Analysis, Part 1: New Cards, Old System
We see what the new generation of AGP cards can do for an Athlon XP 2500+
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/01/...form-analysis/


AGP Platform Analysis, Part 2: New Cards, Single-Core System
We see what the new generation of AGP cards can do for an Athlon 64 3400+.
http://www.tomshardware.com/2007/02/...form-analysis/

And here are some nice offers taht I found online:

The XFX GeForce 7600GT AGP 256MB GDDR $159.99 (will outperform a 6800 Ultra AGP)
http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Produc...uctCode=321108

The SAPPHIRE Radeon X1950PRO 512MB GDDR3 AGP $224.99 (best AGP option at the moment)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102071