GeForce FX5200: Worth buying?

[jdavis]

http://www.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031023/nvidia-nv38-nv36-19.html#questionable_optimizations_in_atis_drivers

I know it sounds wierd to say that October of last year is old news but both companies have released multiple new drivers since then (ATI is now using Catalyst 4.1 the test was done with Catalyst 3.8/3.7. THe Nvidia driver used was v52.16 the new one is v53.03). Drivers update about once a month for video cards. Another thing to remember is that both companies video cards are run close enough together that you need to frame capture to tell any quality difference and the speeds are faster than the human eye can register in most cases. The only thing I'd advise against is the first FX cards which were flawed and overly loud, they didn't last long and the new cards are top notch. ATI also has more experience with the all in one cards (which seems more what your interested in instead of a speed burning gaming monster). Go with a Direct X 9 card (no sense living in the past when you can prepare for the future) and get the best deal you can (which won't be at Best Buy, garanteed).

This is really a Ford vs Chevy or a Coke vs Pepsi type of rivalry here, these are not just competing products there is a real rivalry here with lots of mudslinging and dedicated fans of each company. Myself I have two dead Nvidia cards in my closet and a old GeForce 2 card that has given me no trouble in 2 years in another computer, I also have a ATI 8500 card that never gave me any problems which I sold to a friend. The computer I use for the internet is a old IBM workstation with intergrated graphics. I have never had a problem with any video display or graphics on it yet (it won't do new 3D games). I haven't used photoshop in a while but it never had any problems with that either. Unless your in to high end gaming you will never need all that much out of a graphics card and will never need a top of the line one.

 

[jdavis]

Here is a comparison of 46 different graphics cards from December 29th: http://www6.tomshardware.com/graphic/20031229/index.html

 

[Krieg]

The Nvidia 5700 Ultra and the Radeon 9600 Pro are the sweet spots when it comes to price vs performance. You can't really go wrong with either.

Of course the next generation of cards are just around the corner...

 

[2d6]

I just upgraded my video card and I faced some of the same questions as you do. ATI and Nvidia have too much crap on the market and too many board partners for a non-enthusiest to make an informed decision, very frustrating.

Anyway I looked around and read reviews and lurked around the video forum over at hardocp.com and checked prices and stuff and I settled for a geforce fx5600 for a little under 100 bucks. I figured, based on what I knew about products lines and suck. Well I wasn't that smart . The card performed terribly so I exchanged it for an ATI 9600XT for $159.00. Now I used to hate ATI, there was a time when everytime I installed an ATI card at work and loaded the drivers, Windows would melt before my eyes. I was pleasently surprised though, the card and the latest drivers have been rock solid for a couple of weeks now.

I heartily recomment this card -> http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-125-124&catalog=48&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

 

[Pielorinho]

I have a related question: at the NC Game Day, I won a copy of Prince of Persia in the raffle, and was all excited until I noticed the fine print on the box: DOES NOT SUPPORT GeForce 4 MX, the bastards say. I know the 4 MX is a scam and not a good card; a lot of good that does me now. So my questions:
1) Does anyone know if this is a lie? That is, if I actually can play the game with the card, and I just ca't complain to the company about any bugs I encounter?
2) Assuming it's not a lie (I'll find out tonight, in any case, when I try installing the game), what's the cheapest solution to my problem? I don't want to pay more than $100 to play this game,a nd would prefer to pay considerably less. The game says it runs on a GeForce 3 or equivalent; how can I fire this puppy up?

Daniel

 

[Psionicist]

I have a related question: at the NC Game Day, I won a copy of Prince of Persia in the raffle, and was all excited until I noticed the fine print on the box: DOES NOT SUPPORT GeForce 4 MX, the bastards say. I know the 4 MX is a scam and not a good card; a lot of good that does me now. So my questions:
1) Does anyone know if this is a lie? That is, if I actually can play the game with the card, and I just ca't complain to the company about any bugs I encounter?
2) Assuming it's not a lie (I'll find out tonight, in any case, when I try installing the game), what's the cheapest solution to my problem? I don't want to pay more than $100 to play this game,a nd would prefer to pay considerably less. The game says it runs on a GeForce 3 or equivalent; how can I fire this puppy up?

Daniel

If I were in your shoes I'd look for a refurbished GF4 Ti4200. You can probably get one for less than $100 and they have a pretty decent performance for its age.

 

[Pielorinho]

Hmm -- I've looked around a little bit, and the two that look most tempting to me are a http://www.ackeytech.com/customer/product.php?productid=2902&cat=458&page=2[/font]]GeForce 5600XT GPU for $89, and an ATI Radeon 9600 Pro for $85. Any recommendations between the two of these, or would you advise something else? Pricewatch has decent prices, and as long as I can get something better than a GeForce 4 I figure I may as well.

I'm not looking for raw power so much as for not needing to upgrade again any time soon; I'm happy playing my games in low resolution as long as I can play them at all. (I tried playing PoP, and discovered that I could play it fine, as long as I was happy with a .1 Frame per second rate and a screen filled with alarming nonsensical polygons).

Thanks for the advice!
Daniel

 

[Pielorinho]

Well, I just purchased online a GeForce 5600 Ultra -- those are getting better reviews than the XTs are, and the 9600 Pro that I thought I was linking to turned out to be a 9600 SE, which are performing near the bottom of the similarly-priced pack. The 9600 Pros turned out to be closer to $140; I compromised with a $119 card.

Hopefully I won't regret my decision .

Daniel

 

[Goobermunch]

Today, my advice would be to go with the ATI card. Having just done months of research while building my new machine, I'm pretty comfortable with that evaluation.

Good Luck.

--G

 

[2d6]

Hmm -- I've looked around a little bit, and the two that look most tempting to me are a http://www.ackeytech.com/customer/product.php?productid=2902&cat=458&page=2[/font]]GeForce 5600XT GPU for $89, and an ATI Radeon 9600 Pro for $85. Any recommendations between the two of these, or would you advise something else? Pricewatch has decent prices, and as long as I can get something better than a GeForce 4 I figure I may as well.

I'm not looking for raw power so much as for not needing to upgrade again any time soon; I'm happy playing my games in low resolution as long as I can play them at all. (I tried playing PoP, and discovered that I could play it fine, as long as I was happy with a .1 Frame per second rate and a screen filled with alarming nonsensical polygons).

Thanks for the advice!
Daniel

I tried out a GeForce 5600XT card and it was a very poor performer. I would vote ATI.